150-Hour Flash-Memory MP3 Player Launched
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 6/5/2006
Buena Park, Calif. — A pair of mobiBLU-branded flash-memory music players launched by Hyun Won America includes a model that delivers 153 hours of operating time on its internal rechargeable battery.
Both are shipped with myPodder podcast-management software from Podcast Ready to transfer downloaded podcasts to the portables.
The mobiBLU B153, available in two colors and three capacities from 512MB to 2GB, delivers 150 hours of operation when 128Kbps, 44.1KHz unprotected MP3 files are played at a volume setting of 20 and the display is in sleep mode. Battery life decreases to 100 hours when protected Windows Media Audio (WMA) files are played. Everyday prices are $89 for the 512MB model, $99 for the 1GB model and $129 for the 2GB version. They're available at mobiBLU's Web site.
The battery lives of other brands of MP3 portables range up to 80 hours for a pair of Panasonic flash-memory portables operating on a single AA alkaline battery.
mobiBLU marketing director Bob Fullerton said the B153's battery life was extended through the use of power-management software and a proprietary processor for the device's lithium-ion battery.
The 2.3-ounce, 2.6-inch by 1.8-inch by 0.8-inch B153 incorporates MP3 and protected WMA decoding, line-in MP3 encoding, FM tuner and recorder, voice recorder, SRS WOW HD audio enhancements, USB 2.0 flash-drive capability and two-color OLED display to reduce power consumption.
The company's other new portable, a 2GB version of its cube-shaped Cube, packs eight to 10 hours of lithium-ion battery life into a 0.9-inch by 0.9-inch by 0.9-inch package weighing only 0.63 ounces. The 2GB Cube incorporates MP3 and protected WMA decoding, FM tuner and recorder, voice recorder, SRS WOW 3D Surround, clock and blue OLED display.
It's available at Target, Target.com and mobiBLU's Web site for $159.
The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyun Won of Seoul, South Korea, shipped its first MP3 players in the United States in late 2004. The new Cube is available at Target, and lower capacity versions have been available through Wal-Mart, Amazon and TigerDirect. It also offers an 8GB HDD player.
The new MP3 players are the company's first to include podcast-management. The Podcast Ready myPodder software lets users of MP3 players download podcasts with one click and manage podcast subscriptions from any Internet-connected computer.
myPodder provides complete podcast portability, unlike podcast software that limits playback to PCs. It also provides a podcast directory and one-click podcast subscription.
Hyun Won America was established in 1996 to sell MP3 portables and image Column Wrapprocessing systems (IPS) used in CRT displays. Parent Hyun Won International designs and manufactures IPS equipment, OLED Glass Encapsulation and CNE Controllers.
