Samsung is updating its portable media player with the successor to the Samsung YP-P2, the Samsung P3. The device will be formerly announced in January, joining the media player race alongside the iPod, Toshiba U103 and the non-existant MySpace PMP.

Subtle changes include its rectangular aluminum body and three inch 480 x 272 touchscreen. You can expect it to have Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, FM and many of the other typical photo, audio and video capabilities found in portable media players. Storage capacity will range from 4GB to 32GB with varying prices which will be announced at a later date. Expect this to hit store shelves in early 2009.

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It’s the holiday season and you know what that means: toys! That’s why Toys ‘R’ Us is expanding its tech side by adding Apple iPods and Asus Eee PC netbooks to its inventory. The iPods will be sold within specially designed “iPod boutique” wall displays. iPod Shuffle,  Nano and Touch will all be available come next month, but for how long is anyone’s guess.

The netbooks will be available in Linux and Windows XP versions which are priced at $269 and $299, respectively. Has your kid been bugging you lately for a laptop computer? Netbooks are the affordable solution which provide all the basic necessities of computing without the superb specs. Even better, most kids will never know the difference.

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Master Lock claims that 4-percent of all robberies are due to iPod thefts, so why not slap a bike lock on it? You just spent your entire month’s allowance on that brand new iPod Touch. Now, you’re looking for a lock so you can hang it up on any street post to force the general public into listening to whatever it is you listen to nowadays.

You’ll be dismayed to know that Master Lock’s iCage, the metal case that secures your iPod to a fixed object, is only designed for the 4GB and 8GB iPod Nano at $14.99 and iPod Classic models at $19.99 per lock. The latest Apple gear won’t fit into this. What a bummer.

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So I missed Jobs’ entire speech/event because I was at class receiving my education. Here’s what happened:

• Steve Jobs comes out, cracks jokes, spits out stats
• Jobs jokes about his death, iTunes, songs, etc.
• HD on iTunes, $1.99, $2.99 - NBC back on iTunes
• Speaking of iTunes, iTunes 8 announced. Talks about Genius. Available today
• iPod talk - 90% of US cars offer iPod integration
• 120GB iPod Classic - $249, New Nano released in a boatload of colors, Genius function available on iPods, iPhone accelerometer allows for rotating of iPod Nano for CoverFlow functionality, improved battery life
• Nano: Entry price of $149 for 8GB, $199 for 16GB
• New $79 headphones with woofers and tweeters, volume control, functionality, FM receiver, etc.
• Nike+ for iPhone announced, iPod Touch version of Spore available
• New iPod Touch; thin design w/ stainless steel, gets cheaper, more games and apps - 8GB, $229, 16GB for $299, and a 32GB for $399. All three are available today. Nanos due out this weekend.
• iPhone 2.1 software update
• Jack Johnson plays some tunes for the crowd, event ends

So there you have it. Lots of fun new Apple stuff. Check back for more detailed posts on today’s news. Photo courtesy of Engadget.

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I don’t own an iPod Shuffle and at this point, I should really get one for jogging and riding my bike. I’d get an arm-band for my 30GB 5G iPod but let’s get real and agree that they’re retarded-looking. You could even say they make you look “full retard.”  So with those options out, what’s a guy to do?

Try iStik. Stupid name, great idea - unless you’re wearing a pacemaker. Using neodymium magnets and a plastic casing, you essentially slide the magnets under your shirt and place the case on the outside. Opposites attract and presto - you’ve got yourself a wearable iPod case. Right now, iStik is available for the iPod Nano for $25, so I’ll leave it up to you to decide if it’s worth the cash. For $25 more, you can score a Shuffle!

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Look, I know Kevin, Brenda and Dylan are coming over tonight with a bottle of vodka they got a college kid to buy, but seriously guys, if I get caught having one more party, I’m boogered! We’re going to need some tunes for this jammin’ event, so make sure you bring your favorite mixtape, Dylan. Me? Oh, I have this sweet 90210 iPod Nano. I know, right? It has pictures of us all over it, limited edition artwork and only 2000 were available from CBS. Luckily, my dad, who’s a lawyer, was able to get me one. Said it only ran him around $270. Anyways, no matter. It won’t be invented for another 10 years or so. Let’s get drunk and crash our parent’s convertibles!

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Seeing this picture made our hopes rise, but they were quickly ducked down a notch. The photo is actually a fantasy mock-up of from Electro^Plankton. This doesn’t mean that we’ll never see something like this as a physical object though. The possibility is there for such an object to be created, maybe sooner then we think. What would be Apple’s motivation behind creating a smaller, meaner, ultra portable MacBook?

One place sales for Apple have lacked is in Japan, where the more portable and slim a product is, the more its going to sell. This is not to say that sales are low in Japan, just LOWER. Something like this MacBook Nano would boost Apples sales to an even higher amount. Plus it’s just really, really cool looking. Don’t think its possible? Catch the jump for an explanation on how it is. (more…)

Designer Patrick Gunther takes a mix of fantasy and possible futuristic medicine and has designed some prototypes for what he envisions nanotechnology to look like in the future. Gunther thinks that in only forth years time, we might have nanotechnology capable of swimming through our bloodstream, acting as a man-made immune system. AIDS and other immunity deficient diseases would become obsolete.

The designs look like a cross between a moth and a web cam. Yes, we have weird eyes sometimes. Doesn’t the nDoo kind of remind you of those nano creatures from The Matrix? One really cool possibility for the future is that as these flow through our bodies, they can keep up to date with all diseases through a networked database, assuring you of your health or lack there of. — Andrew Dobrow

Design Page [Extrospekt, via Core77]

Can points be given for near perfect replication of a super-star media player? Probably not, but Ramos still did a very nice job with the Q13 and making the closest thing to a Nano close we’ve seen. It has the rounded sides, the 1.5-inch LCD (with a resolution of 176×132), video support, and the 1GB flash drive to boot. Unfortunately, this Q13 is a player destined for China. It will be available in two colors: black and light grey (very close to white). While there probably won’t be a scroll wheel (damn patents and laws), many other portable media players have gotten along just fine without it. –Nik Gomez

Ramos develops iPod nano clone [via Electronista]

Ok, so we might be slightly exaggerating on the iPhone’s hugeness, but it sure isn’t the smallest thing on the market according to the pictured size comparisons. As you can see from its relative size to the Motorola SLVR, the 30GB iPod, and the Nano, it’s not really a tiny device. Though, we guess since it is going to be both a phone and a portable media device, theres gotta be a place to put all that damn electronic goodness. Well at least it’s here, the speculation is over. And signs are looking good for its coolness. — Andrew Dobrow

iPhone size Comparisons [Flickr]