Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

The buzz (was there any?) surrounding the Toshiba Gigabeat V30 has all but faded. Not unusual what with the bigger, badder V60 and Tosh's other DAP -- the Zune -- already kicked out the door. So in a knee-jerk fit of marketing us-too-idness we've come to expect, out rolls the pastel pink V30E with integrated 1Seg TV tuner. Also available in navy blue, you know, just in case pastels are too much of a challenge to your man palette. Otherwise, same specs for that same ¥49,800 (about $434) when these hit December 15th in Japan. Pictured in blue after the break.

[Via Impress]Continue reading Toshiba Gigabeat V30 goes pink and blue
 
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I've asked a few times about Zune branded clothing. I received some good and some bad feedback on that. What occurred to me is I didn't ask about Zune co-branded clothing. For example, a Burton coat with a Zune camo pattern. Two questions. First, are you guys at all interested in that type of co-branded clothing? Second, what are your favorite brands. Bonus if you tell me specific products you are interested in (sneakers, coats, hats, bags, etc).

The nice folks over at DLO asked me if I would like to review their cases for the blog. Being that I'm a gadget freak, of course I said yes. I need to make as disclaimer here. I do work with these companies every day and sometimes when I'm critical, it can come off as "MS says that your is bad because XXX" THESE ARE MY PERSONAL OPINIONS.

Before beginning, I have to say that before doing any review, I like to live with the product for at least a week. You can't really write a good review until you've really experienced (I wish all reviewers felt that way). I cheated a little bit on this one and used all three for one week rather than in successive weeks. But, I think you'll get the idea.

Silicon Case - I've never been a fan of silicon cases. I think they tend to add heft to the device and they tend to pick up lint when you put them in your coat pocket. But they do add scratch and drop protection, which can be useful. I'm not so sure that the Zune needs sc...

Along with Belkin, DLO's also getting into the Zune accessory business. We've got a hands on of the Jam Jacket, a rubberized protective covering for the Microsoft player.
In short, it's a pretty solid case that'll protect the back and sides from scratches, but leaves the screen exposed to the elements. However, there's one thing that DLO overlooked when designing this case.
The one, pretty important thing: the buttons. Because the "back" and "play" buttons on the Zune are actual buttons, you're going to need to be able to actually push them down. The way the case is designed, the two buttons are pretty hard to press with all the raised rubber in the way. Unless you use your nails or have small fingers, this may be a problem.

That aside, the sides have raised grips that you'd find on the bottom of shoes or showers, which makes it even harder to lose your grip, no matter what you did before.
The top and bottom have holes cut out for the headphones and...

Here's some more info on the Logitech Wireless DJ that I described in today's column, and other devices for streaming music wirelessly around the home.
Wireless DJ works on Windows XP machines, but it requires a lot of system memory. Logitech recommends at least 512 megabytes of RAM, and said 1 gigabyte is even better. It worked for me on a laptop with 256 megs of RAM but it slowed things down, especially at startup. Here's a link to Logitech's page with more details, screen shots and system requirements.
I didn't mention the battery. Wireless DJ comes with a rechargeable battery built into the remote, which charges when it sits in the dock by your stereo.
Logitech prices the system at $250, but I'm starting to see lower prices around the Web. I recently saw Dell selling them for $150, but it may have been a mistake, and prices there are back to $250. Elsewhere on the Web they're down to around $220.
There are many devices for streaming digital music around the...

The electronics company head suggests that we may soon see an offering that's as tightly integrated with an online music store as iPod is with iTunes and Zune is with Zune Marketplace. In Listening Post.

If you were unlike some, and did not really have much luck with the Circuit City $40 off vouchers, your in luck. The site DealPl.us ( Deals Plus) is showing that Overstock.com is offering Zunes for $212.49. Not a bad deal for the Christmas shopping. If you see any more Zune related deals, please let [...]

Well this is not really any news, just a funny site I found earlier today, where 2 search terms have a little fight to see who wins by who has the most results in Google. So I put Zune up against the iPod. And who was the winner of this little boxing match? Well you [...]

If you couldn't tell from the shots yesterday, the upcoming Samsung YP-K3 player is really thin. Arguably the thinnest player from Samsung, if not anyone, that we've seen.
To refresh, it's got a 1.8-inch OLED display, FM Tuner, up to 4GB of storage and MP3/WMA/OGG playback. We bet you could probably stack three of these up against one Zune. – Jason Chen
[Generation MP3 via Mobile Mag]

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