Toshiba released an update to the T series, strictly in Japan at the moment. The Gigabeat T802 is simply an 8GB version of the T401. This is slightly different than the T400 we have here in the US in that the T401 has 802.11. There is a method to their naming madness. In related news they have also released a memory update to the U Series with a 4GB version.

The T400 is a fantastic player with great sound quality and really clean and straightforward interface, but only being a 4GB player, you will suffer from memory envy. Yeah, wi-fi might be a nice addition, but I think it might be a little more important to get some higher capacity Gigabeat T’s. I would kill for a 32GB Gigabeat T3200.

[AVWatch via Engadget]

The contest to with the Gigabeat drew over 50 entries sparking the imaginations of real MP3 player users from all over the world. Some of them were gadgets we wished we could have in our hands now. Two particular entries that the mods lusted over were the member Inidgo’s Inigo Intrigue, a 128GB SSD wireless touch based PMP, or Kadajawi’s sexy phone player dubbed the k.urved.

However, sticking with the contest guidelines of the player’s convincingness and presentation there were a few that stood out as some pretty good fakes- these being the iAudio U7, Sansa Peach, Sansa Talon, and the Sansa Ultima. However, there can only be one winner of the grand (and only) prize of a brand new Toshiba Gigabeat T400 (one of my personal favorites).

…and the winner is…

The Toshiba Gigabeat T400 has been one of my favorite players lately for its excellent sound quality- rivaling that of any Cowon player including the highly regarded X5. I’m not alone on this either- "golden ears" Matt Engstrom, Personal Audio Product Manager at Shure thinks so too.

When I stopped by the Shure’s booth I found out about a little side deal at CES 2008. Toshiba needed some high end headphones to demo their T400’s back at their booth, so they traded for some of Shure’s flagship SE530 headphones. Now, I didn’t get a chance to try this alleged match made in heaven, but do know that they sound awesome pair up with other equipment. So pairing these up would be a pretty killer portable audio set up. I plan on picking up a pair of SE530’s so I will keep you posted.

In celebration of the New Year and in the spirit of CES 2008 let’s see who can come up with the most convincing fake. Be creative, give the player a name- im sure many of you can do better than some of Sony’s hard to remember alphanumeric titles or Creative’s latest lack-of-adjective Zen ____. Give the player specs- what features would you want on the player?

The winner will be chosen by our forum moderators based on how convincing the mockups are and the creativity of the fake. You may enter up to three different devices and any graphics program can be used, it does not have to be Photoshop. To enter post a thread in the contest forum located here. Please be sure to read the posting guidelines.

The winner will receive a Toshiba Gigabeat T400 and the contest will end on the 20 th of January 2008.

[ Contest | T400 Product Page ]

Several updates are coming the way of the Gigabeat U-series this month in Japan, as Toshiba are introducing new versions of both the flat surface and cross-shaped control designs. Carrying the first of these designs, the U104 and U205 hold 1GB and 2GB of storage respectively and offer a glittered colored ring in pink, gold, or blue. The storage sizes are not the only difference, as the U205 also comes with FM tuner, FM transmitter, and a pair of canalphones.

Wearing the cross-shaped controls the U206 adopts all the functionality of the U205, but it will throw aside the pastel for metallic blue, red and brown. There is no talk of releasing the players elsewhere, but pricing stands at 9,980 Yen ($87) for the U104, and 14,800 Yen ($129) for both 2GB versions.

[Product Page via Impress]

Continue for more pictures.

Toshiba has opted to switch from hard drive to flash memory for their latest V series media player. The Gigabeat V41 will contain 4GB of storage, certainly a contrast to the 80GB V801, but this can be increased by a full sized SD/SDHC card.

1Seg TV broadcasts can be streamed to the device or be recorded and played back on its 3.5-inch 262k color QVGA LCD. As you may expect, the V41 runs on a Windows Mobile OS and supports WMV, MP3, WMA (DRM), and WMA9 Lossless file formats, which can be played through a built-in speaker.

The battery lasts for an excellent 40 hours of audio and 13 of video (10 when viewing TV) and can be purchased in Japan from October 19th in black, blue, and beige colors.

[Press Release]

Just weeks after the Toshiba introduced the T401 to Japan, the Gigabeat T-series is now being launched in the US. The T400 (basically identical to Japan's T401S) will possess all that the T401 has to offer aside from its wireless capabilities.

A considerable improvement from the U-series is the 2.4-inch 262k color QVGA LCD, with the ability to playback 5 hours worth of WMV. H2C decoding technology and a 1-bit digital amp filter compliment the MP3, WMA (DRM), WMA Lossless, and WAV audio formats by compensating for audio quality lost in compression and yielding a signal-to-noise ratio of 95dB.

The black Wi-Fi-less device with choice of a blue, orange, or pink color trim (and matching ear bud cable) carries a $120 retail value.

[Product Page]

There has not been much noise coming from Toshiba since the Gigabeat S Series hard drive based player. Well, that's not including their recent involvement in the creation of the Zune. They are back at it with the Gigabeat U and, worth mentioning, an upcoming Windows CE based wi-fi flash player.

The U series comes in 1GB and 2GB sizes, featuring all the basics you would expect from a flash player and retailing for under $100 (commonly found for under $90). I have mostly good things to say about this Gigabeat, particularly the sound quality and simple interface. But there are a few downsides. Read on for a full look.

One month after documents of an unreleased Gigabeat were spotted on the FCC’s site, Toshiba has revealed their new T series of flash players. The Gigabeat T401 and T401S will share identical specs, apart from the alleged Wi-Fi capabilities which will only be included in the T401 to provide access to internet content over a wireless network.

Both models will run Windows Mobile and be compatible with both MTP and MSC protocols. The 2.4-inch LCD can playback WMV in 320 x 240 pixels and 262k colors, and H2C technology will also be applied to the T series, to compliment the loss of sound quality in MP3 and WMA files.

A single storage capacity of 4GB is offered, which may suggest that a larger capacity is in the works. The battery can endure 16 hours of audio, and 5 of video and while there is no word on price, the T401 and T401S can be purchased in Japan from the 7th of September.

[Press Release]

Making a considerable splash in the color palette by all standards, Toshiba’s next DAP to join the Gigabeat U series offers an assortment of 24 colors. In the same fashion as previously added models to the U series, the advancement is purely cosmetic, but the U103 succeeds in producing a striking change from the black and silver of the U102 and U202.

Drawing its inspiration from culture and tradition of Japan, the color range of the U103 has been designed to reflect an observation of harmony in an environment. To confirm the assumption you may have already made: the Toshiba Gigabeat U103 only has plans to be released in Japan, where is will sell for an equivalent of $115.

[Press Release via Impress]

So now that Toshiba is done with the Zune and Microsoft is on their way to making their own gear, they decided to continue with the Gigabeat series. Microsoft are Toshiba are still good friends considering the new Gigabeat will be running Windows Embedded (R.I.P. Windows Portable Media Center).

From the FCC documents we know that this version of the Gigabeat will be rocking b/g Wi-Fi and a 2.4” QVGA 320x240 LCD screen. It will also measure in at 54 x 85.6 x 9.9 mm (2.1 x 0.4 x 3.4 in.) and weigh 70g. The document also states that the device will have 4GB of flash memory. Likely this will change since consumers are already screaming for 8GB flash players.

Photos and internal shots have been omitted from these documents at Toshibeas request, but don’t sweat it, we will have one cracked open for you as soon as we get our hands on one.

[FCC via dapreview]

Two new installments to Toshiba’s Gigabeat V series were announced today. The V801 and V401 will contain 80GB and 40GB hard drives, respectively. Once again, a new color, Bordeaux Brown, is added to the line-up, but this time there are more modifications to get excited about.

The 3.5-inch QVGA TFT screen has been upgraded to a 4 incher and the 320 x 240 pixel resolution has been increased to 480x272. The players will feature a sensor that automatically alters the brightness of the screen to correspond to the surrounding light. The devices will also come with new H2C technology, which claims to compensate for sound quality lost during audio compression by using its own algorithm to counter the audio compression algorithms of WMA and MP3 files. The portable media players will be available in Japan on June 1st.

[Toshiba (Japan) via I4U]

What's this, then? The Gigabeat U101 and U201 from a few months back now encased in silver and black aluminum and sporting cross-shaped controls? Actually . . . yeah.

Toshiba recently announced that the cosmetically updated U102 ($125) and U202 ($150) will be joining the Gigabeat U series lineup on May 19 in Japan. Why the update? We have absolutely no idea. Because exactly like its brethren, the new 1GB and 2GB players measure 3.0" x 1.4" x 0.4" and are equipped with an FM tuner, that spiffy audio processor that promises superior output, and a modest arsenal of supported codecs (WMA-DRM10 included).

Oh well. At least it's pretty easy on the eyes (though we're not really feeling that cross).

[Toshiba via Engadget]

Toshiba announced today its new Gigabeat U series of low-capacity flash DAPs. At first glance, the 1GB U101 ($118) and 2GB U201 ($144) look pretty ordinary. But beneath the 96 x 96 OLED display and inside the 3" x 1.4" x 0.4" casing are actually some refreshingly unique features.

The most notable, from what we can gather from the translated press release, is some sort of high sound quality conversion technology that's never been used before. Exactly what the digital audio processor does and how it does it isn't terribly clear, but the bottomline is that Toshiba is pretty pleased with the U series' output. The players are also equipped with "direct sound recording functions" and FM transmitter capabilities that seem to enable person-to-person sharing. Battery life is rated at 20 hours on a full charge and 3 hours on a 10-minute rapid charge.

The Japan-bound U series will be available in white beginning on March 28, with orange and blue (for U101 only) models to follow on April 7.

[Press Release]

Toshiba introduced the flash-based Gigabeat P Series last year to a market that was nowhere near as saturated as it is today. We don't think the 512MB P5 and 1GB P10 were flying off the shelves in Japan back then, so we're not sure why Toshiba would give the upcoming P10K and P20K players the green light. But they did.

We'd give you a rundown of the specs, but they haven't changed since the last time. MP3, WAV, and WMA? Check. 96 x 96 OLED display for viewing JPG photos? Check. FM tuner, voice recording, and 14-hour battery life? Check, check, and check.

Why the update, then? Interchangeable faceplates, of course! The white player can transform into a yellow gingham player, and the pink gingham player can turn into a white player with pink trim. Amazing but true. Toshiba's other incredible feat is the upgrade in storage capacity. Last year's maximum has become this year's minimum: the P10K and P20K are absolutely stuffed with 1GB and 2GB of flash memory, respectively. Even more unbelievable is the price ($120 and $150). So book your flight to Japan now, as the players will be available there in December.

[Product page via Newlaunches]