CES 2008: Portable Audio/Video

It’s been a long time coming, but the much-anticipated Slacker Portable is ready to shake up the digital music world. Available in 15-, 25-, and 40-station capacities (Slacker measures the storage by the number of stations, as each station contains dozens upon dozens of songs), the Slacker Portable allows users to sync their favorite tracks from Slacker’s online Internet radio service via USB 2.0 or over the air via Wi-Fi, and to toss in a mix of their own MP3, WMA, and AAC files.

The built-in touch strip and scroll wheel make it simple to navigate the beautiful (and massive) 4-inch display, which allows music fans to view album art, reviews, and artist bios. All in all, the Slacker Portable faithfully recreates the look and feel of the web-based application, and looks to be the most intriguing player of 2008.

Yesterday, Avnera announced a few new products that use its AvneraAudio technology. Two of my favorites that look particularly attractive are the Acoustic Research Wireless remote system and the Skype Certified FREETALK wireless stereo headset.

Acoustic Research wireless remote system

The Acoustic Research wireless remote system lets you roam around your house with your iPod, while another dongle sits attached to your stereo playing any music you choose. It’s perfect for a fully audio-enabled house where the stereo may be in the living room while the music listener is cookin’ up bacon to the tune of Jack Johnson. With the latest announcement, the chef can control their songs, whip (me) up an awesome breakfast, and not have to worry about leaving the room when Cher comes on. The wireless remote will be available in April for $129.99.

Portable digital video recorders are a godsend to boob-tubers who can’t live without their daily TV fixes, but the downside to them is that they tend to be large, bulky, and decidedly non-mobile. Not anymore. Comcast and Panasonic have formed like Voltron to bring about the AnyPlay Portable DVR.

The device serves as your traditional home DVR, but can be removed from its dock to allow you to check out up to 60GB of your favorite shows on the 8.5-inch display. You can also view DVDs and listen to CDs with a friend via the built-in speakers or dual headphone jacks. Great news, huh? Well, Comcast and Panasonic have stated that this bad boy has an “early 2009″ release date, so, uh, I’ll guess we’ll be blogging about it again in a good 365 days.

A frequent response that you’ll hear during CES week when you ask a company rep when a product will hit retail is “Q1″, “Q2″, or “in just a few weeks.” Well, Cowon has decided to get the early jump on 2008 by announcing that it’s shipping the iAudio U5, the latest addition to the company’s line of flash-based digital audio players, right now.

Available in 4GB ($119) and 8GB ($159) capacities, the iAudio U5 supports the usual suspects (MP3, WMA, Windows Media DRM10, WAV), and includes Cowon’s Jet Engine audio-enhancement technology for a more robust sound. Cowon also tosses in a FM radio, voice recording, a 5-band EQ, an alarm clock, and Mac and Linux compatibility for non-Windows users.

This morning, thanks to the fine folks at Audiovox, I got to get all hands on with the RCA Lyra 6008-in the most literal sense. I had a chance to touch it, but because it was a mock up, I was unable to give it a real in-depth once over.

But what I did learn from the representatives on the show floor is that its a 8GB flash based player that’s compatible with MP3, WMA, and AAC on the audio end, and JPEG, WMA, MPEG-4 on the audio. You can tune into (and record) FM radio, plus use it as a voice recorder.

That’s all pretty standard fare for a MP3 player, but what makes it stand out from the pack is its unique slider design that reveals an intuitive navigation interface - up, down, left, right is all you need to know to make your rounds through the device. You can expect this puppy to hit store shelves in Q1 for $149.

Forget carrying a backpack and a separate iPod speaker dock to the beach. Targus’ new SonicPak speaker backpack has removable front panel speakers with a lightweight amplifier. The SonicPak comes in silver tones and features a padded compartment for protecting laptops up to 15.4 inches. A custom pocket holds your iPod or MP3 Player in place and the bag’s 3.5-mm audio jack connects to the speakers. The SonicPak has a battery compartment with an on/off switch and a power-indicator LED light. The new backpack will be available in March 2008 for $99.99.

We will be checking out the backpack later today and will be bringing an iPod to report back on sound quality…

Shiro took the wraps off of three new digital audio players-the VJ, MR, and MD-that will let entertainment seekers enjoy their favorite tunes, photos, and video while on the go. Prices and availability are still up in the air, but here’s the lowdown on these MP3 players.

Shiro’s big dog is the VJ, which features a 2.4-inch (320 x 240-pixel resolution) display for viewing JPEG/BMP photos files or watching AVI and WMV video. The 8GB player (which includes a microSD slot for loading additional content) also offers MP3/WMA/WAV playback, a built-in mic, and FM radio reception and recording.

From virtually out of nowhere, Xias has announced a brand spankin’ new digital audio player and, get this, a digital music store. The Xias’ PV4022 (available in Q1) looks to be your typical MP3 player with its 2.2-inch display, 4GB of flash memory, MP3/WMA compatibility, voice recorder, FM Radio, and reasonable $109 price tag.

Far more compelling is XiasLive.com, the company’s DRM-free music download store. You can browse the story using the “Music Locator” to find major and indie label artists from around the globe. Songs will cost 99 cents a pop (similar to iTunes), and Xias is aiming to launch video downloads later in the year. Intriguing. With DRM (a source of frustration and confusion for a number of music fans) on its deathbed according to Business Week, will more companies enter the battle for your digital music dollars? We’ll pick the brains of Xias’ reps when we meet with them at CES.

Not every major player is awaiting CES in order to lift the curtain on their new gear for 2008. Sling Media, for example, just announced two new products for streaming video from your TV, DVR, cable box or other source to your mobile devices: The Slingbox Pro-HD and SlingPlayer for BlackBerry.

The Slingbox Pro-HD ($399) features four sets of A/V ports (ATSC, S-Video, composite, component) that road warriors can use to watch and control multiple high-definition video sources from any super-highspeed broadband connected Mac or PC. Palm, Symbian S60, and Windows Mobile smart phones equipped EV-DO, HSDPA, or Wi-Fi can get in on the action, too. BlackBerry users, you’re no longer left out of the loop as SlingPlayer for BlackBerry (photo after the jump) will let you indulge in you favorite guilty pleasure programming as your buds for just $29.99. ‘Cause when you’ve got that Rock of Love fix, it just has to be scratched no matter where you’re located.

Slingbox Pro-HD will be available in Q3 and SlingPlayer for Blackberry “later this year”, but with the prospect of Brett Michael’s antics on our notebooks and cell phones, they can’t come soon enough.

We are hoping Able Planet’s headset is as good as they promise. The company will be showing off its Clear Voice VoIP Headset , that “combines patent-pending Linx Audio and state-of-the-art active noise canceling technology,” at CES.

The Clear Voice VoIP Headset is manufactured with magnetostrictive components (whatever that means) and copper magnet wire, and contains an embedded high performance Linx Speaker. Ok so we get that the headset promises good call quality. But in addition the audio signal delivered by the Clear Voice VoIP Headset increases the perception of loudness without increasing the volume, enabling listeners to achieve full sound at lower volumes, helping people to preserve hearing. Able Planet, you are on to something! Reminds me of all “those people” that seem to be putting on their headphones with the volume cranked all the way up. Even Apple is looking to turn down the volume on your iPod.

Able Planet touts this headset as perfect for people with hearing loss that want to join the VoIP world. We are happy to see the people of the tech world caring for the hearing impaired. True story: Hulu has added Closed Captioning to its online video platform.

Aimed at musicians, interviewers,  and others who crave high-quality recording, the Olympus LS-10 packs in 24-bit/96 KHz MP3, WAV, and WMA recording and playback, built-in speakers, 2GB of memory (plus a SD slot for additional memory), and a battery life of approximately 14 hours. The $399 package also includes a carrying case, USB Cable, audio cable, carrying strap, 2 AA batteries, wind screen, and Steinberg Cubase LE4 recording software. The Olympus LS-10 is slated to hit retail later this month.

We all love our notebooks, cell phones, and digital audio players, but there are times when we’d like to enjoy the content within those devices without being tethered to them. Fortunately, at CES 2008, we’re expecting to see a handful of new applications and accessories that are designed to make it a breeze to stream music, video, and photos from virtually any notebook, stereo, MP3 player or other source, and share it with others using wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and 802.11n Wi-Fi.

In addition, the CD-quality sound of HD Radio will find its way into GPS units and other gadgets where the technology has yet to gain a foothold. We welcome it as the prospect of cleaner audio and a greater selection of shows to tune into is enough to make any radio fanatic giddy.

Check back in for more information on the digital media front as the big show is just days away!     

I recently had the opportunity to review the Cowon Q5W, a solid portable media player that’s compatible with a laundry list of audio, video, and photo formats. What impressed me most about the Q5W wasn’t the extensive playback options, but how the $599 device (which sported a 5-inch touchscreen display, 60GB of storage, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, and a Windows CE 5.0 Professional operating system) functioned so much like a PC.

Using the Cowon Q5W, I could view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, instant message my buddies using the built-in MSN chat client, and even plug in a USB mouse for navigating menus and Web pages as I would on a legit computer. The Cowon Q5W is unique, but it isn’t alone; we fully expect to see more of these mash-ups of PMPs and full-blown computers at CES and well throughout 2008.