iPod marks its 15th birthday in a changed world

If you're a gadget fan of a certain age (cough), you're about to feel ancient: Apple's iPod just turned 15 years old. Steve Jobs unveiled the first version of the media player at an event on Apple's campus on October 23rd, 2001. To say that it had a...

FreedomPop ships its 4G-enabling iPod touch case, lets us nearly go phoneless for $99 (update: plan clarifications)

FreedomPop ships its 4Genabling iPod touch case, lets us nearly go phoneless for $99

FreedomPop's gamble on free WiMAX data launched in beta at the start of month, but early adopters had to be contented with conventional hotspots and modems at first; those of us with a fixation on data-only cellular handsets had to keep waiting. We can stay slightly cooler-headed now that the provider is shipping its iPod touch 4G Sleeve. Shelling out $99 grafts a 4G hotspot to the back of the fourth-generation media player that gives it independence from WiFi as well as connection sharing with eight other devices -- at least, for anyone willing to burn through that 500MB of free monthly data in record time. About the only catches are the $10 per gigabyte overage fee and a design that's just slightly behind the times for iPod addicts. While some of us will still cling to smartphones for coverage or legacy reasons, others who mostly communicate through Instagram food photos could have that excuse they need to drop cellular phone service once and for all.

Update: Thanks to reader (and early adopter) Penn who pointed out that overages are $20 per gigabyte if you're on the free plan -- it's only $10 if you're a regularly paying customer.

Continue reading FreedomPop ships its 4G-enabling iPod touch case, lets us nearly go phoneless for $99 (update: plan clarifications)

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FreedomPop ships its 4G-enabling iPod touch case, lets us nearly go phoneless for $99 (update: plan clarifications) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung unveils Galaxy Player 5.8, pockets everywhere brace for impact

Samsung unveils Galaxy Player 58, pockets everywhere brace for impact

We hope you wear baggy pants, because you're going to want big pockets to carry Samsung's giant new jukebox. The Galaxy Player 5.8 is dominated by its namesake 5.8-inch, 960 x 540 LCD -- a screen that makes the 4.8-inch AMOLED on the closely related Galaxy S III look downright modest by comparison. Android 4.0 and the latest generation of TouchWiz make their first appearances in a Samsung media player here, with the spin naturally on books and movies instead of the tasks you'd associate with a smartphone. You're otherwise looking at the kind of media player you'd expect in 2012: there's either 16GB or 32GB of built-in storage, a microSD slot, a front VGA camera for those face-to-face sessions and a huge 2,500mAh battery to compensate for the display. We're still waiting on a few details, such as the exact processor and the Galaxy Player 5.8's launch schedule, although the announcement's timing suggests we may get a peek at this behemoth when IFA 2012 kicks off later this week. In the meantime, we'd advise against buying a pair of skinny jeans.

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Samsung unveils Galaxy Player 5.8, pockets everywhere brace for impact originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cowon’s X9 PMP now shipping, features up to 110 hours of music playback

Cowon's X9 PMP now shipping, features up to 110 hours of music playback

The latest addition to Cowon's line of portable media players is reaching consumers' hands in the good, old US of A as shipping is now underway for the X9. The PMP -- which comes in either black or white -- measures 72.5mm wide, 114.9mm tall and weighs in at 159 grams. It also features a 4.3-inch touchscreen, your choice of either 8GB, 16GB or 32GB of internal flash memory, as well as a MicroSD slot. Although good sound quality is typically Cowon's calling card, the X9 also serves up a healthy helping of battery life with the company claiming up to 110 hours of music playback. Operating time when watching video is said to be up to 13 hours while charging time takes 4.5 hours via AC adapter and 6 hours when juicing through a USB connection. Supported file formats include MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, APE, WAV, XviD, WMV and ASF. Unlike the Plenue Z2 and the D3, the X9 opts out of using the Android OS -- which is either good or bad depending on one's preferences. Its 480 x 272 resolution is also decidedly lower than, say, the 800 x 480 seen in the Z2's 3.7-inch screen. As for cost, folks interested in getting the X9 will have to lighten their wallets to the tune of $229.99. For more details, check out the Cowon site via the link below.

Cowon's X9 PMP now shipping, features up to 110 hours of music playback originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 01:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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