Creative ZEN Touch 2 is an All-in-One MP3 player media device, with built in GPS and digital compass, WiFi, Blutooth, 2MP Camera, with 8GB on-board storage and a large 3.2″ Touchscreen display.

Creative Labs have packed this all-round personal media player (PMP) with a host of features to keep you entertained on the go.  The Creative ZEN Touch 2 has a large 3.2 inch touchscreen display, with an accelerometer that auto-rotates the display as you turn it on its side.  The Zen Touch 2 is the first ZEN device from Creative to feature the Android 2.1 operating system – opening up the doors to download Apps, Games and eBooks from the Android Marketplace.  The Zen Touch 2 is WiFi enabled with built-in IEEE 802.11 b/g/n support, for fast internet browsing and speedy downloads over your existing broadband connections.

With the ZEN Touch 2 you can stream music wirelessly to any bluetooth enabled device such as a pair of bluetooth speakers or headphones.

Creative ZEN Touch 2 Release Date

Creative have announced the Zen Touch 2 release date for December 2010 and will be available in a variation of 3 model options:

• Creatize ZEN Touch 2 – 8 GB (without GPS) – £149.99
• Creatize ZEN Touch 2 – 16 GB (without GPS) – £159.99
• Creatize ZEN Touch 2 – 8 GB (with GPS) – £159.99

You can also buy the Creative WP-300 Bluetooth headphones to complement your Zen Touch player, featuring a 10m range, with neodymium drivers for superior and powerful sound.

Samsung unveils the Tic Toc mp3 player, a mini palm sized device designed for style-conscious fashion and gadget lovers, young women and girls – operated by motion control.

The Samsung Tic Toc MP3 Player is available in 2GB and 4GB models and comes in a choice of 4 colour designs, including pink, blue, black, plus an exclusive Helly Kitty version.  Like the Apple iPod Shuffle, it does not have an LCD for display, but the Samsung MP3 Player does use a 3-LED display indicator light and interestingly has only one physical control button which is used for Power and Volume Control, while the rest of the functions are motion controlled by shaking the mp3 player left or right (whilst holding the device horizontally) to pause and skip tracks.  Skip albums by clicking three times or hold it vertically and click up and down to change the volume.

Samsung has listed the R.R.P as starting from £39.99 for the Tic Toc MP3 Player.

Samsung Tic Toc MP3 Player Images

The batteries have finally run out, and the Sony Walkman has sung out its last dying breaths.

Sony has finally ceased production of its originally ground-breaking portable cassette player, causing lovers of music overlaid with interference to shed tears of nostalgia for what was one of the few remaining relics of vintage 1980’s technology.

While the Walkman’s spirit might live on in the form of its neater and sleeker descendant, the MP3 player, its passing truly marks the end of an era. However, fans of Sony’s unique, one-time, state of the art contraption will fondly remember it as the device that forever transformed the appreciation of music from a living room activity to one with the potential to annoy people everywhere, from buses and trains to school classrooms and public libraries.

The familiar clacking sound of a Walkman playing that could be heard whenever you found yourself sat next to some foam headphone-clad user while sitting on the tube, overlaid with faint but most definitely recognizable vocals from the likes of 80’s music stars such as The Pet Shop Boys and Shakin’ Stevens.

While aficionados of the Sony Walkman have long predicted its eventual demise thanks to the newer, more compact offerings provided by advances in digital technology, it nevertheless struggled on till now like a true warrior.

Following its 1979 birth, the Sony Walkman went on to sell a remarkable 220 million units, a fitting testament to the product’s status as the ultimate 1980’s icon, up there with the likes of filofaxes, shoulder pads, chunky mobile phones and David Bowie’s albums of the era.

The Walkman was tailor made for the widespread aspiration in the 1980’s for highly visible yet miniaturised consumerism, allowing everyone to enjoy the latest Blondie hits without needing to rush home first.

Nothing quite epitomizes the Walkman better than the image of a jogger happily trudging onwards with the assistance of the Rocky film soundtrack, while bored teenagers could find a form of escapism, pretending they lived somewhere slightly more edgy than suburban Colchester, walking to school with the sound of The Guns of Brixton thumping in their ears.

Sadly, technological advancements such as the dawn of CD’s and MP3’s led to the fast realisation that audio cassettes were not going to enjoy the prosperous future that everyone first had in mind for them. Rather, they were soon seen as cumbersome and annoying,  and as likely to chew up and destroy your favourite albums as they were to deliver portable entertainment anywhere you went.

But while the death of the Walkman is sure to cause a twinge of sadness for anyone appreciative of 1980’s nostalgia, it will be forever remembered in the form of Apple’s iPod, the latest-generation in portable music players that continue to serve as public transport nuisance, probably one that will never truly leave us alone.

Rest in Peace.

Apple has revamped its entire iPod range, offering a smaller square shaped iPod Nano and improved iPod Touch display with built in cameras and a redesigned iPod Shuffle.  The announcement was made at Apple’s annual press conference in California.

The New iPod Touch

The new iPod Touch features Apple’s super sharp Retina display, which was first added to the iPhone 4, and includes front and rear facing cameras, enabling FaceTime video calling between all compatible iPod Touch and iPhone 4 devices, while the rear camera can record in high definition (720p) video.

The latest iPod Touch will be available in three capacity versions.

• iPod Touch 8GB model will retail for £189
• iPod Touch 32GB model for £239
• iPod Touch 64GB model for £329

The new iPod Touch release date is yet to be announced.

The New Apple iPod Nano with Multi Touch

The new iPod Nano is almost half the size of the previous  Nano design, and now has a square shape rather than a rectangular form.  There is no longer a scroll-wheel, instead it features a 1.5 inch touchscreen display with multi touch capability. The iPod Nano sports a clip on the back of the device, combined with it’s new portable size, making it as gym friendly as the iPod Shuffle.

The new iPod Nano will be available in 5 colours:  grey, blue, green, orange and pink, and sold in a 8GB model for £129 and a 16GB version for £159.

The new iPod Nano release date is yet to be confirmed.

The New iPod Shuffle

The new iPod Shuffle resembles one of the previous Shuffle designs and has brought back the click-wheel to the front of the device, while the headphone controls have been dropped.  The latest iPod Shuffle is only available in a 2GB version and you can pre-orders yours now for £39.

Apple has also launched Ping, its own social network service, which Steve Jobs has described as: “A social network that’s all about music. It’s like Facebook and Twitter meets iTunes.”