Venzero announces Venzero One

Remember that mysterious Venzero audio player that MusicMarker service was getting integrated into? Well, they announced what it is today: the Venzero ONE. Turns out it'll be a 3.8 x 2.3 x 0.55-inch 8GB audio player with an FM tuner, 2-inch QVGA display, FM radio, mic recording (for MusicMarker, of course), OGG and PlaysForSure support, video playback, a 90dB SNR, and even a lightweight RSS reader. It's also got a built-in full size USB On-The-Go port and retractable USB connector (what they're calling Shareport), so you can dock your Venzero with another -- or any other mass-storage compliant device, for that matter -- and move around data, apparently also including DRMed music (assuming, of course, your Venzero ONE is authorized with a PlaysForSure service). Should be available mid-June this year for $289.

[stax @ Apr 20th 2006 1:30PM]

wow people check out the website! this is really a great mp3 player. finally someone is thinking in another direction from the ipod! This is such an advancement!

[afrokenjonny @ Apr 20th 2006 1:43PM]

is this by creative (zen)? or ...what?

[PEZ @ Apr 20th 2006 1:44PM]

Wow, this seems pretty cool. :) I like hte QVGA, one thing that would really make it smile is bluetooth, or perhaps even WiFi.

[Paqza @ Apr 20th 2006 2:40PM]

Uh. Damn. That thing is gorgeous. Like...I was honestly speechless when I saw it. If they actually successfully implemented the features that they are touting [and I hope they did], and increase the storage size...they have a winner.

After getting some units out there, they will need to rock some viral marketing because this thing looks like it definitely deserves a second look. Build quality, judging by the pictures, looks top class and the site was nicely designed, as well.

I am crossing my fingers and hoping, because if this thing gets positive reviews, I will definitely fork it out. The USB in/out is a feature I have been longing for...and the black and green color scheme looks very classy.

As I stated...I am hoping they can deliver.

[Ian Jardine @ Apr 20th 2006 3:14PM]

wWy are all these "new" "players" sport ONLY 90db SNR? For years now Creative has been approaching a 97. SO how come none of the new players are making any real progress in audio quality?

[ProSam @ Apr 20th 2006 3:23PM]

Simply Awesome! Put me down for one.

[benhc911 @ Apr 20th 2006 4:21PM]

*rubs hands in glee* I love it when one device has most/all the features I want in a device :-). You say the screen is QVGA right? and not OLED?... hmmm I wish it had less of a bezel, and was OLED... but I suppose you cant win them all, I just love it when a screen is re~al close to the edge of the device. I wonder what the battery life is on this sucker... It is pretty annoying having to charge my Nano every day or two (and I know it is bad for the batteries longterm life to partially charge it often, so I sometimes run out of battery in the middle of my work/education experience for the day :-( )

[Jazzmadrazz @ Apr 20th 2006 7:21PM]

No 5 : Re 90dB s/n ratio -

I don't yet have a MP3 player (being a composer I hear enough music on a daily basis, but I am tempted tho), but seeing that 'spec' really made me think twice. 90dB is just a lot of noise and a little signal in my (not so humble) opinion. Add to that the compression/encoding and the perceived quality would be even lower. Depressing.

[Abbas @ Apr 20th 2006 8:36PM]

this is definately a sexy device,

but the battery life is poor at 12 hours, i mean what is the point of these stupendous features when u have no juice left to run even the simplest of them ?

[lolfuture @ Apr 20th 2006 10:29PM]

For a gadget nut like myself I can't wait to use the USB connector. I think the first thing I'll connect it to is a USB Flash card reader from my digital SLR, then my Maxtor portable hard drive, then my Blackberry. This is gonna be such a relief from iPod syncing to iTunes. I've been dealing with restarting my computer every time I want to sync my iPod. I am so excited about Venzero ONE!

[tom @ Apr 20th 2006 11:12PM]

Cool features, but the sound quality is weak sauce.

[TheKhakinator @ Apr 20th 2006 11:52PM]

This thing is wicked. You could even sync it with flash based MP3 players. It is so cool. Ah, the convergence!

[Will Dashwood @ Apr 21st 2006 4:13AM]

Re: Signal to Noise Ratio

I'm not sure all these quoted SNR ratios are worth fussing over when we're talking portable consumer audio products. I'd hate for manufactures to start competing for the best SNR on paper, only to put actual audio quality a second priority. Remember there's a lot more to making a player sound good and at the end of the day this is to be used on the move where background noise would almost certainly be higher than device noise.

[Ssco @ Apr 21st 2006 4:24AM]

Wow! An FM Tuner and an FM Radio that'll come in handy!!

[Michael @ Apr 21st 2006 5:26AM]

Re. Signal to Noise Ratio

Guys, please consider the technical reality before posting stuff like "lots of noise" or "Creative is approaching 97 dB". Sorry to say so, but that is nonsense.
Any MP3, OGG, WMA, Ape or whatever is 16 Bit. The theretical maximum dynamic range for 16 Bit is 96 dB, which in reality is impossible to reach, there simply is no analog electronic without noise. The closer they get to these 96 dB, the better the job the engineer has done. Have a look at CD-Players, even High-End ones. You�ll find most are having a SNR below 90 dB. So the venzero ONE�s value is actually quite good.
The only way to get better SNR is to use 24 Bit, but there is now MP3-player out there with 24 Bit DACs.

[Noam @ Apr 21st 2006 3:14PM]

RSS? So does that mean it has some sort of wireless connection to the internet? (I am what you call a "noob")

[Sir.Pinkerton @ Apr 22nd 2006 2:11PM]

17:
The way the RSS works is that the feed gets updated every time you connect the player to your computer. Even so, it's a nice thought, but there are several programs that enable this sort of feature with an iPod by putting feeds in the "notes" section.

I really love the looks of this player. It's seems like the first one I've seen since 2001 which goes in a separate direction from the iPod. Having said that, it's still a step down from my 10GB 3G iPod, which I've filled, in terms of storage.

[Noam @ Apr 23rd 2006 12:16PM]

So that means you're never REALLY updated.
If you're travelling and you have no access to a computer, you won't be able to catch up on the latest RSS newsfeeds.
It's alright, but Picky Me prefers different.

[Chris @ Apr 25th 2006 11:09PM]

The player sounds interesting enough to check out and all.... but I fear they're going to bring themselves some unwanted attention with this statement straight from the website:

"With Venzero ONE, you can get[....]a copy of a friend's new CD off their laptop.."

Sounds like they're on my side of the DRM battle, but I can't imagine that lends itself to a litigation-free future for the company

[thejoeandchip @ Apr 28th 2006 12:25AM]

So does this thing play video? im still not sure. So will this definately support linux? Im guessing it does, connectivity seems to be a big selling point.

[Emok @ Jun 22nd 2006 8:19AM]

Does any one know when this player would be shipping? Venzero? Never heard of them. Where are they based? Europe, Asia or America?

[earl @ Apr 20th 2007 10:49AM]

has anyone seen a published review of the venzero?