Softpedia reported: Olympus has announced that it will be leaving portable MP3 players behind and switching focus to single lens reflex cameras in the future.

Olympus, the Tokyo-based company, has announced that it is stopping production of portable digital music players, as it is unable to keep up with the stronger players such as Sony and Apple.

Olympus is the second major victim of the rapidly growing market and the dominance of Apple’s iPod. Earlier this year we witnessed the retreat of D&M Holdings from the portable music player market due to their Rio brand of music players loosing more and more ground.

Panasonic has announced a new range of attractive music players with battery lives that make the Duracell bunny look like a fag-smoking sloth in lead boots.

The D-Snap range comes in two designs, each offering two configurations, the SD750V/ SD700V and SD350V/ SD300V (the principal difference being that the higher models offer FM radio and voice recording).

Both use SD carts, which Panasonic are really starting to push hard as we whitnessed at Ceatec in Tokyo, where they were all over their stand. The jury is out as to whether they’ve left is a little late to have it as an all conquering memory format. Sony have after all been pumping their MemoryStick format for ages.

The top of the range SD750V/ SD700V models boast a touch sliding panel, a 7 line LCD display and a battery life up to an amazing 105 hours.

The SD350V/ SD300V models come with a smaller display (5 lines), less fancy navigation buttons and a battery claiming up to 94 hours of SD audio playback.

The devices offer AAC/WMA/MP3 playback, with Panasonic’s Japanese Webpage describing the SD memory cards as ‘Music Sweets.’ Aw.

Seeing as our command of Japanese is on par with our Klingon-speaking abilities we had to rely on Google’s translation services and so can tell you that the players come in four colours, and you can choose “the color which the sea urchin you like, please enjoy.”

The site also bangs on about Panasonic’s “Double drive in side phone” which, apparently, has separate drivers for bass and treble raising, the, err, “shelter density”.

And raising shelters can only be a good thing in our book.

The SV-SD750V/700 measures up at 87.3×46x11mm and 48.4g, while the SV-SD350V/300 is marginally smaller at 87×40.5×10.3mm and 47.9g.

The players look set for a November Japan release, but we’ve no idea if or when a European or US release is scheduled.

digital-lifestyles.info

The ultra-portable T10 delivers exceptional sound quality in a unique, sport-ready design. The T10 is PlaysForSure verified to support subscription-based music download services, giving you instant, affordable access to millions of songs. It also feature a vivid color display, battery life up to 45 hours on one AA, a built-in FM tuner, voice recorder and an integrated sport clip.

iRiver T10 Reviews

PCMag reviews the iRiver T10 and wrote – ‘This odd-looking player sounds good, but is more expensive than it should be, and the color screen is just too small for photos. Good sound quality. Excellent battery life. Works with subscription and download services. Broad file format support. Useful Study mode.’

CNET Reviews the iRiver T10 and gives it a ‘Very Good’ rating. They write – ‘The good: Durable, sporty design; small but bright color screen; FM tuner, voice recorder, OGG, WMA DRM 10 (Janus), and basic picture support; awesome battery life; excellent sound quality and overall performance.

The bad: No line-in recording; bulky, awkward design; pricey; USB cover doesn’t stay closed.

The bottom line: The hunky, feature-filled iRiver T10 can play subscription-based music, but it might take time to acclimate to the awkward design and control buttons.’

Theregister reviews the iRiver T10 and write – ‘The T10 isn’t for folk who prefer their digital music players to be as small and discreet as possible. But if you prefer something a little bulkier, a little more rugged then this could well be the player for you. It’s a solid machine that will appeal to anyone off on a trip, not only for its relative resillience but its use of over-the-counter AA batteries. The T10’s sound quality is as good as it gets.’

iRiver T10 Specs

Player Type: Flash
Radio: Yes
Recording, Voice: Yes
Recording, FM: Yes
Recording, Line In: No
Supported File Types: MP3, OGG, WAV, WMA
Battery Life: 2700 min
Battery Type: AA
Capacity: 1000 MB
Dimensions: 3.4 x inches
Weight: 2.6 oz
Video Recording: No
Built-in speakers: No
Notes: $149.99 for the 512MB model; $199.99 for the 1GB model

Compare Price on the iRiver T10

Swissbit combines an MP3 player and Swiss Army knife.

Technology is all about making things smaller and having more functions. Swissbit has embraced this philosophy with their line of Swiss Army knives that double as a USB key, and now, the company has taken the next logical step and mated a Swiss Army knife with an MP3 player. The s.beat comes in 1, 2, and 4GB capacities, and the MP3 player itself is detachable. It is capable of playing MP3, WMA and OGG formats as well as having a built-in FM tuner and 3-line high-contrast LCD display.

Packaged in with the tiny unit (measuring 74 x 22 x 24 mm) are a stylish remote control, headphones, USB extension cable, arm strap, and a protective cover for the USB port. It isn’t the fanciest of Swiss Army knifes: it only has a screwdriver, file, knife and scissors. Of course, the MP3 player portion can double as a USB flash drive as well. The built-in lithium polymer battery will give you a good eight hours of juice.

Expect the s.beat to hit stores November 15th, with the 1GB version priced at ?156 ($276 USD), and the 2GB at ?235 ($415 USD). The 4GB version will ship in Spring 2006 at a yet-to-be confirmed price.

The knife comes with a red remote control in the shape of the Victorinox logo, along with a set of headphones, a USB extension cable and a rubber arm strap.

The knife is expected to be available in mid-November.

trustedreviews.com

Some people sing in the shower, and apparently, some people sing on the john too. A toilet that plays MP3 music files really caught our eye and ear.

Japanese bathroom manufacturer Toto is now offering a commode that senses when you enter the room and automatically lifts the pre-warmed lid. Additional sensors next to the toilet activate an MP3 player with 16 preloaded tunes and a media slot for SD cards so you can load in your own music library.

After you’re finished, the toilet automatically flushes and closes the lid. There’s a separate attachment for a bidet if you happen to be into that kind of thing.

Most people spend a few quality minutes in the bathroom every day, so why not make it more inviting? You could probably put this toilet right next to your illuminated bathtub and sink and really create a high-style and relaxing room.

news.com.com

The power of the iPod’s “cool factor” in driving new purchases appears to be waning. According to “Understanding iPod®’s Dominance: A Consumer Perspective”, the reasons most often cited for purchasing an iPod have more to do with the interface and brand familiarity than enhanced social status or “coolness.”

Apple’s dominance of the portable digital music player (DMP) market has led pundits and competitors to try and deconstruct the iPod’s “special sauce” – in other words, to identify what specifically continues to make the iPod so much more successful than other MP3 players. According to Dale Gilliam III, director of primary research at The Diffusion Group, today’s iPod buyer is driven more by practical considerations than the enhanced social status that may result from owning an iPod. That said, Gilliam notes significant differences when the age of the user is isolated. For example:

• The “cool factor” ranked third among those 15-to-24, behind quality of interface and familiarity with the brand.
• Among those 25-to-34, design aesthetics and quality of interface were the top two reasons for purchasing an iPod.
• Among those age 35-to-50, familiarity with Apple and iPod brands was the primary reason they chose an iPod.

“Apple has done an exceptional job getting the word out about its DMPs and has dominated mass-market media, said Gilliam. “By comparison, other MP3 brands appear as generic. In many cases, consumers see the iPod as one might see the brand Kleenex – as a category label, not as a brand or subcategory.”

emediawire.com