A whole new slew of Walkmans have hit Sony's New Zealand site, and we've got the goods on them. The new models, dubbed the NWZ-E435, NWZ-E436, and NWZ-E438 all sport a 2-inch QVGA LCD display, FM tuner, codec support for MP3, AAC, WMA, and Linear PCM files, and clock in at a very petite 8.5mm / 50g. The players will be available in 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB variations, with various color options for each model (except for the NWZ-E438, which only comes in black). Apparently, the PMPs play nice with both Windows Media Player and iTunes, offering drag and drop management for files. No word yet on price, regions, or release date, but we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for these sweet babies.

[Via Sony Insider]

Now that the Zune's most vocal (and deranged) proponent has apparently jumped ship, Microsoft is looking for some other method of gaining market share. The most recent report on reinvigorating the portable media player has Redmond execs looking low and high at talent agencies and production companies in hopes of "licensing exclusive original video programming." According to Richard Winn, director of entertainment development at Zune, the company is searching for "non-conventional programming that can capitalize on the device's social networking platform." Details are unsurprisingly scant at the moment, but Winn also noted that the outfit was looking for something that "iTunes or any competing service" couldn't provide. We hear Vongo's going for a song... just sayin'.

We can't (with a clean conscience) carelessly fling Newsmy's M521+ into the KIRF pile -- though we'd sure love to. It's hard impossible to miss the design cues ripped directly from SanDisk's Sansa Fuze, though the unit does have just enough uniqueness to keep it from being a bona fide clone. Reportedly, the device packs an FM tuner, FM transmitter, support for MP3 / WMA / APE / FLAC / AVI formats, a photo / text viewer and an interface that we wouldn't let our worst enemies use. Oh wait, is that the iTunes logo? Is it too late to reconsider that whole KIRF eligibility thing.

[Via PMPToday]

We're onto your game, ZVUE. Just days after giving us a reason to laugh with the introduction of the 1GB Journey DAP, you're delivering yet another media player with yet another icon on it. This go 'round, we're looking at none other than The King -- an Elvis Presley-emblazoned media player with 1GB of Elvis video clips, a 2.4-inch display, FM tuner, voice recorder, photo / text viewer and USB connectivity. Those looking to shake things up can toss in a microSD card for additional tunes, though you'll be forced to hand over $49.88 to Wally World in order to claim your own. We're tempted to say it's now or never, but really, it's from August 12th onward.

Creative got a bit more creative with the ZEN Mosaic's name since we spotted it in Singapore last month, but the freshly rechristened ZEN Mozaic is now available (and in stock, just to be exceptionally clear) in the US of A for your purchasing pleasure. For those seeking a brief refresher, here goes: there's a 1.8-inch display (160 x 128 resolution), up to 36 hours of audio playback / 5 hours of video playback, support for MP3 / WAV / WMA / JPEG / BMP files, a 5-band custom equalizer, calender / contacts / task list and USB 2.0 connectivity. The oddly designed DAP can be procured in both 2GB and 4GB flavors (but only in black, at least for now), with the former going for $59.99 and the latter $79.99.

[Thanks, Oscar]

[Via DAP Review, thanks Al]

If you're scouting the strange, the weird and the weirder, you'll find plenty to get absorbed in over at the research facilities of NTT DoCoMo. The Japanese giant is at it once more, but this time the invention is actually somewhat down to Earth. It's mission? To create a method for easily controlling a music interface (on a PMP or cellphone) with just your eyes. By rolling one's eyes and jerking them from side to side, the outfit is hoping to have the corresponding music player change tracks and get louder / softer. If you're not exactly keen with freaking out fellow citizens on the street with completely erratic eye movements, you may also appreciate a similar technology it's working up which can detect a user's finger tapping to achieve to same goal. Of course, said technology would be halfway useless on the smash hit-packed ZVUE Journey (no way you're bypassing any of those tracks, son), but we guess you could check out your toes every now and then to keep from constantly staying at 11.

[Via ShinyShiny]

Chinavasion isn't known for offering up cutting-edge gadgetry -- far from it, to be honest -- but the MP4 player known only as the CVSJ-1304-4GB is actually fairly notable. According to the dodgy specifications, the $39.55 device checks in at just 4.5-millimeters thick, which is certainly thinner than the other so-called "world's thinnest" DAP. Of course, this may only be true due to the "MP4" moniker, seeing as most units not created and sold exclusively in China are called "MP3" players. Semantics aside, the unit also includes a 1.8-inch display with a 160 x 128 resolution, a curious 2.5-millimeter headphone jack, a USB 2.0 port and a rechargeable battery. So, do any of you have a competitor that's a hair thinner? Our hunch is yes.

[Via PMP Today]

Brace yourselves, dear readers. The item we're about to explain just might be is most certainly the best thing to ever happen to the digital audio player market. ZVUE's 1GB pre-loaded Journey MP3 player not only reeks of the early '80s in design alone, but this thing actually arrives with 22 Journey tracks loaded on (11 new joints, 11 of your childhood favorites). It's like buying Journey's greatest hits and getting a DAP for free -- go on, be good to yourself, it's only $39.88. Jump past the break if you need some encouragement / discouragement.

[Via AnythingButiPod, thanks Dula]

Say it ain't so! America's most loyal advocate for Microsoft's Zune is apparently throwing in the towel. Of course, we should warn you that this could very well be a simple ploy for attention, but if the man keeps his word, he will soon be covering his Zune tattoos with... something else. Curiously, he didn't say whether or not he would be playing the traitor card and picking up some sort of iPod, but considering that more people have seen this guy's body art in the wild than actual Zunes, the general public should know soon enough. You fought a good fight, Zune Guy, but consider yourself expelled from The Social.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Generally speaking, Oppo has stuck to its bread-and-butter: decently stylish PMPs and a well-received family of upscaling DVD players, respectively. Now, however, we're seeing a trio of concepts which allude to a future unit (or three) boasting gaming functionality. Unfortunately, details beyond that are few and far between, and we're not even certain of their place of origin. In other words, don't bet on seeing these hit shelves in the foreseeable future, but keep your fingers crossed that they do anyway.

[Thanks, Raz]

It's not that Electro Box's miShake PMP looks especially like anything else we've seen, but it sure takes an awful lot of cues from, shall we say, more popular brands. We won't even bother explaining the miShake name, but what is important to note is the 2.4-inch touchscreen, "explosive external loudspeaker," 4GB of internal memory, miniSD expansion slot and support for a multitude of audio / video file formats. Oh, and don't even bother fiddling through that questionable user interface to change tracks -- just give it a good jerk (you know, like Sony's Shake control) to hear the next jam begin abruptly. So much merriment for just £119.95 ($240).

[Via Pocket-lint]

Apparently Creative is cooking up more than just the ZEN X-Fi as of late, according to a discovery made by anythingbutipod forum members. The crew stumbled onto the ZEN Krystal, a small MP3 player that features 4GB of storage, a blue OLED display, an FM tuner, and support for MP3 and WMA files. What really makes the device pique our curiosity, however, is the included built-in pedometer, which can track distance and speed à la Nike+, as well as the handful of games that come on-board the little guy. Right now the player is only up on Creative's Hong Kong site, and we've got no word on price or release date.

[Via anythingbutipod]

If you've been resisting the urge to believe that Samsung's U4 was more than just a figment of someone's untamed imagination, we've got just one question for you: why? The inevitable has finally happened, with the pocket-friendly DAP getting official half a world away. The unit will boast an OLED display, touch-sensitive buttons and 2GB or 4GB of internal storage. Reportedly, these critters will be available on August 7th in the Asia-Pacific region for S$89 ($66) / S$129 ($96) depending on capacity, though we aren't sure yet what they'll sell for when they (hopefully) make the trip Stateside.