14 DAY TRIAL // Toshiba is rolling out a new digital audio player series, taken from the already famous Gigabeat U series. The new additions to the company's portfolio were the silly codenamed U104, U205 and U206, which come in 1GB and 2GB storage capacity versions.
All of them were enhanced with the same 65k OLED screen display and a resolution of 96x96px. The sound performances can be improved with one of the integrated 6-equalizer modes. As for their capacities, they can deal with lots of already common file formats on the market, such as MP3, WMA(DRM), WAV, as well as JPEG. The only one which comes with an additional FM tuner packed in its specs list is the U206 player, while the U205 is the only one to have a canal type headphone included in the system, which might seem unusual for a detail of its kind.
When it comes to their degree of portability, they all seem to sport the same dimensions of 36.2 x 76.5 x 10.9mm, weighting about 42 grams. The integrated battery is claimed to last up to 20 hours of continuous playback. They all seem to use the USB 2.0 file transfer type interface or the USB 1.1 one, meaning the download speed should be ok.
The new items are likely to be even more successful than the previous ones, but that doesn't mean the Gigabeat series has ended its journey in the geekland. However, at a first glimpse, the U104 looks the best.
Sadly, the giant company's official haven't said a word about the price tag or about the availability, but it won't take long before seeing these at online web stores. The player's sound performances are said to be easily customized with one of the built-in equalizer presets.
Nice job, Toshiba!
