After the success of the Stone player from Creative - somehow derived from the simplicity of the iPod Shuffle - more manufacturers have started to give serious thought to minimalist design as far as small-sized MP3 players were concerned. And, even if Newman is not quite the strongest name around, its latest announcement looks like a potential rocket booster for Samsung's S2 Pebble. So far, it seems like any cool gadget that has been "cloned by the Chinese clone industry" has rocketed up the sale ranks and we might see thins happening to the S2 as well.

All in all, maybe the Newman Cool Man isn't the closest thing to a Samsung S2 but the idea behind it is pretty much the same, with two major differences: first of all is the overall design, looking truly cute but lacking the refinement of the Shuffle, Stone or Pebble; secondly comes the major update, a safety pin!

Yes, I know it looks fairly surprising (and it is), but this MP3 player looks more like a high-tech badge you can easily attach to your clothes or shoulder bag, making for a great promotional gadget when printed with a company's logo or other similar insignia. As it is right now, the design is almost funny, resembling more a guy's smiling face and being more suitable for children and teenagers rather than for grown-ups.

The Newman Cool Man comes with a monochrome display helping you navigate the 1GB memory and finding your fav tracks easier, while the three control buttons are handy and even easier to use. So far, the only file formats supported are WMA and MP3, but I guess there will be quite few people to have an issue with that, especially as the Newman Cool Man has been designed for people who use PMP-s for fun mostly, rather than to make a social statement.

No word on pricing yet, but nobody expects the Newman Cool Man to cost more than a few bucks.

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