Year of the Zs.   Sony has an Android based Z series player out now too. Already had a Z from Creative labs.   Problem I see is "what comes next?".   Do we start over with double letters?  AA perhaps.  Perhaps by then we'll be back to AA sized batteries you can replace.  Lithium cells of course.

I'm expecting anyong still using WinCE  to start using Phone7 or Win8 on their tablet/PMP devices in 2012.   Why?  Microsoft will want some of that pie, and make it dirt cheap for those manufacturers.  

Hopefully Cowon has read every critical review of the D3 and made sure they don't make those same mistakes with the Z2. It should have Google apps and Market, a dual-core (or quad-core!)  1.5Ghz processor, 1gig of RAM, come in 16gb, 32gb, and 64gb versions, and have an 8gb camera on the back...

Couldn't tell you if the 4.0 and 5.0 have different parts than the Galaxy S phone. Why?  I don't have a Galaxy S phone.   ifixit's site may eventually have breakdowns of both devices if it doesn't already.

I'm pretty impressed by the audio output of my new Kindle Fire.  No idea what DAC they used inside, but given they are selling it as a media consumption device with access to their Amazon's MP3 store it may have a better-than-usual set of pipes. Music output from the speakers is even better than...

Where can you buy the Huawei MediaPad?  I'd pick one up to review if I could find one.

Quote: No shorter name, sorry.  Someone on another forum mentioned he found a 1400mAh replacement but that it didn't do any better than the stock battery.  Seems as though a battery would have to get larger to last longer, but this one fits tight in the space provided for it. Can't...

Quote: Sure. Samsung EB494353VA 1200 mAh On the 4.0 you have to pop off the back to install/replace the battery and the microSD card. The 5.0's back isn't intended to come off, and the microSD slot is under a swing open door on the top edge.     

I've got both the 4.0 and the 5.0.  Reviewed the 4.0.  The 5.0 is essentially the same but larger.  Great devices.  Sound is excellent. They come with IEMs that include a microphone on the cable.  The few things Samsung added to the UI are useful and practical.  Other than that they are pretty...

Quote: I have a home-made A-B switch box that I'll use when someone asks "which sounds better?". Two inputs, one headphone output. I usually start the same few songs (same files) playing on both at the same time, then switch back and forth as they play. No, I don't use any efffects or EQ...

Hmmm.  Now of only the Z1000 would show up in the U.S..  IMO it looks like what Sony should have released instead of the X1000 a year ago.  Speaking of model names, did I miss the Y1000?

The Samsung 4.0 and 5.0 wifi PMPs are available now, and I'm pretty impressed. I have both.  The 4.0 has been reviewed with photos.  Still working on my review of the 5.0. Only a few minor differences and functionality is nearly the same.   Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 Review. (with photos)  ...

Quote: If the price for the 5.0 drops below $200 EVERYONE should get one. The $199 iPod Touch pales in comparison.    

Far to many to find, much less count. Many duplicates.  A slew of proprietary.  Delighted that the microUSB/MHL standard is starting to show up frequently. At one time a made a wall rack with slots I could hang them each from.  My collection outgrew that rack in a flash.  Noticed my Sony S...

  Quote: I'll have to rank the the built-in speakers the best I've heard on any of the media players I've tested.   No deep bass of course, but there is a nice stereo effect (depending on the music and relative position of the player to the listener. My ears are old and abused though, so...

I'm thinking Amazon or BestBuy will put these players on sale a few times.  There appears to be plenty of markup on them.  Very full featured though.  They come with decent IEMs, and mine sound very good.

With 7" 16gb tablets now at $299, it is very hard to rationalize paying $365 for the Z1000.  I'll be skipping that one.  As for Samsung's offerings my review of the 4.0 is up, and I'm testing the 5.0 now.  That extra inch of screen pushes the 5.0 into the tablet zone.  A thin improvement over my...

I have the 4.0.  Nice player.  Sounds great.   Very complete music app.  No Gapless.  No L/R balance. Although the specs don't list it, it will play FLAC and M4A along with the usual WMA, MP3, OGG, AAC. 

With Apple's move to iCloud, any device left should be updated to include Wifi.  I can see them adding Wifi to the Classic, but then renaming it to something new. The Nano could also get Wifi.  Both would gain access to the iTunes store but not the App Store. With no screen the Shuffle can't...

Not sure if any of the Honeycomb tablets can send audio out their USB ports. I have several tablets but no USB speakers or I'd try it for you. They generally work well with Mice and Keyboards and game controllers.   For some reason all the assorted speakers I have use the headphone out or...

Quote: I've gotten that same impression of the Galaxy 4.0 and 5.0 from the few that have them. I've almost concluded that Samsung new what they had coming, and knew these were imperfect first generation attempts. They kept these out of U.S. markets so as not to have them soil their android...

Despite it's flaws, for a first shot at an Android media player the D3 has become my reference for every other android player to come out since.  Cowon and Archos have been good at updating their players after purchase.  Creative updated their Touch-2s once so far. Samsung apparentlycan't find a...

x.55 firmware now available for the D3.   Video Player Display recent played file when the Video widget starts. Fixed the error that some video files were unstable while resuming. Fixed the error of AV Sync problem with Fast Forward or Fast Rewind playback. Home Fixed the...

The Touch is a "Smart" device with WiFi and all that comes with it.  The only real competition will be other wifi enabled devices. MS gave it a try with their Zune brand, but under-engineered and chickened out when it came to going head-to-head with apps and such.   Android devices have shown up...

Shouldn't matter how late they are to the android party if they've been watching carefully to avoid the mistakes Cowon and Creative and Latte have made with their attempts. Make sure it comes with the latest version of android (IceCreamSandwich, hopefully), and make sure the media apps are far...