DigitMemo.com

Creative’s new ZEN serves up 32GB of storage space, MSRP $329.99

Apple may know how to tickle the fancy of portable audio enthusiasts around the world with innovative features (i.e., the iPod touch), but manufacturers like SanDisk and Creative continue to lead the way in value and storage capacity.

Creative, not one to be left out of a capacity war, is following suit with the official unveil of its 32GB ZEN. The ZEN features a 2.5″ display, an FM radio turner, a Secure Digital expansion slot for those who crave even more storage space and includes support for a multitude of file formats (WMV9, MJPEG, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4/5, XviD, MP3, WMA, Audible 2, 3, 4 and non-protected AAC).

Creative says that the built-in lithium-ion battery is good for 5 hours of video playback or up to 30 hours of audio playback.

The new 32GB Creative ZEN will be priced at around $380 USD in Singapore. The player is priced at $329.99 for the United States and is currently available for pre-order on Creative’s U.S. website.

AnandTech reviews ASUS’s much talked-about Eee PC

The “Eee” in Eee PC is an acronym of sorts, because computer people love those. “Easy to Learn, Easy to Work, Easy to Play”; “Excellent Internet Experience”; “Excellent On-the-Go”. Look at the ASUS Eee webpages, and you will find a preponderance of the use of words starting with “E” used to describe the Eee PC. One acronym you won’t see used is UMPC, but while the Eee PC is certainly different from your typical UMPC - it lacks the touch sensitive stylus interface and it runs Linux by default - it can certainly fulfill the same niche if necessary, with some caveats. Considering it costs half as much as the cheapest UMPCs, anyone looking for such a device should give the Eee PC some consideration.

Click for more on ASUS Eee PC: Laptop, UMPC, or Something Else? »

The new Google Maps with MyLocation service allows users without GPS-enabled phones to figure out their location by using nearby cell-phone towers

Google launched a location service for mobile users on Wednesday that doesn’t rely on GPS.

Google Maps with My Location, currently in beta, locates users who don’t have GPS-enabled phones based on their location to nearby cell towers. The result isn’t as accurate as GPS but works for people who lack the positioning technology in their phones.

Click for more on Google service uses cell towers to locate users »

ASUS to bring more to the table with the Eee PC 8G

ASUS’ new Eee PC 4G is undoubtedly a hit with consumers and reviewers. The device is small, lightweight and performs quite well despite its aging processor and chipset.

The Eee PC 4G, however, hasn’t been without its criticisms. Many consumers have pointed to the device’s limited 4GB solid-state disk (SSD). That problem can be mostly alleviated, however, with the addition of a high-capacity SD or SDHC card to be used as secondary storage.

Click for more on 8GB, 10" ASUS Eee PC Slated for 2008 »

Still few hours from the official release, Wired.com has managed to get the new Zune 2.

Microsoft was kind enough to drop off an 8GB and 80GB to Gadget Lab headquarters a few days ago and we’ve got all the unboxing photos for you to scope out. Scroll down to see ‘em all.

• Better building materials (glass screen instead of plastic.)
• Retooled controls (bye-bye scroll wheel, hello 4-way touchpad.)
• More native video codecs for h.264 and MPEG-4.
• Synchronization of video from your Media Center PC.
• Wi-Fi sync to a host computer.

Click for more on Zune 2 Has Landed: A First Look »

Handheld makers saw their market contract substantially for the fifteenth consecutive quarter, down about 70% from its peak in 2002.

Playing in the handheld market today - with “handheld” being defined as a PDA without cellphone capability - isn’t much fun. Once again, the shipment volume of such devices declined significantly in the third quarter of this year.

IDC estimates that 728,894 PDAs shipped globally during the period, which is down 39.3% from 1.20 million in Q3 of 2006. Looking back over the past four years, third quarter shipments have shown a steady decline from about 2.3 million in Q3 2003. By Q3 2004, shipments were down to 2.0 million, one year later the number slipped to 1.7 million. In fact, in Q3 2004 Palm shipped more than 736,000 PDAs - more than the global market volume in Q3 2007.

Click for more on PDA market still shrinking dramatically with no end in sight »

ASUS’ original “$199 laptop” debuts at nearly $300 on Nov 1

One of the more anticipated pieces of technology to hit the market, the ASUS Eee PC, has been the subject of many articles on news sites. NotebookReview has managed to snag a slide from a presentation showing the U.S. price points for the Eee 2G Surf, 4G Surf, and 4G models. None of them are the original, much-touted $199; in fact, the price for the model originally flaunted by ASUS is no less than double that at $399.

Click for more on ASUS Sets U.S. Price Points for Eee PC 701 2G/4G Models »

Nokia today rolled out a new Internet tablet, which has evolved into a portable entertainment platform that comes with a slide-out keyboard and a GPS receiver.

The new N810 is not quite what we would call a revolution, but it is a solid improvement over the preceding N770 and N800 tablet PCs and pretty much represents what Palm’s recently scrapped Foleo companion device should have been.

Click for more on Nokia upgrades its Internet tablet »

Microsoft has launched three new models of its Zune digital media player in an effort to compete with Apple’s iPod.

Click for more on New Zunes to take on Apple’s iPod »

Microsoft will hold a event on Tuesday in Redmond to herald the second generation of Zune music players, BetaNews has learned.

According to sources close to the situation, both Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Design and Development chief J Allard will be on hand for the event. The main part of the announcement will center around the players, which will include the first flash memory based Zunes.

Click for more on Microsoft to Debut Zune 2 on Tuesday »