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Sunday, June 26, 2011

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Cowon C2 portable media player review

Posted: 26 Jun 2011 11:38 AM PDT

And here you were assuming the tried-and-true PMP was dead. Au contraire. Cowon's not giving up on its dream quite yet, but after the D2 hung around at the company's low-end for the better part of four years, it's an alphabetic step backwards that's taking over as the successor. The diminutive C2 is about as simple as a PMP gets -- design wise, anyway -- but it's actually capable of supporting both music and video on its 2.6-inch resistive touchpanel. And then there's the purported 55 hours of battery life, included microSD card for expansion and the company's world-class audio quality. Still, $135 goes a long (long!) way in the portable music industry these days -- does the C2 pack enough punch to make your short list? Head on past the break to find out.
Cowon C2 hands-on and unboxing

Design
Cowon's still grasping for mind share in the North American market, but if it keeps pumping out pieces crafted like the C2, it'll be well on its way to achieving just that in no time. We've generally found ourselves quite pleased with the overall construction of Cowon devices, and this bantam player is no different. The 16GB C2 is built like devices demanding twice its MSRP, with a rock-solid chrome rear and a plastic front casing that's as rigid as they come. It's also absurdly small and light; if the Veer 4G were a PMP, it'd be this guy.

Walking around the edges, there's a power / sleep button, inbuilt mic, Menu (read: Home) button and volume up / down switches on the top. There's nary an indention on the bottom lip, while the right is home to a covered USB / AV port and a microSD slot. The left side is where the 3.5mm headphone jack resides. There's a far more visual description in the video below.


The 2.6-inch resistive touchscreen is about as responsive as they come... for a resistive touchscreen. We'll confess to being downright spoiled by the glut of capacitive panels that we've been whisking our digits across, but to be fair, we only had to "redo" swipes every so often, and if you're a playlist kind of guy / gal, you'll probably set-it-and-forget-it. Overall, the screen is decidedly average, but it's important to note that we never reached the point of annoyance while using it. Visually, it's not exactly the crispest thing we've seen, but we wouldn't expect much more from a 320 x 240 screen resolution. Viewing angles made it abundantly clear that this thing was meant to be viewed by one soul at a time, but we have to say -- video playback was both smooth and enjoyable. Not bad at all for a unit of this stature.

Software and performance
The homebrewed software on the C2 is eerily similar to that found on the V5, X7 and D3 Plenue that came before it. It's dashing, refreshing and -- for the most part -- simple to navigate. The actual design is almost whimsical, and while the familiar "grid of icons" is most certainly present and accounted for, the pastel hues just make it altogether easier to cuddle up with. We also love that Cowon threw a Menu button along the top; it's the equivalent to the Home button on the iPad and iPhone, and regardless of where you've ended up in the menu system, a single press will boot you back out to the front and rescue you from imminent frustration. Kudos on that one.


Strangely enough, the inclusion of that button makes us yearn for an easier way to jump into our music. It's not that difficult, but given that the primary function here is to operate as a music player that'll spin jams for over two straight days... well, we'd just love a double-push of that Menu button to hop into Music (or better still, be user-customizable). The graphical elements of the music function are gorgeous; it displays the track title, time, artist, volume and a spinning record of the album art whilst playing. A beautiful touch for a $135 device.

We've complained in the past that Cowon just makes it too difficult to get back to your overall list of artists and / or playlists, and while things are somewhat easier on the C2, it's still not exactly intuitive. While a song is playing, you have to press anywhere on the screen, hit the 'Open' button (looks like Eject), tap a speech bubble (?) in the top-right corner, then press a strange upward arrow along the newfound bottom row of icons. A pretty wild ride to run through every single time, if you catch our drift.

Outside of that nitpick, we found complaining to be hard work here. The UI elements truly are eye-pleasing, and with a few exceptions due to to touchscreen wonkiness, we found performance to be well above par. Of course, we'd highly recommend a Class 6 or Class 10 microSD card if you're planning on adding an extra 32GB to the 16GB of internal storage, but even then, those with patience should have no issues once the folders load up. Below, you'll find a full-on UI walkthrough video.


Audio quality
We'd typically make some kind of joke about "things never changing," but we're far too relieved to do that. The absolutely unmatched aural quality found on the higher-end X7 and D3 Plenue is right at home here, even on a $135 PMP that's obviously marketed at folks who may not have $350+ earbuds to truly appreciate it. There's just no beating around the bush -- if audio quality is your primary concern, you should own a Cowon. The C2 carries on that legendary trait, with all manners of genres sounding their best. It's subtle improvements -- bass that's a bit punchier, highs that are a tad more defined, and mids that cut through instead of getting lost in the mix -- but it's improvements that self-proclaimed audiophiles will undoubtedly appreciate.


We tested the C2 with a variety of files, file formats and headphones, and this guy continued to sound better than our in-house Nexus One, iPod touch and iPhone 4. It's not like any of those alternatives sound "bad," but it's vital to remember that Cowon's product line specifically aims at those who are absolutely obsessed with sound quality. Frankly, it's hard to appreciate what the C2 offers unless you also appreciate that level of expectation.

Wrap-up
At $135, Cowon's C2 is tough to beat. It's easily capable of besting anything else in this price range when it comes to audio quality, and the fact that it ships with 16GB of internal storage and a microSD expansion slot inches it closer to a world of its own. With a 32GB microSD card, you can have a pebble-sized PMP with 48GB of space and a battery that'll easily last 50+ hours. (We hit 48 hours on an audio loop, but we toyed with it off and on throughout those two days, leaving the screen lit for fairly large chunks of time.) Toss in a nearly-endless list of supported music and video formats, a 2.6-inch display that actually can handle full-motion when asked, and a laudatory build quality, and you've got a specialized device that's hard to ignore.


Make no mistake -- the C2 isn't for everyone. You need to want a dead-simple multimedia player with top-notch battery life and unbeatable aural virtues. Those looking for Angry Birds and built-in Bluetooth aren't even in Cowon's target market, and frankly, you'll be paying more for those luxuries if you head elsewhere. A 16GB iPod nano demands $179, offers a far less enticing display (for video playback, anyway) and will peter out in just 24 hours -- meanwhile, the C2 could keep going for at least another day beyond that. The biggest problem with this fella? It'll do a darn good job of making you want a set of these.

DARPA's XC2V FLYPMode crowd-sourced combat vehicle revealed, now in desert khaki (video)

Posted: 26 Jun 2011 09:57 AM PDT

DARPA's XC2V FLYPMode crowd-sourced combat vehicle revealed, now in desert khaki (video)
Okay, so perhaps the specific color here is up for debate, but one thing is clear: the XC2V FLYPMode is one imposing looking vehicle. Also known as the Experimental Crowd-derived Combat Support Vehicle, DARPA has billed this mean machine as the "first crowd-sourced, militarily relevant vehicle design." After being selected as the winning entry to DARPA's design-the-next-Humvee competition, Local Motors tricked out the XC2V FLYPMode in just 14 weeks. For now, it is but a "proof of principle project," meaning we probably won't see this thing riding dirty in the desert anytime soon, if ever. You can, however, see at least a portion of the beast's birth in a time-lapse video after the break.

Lenovo ThinkPad, IdeaPad tablets coming later this month?

Posted: 26 Jun 2011 08:06 AM PDT

Lenovo ThinkPad, IdeaPad tablets coming later this month?
Well, what do we have here? From the looks of it, we've got ourselves launch dates for a slate of new Lenovo tablets. A little note from the outfit's Affiliate Program, pictured above, shows the Android-packing IdeaPad K1 will, unsurprisingly, debut in late June or July, with a June 28th arrival being pegged for its rumored ThinkPad tablet. What's more, we could see a refresh of the company's IdeaCentre nettop coming our way August 30th. Looks like this summer could be a hot one for Lenovo, but we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out.

Tokyo researchers hijack your hand, help you play the koto (video)

Posted: 26 Jun 2011 06:01 AM PDT

Researchers over in the land of the robot-obsessed have found a new, non-invasive way to control your hand while your brain recoils in horror. Reassuringly named the PossessedHand, this belt of electro-stimulation wraps its pad of twenty-eight electrodes around your forearm triggering a range of sixteen bewitched joint actions. Project leader Emi Tamaki claims it feels more like a light massage than say, a full-on Freejack. However, one test subject confessed, "[It was] like my body was hacked" -- so that's comforting. This joint production between the University of Tokyo's Rekimoto Lab and Sony Computer Science Laboratories was first tested as a musical training aide, but could someday help stroke victims regain mobility. For now, the stimulation isn't strong enough to turn you into an automated Steve Vai (or secret assassin), but it definitely lends new meaning to 'hands-off.' Check the video after the break for a demonstration and some unsettling narration.

OnLive Viewer hits HTC Flyer, ripped and posted for other Android gaming voyeurs (video)

Posted: 26 Jun 2011 03:59 AM PDT

OnLive Viewer Droid X
Those of you toting around an HTC Flyer probably just got an update that loaded OnLive Viewer on your 7-inch tablet. Don't get too excited though, the name of the app says it all -- this is a viewer not a player. So, if you've got a voyeuristic streak, you can watch others shoot their way through F.E.A.R. 3, but you won't slowing down time yourself. If that sounds like a blast but you don't have a Flyer, fear not, the folks at the XDA forums were kind enough to rip the APK and post it for all the world to enjoy. We successfully tested it on a Droid X, and reports are that it's up and running on the EVO 4G, Desire HD, and even a hacked Nook Color. Once installed you'll just need a WiFi connection (the app kicks you back to the homescreen on 3G) and low expectations -- the video quality was less than impressive. Hit up the source link to download it for yourself, and check out the video our tipster sent us after the break.

[Thanks, Phil]

NextComputing wants you to take your desktop for a stroll, preferably a short one

Posted: 26 Jun 2011 12:50 AM PDT


After watching NextComputing dance around the definition of mobile computing for so long, we're not all that surprised to see the firm tease its first suitcase-desktop sporting an internal battery. The headlining promise of two to four hours of battery life, however? We'll take the whole salt shaker, thanks. NextComputing's half-minute demo shows an unnamed workstation disconnected, unplugged, and lugged off. We're not really sure where it's going, or why it needs to be left on for the trip, but hey -- a desktop with a battery still beats a laptop without one.

Solar Sinter solar-powered 3D printer turns sand into glass, renews our faith in higher education (video)

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 09:48 PM PDT

Solar Sinter solar-powered 3D printer turns sand into glass, renews our faith in higher education (video)
Where would we be without the world's graduate art projects? In the case of Markus Kayser's Solar Sinter, we might never have seen the day when a solar-powered 3D printer would turn Saharan sand into a perfectly suitable glass bowl. Well, lucky for us (we suppose) we live in a world overflowing with MA students, and awash in their often confusing, sometimes inspiring projects. Solar Sinter, now on display at the Royal College of Art, falls into the latter category, taking the Earth's natural elements, and turning them into functioning pieces of a burgeoning technology. Solar Sinter uses the sun's rays in place of a laser and sand in place of resin, in a process that is perhaps more visually stunning than the results. See for yourself in the video after the break.

Ask Engadget: best gaming mouse for first-person shooters?

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 07:35 PM PDT

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Alex, who seems to be sick and tired (but mostly sick) of doing poorly in deathmatches due to a troublesome mouse. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"I'm thinking about getting an Alienware M14x. What's the best gaming mouse for first person shooters?"

That's about as brief as they come, folks. We're guessing he wants something on the portable side given his machine of choice, and while we'd personally recommend the Orochi, we're sure the hivemind has a few answers, too. Spill 'em in comments below!

AMP camera records 1080p HDR video, you probably can't have one

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 06:04 PM PDT

We've already seen cameras that let you pretend you live in a radioactive apocalypse shoot HDR video, combining overexposed and underexposed images into one surreal composite. But so far, that kind of dystopian trippiness has been relegated to experiments and rigs using two lenses. But here we have AMP, a portable-enough five-pound camera that splits the light into three sensors, giving it a range of 17.5 stops to "reveal reality" in our drab, incomplete lives. The single-lens camera shoots 1080p video at 24fps or 30fps, records raw, uncompressed data to an SSD, and works with Nikon F-Mount-compatible lenses. To give you some perspective on the amount of sheer storage required, AMP promises a 256GB SSD can hold 30-plus minutes of footage, with 24fps video consuming less space than the 30 fps variety. It'll be available later this summer for some unknown sum, but not as a mass-produced product. Rather, it'll end up in the hands of a select few prosumers who add themselves to a waiting list. Assuming you won't be one of the chosen, you can get your fill of reality in a pair of demo videos after the break.


Reserve Power: When inventor meets informercial, Part 2

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 05:00 PM PDT

Ross Rubin contributes Reserve Power, a column focused on personal perspectives and products.

Last week's Reserve Power took you behind the scenes of technology and infomercials, and this week we're bringing it to its natural conclusion. Catch up by reading last week's installment here, and catch the rest just below.

Trends. Not surprisingly, the well-prepared presenters came armed with facts and research, although there were often many holes. One woman's pitch raised the question of how often people vacuum their cars. Another woman pushing a stand for holding multiple pairs of eyeglasses -- similar to what one might see on the counter of an optician -- asserted that the average eyeglass wearer owns three to four pairs. As is the case in high-tech consumer products, this talent search kept in mind the American idle, albeit in contrasting ways. While the first product presented provided a way to work off a few calories even while seated at a desk, the last one presented enabled consumer to take their shoes on and off without having to keep tying their laces.

Team. In demo conferences and VC pitches, entrepreneurs highlight their record of achievement, how they've built and sold companies or at least run high-profile divisions at successful companies. But those who had made it to the Telebrands Inventors' Day came from all walks of life. Some were career inventors like the identical twins behind Twinnovations, some sold their creations at flea markets -- like a family that had created a modular candle that burns in sections -- and some projects grew out of crafts. One of the judges' favorite products was the first invented by a certain graduate student -- a spray for women's legs that left them shiny for a few hours.

That's not to say that experience didn't count for anything, or at least the relationships that prior pitches could bring. In the end, perhaps the judges' two favorite products came from inventors who had already launched successful products. The first, designed by the brothers at Twinnovations, was a ridiculously simple tilted stand on which one would place a pan in order to have the fat and oil drip off fried foods, achieving the effect of a poor man's George Foreman grill.

The other, designed by a pediatrician known as "Dr. Jen," was mostly two small plastic squares joined by a hinge to provide resistance. Placed on the floor, he device counts the taps of your foot in an effort to encourage exercise while seated, extending the idea behind "10,000 step-a-day" fitness programs. Her previous product was a U-shaped mat with slots for cards to encourage parent-child interaction. Think you've got a shot? Upcoming Inventors' Days will be held in New York and Las Vegas. To apply, you need only send your ideas to inventorsday@telebrands.com.

After the winning concepts are picked, distribution terms are negotiated, and the products are test marketed to see if they can make the jump to national infomercial fame. Ultimately much will have to be weighed before the company makes the call, but you can bet that operators will be standing by.

Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) is executive director of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research and analysis firm The NPD Group. Views expressed in Reserve Power are his own.

Is this the next Sony VAIO Z?

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 03:09 PM PDT

We haven't heard much about Sony's ultra slim VAIO Z in months, but when we have, we've always been left with more questions than answers. We've seen its specs (but not handsome face) splashed on various European websites, while Sony, for its part, has only made the coy promise that its newly redesigned S series thin-and-lights are not meant to replace the more premium Z line. Lo and behold, we're now seeing photos of what purports to be the next-gen Z series and, as always, we're left wanting more. In these pics, you've supposedly got the Z -- sometimes with a black lid, sometimes gold -- sitting next to an external dock housing what appears to be an optical drive. If you drop in on the gossip circles in NotebookReview's forum, you'll read some speculation that there's an external GPU baked in there, too -- a compelling idea, though even "Eddie," the guy who leaked these photos, doesn't seem completely confident as to what that peripheral actually does. Given that the Z series has been MIA from Sony's site for months now, we hope the company gets a move on and outs this thing -- if this is, indeed, what it is. Until then, amuse yourselves with photos and crowd-sourced specs at the source links.

Duke University physicists test first air-based acoustic invisibility cloak

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 01:19 PM PDT

Firmly departing from the Stuff Of Dreams category, Duke University physicists have successfully tested an acoustic cloaking device that fools sound waves while looking nowhere near as scifi as you'd think. Layering nothing more than a bunch of hole-punched plastic sheets -- known as meta-materials, for those curious -- atop a ten centimeter long block of wood, highly-directed sound in the 1 - 4kHz range bounced right back into the ether none the wiser. The cloaking tech owes some of its origin to the math behind transformation optics -- and maybe to the Duke team, too. Besides allowing defense department bunkers to erupt into silent applause, the research should prove useful in the construction of future concert halls. DIY hobbyists, let us know what you can rig up with some trash bags.

[Thanks, Drew]

Apple product managers respond to Final Cut Pro X criticism

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 11:48 AM PDT

During our call to discuss Final Cut Pro X earlier this week, an Apple product manager boasted about the product's low price, media management, and ground-up redesign. Unfortunately, when starting from scratch, developers seem to have overlooked a few features that professional users have come to depend on, prompting widespread backlash -- both on internet forums and even on Apple's own App Store, where the $300 download-only app currently has a rating of just 2.5 stars (out of five), including nearly 500 one-star ratings. (Note: you must purchase the app before submitting a rating or review.) The New York Times spoke to product managers about these issues, which include an inability to import old FCP files, no multicamera editing, no support for RED cameras, and no ability to specify QuickTime export settings, among many others. Apple says there are (pricey) workarounds available, or fixes on the way for all but the first issue, but head over to the source link for the full rundown at NYT.
at 12:00 PM

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