CES 2010 latest news
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(Credit:
iriver)
Every year, we CNET Editors approach CES with a mixture of excitement and some underlying, stress-induced dread. The show is always a lot of work--and spending five days in the dry Vegas climate when accustomed to San Francisco's damp (cigarette smoke-free) air almost guarantees coming back with a cold--but at least we have some shiny new gadgets to look forward to seeing. And yet CES 2008 just didn't quite deliver in the MP3 and PVP category...or several others, apparently.
Don't get me wrong: Senior Editor Donald Bell and I saw plenty of cool gear. However, most of it had already been announced in one country or another sometime in 2007, so you can understand why we came away from the show a bit underwhelmed. Still, it was nice to get my hands on some devices that had heretofore been available only in Asia, such as the iRiver W7, which won Best of CES for the MP3 and PVP category. There's just something I find so appealing about being able to snap a portable media player into a car cradle and get directions. Plus, iRiver's overwhelming showing of 12 new MP3 players at CES this year restored my faith that the ReignCom subsidiary isn't disappearing anytime soon. I'm really hoping some of the players using iRiver's neat new Spinn interface make it to the States before too long.
(Credit:
Philips)
We're also pleased to see Bluetooth technology making headway in MP3 players and headphones. In particular, it was interesting to discover that Open Interface, developer of Soundabout Lossless--an innovative technology that promises a dramatic improvement in the quality of stereo Bluetooth streaming--has been acquired by Qualcomm, a company that has the financial muscle to pimp the technology to major headphone manufacturers. (We can only hope that Qualcomm actually runs with Soundabout Lossless rather than leaving it to languish unimplemented.) Plus, we can now add another Bluetooth-capable MP3 player to the catalog: the Philips GoGear SA5200BT. Philips is also releasing another media player with Rhapsody DNA integration, which means the subscription music model is gaining more momentum.
(Credit:
SanDisk)
Finally, we had the big memory jump from SanDisk. Not exactly surprising from a company that makes flash memory, but still great news and definitely a step in the right direction. The company is coming out with a Sansa View with 32GB of internal memory, with an additional microSD card slot that can accept SanDisk's new 12GB cards. That means you can have a portable media player with 44GB of flash memory--not too shabby. There's also a Sansa Clip coming soon with a 4GB capacity--for $79. Nice.
View complete CES 2008 coverage from CNET.
It's been a tumultuous year for MP3 players. Apple's iPhone arrived, presenting the best argument we've seen for converging your MP3 player, phone, and portable video player. Flash memory MP3 players became smaller, cheaper, and more ubiquitous, getting lost between sofa cushions all over the world. We also witnessed online music retailers finally embracing DRM-free music downloads, offering a beacon of hope for a music industry lost at sea. So what MP3 player trends can we expect to see for 2008? Here are a few predictions we're willing to stake our reputation on.
Best of CES 2007: SanDisk Sansa Connect
(Credit: CNET Networks)Last year, it seemed that Flash memory-based MP3 players, such as Apple's iPod Nano, were all anybody cared about. In fact, aside from the iPod Classic, Zune 80, and a handful of portable video players, high-capacity hard-drive devices are on a path towards certain extinction. With the recent advent of affordable 16GB and 32GB Flash memory chips, 2008 will undoubtedly be the year that Flash completely eclipses hard drive storage for most portable music players. Even portable video players, typically considered the last stronghold for hard drive storage, will increasingly switch over to Flash memory in an effort to shed bulk and increase battery life.
Touch screens...for better or worse
Touch-screen MP3 players were on the rise long before the iPhone. But now that an industry trendsetter like Apple is leading the way, you can bet that the majority of companies will have a touch-screen device to show off in 2008. Not all touch screens are created equal, however. We've already encountered a few touch-screen devices such as the Samsung YP-P2 and Cowon Q5W, that aren't exactly a leap forward when it comes to ease of use. Ultimately, we're taking the touch screen trend with a grain of salt. By CES 2009, the touch-screen backlash will be in full swing and we'll probably see retro knobs and big buttons on everything.
Bluetooth takes hold
Bluetooth wireless technology has been slowly creeping into our phones, our laptops, and even our cars. The promise of Bluetooth for MP3 players is the ability to cut the wires between your MP3 player and your headphones or home entertainment center, without the interference common to other types of wireless audio transmission. While there are a number of third-party Bluetooth accessories on the market, there are few MP3 players that include built-in Bluetooth audio streaming. With Bluetooth-ready MP3 players such as the Samsung YP-T10 and Haier Ibiza Rhapsody leading the charge, you can bet that built-in Bluetooth audio streaming will become an increasingly common feature on MP3 players. We hope that 2008 will also be the year that we see an update to the stale A2DP Bluetooth audio standard--bringing higher quality audio streaming, with less latency.
View complete CES 2008 coverage from CNET.
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