Not too long ago we reported that Cowon may be readying a 16gb D2, today that becomes a reality.
US Cowon online store, jetmall, has the 16gb model fresh in stock at the rather competitive price of $239.99


This news, coupled with recent firmware updates and the current state of the rockbox build keeps the ageing D2's flame burning bright, those hoping for a D3 may be waiting a little bit longer than certain rumours suggested.

Link to Jetmall

Over the last two years, Microsoft has built quite the ecosystem for their line of Zune players. While Apple takes the media-centric route, Microsoft is more about the "Social" experience. With the release of the 2nd gen Zune's, they created something called "Zune Cards" Similar to the "Gamertags" used for the Xbox 360, Zune cards allow you to find out what you're friends are listening to, and make new friends with similar tastes as you. This cool music community was only accessible from the web, but with the newest firmware you can now take all your Zune cards on the go. This allows you to find out what your friends are listening to, and have the ability to download their playlist of songs when syncing. Read below for some more highlights of this Spring update



Of all the new features, the one that caught my eye was gapless playback. When Apple added gapless playback to their iPods a few years ago I thought everyone would follow-suit, but sadly it didn't happen. Microsoft has also added Auto playlists (i.e. Smart playlisting), and the ability to edit and organize your song info/metadata; two features that were noticeably missing from the Zune experience.

TV shows will also be making their debut in the Zune Marketplace. Microsoft has partnered with a bunch of networks including NBC, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central. The shows will cost 160 points, or roughly $1.99 each.

I've been waiting for some time for "the next best thing", but if Microsoft keeps doing these types of updates then I just might have to try this whole Zune social thing. There's a few more new features that you can read about in the press release below.

Press Release

While the Sansa clip didn't break any molds with its plain design, one DAP manufacturer seems to be quite smitten with it. The D630 from a Chinese company called "Easy century Tang" looks fairly similar to the clip. It has the same curved design, same controls, and even the same ultra tiny screen. One thing it's missing is the actual clip on the back. In its place is a built-in speaker, which has been statistically proven to appeal to no one.



I think the funniest thing about this player is that it plays video! I don't really know what they were thinking. Perhaps their target demographic are ants? The player gets a whopping 6 hours of playback, and costs about $20.

LINK

Sometimes companies try too hard when making commercials and the actual message is lost. This unofficial Zune ad from Steward Hendler keeps it short and simple, and I love it:



Last year, Apple's ad agency acquired an unofficial iPod touch ad that was posted on Youtube, and I think it'd be in Microsoft's best interest to do the same here.

The 16gb Samsung P2 has seemingly taken an age to be released since it was announced at CES 2008 but now us Europeans, nay the world even, can pick up the 16gb model from AdvancedMP3.co.uk. I don't even feel guilty giving theses guys some free advertisement, they're an excellent store and have always treated me well.



Other than the capacity boost there isn't anything much new about the P2, however one must commend Samsungs good timing having just made the 3rd Bluewave Firmware available only days ago.

While we finally have the 16gb P2, the oddest thing I find is that this model has been available in Canada for over a month, I mean no disrespect to Canada but generally they aren't the first place to get anything...weird.

A few months back, we shared clips of Samsung's newest pair of players, the S2 and S3. They've recently been announced and we now have some stock photo goodness to share with everyone:



The S2 is a screenless player that's being touted around the net as "pebble-like". This is of course done to compare it to Creative's Zen Stone. As you'd expect, the design is very basic with the front being comprised mainly of the player's controls. Despite the lack of a display, there is an LED display on the bottom that according to CNET: "glows and flashes various colors and patterns based on the current EQ settings and playback mode". Like most of Samsung's lineup, the S2 has support for Ogg, as well as their DNSe sound technology. So far, only a 1GB model has been mentioned. It will retail for $39 when it's released this Summer.



The S3 "Slim" is reminiscent of a few of Samsung's previous midrange players. It looks very similiar to either the K3, or T10 and shares most of the same features as well. This time around the body is a bit curvier and has a fresh coat of metallic paint. The S3 is a mere 0.4" thick and has a 1.8" display. It'll be released sometime in June in 2, 4, and 8GB capacities.

So that's it for now. Not much innovation going on lately in Samsung's camp, but at least they're doing a great job of adding new features through their firmwares. I'm not feeling the metallic look so I hope this isn't a sign of things to come in the future.

via Cnet Asia

This news is all provided by ssjmichael, my co-horseman in the DAPocalypse and ruler supreme of the epiZENter overworld. Remember folks, all this info has been provided by Michael's Creative contacts, none of it is 100% guaranteed.

Here goes with the shameless direct epiZENter rip:

ssjmichael wrote:

Zen Share is now ZEN X-Fi

First, the player that this site broke to everyone as the Zen Share will apparently go under a different name. I've been told that it will be called the ZEN X-Fi. The name should give you a hint about one of the players main capabilities, Creative's Xtreme Fidelity technology.

What does it look like?

If I'm to believe my source, the Zen X-Fi will look a lot like the Creative ZEN. It's said to come in different colors and have a "silver backing", My source only saw the player briefly but mentioned a button on the left side of the player that reminded him of the iPod touch (or iPhone for that matter). Whether the device is touchscreen is still unknown.

Will it still have Wi-Fi?

Yes! Wi-Fi is still onboard. The big question is what it will be used for. I was told of two functions, one that sounds realistic, the other not so much. It seems like Creative may be using the same sharing scheme as the Zune, allowing for a 3-day time limit for shared songs. The other use of Wi-Fi is for internet messaging through services like MSN messenger. Sounds a bit far-fetched to me, but I'm just the messenger here!

HD or Flash?

I know many here will be disappointed, but it seems it inevitable that Creative will stick with flash memory for the foreseeable future. Like the ZEN, the ZEN X-Fi will come in 8, 16, and 32GB models. With the arrival of this new player, the regular ZEN will only be offered in sizes of 4 and 8GB's. If it really is like the ZEN then we'll see an SD expansion slot too (hopefully with SD integration this time!).

I hope this info was worth the wait! Every word above might turn out to be completely inaccurate, but I'd like to hear your impressions on the rumored Zen X-Fi. Additionally, I was told that Creative is working on a Zen V replacement. I'm assuming something in the lower range, with a 2" screen or so. We'll try and keep everyone up to date on that player, and any other news from Creative.

---

Next up: Rockbox Boots on ZV:M

As far as the video below shows, the ZV:M has finally been sorta cracked to run the open source firmware known as RockBox



Now don't get your hopes up too high for this yet as the controls are not yet working and I'm not sure what about it is actually in a functional state, but we'll keep you up tp date as any major milestones are met.

Another day, another firmware update from Samsung. At the end of March we brought you news that Samsung had released it's 3rd Bluewave update for the P2, but that was a Korea only release, however as of today that update is available for the rest of the world.

I think these guys have made it pretty clear they mean business in DAPland. The third "Bluewave" firmware update adds a few little extras to the Samsung P2 such as the ability to control the brightness and speed of video playback, it also adds full screen mode for music playback, new themes and a calculator.



Samsungs latest update keeps them firmly on track as one of the most impressive companies as firmware updates go and now that the third Bluewave is out of the way it's time to look forward to the forth one - rumour has it it will add subway maps, voice recording and more games - This is one DAP that thoroughly deserves to be in our top picks.

Interesting little bit of news this from c|net.co.uk, apparently iriver's simplistic to a fault E100 may be heading into the shop for a bit of a rework. According to the site the E150 (or E200?) will ditch the current matte plastic exterior, instead opting for a nano-esque aluminium body as well as possibly boasting a brand new screen to negate the current issues with the E100's screen.



Further mentioned is the possibility that the E100's built in speakers are going to be dropped (rejoice all! the youth of today are going to far with their public music playing...wait,... i'm the youth of today, shucks)

That's all they say folks, with any luck the internals of the new E100 will also be revamped to give us iriver's trademark sound - something the E100 has failed to satisfy.

via cnet UK

Thanks to Connect in the DAPreview forums and everyone else who sent this in

Not often do we review accessories here at DAPreview, but there has been a serious drought in terms of review content (or even DAP's to review) of late and as such I decided to review a case I bought for my iPod Touch so I hope ya'll read it and enjoy it.



On a related note we are currently searching for reviewers and reporters, so if any of you are interested in a position here send me a PM, be prepared to submit sample material if you do choose to apply. More info after the break.

Read the Ivyskin iPod Touch Retro T2 Case Review

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