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Zen X-Fi2 – Review, Price and Specifications

Zen X-Fi2 is one of the best audio players from Creative yet – this is a touchscreen player and does not have fussy buttons involved. It simply lets your fingers work magic across the 3″ TFT LCD screen and gain access to all player features instantly.
The ZEN X-Fi2 allows you to experience stellar X-Fi technology even with your stored movies and FM radio1, restoring audio to even higher levels of clarity than before.


Besides a bigger screen size than its predecessor, the ZEN X-Fi2 supports multiple audio formats including the much desired Free Loss less Audio Codec (FLAC), which delivers audio without compromising on its original quality. The player also supports iTunes® Plus (unprotected AAC format) which compresses audio data much more efficiently than older formats.

Physical Specifications

Capacity – 8GB / 16GB / 32GB
Size – 102mm x 57mm x 11.6mm
Weight – 75g
LCD
– 3.0″ TFT Touch Screen LCD, 262k colors
– 400 x 240 pixels resolution
Songs
8GB
– Up to 4,000 WMAs/ 266hrs (Approx. 4mins per song at 64kbps WMA)
– Up to 2,000 MP3/ 133hrs (Approx. 4mins per song at 128kbps MP3)
– Up to 2,000 AAC/ 133hrs (Approx. 4mins per song at 128kbps AAC)

16GB
– Up to 8,000 WMAs/ 532hrs (Approx. 4mins per song at 64kbps WMA)
– Up to 4,000 MP3/ 266hrs (Approx. 4mins per song at 128kbps MP3)
– Up to 4,000 AAC/ 266hrs (Approx. 4mins per song at 128kbps AAC)

32GB
– Up to 8,000 WMAs/ 532hrs (Approx. 4mins per song at 128kbps WMA)
– Up to 8,000 MP3/ 532hrs (Approx. 4mins per song at 128kbps MP3)
– Up to 8,000 AAC/ 532hrs (Approx. 4mins per song at 128kbps AAC)



Battery Life
– Up to 25hrs2 of audio playback
– Up to 5hrs2 of video playback

X-Fi Audio Enhancement – Adjustable Crystalizer / Expand effects
Video / Audio Out – PAL / NTSC (via A/V cable sold separately)
Expansion Slot – microSD memory card support
RSS – Displays RSS content feeds offline (Sync via PC/Laptop connected to the internet)
Power Charging – Via PC-USB or ZEN USB Power Adapter (sold separately)

Video Playback Formats
– WMV9, MPEG4-SP3, DivX3 4/5 and XviD3
– Up to 640 x 480 video size

Audio Playback Formats – MP3, WMA (DRM9), WAV (IMA-ADPCM) Audible4, AAC4, FLAC4.
Photo Formats Supported – JPEG, BMP (TIFF, GIF, PNG to be converted with bundled software)5
Battery – Built-in Li-ion Battery
FM Radio – Built-in FM Radio with 32 preset stations
Organizer – Clock, Alarm, Calendar, Task, Contacts
Built-in speaker – Yes
Album Art – Only for MP3 and WMA files
Voice Recording format – IMA-ADPCM (*.wav) (Built in MIC)
Connectivity – USB 2.0 recommended

Price

This MP3 Player is available for Rs. 13,599/-

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Peek launches exclusive gadget for Twitter

TwitterPeek is a new device that is launched exclusively for accessing the Twitter micro-blogging service.
Peek, the US vendor says that the handset allows users to acess Twitter throughout the US without a Wi-Fi or internet connection.
This uses existing data networks to send and receive Twitter data. It allows users to perform common operations such as posting tweets, messages and managing the followers list.
The vendor also hopes that this exclusive handset will appeal to users who want to access Twitter without requiring a PC or a smartphone.

TwitterPeek is a new device that is launched exclusively for accessing the Twitter micro-blogging service.

Peek, the US vendor says that the handset allows users to acess Twitter throughout the US without a Wi-Fi or internet connection.

This uses existing data networks to send and receive Twitter data. It allows users to perform common operations such as posting tweets, messages and managing the followers list.

The vendor also hopes that this exclusive handset will appeal to users who want to access Twitter without requiring a PC or a smartphone.

TwitterPeek

TwitterPeek1

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Apple iphone is eye candy alright..

Apple’s iphone/ipod Touch review

When Apple supposedly leaked info on Iphone it sent ripples across the web world.Even news channels caught the frenzy. On launch day Steve Job’s now so famous dragging of pictures with a touch and playing with the phone caught the imagination of entire world.

Apple’s designs are always unmistakeable and breathtaking but to say iphone is a multimedia computer or next gen mobile is a huge overstatement. Except the touch feature iphone brought nothing new to the mobile world. Integrated media player and a basic camera,or huge screens are not new. Apple removed the keyboard and gave the touchscreen. How many users liked texting in iphone is a different question. But it can be used as a good ipod , a fine browser and a decent phone.

Safari browser is not the top notch, after using the nokia’s browser (Symbian series 60 3rd version )with mini map and pointer, you will never say safari is exceptional. Even the free opera mini 3rd version on a big screened phone is better.But again many people who used iphones never knew of all these. Probably the typical US mobile user would have never tasted(or tested) a good phone, after going though the huge(or stupid) list of phones on offer from AT&T and TMobile. In US the network operators decide what phone you use, and usually phones come free on contract, as with most offers free phones are the skum of the line up. It will either be a Moto Razr,Nokia 2600/1600 or at best some flip phone. Then there are high end (???) Blackberry smart(mailing devices) which dont even stand up to even basic  European smartphones.

Then lets come back to our iphone, does it have application support? No.. Apple uncle says you should use whatever was given to you and if you happen to install it, your phone will become a brick. Even more the phone should only be used on AT&T and cant be used with any other operator (even within US).. what are these?. When people are shouting that Microsoft is preinstalling IE and WM Player and it should remove them? what happened those advocates? In these same websites they are chanting apple mantra.

Lets come to economy or the opposite of it. You buy a phone for 399$ (8GB version 1.1.2) thts the easy part, but you should take a AT&T connection worth $60 for 2 years contract. I finally ended up writing this article with even  more vengence(not that much 🙂 ) after seeing the phone plan. I have taken a T-mobile plan with 600 mins,weekend and nights free and  unlimited data plan all for $46 (its not wap its web plan) before tax.  But the same plan with iphone costs me a whopping 80$ before tax 🙁 . So a 34$ extra for 24 months and still you cant unlock your phone officially ever.(YOU CAN NEVER EVER UNLOCK IPHONE  from AT&T, thts what i learnt from AT&T ). 24*34=$ 816. So for the iphone you end up paying $1200 .

As far as technology everyone accepts iphone’s reception is poor,(ok this is not a big deal when our intention of buying this phone itself is different).Even then it doesnt have 3G support, iphone only has EDGE and GPRS. If it is targeted as a web device why miss 3G??

The spoilsport is played by the operators in US, most successful and popular phones in UK and India are not available in US. US operators have a skew towards Motorola and Blackberry and the models of which are failures in other countries. This is pure brute force capitalism and monopoly of operators, in this country mobile customers have few options.

Nokia,Sony ericsson and samsung pretty much dominate UK and Indian markets despite Motorola and Blackberry being present there, thts the story for you !!

And as far as iphone, 3rd party application support  and unbundling of device from operator will determine my  future purchases on new versions of it.Till then sorry uncle I dont want to be ur slave..