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Archos, the company known for its sophisticated handheld multimedia devices is now working on a new Internet Media Tablet (IMT) that will use Google’s Android operating system. This is being done to add the mobile phone functionality to the IMTs. This is necessary also because Archos’ rival companies have already upgraded their mobile computing devices product line. So it’s important for Archos to add some new functionality to its IMTs to endure the competition.

The company’s future Internet Media Tablet devices will fall under the category of converged devices and will possess the capabilities of a mobile phone as well of a portable computer. Essentially we can expect something like the Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet, but with phone capabilities and an Android OS. Archos has promised a larger 5 inches of display this time with stunning resolution for the Android-based phone tablet. The large TFT backlit display will offer PC like Internet browsing and will make watching movies, videos and playing 3D games more fascinating and fun filled. Due to the incorporation of Android operating system the new IMTs will be compatible with Adobe Flash. It will support almost every available file format for videos, audio, photos and other data files.

Archos is also claiming that the upgraded devices will offer TV playback and recording services on the go. Storage offered will be up to 500GB and the designed will be totally revamped. The upgraded models will be much slimmer and lighter than their current siblings. Enhancements are not only feature and dimension wise. The processing power and data transfer speed too will be improved.

V-Sport is the latest PMP launched by the popular media player maker Visual Land. It’s been aimed at recreational music enthusiasts and features a crystal clear display with all the functional buttons on the sides. It is the perfect device to use while travelling or sporting. The V-sport media player is a wallet friendly gadget. It is very compact and can be slipped into the pocket or purse easily. The overall weight is also very small and it takes no special effort to carry it along for a whole day.

The V-sport offers great functionality. It is compatible with variety of files including audio, video and image files. In fact this extensive level of file compatibility is one of the major selling points. You can watch FLV, AVI, RM, RMVB, DivX and Xvid videos on its 3.5 inch colour LCD. Besides this, you can also play MP3, WMA, RA, OGG, FLAC, AAC and WAV audio tracks and view JPG, GIF and BMP images on V-sport media player. Not even the Archos 7 Internet Media Tablet 320GB can top this kind of file compatibility. The Visual Land device also sports a built in high quality speaker and comes with complete set of accessories that helps in charging the device and enjoying the content via earbuds.

The battery performance is excellent as well. You can enjoy long hours of video as well as audio playback on a single charge. Additional goodies include a TV out port, built-in FM radio, integrated voice recorder, TXT books reader, internal flash storage (4GB or 8GB) plus microSD slot to support external storage up to 16GB.

Cowon D2 from the Korean electronics manufacturer is a small and tiny digital media player that is so diminutive that you can hold it in your hand without letting others to see it. It boasts perfection in video and acoustics as well as the ultra-compact form factor. It features a 24 bit razor sharp LCD touch screen that s capable of displaying 16 million colours. An easy to hold stylus is also provided that makes it easy to navigate through the digital entertainment domain.

Cowon D2 has got all the necessary functions and tools. Right from the battery run-time to customizable options, everything is simple perfect and satisfying. The Cowon iAudio D2 offers a 5 band EQ, a specialised low-end bass booster and on top of this it also features an MP enhance that compensate for the typical losses you experience while playing ordinary MP3 player. The battery backup too is very impressive. It takes only two and a half hours to fully charge the device to get a whooping music playback for 52 hours and 10 hours of movie playback. That means you can enjoy the complete Matrix Trilogy on a single charge.

As far as storage capacity is concerned the Cowon D2 has got enough space to hold large amount of digital media. It comes with a built in 4GB memory and also sports an SD card slot to offer additional storage.

Solid State Drives or SSDs have not yet been adopted on a large scale, but according to market analysts and industry experts these drives have got a golden future ahead because of the increase in the demand of portable music players. Despite the economic recession, the SSD manufacturers are going to enjoy substantial growth as the demand for these reliable and fast drives will certainly increase.

Till now the SSDs were used in portable computers only but now popular PMPs like Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune are also expected to pack them because of the two main benefits, resistance against shocks, bumps and other threats and portability, plus speedy performance. Moreover, SSDs are also increasing their storage capacity, as evidenced by drives like the OCZ Solid SATA II SSD 250GB.  SSDs offer also great performance and sport the Serial ATA interface just like any other desktop SATA drive, making them very attractive. SSD storage is also overcoming its disadvantage Due to absence of mechanical part the SSDs safer to use and offer faster data read/write operations. Portable music player makers are considering these drives as a potential replacement for legacy storage systems.

This however does not mean that the Flash storage (the non-SSD one) will be completely eliminated from the market but yes the SSDs will take away a substantial part of the total market share. According to a market research the NAND flash (that is used in SSDs) memory will generate lots of revenues by 2012.

Tags for this article: increase portable music, media player, music player, nand flash, portable, solid state, ssd, storage

The i1166 is the latest iPod accessory from iLuv. It is a state of the art entertainment device and stands head to head with other popular PMPs, such as the iPod Touch and iRiver Spinn. According to Robert Caputo, Vice president of sales from iLuv, the main attraction of the i1166 is ease of transportation and portability. He believes that this device is one of the best media players the people can have and use anywhere they want. It’s simply perfect to use at the pool side, in the play room, during a trip or even during presentations.

It has got a large 9 inch LCD display with high resolution. You can seamlessly enjoy high quality movies and photos on it. The sound quality too is awesome. Whether you like rock, pop, jazz or classics, the i1166 can deliver excellent sounds for any genre. It supports MPEG4, DivX, Kodak, JPEG, MP3 CD, MP3, VCD, DVD R/RW, DVD and CD file formats. Connectivity options include USB/SD/MMC slots, video out to connect it to TV and an iPod connector. The best thing is that it also supports slotMusic that is the emerging music storage technology. It comes with a remote control and can also be used to charge any Apple iPod music player.

If you are looking for a personal media player that is not only solid, but affordable and handy as well, then you can settle for the Cowon 02. It is certainly not the most spectacular or showy PMP among the media players, and if you are looking for a stylish PMP then you will be disappointed. However, users can expect it to perform without a fuss and enjoy all that the player has to offer.

The Cowon O2 may not have style but it is compact, small in size and more than compensates for its lack of style. It measures around 4.7 by 2.9 inches in size weighs a little over 200gms. However, this is one PMP, which will be a little too big for you to carry around in your pocket without others taking note of it. It will sure make its presence felt. The Cowon O2 is certainly not big like the Cowon’s 380g Q5W.

The Cowon O2 has a 4.3 inch LCD touch screen with a resolution of 480 x 272. The Texas Da Vinci chipset allows for processing power and it is an extremely versatile and practical instrument for video watching. The Cowon O2 comes complete with a 16 or 32 GB onboard flash RAM which can be expanded further to 48 or 64 GB through the use of SDHC memory cards. These are some of the features that make the Cowon O2 a really versatile player.

In this PMP, you can execute a host of functions using the Windows Explorer. The audio support file is very good with MP3, AAC and WMV formats to boot. It has excellent music playback and uses many technologies from BBE Sound. This helps to create an illusion of 3 D sound. Users can look forward to sounds that are crispy and balanced with enhanced bass response. It has a good battery life and video playback feature that make up for all other lapses. Don’t expect to find WiFi or web enhanced features but the player is available at a reasonable price.

Tags for this article: cowon, media player, mp3, o2, portable