[electronista via engadget]

The first Eco Media Player from Trevor Baylis has been a critical hit if not necessarily a hit on the retail stores. Now the creator has come up with the second-generation dubbed Eco Media Player revolution. The design is sleeker and UI is more user-friendly - “sleeker” in tech speak. It plays MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG and WAV and some WMV and H.264 videos, which is an improvement over the music-only first Eco Media PMP. Storage has also been upped to 4GB. Power efficiency from cranking has been slightly improved to 45 minutes for the fully cranked DAP or 5 minutes more than the first one.

[source via engagdget]

While most of the free games that can be downloaded through the App Store are mostly puzzles, there some such as the Audi A4 Driving app that provide users with an alternative to the usual fair. Audi A4 Driving is basically a driving simulation game wherein you’ll have to complete a race course in 3 laps in the fastest time possible. You’re provided with an overhead view point of your car while the track is delineated by a series of orange cones on the side. The gas and brake pedals are on the touchscreen and steering is done by tilting the iPhone/iPod Touch accordingly.

More pics and details after the break.

Even though the Audi A4 splash screen looks impressive, the game itself lacks that visual pizzazz to make it exciting for the player. The lack of a track guide/layout makes the game difficult to play as you’ll have to discover the track as you go along. It would have been nice if there was a different vantage point (i.e.driver level) for the player, but then again, that would have entailed more visual work and this is just a free game after all.

The choice to go with an accelerometer-based steering seems logical, but its implementation is anything but easy. Over steering is common in this game as its hard get the feel of the sensitivity level of the accelerometer. This is a game that would greatly benefit from either the JoyPod or the iControlPad when and if it does become available.

It also lacks a continuation feature which means that if you exit the game, you’ll have to start all over again from the very beginning. It’s such a simple feature which would have made the game less painful to play, but sad to say, is not there.

However, if you’re into driving simulation games and don’t want to spend a dime on it, this is probably one of the few (if not the only one) free apps available in the App Store. Just be sure you have a lot of patience as the Audi A4 Driving Challenge sure doesn’t live up to our expectations, but then again, that’s just us. Try it out and share with us your views on this game.

There are so many choices these days if you are shopping for a mini-notebook. There are always new models popping up and this bounty is made worse by the enthuses participation of OEM companies that can offer netbooks, mini-notes, , mini-lappies sub-notes or whatever you want to call them at really ridiculously cheap prices. Perhaps besides the price, it’s processing speed that is the deal maker or breaker for netbooks. The most popular being Intel’s new Atom processor and VIA, which have plenty to offer in the category. VIA’s processors are pretty rangy. They have the upcoming Isaiah, which is bound to be better than Intel’s Silverthorne (read it here) and currently available is the VIA Nano L2100, a 1.8GHz mini-monster than knowcked the socks off the Intel Atom 230 (read). But the real nail to the Intel Atom’s coffin is the lower-powered 1.3GHz VIA Nano beating a 1.6GHz Atom processor. Read more from the links below.

[umpcportal via engadget]

Benchmark video of the VIA Nano vs. the Intel Atom (seems unavailable for now but we’ll try later).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MklPBVPSp0

The Dark Knight is the best film adaptation of a comic book I have watched in my life. Two hours ago, I watched the movie for the second time (just had to try if the movie hit me with more intensity when I’m not with someone) and was blown away the second time. I wasn’t overwhelmed in the usual sense of the word; the movie did not take my breath away. Instead, I nearly fainted during the latter half of the film as the continuous plot twist and explosive action and Heath Ledger’s Joker keep upping the ante in the psychopathic meter almost suffocated me. Heath Ledger was haunting as The Joker, and a weird thing happened to me right in the middle of the movie… I actually had forgotten that this actor was not with us anymore and I found myself in shock when the fact, which had slipped right out of my mind and slipped in again, hit me with a sudden and smarting regret that Heath Ledger was not going to come back for a reprise. It’s hair-raising, too, of course. David Denby of The New Yorker puts it thus: “And it has one startling and artful element: the sinister and frightening performance of the late Heath Ledger as the psychopathic murderer the Joker. That part of the movie is upsetting to watch, and, in retrospect, both painful and stirring to think about.”

The main characters (Batman, The joker and Dent) are a rework of the story of the salvation of man. Batman was the angel of light (turned dark by the modern mind), The Joker as the devil and progenitor of chaos and Dent is the battleground of the two influences. In the concrete sense, Gotham was the battle ground and its people relegated to horrified bystanders as good and evil waged war. The Dark Night is not all metaphors, though, and many times the destruction and narcotized appearances of The Joker hit home.

In the middle of this, we espy the Nokia XpressMedia and Morgan Freeman working its GUI, seen for the first time by the public on this movie. The phone was modified to act like a sonar, which if possible, is a killer feature, if I have ever seen one.

The Dark Night is fantasy taken to its most realistic proportions or reality enlarged into fantastically nightmarish dimensions. It is the best movie adaptation of a comic book I have ever watched. To point out its flaws is to miss the point. Its strengths will not survive close analysis. For instance, studied noise makes up a significant bulk of the score. The three main characters and including Gary Oldman in a brilliant supporting role probably did the best ensemble acting they have ever done. Maggie Gyllenhaal inlieu of Katie Holmes was a necessary casting. The movie needed a more talented actress. The Dark Knight is a highly literary creation. he is more Jesus than any Jesus shot on film and in costume utterly and profoundly human. I love it.

[photo from unwiredreview]

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Shenzhen’s Go Quick Design Engineering Co., Ltd. has no time for fancy touchscreen devices. Their engineering and seign team have better priorities. Making a PMP impregnable by dust, for example, can do wonders for the users. Imagine having your PMP around for the journey across the desert and getting hit by a sandstorm and still being able to play music. Everyone knows sand particles are nothing compared to household dust. These buggers are even smaller in size and coming from our own bodies they can really ruin the playing quality portable multimedia players. Not this PMP from Go Quick.

With a 2.8-inch screen and playback for a host of files including AVI, MP4, MP3, WMA, WMV etc., Nintendo games support, FM tuner, miniSD slot, stopwatch, calculator and calendar, it’s an air-tight piece of pocketable entertainment device. Available wholesale for now at the link below.

[product]

If my Chinese is correct, the GTC G850 is made partly of the same stuff that makes the MacBook. I can believe that. I have a white MacBook and when the screen is turned off, it looks exactly like the G850 photo above. Well, except that my MacBook is wide screen and the G850’s 3.5-inch QVGA screen is not. It is powered by a Switzerland-RK2706 core chip, which we’ve seen used elsewhere. Support for RMVB, AVI, MPEG, MPG, DAT videos and MP3, WMA, JPEG and TXT. Other specs include a miniSD slot, USB and AV out. It is available in 2GB and 4GB models. Price is 850 yuan ($119) for the 2GB.

[via imp3]

1)C-002 HiPhone , 2) Boxu T32, 3) ONDA VX747, 4) Pasen iTouch, 5) Meizu M8, 6) RAmos miniQ or Q12.

[poll=3]

Yes, it is possible to stream songs among different PMPs, be it an iPod, Zune, or a China-made knock-off - thanks to this gadget called Jook. If you and your friends hook up the Jook to your portable media players, you can broadcast your music to other Jook-enabled devices within the vicinity. You can also use your Jook to listen to streaming music from Jook devices nearby, and as a social networking tool. Jook users can create personal profiles on their devices and share them with other listeners. Of course, social networking and music-sharing isn’t really much fun when you don’t know anyone else in the network. The other downside is that you can’t actually send files through the Jook so if you hear something you like, you’ll have to go through the trouble of downloading the mp3 or buying it off iTunes. If the Jook retails for a low price it could be a hit but otherwise - I doubt it’ll take off.

[via digital trends]