Apr 12

Steam powered USB charger keeps your iPod alive with Victorian sensibility

Posted in: lego, PMP, Today's Chili

We love this steam powered USB charging device. It’s well built, useful, loud, and totally anachronistic — the same could be said of many of our editors here. According to the inventor, the thing is based on a Jensen #75 steam engine, which is used to drive a Lego Technic motor. The motor, in turn, feeds into a voltage regulator circuit, providing a continuous 5V charge to which ever USB device you might connect to it. This prompts us to ask a few obvious questions, including: “when is someone going to build us an appropriate steampunk PMP to go with the thing?” And, of course, “aren’t Legos awesome?” Video after the break.

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Steam powered USB charger keeps your iPod alive with Victorian sensibility originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Apr 2009 05:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 11

Archos 5 firmware adds GPS car holder support, new file browser

Posted in: archos, firmware, gps, nav, navigation, PMP, Software, Today's Chili, update

We tell ya, the Archos 5 is becoming more inviting by the week. Late last month we saw a much-wanted high-def video plug-in come to light, and now an even newer firmware is adding a few more fantastic amenities. For starters, the v1.6.53 software adds GPS car holder support — something the Archos 605 acquired last April. Essentially, it enables the device to comprehend map and routing data piped in via the hardware mount, and we should point out that it arrives with TeleAtlas maps for eight regions of Europe, North America and Russia. Additionally, users will definitely spot an all new file browser with drag-and-drop and multi-selection functionality, not to mention the TV Snap-on app that enables the unit to store several different channel lists. For the full changelog and to get that download rolling, give the links below some lovin’.

[Thanks, Christopher]

Read – Firmware v1.6.53 changelog
Read – Firmware download page

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Archos 5 firmware adds GPS car holder support, new file browser originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 05

Lenovo MRT800 touchscreen PMP unveiled, pities no fool

Posted in: lenovo, PMP, Today's Chili, touchscreen

On the surface, Lenovo’s MRT800 doesn’t seem to have any surprises, but if you look closer… well, it’s more or less the same. The touchscreen PMP’s got a 4.3-inch TFT LCD with 480 x 272 resolution, a microSD expansion slot, FM tuner, and a voice recorder. Codec support includes RMVB, AVI, ASF, MP4, and FLV for video, and MP3, WMA, OGG, APE, FLAC, and WAV for audio. Mum’s the word on pricing, release date, or if anyone else mispronounces its name and gets the urge to watch A-Team reruns.

[Via iTech News]

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Lenovo MRT800 touchscreen PMP unveiled, pities no fool originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 02

GAME-800 all-in-one handheld tries out a new control scheme

Posted in: chinese, PMP, Retro, Today's Chili

We’ll hand it to whatever Chinese company conjured up the GAME-800 — there’s at least a smidgen of ingenuity here. Granted, we suspect it’s all for the worse, but we digress. The GAME-800 all-in-one handheld does just about everything save for make calls; we’re talking an MP5 (seriously) player, text and photo viewer, camera, NES / GBA emulator and even support for video playback. Internally, you’ll spot 4GB of storage, which complements the integrated SD expansion slot nicely. There’s also a TV output, 3.5-inch QVGA display, twin 3.5 millimeter headphone jacks and USB 2.0 connectivity. We might say it was actually worth he $69.99 asking price if not for our befuddlement relating to those awkwardly sorted directional arrows, but until we see support for an external game pad, we’ll pass.

[Via technabob]

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GAME-800 all-in-one handheld tries out a new control scheme originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 31

Samsung officially intros YP-U5 and YP-Q2 media players

Posted in: PMP, samsung, Today's Chili

We’ve already seen Samsung’s Q2 and U5 media players out and about, but just today the company has made the pair official here in the US of A. Starting with the YP-Q2 PMP, you’ll find both 8GB and 16GB variants with 50 hours of battery life, a 2.4-inch QVGA display, black and white color options, DNSe 3.0 sound enhancement technology, FM radio / recorder, a text viewer and a Smart Button that allows the user to designate a specific function for quick access. The YP-U5, on the other hand, was tailor made for gym rats; said audio stick sports a touchpad, 1-inch OLED display, USB connectivity, up to 20 hours of playback, an FM radio module and 2GB of internal storage. Check ’em this April for $99.99 (8GB Q2), $129.99 (16GB Q2) and $39.99 (U5).

Gallery: Samsung officially intros YP-U5 and YP-Q2 media players

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Samsung officially intros YP-U5 and YP-Q2 media players originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 29

New firmware adds high-def video plug-in to Archos 5 / 7

Posted in: archos, PMP, Today's Chili

Hey, Archos 5 / 7 users — do we have your attention? Good. You know that high-def support you’ve been not-so-patiently waiting for? Archos just hooked you up good fashion. As of right now, the read link is holding fresh firmware for both players (v1.6.03), which tosses in support for WMV / VC-1 playback at 720p (24fps; 6Mbps maximum). The update also fixes a number of bugs involving MP3 tags, TV recording errors and GUI malfunctions. Give it a download and report back, won’tcha?

[Thanks, Trevor]

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New firmware adds high-def video plug-in to Archos 5 / 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Mar 2009 06:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 28

iriver’s D50N MID gets its own site, closer to our hearts

Posted in: korea, MID, official, PMP, South Korea, SouthKorea, Today's Chili

iriver came clean with its D50N e-dictionary / MID back at CES, but it’s taken until now for the company to host up a proper teaser site with all the details (in Korean, naturally). The beautiful handheld boasts a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 16GB of internal storage space, 802.11b/g WiFi, support for a whole litany of files, a microSD expansion slot, full QWERTY keyboard and a battery good for up to 16 hours of music playback (or 8 hours of video). Reportedly, the price on this one is pegged at around $370, but we’re no closer to finding out when it’ll ship to the states.

[Via PMP Today]

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iriver’s D50N MID gets its own site, closer to our hearts originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 26

iriver P35 interface caught on video, where it titillates and amuses

Posted in: PMP, Today's Chili, touchscreen

Kids of all ages holding tight for an exhaustive look at the new iriver P35 GUI need wait no longer. Caught on video, the interface recalls that of the P7, and seems quite responsive. Widgets are accessed through a scrolling task bar, and — we’re sorry to tell you this — that Big Bang Theory show seems to be just as unfunny on the 4.3-inch WQVGA touchscreen as it is on our family TV set. That said, we’re really looking forward to putting one of these bad boys through its paces. It’s still unavailable in the US and Europe, but for lucky folks in Korea they’re available in one of three versions: 8GB (DMB digital TV), 16GB (DMB digital TV), or 16GB (both DMB and WiFi). Prices start at $286. But that ain’t all — be sure to check out the video for yourself after the break. Music by our Weather Report cover band, Mr. Gone.

[Via SlashGear]

Continue reading iriver P35 interface caught on video, where it titillates and amuses

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iriver P35 interface caught on video, where it titillates and amuses originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 13

Samsung’s P3 PMP gets imported, reviewed, adored

Posted in: PMP, samsung, Today's Chili
Samsung's P3 PMP gets imported, reviewed, adored

Oh jealousy, you are a vile beast. While the Korean market has had access to the spicy P3 touchscreen PMP for months now, long enough for Samsung to release a complete revision of the firmware, we’re still stuck waiting for the ambiguous “first half of this year.” The impatient can always import, exactly what Pocketables has done, giving its gray-market gadget the full review treatment. Its design is found to be similar yet much more attractive than the earlier P2, size comparable to Cowan’s S9, 480 x 272 touchscreen brilliant, and the UI snappy and intuitive. Negatives? Sound quality was found to be good, but not great out of the box (able to be fixed with a suite of tuning options) and the lack of video output is a slight handicap. Overall, the P3 sounds like the perfect competition for the S9 and just the PMP for our envious hearts — if only it came in green.

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Samsung’s P3 PMP gets imported, reviewed, adored originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 12

Version 2.10 beta firmware makes your Cowon S9 a new PMP

Posted in: download, firmware, PMP, Software, Today's Chili, update

Slowly but surely, Cowon has been issuing firmware updates to make its sleek S9 PMP the music player it ought to be. According to a recent leak of the v2.10 beta, it’s about to become even more formidable a rival. Reportedly, the forthcoming update — which can be downloaded now for those kosher with all things beta — adds in support for widgets, WMV7/8, pitch correction, full screen mode in TV-out and color tags for subtitles. As for improved functionality, we’re heard that the entire navigation process has been smoothed over, particularly in the area of browser scrolling. Check the read link for a download URL as well as the full changelog, and if that lucky individual that won our S9 giveaway doesn’t give this a go and report back, you all have to right to throw stones until he / she does.

[Via AnythingButiPod, thanks Joseph]

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Version 2.10 beta firmware makes your Cowon S9 a new PMP originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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