It might be no where near as compact as Apple’s tiny iPod Shuffle, but the Singbox MP3 player from Novelview has a good excuse for being so rotund. It packs a 2W speaker on one end allowing you to use it as a highly portable boombox for sharing music with others. I’m sure the sound quality and levels aren’t mind-blowing, but I’m also sure it would be more than adequate in a situation where you’re traveling and don’t want to pack anything too elaborate.

It can also be used as a portable audio player too, supporting MP3, WMA and APE files enjoyed through headphones. While an FM tuner provides a sampling of local content and color. A microSD card slot provides the Singbox’s storage, which means you can cram up to 32GB of music on it, while the USB-charged battery is good for about 13 hours use. Though I’m sure that’s dependent on whether you’re using the speaker the entire time. And for you style conscious types, it’s available in 8 different finishes.

[ Novelview Singbox ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

Creative has just released a new compact MP3 player that looks like it has everything anyone could need – about 5 years ago. While Apple’s latest generation Nano scores novelty points with its touchscreen display, Creative’s ZEN M300 has features that are actually far more useful. It’s a simple plug and play affair, so all you need to do is connect it to your PC via USB to copy music files over. (MP3, WMA, Audible Format 4 and AAX are all supported.) And while the largest version comes with 16GB of storage, that can be further boosted by up to 32GB thanks to a microSD card slot on the side.

There’s also a built-in FM radio which is always nice to have, a microphone allowing you to use it as a voice recorder and most importantly, Bluetooth support. Which of course allows you to use the ZEN M300 with wireless headphones, or the growing selection of wireless BT speakers which are all the rage now. It’s even priced very competitively, with the smallest 4GB model being your best bet at $49 since microSD cards run about $10 for 8GB these days.

[ Creative ZEN M300 ] VIA [ The Gadgeteer ]

At first glance you might mistake the Pocket HiFi C4 Pro from Colorfly for a knock-off PMP that someone has given an impressive steampunk facelift too. But that’s not the case. The C4 Pro, which features a luxurious hand-engraved black walnut housing, is actually targeted at audiophiles since it’s apparently the first player capable of playing 24 bit/192 KHz WAV files. Inside the C4 Pro you’ll find CIRRUS Logic CS4398 DAC and CS8422 SRC chips which result in a signal-to-noise ratio of up to 108dB. The headphone jack also has its own built-in amp which outputs up to 13.3mW of power from its 6.3mm headphone jack (it includes a 3.5mm as well) allowing you to use high-end headphones without an external box.

As you can see it also sports an old-school pushrod volume slider, includes an SPDIF port for connecting it to modern stereo equipment (for playback or recording) and as for storage I can’t seem to find too much info on their site as to how much is built in, but I believe it includes a microSD slot meaning you can throw a 32GB card in there. As for the price. The Colorfly website is pretty mum on those details, but a seller on Amazon is asking $799 for a new model.

[ Colorfly Pocket HiFi C4 Pro ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve written about a concept product design from Giha Woo, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. A few years ago the original iPod Shuffle was a surprise hit for Apple. Besides the cheap pricepoint, I know I really liked the fact it had a built-in USB port meaning I could keep it charged wherever I could find a PC. But Giha’s Plug and Player takes things one step further, by building a simple MP3 player into an actual plug. So wherever you can find an outlet, which are arguably far more plentiful than PCs with free USB ports, you can keep it charged.

The wide stance of European-style power plugs seems ideal for the concept, but I suspect they could also be built into North American-style plugs with minimal compromise. But since it’s just a concept with seemingly no intentions of ever being produced, it’s kind of moot to even speculate international compatibilities.

[ Plug And Player ]

Glass and aluminum might make for sexy electronics, but they don’t make for baby-friendly toys. So if for some reason you think your toddler deserves an iPod, but you’d prefer a softer alternative, you’re not going to find anything more plush than this Cuddletunes bear. It’s a 9 1/2-inch tall stuffed animal with a built-in MP3 player that can be controlled via buttons stitched into the bottom of its feet. The playback controls are basic enough for even a toddler to master, or from my own experience, even your retired father.

Somewhere hidden away on the Cuddletunes bear is a USB cable used for loading it up with content, but besides random MP3s, the accompanying website lets you record stories that can be played back when you’re not around, or even create custom lullabies featuring your kid’s name. You can try it out here if you’re curious, surprisingly the songs don’t sound laughably terrible. Cuddletunes is available now for just $59.95, while the online services appear to be included for free.

[ Cuddletunes ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

Urban Outfitters doesn’t offer as much as even a one-line description about this walkman-themed basic MP3 player. Apparently hipsters don’t need technical specifications, just retro-themed crap and small ironic badges. But my powers of deduction tell me it’s got no built-in memory, instead relying on SD cards for storage, charges and/or shows up as a mass storage compliant drive when connected to your PC via USB, and at just under $70 (£45.00) it’s ludicrously overpriced.

[ MP3 Walkman ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

Even though its name capitalizes on both the popularity of the Nintendo Wii and Apple’s ‘i’ trend, the Mi-Sport MP3 player doesn’t actually do anything as revolutionary as the products from those other companies. But, if you’re an athlete or an outdoors enthusiast, you may still want one to complement your iPod.

The Mi-Sport is basically a pair of headphones with a built-in 4GB media player supporting MP3s, WMAs and AAC files and a respectable 7 hour rechargeable battery. But the feature that sets the Mi-Sport apart is the fact that it’s waterproof. Not splashproof or water-resistant, but waterproof meaning it can be used and worn underwater when swimming, and it actually comes with a set of water-blocking sponge earplugs allowing you to better hear your music while submerged. The control buttons on the right side of the headphones can also be used underwater, and since it’s lacking a display, it also features voice navigation that will read you the names of tracks or playlists so you don’t necessarily have to keep it on shuffle all the time.

Now the Mi-Sport website is a bit vague as to when the product will be available, sometime in 2010 seems to be their target, but at this point there only appears to be rendered versions of the headphones. So hopefully photos of a prototype or physical mockups of the final version will be made available soon to dispense of any ‘vaporware’ rumblings.

[ Mi-Sport Waterproof Headphones With Built-in MP3 Player ] VIA [ ChipChick ]

Using this talking heart-rate monitoring MP3 player from Hammacher Schlemmer is a lot like working out while listening to the radio. But instead of the current top 20, you get to listen to your own music, and instead of crappy DJ banter every 1 to 5 minutes, it will pause your tunes to announce your current heart rate, or provide warnings when your pulse is above or below a predetermined target zone. An included chest strap does the actual heart beat monitoring duties, and wirelessly sends the data to the receiver/MP3 player which includes 1GB of memory, good for about 200 MP3 or WMA files. $79.95.

[ Talking Heart Rate MP3 Player ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

Clearly not content with letting Ryobi steal all those carpenters who grew up with MP3 players and digital cameras, Stanley is striking back with their Jobsite Radio and iPod Dock which appears to be a rather sturdy and durable source for tunes on a construction site. It’s got an AM/FM radio of course, but on the back you’ll also find a place for stashing and connecting an iPod or presumably any MP3 player given the headphone cable that’s wired in there. It will also play MP3 or WMA files directly off of an SD card or USB flash drive, and can be powered by an AC hookup or connected to a 12V DC battery. $59 from Northern Tool + Equipment.

[ Stanley Jobsite Radio And iPod Dock ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

It apparently wasn’t important enough to make the announcement roster during Samsung’s CES press conference, but the TicToc was on display at their booth and is a clever alternative to Apple’s iPod Shuffle. A built-in motion sensor makes switching tracks as easy as shaking the player, and it’s smart enough to cue up a slow song if shaken slowly, or a fast one if shaken vigorously, should you so desire.

On one end there’s a large button that’s used to power the TicToc on and off, but it’s also used, in conjunction with gravity, to adjust the volume. Hold the button with the player upside down and the volume will decrease, and vice versa. To be honest the gimmick actually seems like kind of a pain to use, but I’m sure it will appeal to the player’s target demographic which is somewhere in the tweens.

According to reps at their booth, the Samsung TicToc will be available later this year in 2 and 4GB capacities supporting MP3, WMA, OGG and FLAC audio formats with 12 hours of battery life. I’m going to assume it also comes with the syncing cradle pictured above, though the designer plastic sleeves used to customize the player’s appearance will be sold separately.