CES - MP3 and portable video players

Griffin Navigate is more than just an iPhone remote

Griffin Technology showed off the Navigate at a CES press event yesterday, though it was announced officially at Macworld several hours before. The Navigate may seem like just an ordinary iPod remote, and indeed it can be used that way. A nice bonus is that you can also use it with the iPhone, which could be a good thing if you're not crazy about the iPhone's touch-screen controls (also pretty useful when you're driving and need to not look at the screen). But the Navigate also has a built-in FM radio as well as four station presets … Read more

WowWee 2009 product line

WowWee's 2009 product line includes everything from roving telepresence robots and pocket-size iPod projectors, to animatronic plush koalas and miniature motorized planes. They must have a lot of fun dreaming this stuff up. To take a closer look at WowWee's new wares, click through to see our photo gallery.

Candeez Earphones are a sweet treat for your ears

If you're the type to go gaga over the cute and kitschy, TrueBlue Wireless has the headphones for you. Ironically, they aren't wireless and they don't contain anything approaching advanced technology. Rather, they are $4 earbuds suitable for replacing your stock pair with something a little more...interesting. I'm talking about the Candeez Earphones, and you can find them in a variety of campy flavors. See below.

Ludacris gets down with Monster (and me) at CES 2009

Excuse me a moment while I brush the stars out of my eyes. I just spent the better part of my lunch hour chilling with a bunch of Monster executives and rapper Ludacris, who creates some of my favorite workout-friendly and anger-releasing tracks. OK, so maybe I only spent 5 minutes one-on-one with the guy, but it was enough to ascertain that he's not only a talented artist, but also an exceedingly nice and polite guy. He also has no idea what an MP3 player is. Well, now he does. But when I asked him what MP3 player he … Read more

JVC rolls out second-gen iPod-friendly TVs

In 2008, JVC became the first company to offer TVs with built-in iPod docks. For 2009, Panasonic is joining the fray with its own line of iPod-friendly TVs, but JVC is looking to defend its turf with a second generation of models. Among the array of purported feature improvements in the so-called TeleDock line for 2009. These TVs offer better iPod integration (multiple aspect ratios for iPod video playback; iPod charges whether TV is on or off; song and artist info displayed on TV during song playback; photo slide shows from iPod or USB drive can be displayed during music … Read more

Sony W-Series Walkman: Wearable and wireless

There's more than one way to do a wireless MP3 player, and building it directly into a set of headphones may seem like the easy way out, but it gets the job done. Plus, there are none of those audio-fidelity issues you might run into with technologies such as RF and Bluetooth, which is probably why Sony elected to take this route with it's new W-Series Walkman. This 2GB MP3 player is built into a set of impressively small earbud-style headphones and sports a palatable price tag of just $69.

As you might expect, the W-Series Walkman has … Read more

Sony confirms touch-screen X-Series Walkman

Looks like my fellow MP3 editor Donald Bell is gonna have to eat some words, although he was right about one thing: we won't be seeing a touch-screen MP3 player from Sony all that soon in the States. You're going to have to wait until May to get your hands on the X-Series Walkman, which was officially announced at CES 2009. I can wait longer than that, personally, because while this player has some sweet features, there's something about the look of it that comes off as just a touch generic to me. Still, Sony tends to … Read more

Samsung unveils P3 touch-screen MP3 player

Samsung spilled the beans on the new P3 MP3 player at the company's CES 2009 press conference. As an update to Samsung's popular P2, the P3 shares many of its predecessor's features, including a 3-inch WQVGA touch screen, DNSe sound enhancement, audio and video playback, photo viewer, FM radio, voice recording, and Bluetooth capabilities such as phone pairing and stereo audio streaming.

Unlike the P2, the Samsung P3 uses a colorful new user interface dubbed "EmoTure" that emphasizes personalization. The body of the P3 is made from die-cast metal, available in black or silver, measuring … Read more

Memorex unveils $99 touch MP3 player

If you're jonesing for a touch-screen MP3 player, but the usual suspects are beyond your budget, the new $99 TouchMP player from Memorex may be just the thing. The 8GB MP3 player also supports WMA and WAV audio playback and boasts a 2.8-inch QVGA display, FM radio, voice recorder, video player (WMV, MPEG-4, AVI in MP4 format), Audible audiobook and podcast support, and a microSD expansion slot.

Best of all, the TouchMP is pretty good looking, which isn't something we've caught ourselves saying about previous Memorex players. The TouchMP is expected to hit shelves around spring … Read more

Toshiba upgrades portable DVD player offerings with 9-inch screen

Toshiba just announced two new portable DVD players hitting this March. While we weren't thrilled with the SD-P71S, it seems the high-end SD-P93S has gotten quite a makeover.

The P93S will feature a 9-inch 180-degree swivel screen along with a pearl-white finish. In addition to MP3, JPEG, and DivX playback, the unit boasts a five hour battery life. We're also glad to see that Toshiba has added an SD card slot for even more playback options.

The P93S will retail for $180, while the smaller, step-down, seven-inch-screen model will go for $130. Both portables will be available in … Read more