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That’s right folks, no more 80GB for all your portable media, now it’s the 250GB for everything. The 250GB Wolverine ESP 5250 officially started shipping at the start of the week.

The pretty bulky device stores an insane amount: 80,000 songs, 500 hours of video, and 125,000 photos all on its 3.6 inch screen.  Additionally, it features a FM radio and can record it and can support a variety of formats including AAC, MP3, WMA, and a few others for audio, and for video, XviD, MPEG-1/4 and WMV formats.

This heavy duty PMP currently sells for $650; if only it had the sleek style and thin form of the iPod, or other PMP’s for that matter.

Via [Electronista]

The friendly boys over at SlashGear present some nice walkthroughs and demos of the LG touchscreen beauties we’ve been rambling on about.  If it isn’t obvious, this geek is wishing he was fondling LG phones at the IFA right about now.

First up the “Viewty” KU990, which will pop up in the UK first (darn).  From the press release:

“Viewty (KU990): The Viewty, a professional-level phone, includes features found on many high-end stand-alone cameras, including a manual focus option, an image stabilizer and an ISO 800 for indoor or night shooting. The phone also records video at up to 120 frames per second, the highest frame speed ever for a handset camera, which can be edited and uploaded directly to YouTube. A 3.0-inch touch screen and Mobile XD™ engine provide a wider and more vivid display while a jog wheel on the back maximizes usability. An attached stylus allows users to digitally “write” on photos and edit their own files.”

Then the KS20.  Thought LG couldn’t do better?  Meet the love-child of the Prada phone and WinMo 6.  From the press release:

“KS20: The KS20, LG’s latest slim smartphone, is designed to enrich the mobile internet experience. It features full internet browsing capabilities, and downloads everything from music and video clips to push e-mail at speed of 3.6 Mbps through HSDPA. It also allows for advanced features like videoconferencing, taking advantage of the phone’s dual cameras. The KS20’s minimalist concept will appeal to those who admire a phone for its design as much as its features. The phone uses an intuitive touch input technology and large LCD screen to maximize its internet usability. The handset is powered by Microsoft’s Windows Mobile® 6 software.”

Hop on over the SlashGear to check out their fine videos.

Video on KU990, aka “Viewty” [SlashGear]

Video on KS20, aka “Prada meets WinMo6” [SlashGear]

Press Release [LG]

I like the look of this as a concept as anything that saves people from having to crack open their computers upgrading sound cards seems a good thing to me.  But as a Mac user I was immediately drawn to the phrase:

“Though it’s labeled as being compatible with both Windows and Mac OS, you don’t get the advertised features with Mac OS usage; with Mac OS you only get stereo output and the volume control buttons on the unit don’t work. Thus, in practice it’s really only worthwhile for Windows users.”

That just seems plain daft to me as everyone knows (sic) that Mac users are more creative with their computing and way more “into” their music. OK, I can’t prove that one bit but you would have thought that a market that is dominated by the iPod and iTunes would be worth going after. Yes I know the iPod and iTunes work on Windows BUT that is my point really - why make something that is potentially so useful for only one side of the fence.

Now the review doesn’t say if it works under Windows on a Mac which would be somewhat ironic, and not particularly useful, but it would at least be an option.

All of that to one side, the device does seem like a pretty efficient way of getting 5.1 surround sound on your PC or Notebook without the hassle of upgrading your sound card, so if that appeals to you I suggest you check it out.

Via [Virtual Hideout]

Apple’s iTunes, the largest internet digital media retailer (and 3rd largest overall), has lost a valuable content provider: NBC Universal. The disagreement came over NBC’s desire for more money and more regulative DRM.

The loss, though fairly inevitable in the case of New Media vs. Old Media, comes as a shock to Apple; NBC sold the most content out of any other provider, on iTunes.

What irks me about this is that the whole point of selling media on iTunes is so that content providers make money providing TV Shows and Movies over the internet. Though the profits are substantially less than advertising, it saves the providers the total loss from piracy (which NBC wants to stop, given their DRM-hungry state).

People like me, who enjoy shows such as The Office, Heroes, and Scrubs online, will have to turn elsewhere to find the content we want.

The announcement comes at a pretty convenient time for NBC, as their, along with News Corp, YouTube competitor has just been named; Hulu.

But I’m not too sold on waiting for a private beta that seems to be showing off lesser shows (I’m looking at you, American Dad).

Read [NY Times]

Motorola heads for the Starz - yes, I know corny headline but it is a Friday!

It has just been announced that Starz Entertainment, home of Starz Comedy, Starz Edge and Starz Kids & Family, will utilize the Motorola 4 channel HD MPEG encoding system, which will compress encrypt and modulate the HD signal within a single integrated transmission system.  Going to MPEG 4 encoding will save about half the bandwidth as compared to MPEG 2.

“We were very pleased with the quality and efficiency offered by Motorola’s new modular uplink system,” said Ray Milius, senior vice president, programming operations for Starz Entertainment. “Both the MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 HD encoders interfaced seamlessly with the access control and transmission system in use today, so adding current and future HD services is very straightforward.”

“We’re excited to be working with Starz Entertainment on this important industry project,” said Doug Means, corporate vice president and general manager for Motorola.  “Starz has a reputation for delivering quality movie content in a variety of formats, so we are pleased that the flexibility of our modular system and our MPEG-4/AVC technology is in line with their distribution plans.”

And for all the techies out there, here is a bunch of techno speak from the release ....

A key component of the enhanced content delivery chain is Motorola’s new DSR4410MD multi-program demodulator/decryptor.  The new 1 RU product receives DVB-S2 modulated signals and decrypts up to 64 services from a single MPEG-2 transport stream.  Testing with STARZ signals has shown reliable transmission at 77.5 Mbps using a 36 MHz, C-Band transponder – which translates into four-to-five MPEG-2 HD streams or as many as 10 MPEG-4/AVC HD streams.

Via [Motorola]

Ever have those CD’s that you desperately want/need to get rid of? It used to be quite annoying, not to mention dangerous, to dispose of it, and many of the methods didn’t really work. Now, there’s a much easier and convenient way to destroy it.

Introducing the USB Powered CD Destroyer, now you can easily destroy a CD in five seconds solely on USB power. Everyday it seems that some new gadget is made to work via USB. Well, this CD Destroyer works on DVD’s as well (not sure why anyone would want to destroy one) and it features three carbon steel knurled points that are used to destroy the surface of the CD rendering it completely and permanently unreadable. This gadget measures out at 60mm x 120mm x 50mm and weighs 130 grams. The USB Powered CD Destroyer currently sells for $29.

Via [Ubergizmo]

This is the purported Zune 2 collection.  Sure it is, as in: no it is not. Here is why:

• With a steady stream of sexy touchscreen PMPs rolling in likes waves lapping the pacific coast of the US, going this way is more yawn-inducing than the original Zune.  Just check out a few contenders.


• We are seeing more and more creative ways to carry our music than just the candy bar (hello Shuffle and new Sansa Clip); MS has got to respond to this trend.


• No one at Zune HQ is going to take the beating they took for not catching on like they hoped.  They are not going to send this “b” team in as pigs to the slaughter.  Everyone has some pride.


• And finally, it is pretty lame spread photo op.

Read [fosforgadgets]

A while back, DLO intro’d the TransDock Deluxe an extension of their wildly successful iPod auto dock line.  I’ve used the Transdock Deluxe and have done my best to spill drinks on it, rough it up a bit and have a progress report.

TransDock Deluxe $129

Pros: Simple.  Nice remote.  USB port for charging your cell phone.
Cons: Velcro holder for remote is annoying.  I’d still love a stronger, industrial strength FM transmitter.

Overall : 9/10 Road warriors rejoice!� An intelligent system is finally available without many sacrifices.

The remote is very interesting.  At first, because my sedan is rather compact I thought this item would be completely superfluous.  I can reach everything in the cockpit with ease including the Transdock base.  Changing songs and such is very simple, plus I’ve got some audio controls on the steering wheel.

I was wrong.  Having control on the steering wheel made a big difference in ease of use.  Sure the velcro holder got in my way (I don’t see another way to do it) but the remote made the experience better, especially on long trips.  It was a very nice feature to add.  The remote is a huge plus in vehicles like my Element where the iPod is out of comfortable reach to the driver.

The FM transmitter worked very well compared to the Belkin I’ve used in the past.  It still requires changing the stations when entering new cities but that is to be expected.  I’d still love a stronger one that takes over the station permanently.  I promise not to use that power for bad.

What I loved about this unit is the addition of a USB port on the unit.  Yes, it is under the unit, so if you have it set up for low-profile, you’ll need a work around, mine was to jack the base up with the included extensions.  I was able to recharge my phone as well as listen to the iPod at the same time.  Nice and hassle free.  I’d like it better with side access, but to have it there all is a bonus.

I didn’t get to use the video out or audio in ports on the unit, but it is great to know that they are there.

Product Page [DLO]

Venzero is rolling out new PMP’s like no tomorrow, and today they released some info on another called the Venzero LINQ, which some claim might be the best Venzero player yet.

The LINQ comes with basically everything you’d expect from a PMP today, 4GB memory which is expandable via MicroSD expansion slot, a 2.4 inch TFT screen, FM radio, voice recorder, and sports MusicMarker. Additionally, it can play a variety of formats including MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG and WAV for audio, and AVI and MPEG-4 for video. Now, the real important feature about this is that it supports Wi-Fi. This allows you to listen to Internet radio and you can even stream music directly from your computer using Windows Media Player 11.

Venzero plans to unveil the LINQ at next week’s IFA. Also, the LINQ is set to be available in September for $199.

Via [Dapreview]

It is a new PMP season.  With the rumors of new iPod Nano’s coming out and now Viliv’s new PMP and many more coming down the line. It features basically everything you could need on one handy device.

The Viliv X2 AIO is pretty similar to the P2 model. The X2 AIO sports a big 4.3 inch screen, DMB receiver for TV, GPS, and even an electronic dictionary. Additionally, it boasts picture in picture capabilities which is new for many PMP’s. Unfortunately, for many of our readers, this new PMP is set to only be released in Korea for now.

There are going to be two models, one featuring a 30GB hard drive and the other with a 60GB hard drive, selling for 549,000 Won ($584) and 599,000 Won ($637), respectively.

Via [Akihabara News]