ZVUE, or not to?

Friday March 5, 2004 12:22 PM EST
By: Fabrizio Pilato
Source: Business Wire



ZVUE is a personal video player that sells for £99, it has no internal memory, however it does use SD and MMC memory cards to a maximum size of 512MB. Just the other day ZVUE announced a parternship agreement with DivX, this will allow existing ZVUE owners to upgrade their ZVUE device (for £69) to allow playback of DivX and MPEG-4 compatible files. The DivX and MPEG-4 compatible version can be purchased for £135 from www.a1goods.co.uk




The ZVUE is powered by AA batteries, so if you run out of juice you can pretty much find more anywhere, a plus is that the battery life is almost double of harddrive based players.

"Fresh Gear" review: Affordable video player boasts MP4 support.

Tonight on "Fresh Gear" we show you the Zvue, how it works, and how great the video looks on this gadget's killer little screen.





The Zvue is a portable video player with a surprisingly bright 2.5-inch color screen -- just big enough to enjoy your favorite movie on the road. It also plays MP3s and displays JPEG digital photos. Take advantage of the built-in SD/MMC slot, USB 2.0 port, and two headphone jacks for great functionality at home or on the move.

Small device, small price

So what's the big deal? The Zvue costs £135, a fraction of the cost of others in its category, such as the Archos AV320.

Here's the catch: The Zvue doesn't have a hard drive, so all content must reside on an SD/MMC card. The original Zvue would only play the proprietary HHE video format, which limited its usefulness as a video player. Now you can purchase the £135 version, which includes an MPEG-4/Divx decoder.

All you need to do to watch your own videos is to convert your DVD, WMV, and AVI (and other format) content using the included Zflicks encoding software and then copy these files to a media card.

You can still purchase cards preloaded with 32MB worth of content, but the current selection of music videos, animations, and extreme sports is pretty lame at best. I believe there are 12 titles listed on the Zvue site.

Tiny screen with big video

The 4-inch by 2.75-inch by 1-inch (H by W by D) player is just the right size. Also, the player controls are comfortable and intuitive. Play features include an A-B loop, slow motion, next chapter, and song or digital photo button. The required four AA batteries last a good five to six hours.

The Zvue starts up in a jiffy, and the basic menu system displays full file names. You shouldn't get lost navigating, since you'll probably be using smaller-capacity cards. I packed a bunch of MP3s, JPEGs, AVIs, and Divx trailers (converted using Zflicks) onto a 256MB SD card (about $60) and enjoyed all the content over a weekend.

Larger digital photos will take a while to load (and they need to load every time you look at them), but the overall processing power won't leave you hanging.

The Zvue makes a nice addition to a teen's portable electronics collection, but the added support for MPEG-4 makes it a useful gadget for any age group. And again the best thing about the Zvue is its affordable price.

Pros: Good price; bright display; two headphone jacks; MP4 support

Cons: Limited preloaded content, must supply own SD/MMC card

Available from www.a1goods.co.uk

ZVUE! wins Innovations Award from Consumer Electronics Association

HandHeld Entertainment’s ZVUE! personal video player wins Innovations Award from Consumer Electronics Association


ZVUE! to be honored in Personal Electronics category of the Innovations 2004 Design and Engineering Showcase at the 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show

SAN FRANCISCO – December 15, 2003 – HandHeld Entertainment today announced that its ZVUE! personal video player has won an Innovations Award from the Consumer Electronics Association.

The ZVUE! will be honored in the Innovations 2004 Design and Engineering Showcase at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from January 8 to 11, 2004. The ZVUE! will be recognized in the personal electronics category based on its selection by a professional panel of industry analysts, engineers and journalists. The panel chose the ZVUE! based on a number of standards that include its design and engineering and the components and processes used during manufacturing. The ZVUE! was also singled out based on its unique and novel features that include its ultrabright full-color screen and its affordable price tag.

“It truly is an honor for the ZVUE! to get an independent stamp of approval from the Consumer Electronics Association for its quality in design, engineering and features,” said Nathan Schulhof, president and chief executive officer of HandHeld Entertainment and the person known as the father of the MP3 player industry. “This award recognizes the ZVUE! for what it really is – durable, portable and affordable.”

Schulhof also won the Innovations award in 1997 for his Listen UP player launched by audiohighway.com. The Listen UP player, which at the time, was the only personal audio device that played digital audio, was the beginning of what is otherwise known today as personal MP3 players. This is shown by the three U.S. Patents bearing his name {5,557,541; 5,572,442; and 5,841,979}.

The hand-held ZVUE! can play videos, music videos and MP3s and features an ultra-bright, 2.5-inch full-color screen that plays full-motion video and displays digital images. About the size of a deck of playing cards, the ZVUE! is designed to be the perfect “must have” gift this holiday season and will fit snugly in the stockings of the “tween” (youth ages 8 to 12), teenage (youth ages 13-19) and early twenty-something (ages 20 to 25) markets.

Zvue DivX Press release

HandHeld Entertainment Signs Licensing Agreement with DivXNetworks for DivX® Video Playback on the ZVUE

ZVUE is First Handheld Device to Achieve Full DivX Certification™,
Compatible With All Versions of DivX Video

SAN FRANCISCO and SAN DIEGO – March 3, 2004 – HandHeld Entertainment and DivXNetworks, Inc. today announced a licensing agreement to integrate the patent-pending DivX ® video decoder with HandHeld’s popular ZVUE personal video player, which will allow playback of DivX and MPEG-4 compatible files on the ZVUE.

The ZVUE is the first DivX Certified™ handheld product on the market, offering users the ability to play all versions of DivX video content on a portable device. The DivX-enabled ZVUE player was tested by DivXNetworks’ and HandHeld Entertainment’s teams of video engineers to ensure high performance and full interoperability with the entire suite of DivX technologies. DivX, often called the “MP3 of video,” is among the most popular video technologies in the world with over 120 million users.

“There is a huge global pool of high-quality DivX content that is now at the fingertips of ZVUEers,” said Garrett Cecchini, executive vice president of HandHeld Entertainment. “In addition, ZVUEers now have the freedom to play a full-length movie, a television show or even a home movie on their ZVUE because of the DivX upgrade. With DivX’ base of 120 million users, the ZVUE now runs one of the most popular and widely used video technologies in the world that generates insatiable amounts of content at the ZVUEers’ fingertips.”

HandHeld Entertainment will sell its “ZFlicks™” DivX upgrade package for the older Zvue models. ZFlicks includes the MPEG-4 firmware upgrade for the ZVUE, DivX video encoding software, a USB cable and an SD card. New models will be shipped with the MP4 upgrade pre-installed

“HandHeld Entertainment has shown there is widespread, mass-market opportunity for affordable, high-performance multimedia devices with its ZVUE,” said Jim Geison, director of sales at DivXNetworks. “We are extremely pleased to partner with HandHeld as we help the company bring millions of DivX video files to ZVUE users around the world.”


“Integrating the ZVUE with DivX video technology was a very smooth process,” said Nathan Schulhof, president and chief executive officer of HandHeld Entertainment and the person known as the father of the MP3 player industry. “DivX has a global acceptance because it produces phenomenal video quality, and it’s easy to use. After extensive evaluation, DivX proved to be the absolute best MPEG-4 compatible solution for our ZVUE customers.”


About HandHeld Entertainment
Created in February 2003, HandHeld Entertainment delivers affordable consumer electronics technologies to the marketplace supporting both secure and open standards for portable digital devices.

HandHeld, HandHeld Entertainment, ZVUE and ZFlicks are each trademarks of HandHeld Entertainment, Inc.

About DivXNetworks
DivXNetworks is a consumer-focused video technology company positioned at the center of multimedia convergence. The company’s core offering is the DivX ® video codec, among the world’s most popular video compression technologies with over 120 million users worldwide. Often called “the MP3 of video,” the patent-pending DivX video technology offers DVD-quality at 10 times greater compression than MPEG-2 files, enabling full length films to easily fit on a CD or be delivered over broadband connections. DivX video technology powers a range of applications that span the convergence value chain, from a secure IP-based video-on-demand solution to next-generation consumer electronics products and video software applications. DivXNetworks is headquartered in San Diego, California, with satellite offices in Los Angeles and San Jose, CA, Taipei, Taiwan, and Dortmund, Germany. For more information, visit http://www.divxnetworks.com.
DivX is a registered trademark of DivXNetworks, Inc.

Edited Copy of PC Magazine review of the Zvue

First Looks: ZVUE
A Cheap Personal Video Player for Kids

Preview
By Bill Howard
PC Magazine


Feb. 23— Aimed at teens, the new HandHeld ZVUE portable video player displays photos and proprietary videos on its integrated color display and plays audio files as well.

Although it's a fascinating product, ZVUE will need to smooth out some rough edges and add some missing features to its inaugural version. (Update by ZVUEUK - this is sorted in the new Zvue model)

The cobalt-blue 1.1- by 2.9- by 4.3-inch (HWD) ZVUE looks a lot like a PDA, with a small 234-by-160 pixel TFT color display (2.5 inches, diagonally). The device has a flip-up, clear-plastic shield to protect the LCD, although HandHeld has molded its logo onto the shield, which makes reading the screen more difficult. (Update by www.zvue.co.uk - you can removed shield with a screwdriver if this is a problem!)

There's a single slot for SD and MMC cards, as well as a mini-USB 1.1 connector and a USB-like expansion connector The device is powered by four AA batteries; the manual says to use alkalines only, but you can use rechargeables. Just don't mix and match.


A Player With a ZVUE

The ZVUE plays MP3 and JPG files. As for video, it uses a highly compressed, rights-protected, proprietary video format called HHe and will offer MPEG-4 in the near future. (Update from www.a1goods.co.uk MPEG-4 is now available in the UK)

The ZVUE's face contains a four-way rocker button, media controls ("Play," "Forward," "Reverse"), and a menu button. The volume buttons are on the right and make the ZVUE easy to use. We did have trouble reloading some SD cards, and JPGs from 3-plus–megapixel cameras are too big to view. A HandHeld spokesperson says you can view images under about 420Kb (or just under the size of images from a 3-megapixel camera).

Music quality was fine, and we were impressed that none of the music information was truncated, though such tiny type was hard to read. The HHe videos were crisp and sharp on the small screen indoors, but they washed out in sunlight. We got about seven hours of battery life when playing videos and estimate battery life would double when playing just audio.

There are only a handful of personal video players (PVPs) on the market (though we expect a flood by late 2004), and they are primarily hard drive-based — like the 20GB RCA Lyra Audio/Video Jukebox, which costs about $400. Palm- and Pocket PC-based PDAs could also be considered competition, since most can play music and display photos and flash-card videos, but they also carry higher price tags.


Summary

The ZVUE is, potentially, a breakthrough product.

Pros: Combines SD-based video player, photo viewer, and MP3 player; not much more expensive than a flash-based MP3 player; crisp videos; decent sound

Cons: No USB connection or MPEG-4 video support (update from www.a1goods.co.uk - this was only the early versions. Current ZVUE plays MPEG-4 DivX AVI files and connects via Zvue USB port), quirks in testing prevented some photos and music from playing

Company: www.a1goods.co.uk or www.zvue.co.uk

What do you get in the Zvue box?

A1goods.co.uk Zvue product listing

ZVUE MPEG-4 Video Player


Description:

The personal video player that everyone wants! Stock now in, buy early to avoid disappointment

This new ZVUE model now supports MPEG-4 video play back. Convert your movie files using the Zflick software and view them on a bright, full-colour TFT screen, right in the palm of your hand

When you are on the go, why settle for just listening when you can view full colour, high quality Video that plays right in the palm of your hand.

Package includes:

ZVUE MP4 Video Player
The first affordable MP4 full-featured video player—in outstanding TFT backlit colour!

ZFLICKS Video-to-Go Software
Make your own videos from camcorders, VCRs, and DVDs. Easy and simple to use!

MP3 Music Player and JPEG Photo Viewer
Now you can view and listen to video, audio and photos!

USB Cable for Downloading Videos and MP3 Music
Copy MP4 videos, MP3 audio, and JPEG photos directly to your ZVUE.

Premium Ear Buds
Enjoy MP3s and MP4 and ZCARD Videos with high-quality, stereo sound!

FREE 32MB ZCARD Video
Pop a ZCARD Video in and you have instant video.

Quick Start Manual
Everything you need to know to start ZVUEing.

Features

- Ultra bright 2.5 TFT colour screen

- Stores content on optional SD media

- User friendly, intuitive design, controls and on-screen display

- USB port connection for easy downloading of MP3 and other files. (Requires Windows XP. Other operating systems may need to use seperate card reader)

- Accepts optional ZCARD video content and optional SD Flash Memory cards up to 1GB capacity


Posting & Packaging

Posting in the UK is £4.00

Price: £135.00

Buy your zvue from A1goods.co.uk

Welcome to my ZVUE page.

If you’ve never heard of the ZVUE movie player, you are in for a big surprise!

Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, the ZVUE can play MPEG-4 movies, MP3 Audio and JPG images.

The Zvue player is one of the coolest, must have gadgets available this year. Even if Apple were to bring out a video IPOD, I don’t think it would be as good as the Zvue.

Where to buy a ZVUE in the UK?

The main UK supplier of Zvues is www.a1goods.co.uk
. The service and aftercare at www.a1goods.co.uk is second to none. (That good I think they deserve a plug or two!)

The ZVUE and www.a1goods.co.uk have been featured in STUFF magazine, T3 Magazine, Money Weekly, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Record, The Daily Star, The Mail on Sunday and the Financial Times “How to Spend it” supplement.

Another UK supplier of the ZVUE! is www.zvue.co.uk

The manufacturer’s web site has an online shop for selling Zvues, but they do not ship direct to the UK. You could try to get them to ship to you in the UK, but there can be problems with Customs & Excise charging you import VAT and in the event of having to make a warranty claim on the ZVUE, shipping back to the US is a big hassle, so I’d recommend buying from a UK supplier.

On line reviews of the ZVUE.

As well as the articles on the ZVUE that have been mentioned above, the ZVUE is also featured on the following websites:

Wall Street Journal

Boston Globe

MSNBC

CNET