At its heart, the Zen Touch 2 is a PMP, capable of playing both music and video, which should be reasonably easy on the eye thanks to its 3.2″ touchscreen.

But when you look more closely at the features of the Zen Touch 2, you start to wonder why it’s a PMP and not a mobile phone.

Let me explain…

Features of the Creative Zen Touch 2

The Creative Zen Touch 2 comes with the following features:

• 3.2″ touchscreen
• 2 megapixel camera
• Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi
• Web browser
• GPS
• Compass
• Accelerometer
• FM Radio
• composite video-out
• microSD slot
• 8GB – 16GB of internal storage
• Android 2.1 (soon to be upgraded to 2.2)

Does that sound like a PMP player to you or a mobile phone?!

The fact that the Zen Touch 2 uses Android is the reason why it’s so overloaded with features. Out of the box, Android comes with a Web browser and supports all the other hardware features of the Zen Touch 2, such as GPS, compass, etc/, so once Creative had decided to use Android, it took very little work to include all the other btis and bobs.

Great features, or overkill?

But as an overall user experience, I can’t help but feel that it’s overkill. I already have all of those features on my mobile phone. The camera, in particular, is unlikely to be of much use, as it’s only 2 megapixels. Equally, I’m not sure I’d ever GPS from my PMP player when I have it on my phone (and maybe Creative thought of this, too, as you can buy a cheaper version of the Zen Touch 2 without GPS).

Even more bizarre is the fact that you can’t use Google Maps (which the Android-based Zen Touch 2 comes with) without a data connection, but because it’s not a phone, that data connection will only come from Wi-Fi. So unless you’re near a Wi-Fi hotspot such as coffee shop, the only time you can use GPS is when you’re home or at work!!

It’s not cheap, either. There’s an 8GB version without GPS for £149.99, an 8GB version with GPS for £159.99, and a 16GB version without GPS, also for £159.99.

Those prices are very similar to a low-end Android mobile phone, which provides all of the same features, but also throws in the ability to make phone calls. Indeed, you can buy the HTC Wildfire for just £6.67 a month, and that comes wirth a 5 megapixel camera and HTC’s glorious Sense user interface.

So, although at fglance the Zen Touch 2 seems like a super-featured PMP, in reality the features aren’t needed and all they do is increase the price to make it less competitive than a more feature-rich mobile phone. Sure, the sound quality will be better than the phone’s but if all you want is good sound quality, it’s proably better to buy a good quality MP3 player with limited features and leave all the whizzy stuff to your phone.

[Source: Pocket Lint]

It achieves this by using an autostereoscopic display, which is similar to the Nintendo 3DS’s display. If you want to watch the 3D video you just captured on something larger than its 2.4″ screen, you can plug it straight into your 3DTV via the built-in HDMI connector.

Sharing 3D video

It gets even better, though. As well as shooting 3D video, you can share it as well, as YouTube now has a 3D video channel, which you can upload your 3DV5′s content to. You’ll need to use glasses to see the resultant 3D if you’re watching via YouTube, though, as your home monitor isn’t autostereoscopic.

The one downside to the 3DV5 – and it’s an issue that although easily solvable, is frankly ridiculous when you first see it – is the onboard storage. The 3DV5 comes with 10MB of onboard RAM. Yes, that’s MB, as in Megabytes, or about half a second of 720p 3D video!! You’ll clearly need to buy an SD card to do anything with the 3DV5, which, given their price these days, is like selling a portable gadget without batteries: very tight!

That aside, though, the 3DV5 looks like an interesting alternative to the Flip Mino and the other pocket camcorders out there. I’m not convinced that 3D’s ready for anyone other than the early adopters at the moment, at least in terms of the super-expensive 3D TVs, but at least with the 3DV5 and YouTube, you have an easy and inexpensive way of dipping your toe into the technology and seeing if it’s for you.

And with 3D video requiring a whole new different way of working to capture the best videos, if you’re a budding film maker, it’s a great way to start experimenting with different creative techniques, as it’s clearly the way all video content is going.

[Source: Engadget]

There are two models in the 2010 UltraHD range – the UltraHD 1hr and UltraHD 2hr, but there’s more than recording time to differentiate them.

The 1hr model becomes the more basic version of the two, with much the same features of last year’s UltraHD but with reduced recording time and also a reduced price.

It’s still a simple point-and-shoot video camera, ideal for those who want to fire and forget and get it on the web without pain – if that’s what you want, the Flip UltraHD 1hr is still “the simplest way to shoot and share videos online” according to CNET.

The new improved Flip UltraHD 2hr

It’s the 2hr model that gets the new features though, with an improved recording frame rate to 60 frames per second, image stabilisation so the playback isn’t stomach churning plus the new Flip-port – a mini USB-like interface for attaching “made for Flip” devices such as microphones, lights and more (even new lenses!), expanding the Flip’s uses that little bit more, allowing it to grow with your abilities and making it an interesting one to keep an eye on.

The FlipShare software has also had a slight update to it, adding Twitter to the list of Social Media it’ll work with (currently including Facebook, MySpace and YouTube). There’s also the Flip Channel – another way to share videos with you friends, including email alerts.

Flip have also introduced a personalisation process to make your UltraHD even more personal. This is done by simply sending Flip an image and this will be plastered all over your UltraHD making it as individual as you like, or as your imagination will let you! You can also design your cover on their site using the pattern generator if art isn’t your strong point.

Will the Flip UltraHD succeed?

Will the new Flip UltraHD be as big a success as its predecessors? Well, it’s in a tougher field this year, with devices like Sony’s Bloggie Touch coming soon as well as Kodak’s PlayTouch, but the Flip has the advantage of an excellent heritage and great, easy software. CNet were certainly “…once again impressed with the clip quality produced by this little cam”, and with updates like the Flip-port, it should go along way to keeping it near the top of the pocket video camera list.

[Source: CNet]

Microsoft made the strange decision a while ago to keep the Zune family stateside, but now, after being on sale in the US for over a year, the Zune is finally on its way to the UK.

Zunes have always faired well in the area that counts for mobile music devices – sound quality – and the Zune HD adds some lush hardware to this with a 480×272 16:9 3.3″ OLED screen powered by a Nvidia Tegra processor, WiFi, accelerometer and 720p output via a HDMI dock, all wrapped in a shell Apple would be proud of.

Is the Zune HD an iPod killer?

Indeed the Zune could now be seen as Microsoft’s iPod Touch to Windows Phone 7′s iPhone, more so with Zune forming the media playing arm of WP7. The Zune tagline – “Welcome to the Social” – rings true with its ability to run apps from Facebook, Twitter, MSN and even a web browser, plus Zune games like Xbox favourites Project Gotham and Hexic.

The Zune HD is a great device, the rare embodiment of Microsoft getting things right for once, and offers excellent integration with that other rare MS home run, Windows 7. It’s really attractive from the hardware to the software and will certainly turn heads, so keep an eye out for it before Xmas going up against the likes of the new iPod Touch and the cute Archos 28 mini Android tablet.

[Source: The Inquirer]

Top of the rumour tree is a new iPod Touch, and this fourth generation is whispered to be the most social of iPods yet.

Apple iPod Touch Rumours

The recent leaks of a supposed case and the digitiser for the new device all show it to have a hole in the top that’s roughly tiny camera sized. Given that Apple somewhat oddly stuck a camera on the iPod Nano (maybe Del Boy Jobs got a job lot) it would make sense for them to incorporate one into their premier PMP.

This would no doubt introduce Apple’s FaceTime video calling to those without an iPhone 4 and will allow iOS apps designed for the front camera to run on cheaper hardware. So will we see Skype video calling on the iPod Touch? You never know.

Apple TV Rumours

The other big rumour in Appleland is a(nother) revamp of the ailing Apple TV device. Currently only popular with a few consumers and techheads willing to hack it, Jobs is still backing the device long after the general public and are not.

The word is that Apple TV will return to its original moniker of iTV (um, may not happen here Steve) and will run iOS instead of a cut-down and skinned OSX, allowing access to the all-important App Store.

Certainly this would appeal to the iCrowd and if it can out-Google the forthcoming Google TV system with plenty of social interaction and syncing with iPods and iPhones, it may well find itself a niche in the living room, especially at the rumoured price of $99

[Source: Techwhack, Appleinsider]

Dodgy naming aside, the ICD Vega actually has some pretty good specs.

Read on after the jump!

The Vega is powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra250 chip, so it should run pretty fast. Although not exactly a mobile phone, the Vega runs a heavily customized version of Google’s Android 2.0, which means all manner of touchscreen goodness is promised.

As well as a T-Mobile SIM so you can make phone calls from the device (but not, it should be said, by putting it against your ear! Think more speaker phone than mobile phone), the Vega also comes with Wi-Fi, FM-radio, On-demand TV, full 1080p HD video playback and the usual Android software such as Web browsing, calendars and email.

Indeed, this the heart of the purpose of the device. T-Mobile apparently did some research asking families what they most wanted help with, with the majority saying something to organize their family life.

Enter the ICD Vega, which T-Mobile sees as being at the heart of family life – in the kitchen.

The idea is for the Vega to offer a shared family calendar that anyone can use, and which will text various members of the family when an appointment is approaching, for example. You can also write notes on it to leave for other family members, keep up with your social network while waiting for your food to cook, or just surf the Web.

And because it’s got both Wi-Fi and Android, it shouldn’t be too long before someone releases an app that lets you stream your videos and other content directly from your PC or camera phoen via DLNA (if they haven’t thought of that already, they need shooting!)

So now there’s no reason ever to leave the kitchen. Er, great, I think!

What is it about these gadgers this year that are determined to leave us house-bound?!

The ICD Vega will be coming to the UK later in 2010, when pricing will also be announced.

Both of these devices look at first glance to be ordinary PMPs (Personal Media Players – you know, portable DVD players with screens), but they have a secret up their sleeves – TV!

I suppose it makes perfect sense. PMPs are already popular devices, but they’re limited by the content you can store. Once you’ve watched all the DVDs you’ve brought with you, what do you do then?

Watch TV of course!

LG DP570H Mobile DTV

The appallingly-named LG DP570H Mobile DTV is one of the leading devices in the field, with LG having worked on Mobile DTV technology for while now. The LG DP570H is a 7″ model with DVD player, stereo speakers, and battery life of 2.5 hours continuous TV watching, which isn’t exactly stellar.

Philips PET749 Mobile DTV

Another contender is the Philips PET749 Mobile DTV, which seems to do more for less. Specifically, the PET749 offers an 800×480 display, DVD player and Mobile DTV for just $179.99

Can Mobile DTV succeed where Mobile TV failed?

In 2007, mobile TV was meant to be the next big thing in mobile phones. It wasn’t, of course, so it’s odd to see LG, Philips and the like trying to push the same service to different devices using different technologies!

Mobile DTV can simply be thought of as a device that used to be called a PMP or Portable DVD player, but which now also support the new Mobile DTV standard. The result is a PMP that plays TV programmes, or what you could think of as a portable TV!

Who said there were no new ideas in the world?!

Actually, this is nothing new – you can already watch TV on some PMPs using an aerial and a TV tuner, but this doesn’t work so well when travelling at speed. In contrast, mobile DTV does, which seems to be its only advantage over ordinary TV.

Of course, it doesn’t work so well in a plane (another place you might use a PMP), so the only advantage I can see of mobile DTV is the ability to watch it in the car or the train – and is that really an advantage?!

Fortunately, the devices aren’t that expensive. The LG DP570H, for example, is only $249, while the Philips PET749 is even cheaper at $179.99. ANd the technology can be squeezed into a single chip, so I’m sure all PMPs will soon be Mobile DTVs come CES 2011!

[Source: CNet]

In other words, it’s a DVD player, digitial photo frame, home cinema, radio and an MP3 player! Not like Samsung to be so modest with one of their new products!

None of this is what makes the IceTouch stand out, though. As you can see from the pics, the IceTouch’s screen is its unique feature – it’s transparent!

The reason for this is that it’s an AMOLED screen, which makes it super-sharp, crystal clear – and viewable from the front and the back, as you can see form the video below.

It’s also the world’s first touchscreen based on AMOLED technology (that’s more like it – this is Samsung, there had to be a “world’s first” there somewhere!). This makes accessing all your content extremely easy, particularly when the user interface is a variant of the same Touchwiz interface that Samsung uses in its mobile phones.

The IceTouch MP3 player supports tonnes of content formats, so you should be able to watch and listen to whatever yuo want. In particular, it supports the following formats:

Audio

• MP3
• WMA
• OGG
• FLAC
• AAC
• M4A
• WAV
• MP3 HD

Video

• MPEG4
• WMV
• H.264
• Xvid
• Divx

With 8GB and 16GB variants, the glorious looking Samsung IceTouch MP3 player will be out sometime in the first half of 2010.

[Source: Engadget]

Whereas today’s digital photo frames will let you view pics (obviously!) and videos, as well as a few other crude apps such as time and a calendar, the Sony Dash displays all your social media applications on a glorious capacitive touchscreen, letting you flick through them easily as if it were an obese touchscreen smartphone.

Sony envisage this as a device for the kitchen, lounge or bedroom (replacing your alarm clock), but with the amount of information it can provide, it’s hard to see how you’ll ever have time to cook or even get up!

More details of the Sony Dash after the jump.

The Sony Dash looks simply gorgeous! Not only does it look great, its interface is superb, and the information it displays is perfect if you’re permanently hooked into your social media lifestream. It really is one of those gadgets that evokes instant gadget lust!

It’s based on the Chumby platform, so supports over 1,000 apps, including all the usual suspects (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc.). You can see the apps in either small gadget mode or full screen, choose which apps you want displayed and where and tailor the device to your own personal preferences however you want.

The Dash has WiFi built-in and pulls in all the info it needs automatically, so you can see new tweets or updates in real-time without having to refresh.

The Dash also features its own speaker, as well as a headphnoe jack, and supports a number of Internet radio services, including Pandora and ShoutCast.

Using the Dash is simplicity itself, as it uses the same touch gestures we’re all used to now. Indeed, we’re so used ot them, it makes you wonder how we ever used gadgets without a touchscreen!

My only concern is just how am I supposed to get out of bed if I had a Dash? I already struggle to tear myself from the TV in the morning before I go to work. I wouldn’t even make it out of bed if my alarm clock also showed me all my friends’ Facebook statuses, tweets and pictures as well!

I can see it being really useful in the kitchen, though, as cooking is terminally dull, and in my perennially distracted state, having real-time updates of all that I’m interested in would be a god-send. No more watching the kettle boil (which apparently it never does while being watched) when you’ve got YouTube to watch instead!

The Sony Dash looks glorious and is seriously tempting for the socially addicted. It’ll cost jsut $199 when it’s released in April, which will make it even more tempting!

[Source: Engadget]

VIERA CAST (apparently the capitals are important!), will give access to a full range of social media apps, which you can watch on the high resolution screen that the new portable Blu-ray players offer.

Seems everyone is stuffing social media apps onto their gadgets theses days, but it’s how easy they are to use that will make or break them. Seeing your tweets on a portable Blu-ray player is one thing, but how easy can it be to write your own tweets from a remote control?!

For its part, VIERA CAST now supports

• Netflix
• Pandora
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Picasa

as well as Fox Sports, Bloomberg news, and Amazon Video on demand. That’s quite a range, so even if text entry is tricky, you’ve at least got easy access to videos and music.

Both portable Blu-ray players feature tonnes of connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, an SD Memory card Slot (which can also play back JPEG images and High Definition video), a USB port, Dolby Digital and DTS HD, and VIERA Link, which uses HDMI to control all VIERA Link combatable products with one remote.

[Source: Engadget]