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Usually, Canada has to pay more for the same technology we Americans enjoy for a cheaper price.  We can often be thankful that we can get the same item for cheaper here than Canada.  However, a Canadian retailer, Future Shop, has put up a listing for the Microsoft Zune Second Gen 8GB player - one that will make you pretty surprised. 

Future Shop is listing the 8GB player 149.99 CAD, but after a 50 CAD discount, it becomes 99.99 CAD.  That price, 99.99 CAD, is equivalent to about $82, which is more than $50 cheaper than any 8GB Zune you can find in the United States.  In case you live in Canada and want to take advantage of this offer, you better do it quick because in a few days, the price for this Zune will go back to 149.99 CAD. 

Read [Future Shop]

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And with SanDisk, the hits just keep on coming.  They have the 1GB, the 2GB, the 4GB Sansa Clips, and now the 8GB flash-based player.  It may be teeny-tiny in size, but it certainly isn’t in the capacity of songs this baby can hold.  Try up to 4,000 on it’s rechargeable battery which will run for 15 hours.  Not bad, eh?

The player obviously gets its name from the clip it sports on the back.  It lets users attach it to their clothing, backbacks, etc., which is great for when you are on the go.  However, if you want to detach the clip, you have that option as well.  Another nice thing about the Sansa Clip is that is has an OLED color screen, which lets you pick which songs you want to listen to; you don’t have to listen at random.  More after the break.

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The latest rumored handset to be coming from Sony Ericsson is the Hikaru, and judging from the few specs that have been leaked, it sounds like it will receive a warm welcome. 

So far, the details are very light, but what we have learned so far that makes it exciting is that it will feature an 8-megapixel camera as well as 8GB of internal memory.  It was noted as being a slider style handset with a large touchscreen display, but still unknown is whether it will feature a full QWERTY slide-out or a numeric keypad.

Still plenty to figure out with this handset, lots of specs are still unknown.  It has not even been mentioned where the Hikaru will fit in with the current SE lineup.  Will it be a Walkman branded phone?  With 8GB of internal storage that sounds likely.  Unfortunately, there have not been any leaked images of the Hikaru just yet.

Via [unwired view]

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iriver has announced that they would be rolling out their latest portable media player, the Lplayer, in the US market. Basically, this PMP is one of the smallest and most compact that iriver has to offer.

It sports a 2-inch LCD screen and comes with a familiar “D-click control system” like various other iriver players, such as the Clix. iriver has added more media support to the player such as FLAC, OGG, XviD, MP3, WAV, WMA, MPG, and WMV. In addition, it comes with an integrated FM radio, and it can also record radio, however there was no mention on how long it can record for. The battery life is pretty good, as it can pump out tunes for 12 hours straight, and 4 hours when playing videos.

In case you like the rock band Muse, then you will be happy to know that the first 100,000 players come with a 14 minute Muse video preloaded. The Lplayer is available in a few different colors including black, pink, and white. It will come in two different models, including a 4GB model that will sell for $110, and the 8GB model will sell for $160.

Product [Amazon] Via [electronista]

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It seems that Asus has added a unique storage option on the Eee PC 900. It turns out that users will get a total of either 12GB or 20GB of storage depending on their operating system of choice. The Windows models will have an 8GB SSD and the Linux based models will have a 16GB SSD, both models will also have a 4GB SSD that is soldered to the motherboard. The systems are set up where the 4GB drive is the master and used for the operating system by itself, with the secondary (and larger) drives being used for personal storage.

While this sounds like a unique option I can only imagine the confusion that it could potentially cause anyone that is less than technical. But on the upside, anyone who is willing to open the case up and do some tinkering should be able to upgrade their storage with ease. By having an SSD dedicated to the operating system and system files, users can upgrade their storage and not even have to re-install the operating system.

Via [jkkmobile]

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Don’t let its diminutive size fool you. Super Talent’s newest 8GB flash drives might be small, but upon closer inspection you’ll find that it’s actually terrible, in a helpfully geeky kind of way.

Super Talent’s newest 8GB flash drives are billed as the smallest in the world, and I’m OK with it. Although I can’t really imagine myself putting something as small and delicate-looking as this to good use, I’m sure a few other nano-obsessed individuals out there would be glad to know that these USB flash drives are going to be rolled out soon. Actually, 4GB variants are already available here right now, but if you can wait, the 8GB versions are surely going to be worth it. Plus, there will be three models to choose from, ranging from a swiveling one, a retractable one, and a plain old stick figure looking regular flash drive. Pricing starts at $35 each.

Via [Oh Gizmo]

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Creative seems to be making an attempt to offer the best value on a portable media player, with a few recent price cuts they are now offering the 4GB Zen for just $99 and the 8GB Zen for $149.

In the recent past we also saw the 32GB Zen drop to $299 and the 1GB Zen Stone going for as little as $30 bucks.

Product [Creative] Via [Engadget]

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Microsoft has announced a new contest where they will be giving away an 8GB Zune everyday until March 31, 2008. Entry is free, but will require you to log in using your mobile phone and send an email (or receive a text) using your Windows Live account. Overall it sounds pretty simple:

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Sections: Audio, Portable Audio, Web, Websites

It appears that without any formal notice that Nokia has added a new flavor to the 8GB N95 lineup. Online retailer Plemix has a copper colored 8GB N95 available for $689.00, which is a slight premium over the standard black version. Based on pictures it appears that the copper version is similar to the recent white model in that the color change is only on the backside.

Via [IntoMobile]

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Microsoft sure has had a busy day today, what with announcing they have made an offer to buy out Yahoo, and now they have cut down the price of the 8GB Zune. Previously, it was $199, so this 20 dollars price cut is rather nice. If you want to buy the Zune, head over to Amazon and you can purchase one for the new price of $179.99 or less for the pink model.

Via [Engadget]

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Sections: Audio, Portable Audio, Video, Portable Video, Web, Websites