We just returned from Samsung’s 2011 spring lineup press conference. During it, Samsung announced 4-inch and 5-inch models of its Galaxy Player personal media device. It’s not the first time we’ve heard of the Galaxy Player, we had some hands-on time during Mobile World Congress, but we finally have confirmation that the two models will land in the United States. Clearly, the two are meant to compete with other PMPs such as the iPod touch, as both models run Android 2.2 (Froyo) and will be upgradeable to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). We think the duo will serve as compelling mini-tablets an a solid iPod touch alternative (since the Zune is fading into the ether). In many ways, the devices felt like smaller versions of the Galaxy Tab Wi-Fi edition. They have similar features, too — such as a 3.2-megapixel rear-facing camera with flash, and a front-facing VGA camera for video chat using Qik. Both models felt very light, albeit sturdy, in the hand. Both also offer 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity, stereo speakers, support for Adobe Flash 10.1, and AllShare with DLNA support that allows you to stream media content to other DLNA certified devices — such as TVs or consoles.

While pricing for the Galaxy Tab player models was not announced, we suspect both will be more affordable than the larger 7-inch Galaxy Tab. If you already own a Galaxy S phone, which sports a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, a 5MP camera, and more, then the 4-inch model is probably not going to be up your alley. However, we were impressed by the pocketability and size of the 5-inch version. Hit up our gallery to take a closer look at the Galaxy Player.

Cisco’s annual networking conference, Cisco Live!, is in full swing and the networking giant is unveiling the initial details on several upcoming video-oriented products. For consumer video camera buffs, Cisco is working on a Wi-Fi-enabled version of its popular Flip Video camera. Details are sparse but senior vice president of emerging technologies, Marthin De Beer, did hint that the portable camera may launch in time for the holidays. Cisco is also developing an enterprise-level video transcoding service, called the Media Experience Engine, that would allow companies to internally distribute video to a variety of platforms on the fly. Last but not least, Cisco is planning to release an iOS 4 video client for the Apple iPhone and is exploring opportunities to integrate its technologies into Apple’s FaceTime video conferencing tool.

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It appears as though Netflix is hiring an Android developer to “help build [an] Instant Streaming client implementation on Android devices.” Obviously, the good news would be that an official Netflix app — that would allow subscribers to watch Instant Queue movies right on their handsets — appears to be on the way. The bad news is that it may still be a while until we actually see said app. What do you think of the Netflix Instant Queue on your mobile? Would you watch? Are the I.Q. titles too dated, or are they just right for your quirky personality?

[Via Nerd Cast]

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That Asian Pacific pipeline of prototypes continues to flow with a new iPod Touch now gracing the front pages of blogs across the world. This latest leak showcases an iPod Touch with a rear facing camera and the designation DVT-1 which indicates that it is an early design. Very similar in appearance to the iPod Touch pair that appeared on eBay recently, this latest leaked prototype has a bare bones OS that is chock full of diagnostic utilities. Despite the iPod’s pristine condition, it is unclear whether this is an older prototype left over from Apple’s failed attempt at placing a camera in the iPod Touch last year or if it is indeed the next generation model. We may have to wait until September to find out whether this is a prototype hot off the presses or if it has been stored safely in someone’s drawer for a long time. Hit the jump for a another shot of the iPod Touch and a hands on video.

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Yesterday, we told you about an official AT&T press release that boasted of a partnership between AT&T and Sling Media, maker of the popular streaming television appliance Slingbox. In the press release AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega said, “Just as we’ve worked with Sling Media in this instance, we look forward to collaborating with other developers so that mobile customers can access a wider, more bandwidth-sensitive, and powerful range of applications in the future.” AT&T’s CEO was referring to a compromise reached over the Slingbox Mobile media player that was banned from AT&T’s network due to bandwidth concerns. In a subsequent interview de la Vega continued, “They [Sling Media] made important changes to more efficiently use 3G network bandwidth and conserve wireless spectrum so that we were able to support the app on our 3G mobile broadband network.” So, what’s the problem? When Ars Technica caught up with Sling Media’s John Santoro, he had this to say: “We didn’t change anything, AT&T never discussed any specific requirements with us.” Santoro went onto explain that the code to optimize the Slingbox Mobile’s video stream, based on connection quality and network traffic, has remained unchanged since Slingplayer Mobile was first launched. A little egg in the face for AT&T, but hey, we’re getting Slingplayer Mobile, and in the words of Sling Media, “whatever the reason, we’re just glad AT&T has approved it.”

UPDATE: It seems that SlingMedia did, in fact, work with AT&T on getting this approved after all. Apparently while no code changes to the streaming portion of the application was changed due to AT&T’s requests, Sling did update it during continued development. AT&T later approved the application on their network for usage on iPhone devices. 

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NVIDIA unveiled the next generation of its Tegra mobile processor at CES yesterday, promising to deliver tablets, smartbooks and smartphones with a blazing web browsing experience, HD video, Flash 10 support and multi-day battery life. Rather than go on and on, we will simply let the Tegra 250 specs speak for themselves:

• The world’s first dual-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU running up to 1GHz
• Eight independent processors to handle web browsing, HD video encode and decode and mobile 3D gaming
• 10x faster than the processors used in smartphones today, and up to 4x the performance of the previous generation Tegra processor
• Advanced TSMC 40nm process with active power management to provide amazing battery life (140 hours audio and over 16 hours of HD video playback) despite being always-on and always-connected
• Support for 3D touchscreen user interfaces
• Up to 1080p video encode/decode and support for HD Web streaming formats and complete HW accelerated HD multimedia engine for visually stunning movie playback
• Adobe Flash Player 10.1 acceleration for streaming video and 3D mobile games
• Resolutions ranging from four-to-eight times that of smartphones
• Form factors and screen sizes ranging from 5-15 inches

This second iteration of the Tegra mobile chipset is in the production stage with a development kit ready and waiting for eager programmers to build applications for this next generation in mobile computing. While you wait for those drool-worthy mobile devices to emerge, you can check out a 3D gaming demo showcasing the prowess of the Tegra 250 chipset. And oh yeah, remember that the video blow is from a mobile device, not an Xbox 360.

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Remember when The Wall Street Journal said that Dell was working on an Android MID? Well it turns out that it was bang on as today images and a video of a prototype device known as the Streak emerged by way of everyone’s favorite Vietnamese mobile site. Running Android 2.0, the Streak boasts 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, a 5″ WVGA multitouch capacitive display, 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, Bluetooth, microSD and a 1300 mAh battery. Looking through all of the pictures, we couldn’t help notice what looks to be the spitting image of a front-facing camera for checking ones hair video calling, but then again it could just be the worst ambient light sensor ever. Enough talk. Hit the jump for a ton of pics and a video, because the Streak cries out to be seen.

Looks like EyeTV pulled a fast one on the quality assurance peeps in Cupertino. Our friends from Electricpig in the UK are reporting a quick and easy workaround that allows the EyeTV app to stream media over 3G on the iPhone.

“Tap the OK button, and the app will act as if it can’t receive broadcasts. However, tap the text of the warning message instead, and the Eye TV app will stream live TV over a 3G connection.”

Doesn’t seem like Elgato was trying very hard to hide their little secret, and we’re fairly certain Apple isn’t going to find it very funny. Will Apple go all Google Voice and pull every media streaming app in their catalog? Probably not — however we’re thinking that this particular version of EyeTV isn’t long for the AppStore.

Thanks, James!

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Following up on the success of purplera1n, iPhone hacker extraordinaire geohot has released a jailbreak solution for OS 3.1.2 dubbed blackra1n. Currently only being offered to Windows users, blackra1n works on all generations of the iPhone and iPod touch, although the 3rd gen iPod touch needs to be tethered. The installation method for blackra1n is unchanged from that of its predecessor meaning that all you really have to do is download and install the app to your PC, plug in your device and make it ra1n. Good luck!

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One of our oh-so-trusty ninjas hit us up last night with the above photo. It’s the much-rumored Qualcomm FLO TV personal TV unit. While Qualcomm is mostly known for making processors for mobile devices, it looks like they will be branching outside of their normal work and possibly manufacturing hardware, at least based on what we’ve been hearing about the FLO PTV product. FLO TV is available currently on AT&T and Verizon network handsets (depending on model) and uses a specific frequency separate of cellular signals to broadcast live TV to phones and devices. What the PTV product would do, is work as a standalone device which we’re hearing would also double as a portable media player of some kind. Previous rumors have pegged the device as having a capacitive touch screen, 4GB of built-in storage space and stereo speakers. Those specs fit in line with what we’ve been told. Sorry the picture isn’t a little bigger, but hey, it’s better than some sketches, right?

At a special event in Paris, France, Archos made its next-generation Internet Tablet official today. The Android powered multimedia device will outmatch the iPod touch with a Ti OMAP3 processor and a huge 4.8-inch touchscreen display with 800×480 resolution and 16 million colors. In addition to its fast processor and high resolution screen, the Internet Tablet will also include:

• HD video support (H.264, WMV, Mpeg-4 up to 720P)
• Archos AppsLib store with Archos 5-compatible Android applications
• Micro SD Slot (SDHC compatible)
• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n)
• GPS with 3D Maps
• Bluetooth 2.0 (mobile phone tethering capable)
• FM transmitter and FM receiver (RDS)
• Built-in speaker, microphone and leg stand
• support for a wide variety of audio/video codecs and image formats
• additional functionality available via optional accessories (DVR-Station, HDMI Mini-Dock, GPS In-Car Holder, etc)
• Pre-installed Android applications include DroidIn, Ebuddy IM, Twidroid, QuickPedia, and more
• Flash 10 support expected with Android 2.0 in Q1 2010
• 22 hours of Music playback time and 7 hours of Video playback with standard Lithium polymer battery

The Archos 5 Internet Tablet will be available in two models: an 8, 16 or 32GB Flash version and a 160GB or 500GB hard drive version. Prices start at $249 for the 8GB Flash version up to $439 for the 500GB hard drive version and it will launch on September 16th (directly from Archos and at Amazon.com). Also interesting is the Archos Phone tablet, which Archos only partially unveiled. The Phone Tablet will have a 1GHz processor, 3.5G HSDPA/HSUPA connectivity, a 4.8-inch 854×480 display and all the other goodies its non-3G cousin has. No release date for the Phone Tablet was announced but the January 2010 edition of CES would be a good place to launch, no?

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

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A triple dose of good news today for those who resent Apple’s stranglehold on the PMP market. Not only is the Zune HD now on sale starting at $219.99, but Microsoft has finally come clean and admitted that in the upcoming months it plans to bombard the Zune faithful and converts alike with apps such as Twitter for Zune and Facebook for Zune, and games like Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition, Vans Sk8: Pool Service and Audiosurf Tilt. Not only that, but Zune HD owners can also look forward to streaming HD video to the Xbox 360 as well as the ability to purchase and rent TV shows, movies and more. Microsoft, this is yours to mess up… Please don’t. Anyone have a shiny new Zune HD squarely in his or her sights today?

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In addition to an update to iTunes,  Apple also announced a refresh of its iPod lineup at its annual fall event. First up is the iPod touch which saw a price drop, capacity increase and a hardware upgrade. The iPod touch is available in the traditional 8GB capacity for $199, 32Gb for $299 and 64Gb for $399. The 32Gb and 64Gb models are 50% faster than the current iPod touch and features OpenGL ES 2.0 support, presumably sharing the same underlying architecture as the iPhone 3GS. The iPod Classic has been bumped to boost to 160GB with a steady-state price at $250. The Shuffle got a brand new paint job and a price drop with a 2GB Shuffle available in a smorgasbord of new colors for $59, and a 4GB special edition model available for $99. The biggest changes to the lineup occurred in the Nano which to the surprise of no one has received, insert drum roll here, a video camera. Now we know where all of those rumored camera modules went. The new iPod Nano features a larger 2.2 inch screen, polished anodized aluminum case, video camera, microphone, speaker, YouTube integration, CoverFlow, VoiceOver, Genius mixes, Voice recorder, a pedometer and FM radio. The iPod Nano is also available in multiple colors with the 8GB model priced at $149 and the 16GB at $179.  All models are now live and available on Apple’s website.

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File this one under “huh?” According to a report from gdgt this morning, Qualcomm is readying a portable tablet-like dedicated FLO TV device that will provide users with TV on the go. Dubbed a Portable Television, or PTV, Qualcomm’s upcoming device is said to resemble the sketch above and is thought to be about the size of an iPhone. Reported specs include a capacitive touchscreen, 4GB of memory, stereo speakers and battery life to the tune of 300 hours of standby, 5 hours of TV and 15 hours of music. We’re not sure exactly who the device will be marketed toward or what hole it fills that is big enough to warrant a dedicated device, but all will be revealed soon — or at least by early next near at CES. Is anyone into the idea of a dedicated PTV or is convergence still the name of the game?

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With the Zune HD on the horizon and a refreshed iPod touch looming, some might say it’s hard to even think about getting amped for Sony’s upcoming S Series and E Series Walkmans. Others however, might say these sleek and inexpensive players are just what the doctor ordered. Sony announced this morning that it would be bringing two new Walkman lines to market next month — the well-leaked S Series and the not-so-well-leaked E Series. Starting with the S Series, we’re looking at a 2.4-inch QVGA display, FM tuner with recording capability, built-in stereo speakers and up to 42 hours of audio/6.4 hours of video playback on a single charge (17 hours audio/5 hours video using the stereo speakers). The cheaper E Series is a much more basic player with a 2-inch display and none of the bells and whistles found on the S. Pricing is where things get interesting: The S Series will run $110 for the 8GB model and $130 for the 16GB model while the E Series will be $80 for 8GB and $100 for 16GB. Not bad at all.

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