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.

According to Bloomberg’s Dina Bass, Microsoft will discontinue selling its Zune music player sometime this year. Launched in 2006, the Zune was Microsoft’s response to Apple’s iPod music player and offered us our first look at the Metro UI — the user interface now present on Windows Phone devices. According to Bass, the company will refocus its efforts on the Zune software; working to improve its functionality and usefulness on devices running Microsoft’s new mobile operating system. Microsoft declined to directly comment on the device’s future. “We have nothing to announce about another Zune device,” said a company spokesperson. “Our long-term strategy focuses on the strength of the entire Zune ecosystem across Microsoft platforms.” Zune hardware — the Zune HD — was last refreshed in September of 2009.

Read [Bloomberg] Read [Statement]

While we haven’t yet been able to independently confirm the report, Samsung Hub claims that a new addition to Samsung’s Galaxy family is set to be introduced at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The device, dubbed Galaxy Player, will be an Android-powered portable media player that will take on the iPod touch. According to the report, it will essentially be a Samsung Galaxy S without the cellular connectivity, featuring a 1GHz processor, a 4-inch WVGA touchscreen display (LCD, not AMOLED), T-DMB, SoundAlive audio enhancement technology, dual cameras, HD video playback support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 and the Android 2.2 OS. Samsung Hub states that the Galaxy Player will be available in three sizes, 8 GB, 16 GB and 32 GB, though pricing and a firm release date are not yet available.

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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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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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As it turns out, this weekend’s rumored Zune HD preview at Best Buy was the real deal. Tens or even dozens of anxious soon-to-be Zune HD owners (we kid; we want it now) gathered to see the sexy new PMP first hand and one of them even managed to snap an extremely blurry shot of a curious menu item. Mmmm, “Apps”. The attendee tried to access the mysterious menu but lack of Wi-Fi rendered his attempts fruitless. Word on the street is that the Apps menu will be home to various games at launch but we’re still not sure what else will find its way there — certainly something however, lest the menu heading read “Games”. Also of note, one preview attendee claims that the host of this event confirmed the existence of a Zune SDK. This is definitely rumor status right now but it would certainly go a long way to support the inevitable arrival of a Zune app store of sorts.

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As if anyone had doubts surrounding the legitimacy of yesterday’s Zune HD leak, today Microsoft confirmed availability for September 15th and let it be known that pre-orders for the black 16GB and platinum 32GB models are now being filled through Zune.net, Microsoft, Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart. In case you’re waiting on the other five colors that the Tegra-powered portable will be available in at launch, you’ll just have to sit tight for now. Don’t cry though — maybe we can cheer you up by letting you know that pricing is now 100 percent confirmed: $219.99 for the 16GB model and $289.99 for the 32GB model. We’ll take six of each, thank you.

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We wouldn’t go as far as to call Microsoft’s upcoming Zune refresh a PMP hail mary, but it’s pretty clear that a lot is riding on Redmond’s upcoming players. So far we really like what we’ve seen of the Zune HD — and that statement is now expanded to include pricing. Last night some Best Buy inventory screen caps revealed the Zune HD’s price points and as of this morning we can consider them confirmed thanks to Amazon. App Store aside, we’re looking at a device far more capable and exciting compared to Apple’s iPod touch, and according to Amazon’s pre-order page, the 16GB will launch at $219.99 (compared to $299 for the 16GB iPod touch) and the 32GB model will hit the streets at $289.99 (compared to $399 for the 32GB iPod touch). Yeah, that’s no typo — you’ll be able to get a 32GB Zune HD for $9.01 less than a 16GB iPod touch. The Best Buy screenshots also add weight to the previously rumored September 8th launch date so it looks like we’ve got less than a month until lift off. The only question is whether or not Apple’s impending iPod touch refresh will tout enough bells and whistles at launch to overshadow Microsoft’s new gem. Hit the jump for the Best Buy images.

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Read (Best Buy)

Perhaps the current crop of personal media players on the market just isn’t doing anything for you. It’s perfectly understandable of course, what with modern mobile phones catching up to dedicated players more and more each day. This very fact is the reason that Microsoft’s upcoming Zune HD continues to pique our interest. 3.3-inch 480 x 272 OLED capacitive touchscreen display, built-in HD Radio receiver, HD output (requires an optional dock), Wi-Fi, integrated web browser, multitouch support and Xbox LIVE integration… And of course we recently learned this little spitfire will pack NVIDIA’s Tegra processor at its core. According to a Gizmodo tipster, it looks like Microsoft plans to offer this peppy PMP in 16GB and 32GB varieties — fair enough — and it may be shooting for a September 8th launch. It’s as good a date as any we suppose, and leaves plenty of time to get early adopters on board before a nice little price drop/sale in time for the holidays. Why not?

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We were filled with envy when COWON announced that its higher capacity S9 would grace South Korea’s gadget freaks, but it looks like it’s finally going to be our turn. Better yet, the bump to 32GB only sets you back $299 compared to $239 for the 16GB version. There is really no complaining with this one because we were practically gleaming with our review unit. Audio quality from the S9 is tops and the AMOLED screen just pops. As you can see, the COWON S9 is being shipped and sold from JetAudio, Inc. and while the actual JetAudio site shows 16GB as the largest capacity S9 you can get, we’re not going to argue with what’s shown on sale through Amazon. Grab one while you can because these units are just so PMP.

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We have to admit it… We’re a little afraid. Afraid of what you might ask? Afraid that all this hype surrounding the now-reportedly confirmed Zune HD is going to be the height of excitement with regards to the device. Hype is good, hype is great, but you need something special to follow the hype in order for it to stick. Let’s take a look at the known specs:

• ~3.6-inch OLED full touchscreen
• NVIDIA Tegra powered
• 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB versions
• HDMI Connection to stream straight to your TV
• HD Radio
• Web browser
• Wi-Fi compatible, with wireless marketplace
• Released, early fall
• International release of the Zune device itself
• Home AV packs, Car packs, Charge packs

Sounds good and fun, but there’s definitely nothing so far that would (or should) draw much attention. HD radio? Mmm hmm. The Zune platform is supposedly in the midst of an overhaul which is nice but we need a wow-factor here. The average consumer is most definitely not going to pass on an iPod Touch and scoop up a Zune HD because of a high resolution display and HD radio, that’s for sure. Long story short, we hope Microsoft learned something from its experiences with the current Zune model.

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Back in December, we gave the COWON S9 our hands on review treatment shortly after its release here in the US and to paraphrase, we liked it. A lot. As far as audio quality, battery life and affordability we still haven’t found a competitive offering that can top it. One area where the S9 has been limited however, is storage. Apparently COWON got the hints as the company has just announced the availability of a new 32GB model in Korea. What’s more, the new bigger build rings up at 379,000KOR (US$286) — a substantial $113 less than the 32GB iPod Touch which, in our opinion, can’t even come close to touching the S9 where sound quality is concerned. We’re hoping the new S9 model makes its way over to the states ASAP at a similar price point because our smaller version is pretty full right now. As an aside for those of you who currently own an S9, COWON has pushed out version 2.2 of the firmware — be sure to download it and get your update on.

[Via PMP Today]

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Back in January after we learned that Zune sales and platform revenue was down $100 million under the previous quarter, we asked whether the Zune was ultimately doomed to die an unglamorous death or if Microsoft had an ace up its sleeve. Last night, Engadget posted some images that they feel, based upon some chitchat with sources, are of an upcoming touchscreen PMP known as the Zune HD. Because of the lack of anything other than a few promotional shots we’re going to have to resort to the age-old game of speculation when discussing the Zune HD, but if all of this turns out to be true we think it reasonable to expect that the Zune HD would ship with a display that approaches 720p and (based upon our measurement of the screen in the images) an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 — one of two standard aspect ratios used by mainstream films. But as we say so often in the tech blogging world, we shall see. Would a Zune HD have any chance of finding its way into your pocket or has the Zune ship already sailed for you?

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Last week we showed you an unboxing of COWON’s latest Portable Media Playing creation and you had to know we’d be following it up with a full-on review. We wanted to take a little while to play with the S9 and cover every square inch of its functionality before bringing you a hands on review and now that we’ve had a few days alone with this puppy, we’re ready to dish. Hit the jump to dive in.

In this review we’ll take you through most of the important parts of the UI and pepper in some commentary along the way. The UI, by the way, is COWON’s own flash-based GUI and while it certainly isn’t the fanciest game in town but it is simple, attractive, intuitive and lightning fast. The capacitive touchscreen is very responsive as is the UI, making the S9 a real pleasure to use. Pretty much every function can be discovered quickly by even those with very basic gadgeteering abilities, but it’s still enough to be respectable amongst seasoned vets. With that, what better place to start than the home screen?

The home screen is a direct portal into each of the S9′s functions and the icons thereon are are well-sized. Settings, Utilities, a file browser can all be accessed with one click along with all of the multimedia functions. Also, the S9 boots from off to the home screen in about three seconds which is fantastic compared to competitive offerings. Along the bottom of the home screen are two groups of dots which serve only to toggle between silver icons and multicolored icons. Like us, you’ll probably stick with silver.

The settings menu gives quite obviously presents all of the configuration-related items on the device. The one thing that took us a brief while to get used to was the necessity for double-tapping to make a selection. Once you get past that however, the settings menus are quite sensible and easy to tweak.

One thing we particularly like about the UI is the zooming feature present in most sections. As amazingly crisp as the AMOLED display is on the S9, size is always an issue with portables. Many areas of the UI such as documents (as seen above) include a slider across the bottom. The far left end brings the zoom all the way out and the far right end zooms all the way in. As you can see below, the slider makes it very easy to adjust the font to the exact size that suits you.

Moving along to the bread and butter, we have the S9′s multimedia functionality. First up, images. As you can imagine, photos look great on this display. The 3.3″ AMOLED screen displays its 480 x 272 pixels in vivid detail and photos jump off the screen. The included software suite makes it easy to load photos along with the rest of your media and the accelerometer allows the device to automatically adjust the image orientation as you rotate the device. The S9 supports viewing in all directions so you can rotate it left, right or even upside down and the image will adjust accordingly. You can also find the zoom slider present beneath each photo for fast and easy zooming.

From photos we move right over to the video player. Again… AMOLED! Videos are a joy to watch and and 30 fps playback makes for a smooth viewing experience. The S9 supports AVI and WMV, as well as SMI subtitles in case Kung Fu is your thing. Also of note – thanks to the beauty of OLED displays, COWON rates the S9 with 11 straight hours of video playback on a single charge. We didn’t try to watch 11 consecutive hours but judging by the battery performance we’ve seen, we don’t doubt it. Below are a couple of shots of video playback and as you can see, tilting the device will automatically rotate the picture in any direction.

Next on the list, and the function we’ve been waiting for the entire review to cover, is the music player. The S9 supports a variety of formats including MP3, WMA, OGG and WAV, as well as LDB 1.0 and 2.0 lyrics and ID3 V1 / ID3 V2.2/2.3/2.4 tags. Visually, the player is so-so. In landscape mode all you get is a row of album art along with the zoom slider beneath it. In portrait mode, the player displays the album art of the current track along with controls and a slider that can be used to shuttle. In the bottom right corner is a flip button that will swap play controls for options to bookmark the current track or add it as a favorite, toggle repeat mode or adjust EQ settings. There is also a “quick list” above the flip button that pops open a small visual representation of the current, prior and next tracks. Beyond the touchscreen controls, playback can also be controlled with a centrally located play/pause hardware button on the top of the device, flanked by rewind/fast-forward and volume up/down buttons. These buttons can be used in various other modes as well.

It should be noted at this point that the audio quality on the S9 is incredible. No, seriously. It tops Apple’s iPod line hands down – we were pretty taken aback by it in fact. We tested the S9 with Apple’s iPhone headphones, a pair of noise isolating Shure buds and a pair of AKG studio cans. Each was better than the next. Though we haven’t had a chance yet to pair it up with a set of stereo Bluetooth headphones, we would certainly expect similar performance. We played with the EQ settings a bit and while there are plenty of user-configurable options, we found the rock preset to be just right for most types of music. With the AKGs plugged in and the volume cranked up to 33 out of 40, we were in music heaven – though a while longer at that level and we might have gone deaf. Oh, and it’s rated at 55 continuous hours of music playback… Mmmm, OLED.

In terms of pricing, COWON set a good price point for the currently-available 16GB model, $239.99, but we would have liked to see the 8GB come in a bit lower than $199.99 as it will be priced when shipments begin hitting the States. $239.99 puts the 16GB a healthy $60 below the similarly-sized iPod Touch while the 8GB model only affords a $30 savings over the 8GB iPod Touch. These prices also put the S9 well above the Zune, with 8GB and 16GB models coming in at $139 and $179 respectively, though we would hardly put the user experience of the Zune on par with the S9. All in all, the major question in debating between the S9 and an iPod Touch – beyond price – would come down to to a trade off: Do you want a connected PMP with a web browser, mail and apps, or would you rather have pure media player with superior audio quality, smaller size and a ridiculously long-lasting battery? Either answer is perfectly acceptable but in the age of the smartphone, many people already have their browsing and app-related needs covered pretty well. If that’s the case for you, then you may want to give the S9 a thorough consideration the next time you’re in the market for a PMP.

COWON S9 distributor product page

Well look at what the cat dragged in! COWON’s sexy new S9 found its way over to BGR HQ and we decided to go ahead and unbox it for you – you know, holiday spirit and all. The mock ups of the S9 make the device look insanely attractive and truth be told, in person it doesn’t disappoint. So while we take some time to check the unit out and put our thoughts together, head on over to the unboxing gallery and feast your eyes on the latest and greatest from COWON.

Click on over to our COWON S9 unboxing gallery!