anythingbutipad tablets and slates

Toshiba Gigabeat S30 & S60 Portable Media Center

gigabeat-s30-s60.jpg

Toshiba will be selling a portable media player come this spring in two different sizes, 30GB and 60GB. The PMP will feature a 2.4 inch QVGA (320 x 240) color LCD screen for your videos and pictures. The S series Gigabeat will integrate will all your other gadgets. Receive content from your TiVo Series2, play tunes to you Xbox 360, or download video from your Windows Media PC. $300 will get the you 30 gig and $400 will get you the 60 gig.

But here is the problem... The player is decked out with Microsoft, the player’s interface, the file types it supports, the media software, and even the front is a familiar windows key. So forget about DiVX, XViD, and MPEG, sorry only WMV for you. It’s Microsoft’s world now and you have to play by their rules. (This is speculation, but more than likely to be true)

[S Series via Engadget]

  • Submit this article to Del.icio.us
  • Submit this article to Reddit
  • Submit this article to Furl
  • Submit this article to StumbleUpon

Comments

Techni on January 21, 2006 1:49 PM

I have one of the first Toshiba MP3 players (MobilPhile) It's nice to see they've ditched the DRM and Linux

Jono on February 10, 2006 9:27 PM

is it really true that the new gigabeat S will only support WMV??? i was planning on getting the 60GB version because i thought it would support all types of video formats, and not to mention that its not an ipod. but now i'm not so sure...........

Mike on February 23, 2006 3:13 PM

The microsfot PMC software is suppose to be really slick on this new player. It does support divx as well.

Alexa on April 8, 2006 12:25 PM

hey does anybody know when this is going to be available to buy? i love that you can program it with your TiVo!

Moses on May 25, 2006 4:41 PM

It will hit the street the end of May Early June 2006

Doug on June 14, 2006 3:40 PM

Got mine last week. Search AMAZON! And yes this player Rocks! No complaints here and much friendlier than the Ipod to use.

cristian Dudas on August 8, 2006 4:01 AM

i have videos in .mpeg, .mpg, .m2v, .asf ect. is there any way of installing the codec on the S60?? or any other way of geting around this problem?

Mara on January 10, 2007 6:42 PM

This is the best Mp4 player i have used. Its so easy to use. the ipods just dont rate to these. well, my friend having and ipod, it turned my computer off and my computer wouldent turn back on... and itunes is a hassle and all your songs u have on your computer always gos to this program. this S30 portable media centre is the best!! i recomend it!!

rcss on February 7, 2007 11:33 AM

Hello,

Has anyone replaced S30 battery ? Is there a change ?

Jeff on March 2, 2007 11:29 AM

I've tried converting my DivX movies to play on this player via WMP 11, and no dice. I always get errors.

The DivX support for the 30 and 60 is sorely lacking.

Anyone willing to point me in the right direction?

bornking on March 23, 2007 7:10 PM

First things First, with any new device comes some cons ... being this said... i first bought this gigabeat because i was tire of the Ipod run. I and my family have the nano, shuffle, the mini and the 3rd gen. There is no comparison to the toshiba...none at all. The new ipod which is 80 at best dont play fm radio, screen is smaller, visual on the pod is less and on top of all that.. cost major money for the ipod addicts. First thing u do on the toshiba like every other mp3 player...cancel the auto load...go to manuel. So everything u transfer to the player is just a drag away. Mess around like many ipod users and let your computer have a bad day and eat 3,ooo songs in a minute cause u kept it on autoload....lol. Second thing...i signed up with Zongo, downed some videos and clicked it from pc to portable..and like magic... after a ten minute download ...i had it on my gigabeat , cant be any simpler.

crawling182 on April 2, 2007 8:25 PM

Download a little program called SUPER by eRightSoft. I've been using the setting for the Zune on that program and it has converted everything I've thrown at it to a playable file on the S60. I've tried some DivX, H264, and some MP4 so far with no problems. When I drag it to the S60 I get a warning but so far nothing to worry about.

headupo9 on April 3, 2007 1:47 AM

I love my gigabeat. It is easy to work, I like the fact that to get songs from it all you have to do is hook it up to your computer, go to the USB drive and copy and drag the songs off of the gigabeat to your computer. Plus all of the songs are saved as their name not some ipod code for some song. My roommate has an ipod and some of the songs are wrong on it and she has no idea how to fix the names without deleting the songs and readding them but her laptop was stolen so she doesn't have the music backed up anywhere else....her ipod is too complicated! What is also awesome about the gigabeat is the album art can be shown on the screen when you are paying the song.

The only major con is everywhere you look for a review it says something like 12 hours of battery life but I have come to realize it is only about 3 hours (this is bad on long car rides!)

р on July 10, 2007 4:00 PM

Nice site. Thanks:-)

р on July 10, 2007 4:01 PM

Nice site. Thanks:-)

trisha on February 3, 2010 3:41 AM

please somebody help me to fix my toshiba gigabeat mes30v. i dont have the cd software of this.somebody have it?can you send it to my email?please..im from the philippines and theres no toshiba center here..please somebody help me..thanks.. my email petitegirlph@yahoo.com.. i hope ASAP!

Leave a comment

  • Name:
  • E-mail:
  • URL:
  • Remember info?

Type the characters you see in the picture above.


Top MP3 Players
Definitive Guide to MP3 Players
abi Editor's Choice
  • SanDisk Sansa Clip
    SanDisk Sansa Clip

    The Clip has a fantastic little form factor; cheap in build quality but very rugged. The interface is simple and relatively straight forward. The features on the clip are more or less average, mostly identical to the Sansa Express. However, what earns this player a spot in Editor’s Choice is the superb sound quality; you will not find another player at this size and price that can match it. Read the full review or go ahead and buy it.

  • Samsung P3
    Samsung P2

    The Samsung P2 was a success and the P3 is a very welcome and substantial update. Samsung has paid close attention to users on P2 issues and made great strides in addressing and improving most of them. The best feature of the P3 is its native video support. Most content you thow at it will playback without conversion on the great looking screen. Stop by the Samsung P3 forums for more details or check out our indepth P3 review.

  • Microsoft Zune 120
    Samsung P2

    Sure, many of us are not big fans of the walled garden, but there are a lot of great things going on with the Zune- sturdy hardware, ultra easy to use user interface, and a media player that is worthy of editor’s choice. The best part of the Zune is the constant firmware and software updates virtually giving you a new device at each major refresh. You can check out the latest Zune 120 & 16 review or stop by our Zune forums for the latest.

  • Cowon iAudio D2
    Cowon iAudio D2

    The D2 is a fantastic sounding PMP with a very nice looking screen and a tone of features. One of the best features of the D2 is the SDHC slot allowing you to add another 32GB to this small wonder. The touch interface does not lend well to on the move operation, but it is not enough to keep it from being an editor’s choice. You can find usually find it at Amazon for the best price and before to check out the review.

  • Phonak Audéo PFE
    Phonak PFE

    Phonak Audéo PFE offer outstanding clarity and precision; natural, dynamic mids and treble, and decent bass for a single armature in-ear phone. They handle dense, complex music very well. The PFE work well with most acoustic and some electronic music genres, but bassheads might have to look at other alternatives. They're great for sports as well, since they fit very securely. Check out our review.