We've seen a lot of questionable designs the last year. Creative released the Zen Moo, iriver added eyes to their mplayer and we'll never forget the CJ7 player with the USB port in his butt. This time, it's mobiBLU's turn to "surprise" us with a non-traditional design.

The A10 UFO has a speaker, a vibration system (whatever that is), Bluetooth and no screen. Battery life is unimpressive at 15 hours with headphones and 6 hours with speakers, but this is likely to be more a children's toy than a "real" mp3 player anyways. Beam me up, Scotty.

[GenerationMP3]

MobiBLU Cubes were popular back in the days and introduced us to tiny mp3 players long before the Zen Stone or Sansa Clip even hit the drawing board. The series has been dead for a while now, so it's surprising to see that it's now back in the shape of the Cube3.

The Cube3 is physically similar to it's predecessors and the specs are also familiar. The player will come in 2GB capacity and sport both a FM radio with recording and a normal voice recorder. The player itself is only 1x1x1 inches big, but the tiny OLED screen will still support both video and photo viewing. Other features include SRS WOW and TruBass sound enhancements along with a standard equalizer. The Cube3 will arrive May 1st with a price tag of $99.

[MobiBLU via Engadget]

Two new nearly identical mobiBLU players were announced at CeBIT in Germany this week. As you can see, the A3 and A5 sport a rather eye-catching (albeit familiar) blue LED surrounding their controls. Sadly, though, that's about it. Seriously, aside from the bright lights, the players offer nothing we haven't seen a hundred times before.

Equipped with a 1.5" (A3) or 1.8" (A5) 65K-color LCD, the flash DAPs have microSD card slots (no info on internal storage), FM radio and recorder, built-in microphone, photo viewer, and support for MP3, WMA, and MTV files. You've read this a hundred times before, too, but it fits nicely with an unoriginal player so here goes: pricing and availability are currently unknown.

[GenerationMP3]

If the minigigi C1000 from the other day left you feeling less than satisified yet still hungry for more, here's something "new" to sink your teeth into. The minigigi C2000. Not only is it the video-playing older brother of the C1000, but it's also the second clone of the Teclast T29 (the first being the mobiBLU D5).

Unlike the "originals," the C2000 maxes out at 2GB. It's supposedly only $95 (which makes the $170 pricing of the C1000 rather suspect), so the player is actually not too shabby. Video playback (25 fps), FM radio, 7 EQs, games, photo/text viewer, and voice recorder for under $100? Not too shabby at all.

[AVING USA]

It was only a matter of time that the form factor of yesteryear's stylish slim phone, the Motorola RAZR, found its way into a DAP design. Eiger Labs/MPMan, manufacturers of the world's first solid state MP3 player in 1998, were not lazy copying the overused metal touch field and overall form factor of the RAZR, as seen in dozens of other devices already.

The player comes with a capacity of 1 or 2GB and a 1.5" color display capable of viewing images and playing videos. It's weight is a mere 30 grams, and it's only 7 mm thick. Let's not think about the impact on battery life such measurements imply. A nice feature of the Blade is the dual headphone outputs. It's like sharing music without violating any law! Who would have thought of the possibility?

The MPMan Blade is a rebranded MobiBLU US2, obviously - it is not clear if the specs show any difference between both players.

[Via MP3Newswire | MobiBLU US2]

Here is a look at the upcoming D5 from MobiBLU, rebranded from the Teclast T29. My impression from the 15 minutes I got to spend with it is fairly positive. The GUI was rough looking but still very straight forward and easy to use. The screen, although not premium, was better than average and played back video smoothly. The player sports a typical feature set with a 2” 262k color screen. Currently it only comes in sizes up to 4GB. It's unclear whether or not we'll see this in the US but it would be a nice competitor to the Meizu miniPlayer M6.

Video after the jump…

Yes yet another cute cube by MobiBLU. Even though it is the third installment of the cube, it does take a hit on some of the specs from the Cube 2. The CUBISTO will not have video playback and the OLED screen will only be monochrome. But, I don’t think you will be missing much considering the screen is a mere .66 inches. The player will support MP3 and WMA file types with PlaysForSure compatibility. The CUBISTO will come in capacities of 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB. There is no word on the US release of the third cube, but judging from previous releases, you probably won’t see it till mid next year.

[MobiBLU Korea via dapreview]

For those who like their MP3 players tiny, MobiBLU is now selling the second generation DAH-1500i, dubbed appropriately the Cube 2. Still the same size as the last generation, the Cube 2 offers smoother styling and a few more features. This time with a color screen that has the ability to playback photos and video. But really, how appealing is video on a half inch 65k color OLED screen? Additionally the cube is PlaysForSure ready as well as PodcastReady, playing back MP3 and WMA.

The player is available now for purchase on MobiBLU’s website for $100 for the 1GB version and $120 for the 2GB version. It is also available at Amazon with free shipping.

[MobiBLU - thanks layer3matrix]

This chain hangs low iced out with the latest fashion trend substitute for diamonds, the Swarovski crystal. Flashy on the outside the Q-Bling still packs the same great insides as the first MobiBLU cube, the DAH-1500i. The player comes in three sparkly colors- blue, pink, and silver.

This player on ice will set you back $150 for a 1GB version, $60 more than its naked counterpart. If you are too cheap, you can pick up a sheet of fake jewels at Wal-Mart for a couple bucks and bedazzle your own cube with a myriad of colors until your heart is content.

[Q-Bling]

Although already well known for their popular mobiBLU cubes, Hyunwon may soon become better known for the BOXON, a new VoIP-enabled mp3 player scheduled for release later this month. Featuring a 1.71-inch OLED display, the BOXON is equipped with an ebook reader, photo viewer, and English-Korean dictionary. Users can also share music, video clips, and photos, though exactly how is anyone's guess.

Details on the VoIP capabilities are also MIA. All we know for sure is that connecting the player to a PC automatically launches some sort of VoIP software. Since there are only so many ways to enable an mp3 player to make a VoIP call, it will be no surprise if functionality is similar (if not identical) to last year's Ezmax devices.

[AVING USA]

MobiBLU has announced a new player the US2 or Ultra Slim 2 (yeah ... I don’t know what happened to the Ultra Slim 1 either.) The player is packed with 512MB, 1GB, or 2GB of flash memory to compete with the rest of the slim “candy bar” MP3 players. The player is meant to be worn “lanyard style” and features dual headphone jacks for you and a friend.

The GUI looks similar to the DHH-200 that I reviewed a few months ago. Hopefully MobiBLU has improved the UI in the US2- it was a bit rough in the DHH-200. Now word on when the US2 is set to drop in the US.

[MobiBLU via dapreview]

MobiBLU has teamed up with Podcast Ready to make downloading podcasts a snap. MobiBLU will begin shipping the Cube 2 and the B153 with Podcast Ready software preloaded. The Podcast Ready software resides on the players root directory which allows you to get your podcasts from virtually any computer without having to install additional software.

While podcasts have always worked with non-ipods, this software makes getting them easier. In addition to the two MobiBLU players, Podcast Ready will work with any UMS MP3 player or storage device. Yet another reason to use an MP3 player simplified by UMS.

Update: The Cube 2 along with the B153 Podcast Ready enabled players will be launched nation wide though Target at the end of June.

Remember that Cube speaker we thought would never see the shores of the US? It has. The O Cube is for sale on MobiBLU’s website for $30.To recap, the speaker is the same one inch cubed size as the DAH-1500. The speaker has a retractable phono plug that can be used with any MP3 player or audio device. It is powered by an internal rechargeable battery juiced by a standard USB plug and runs for about 5 hours when fully charged

This could be a useful device for any PMP devices like the Zen Vision:M when you are showing off your videos to a group of people. Now we are just holding out for the Cube FM Modulator.

[MobiBLU O Cube]

FM transmitters are a dime a dozen these days, but MobiBLU has made one especially for thier cherished cube MP3 player. Compatible with the first cube and the new Cube 2, the transmitter’s retractable phono jack plugs top of the MP3 player creating a stack of two cubes.

Will we see it stateside? ...probably not for a while if ever. We have yet to see the Cube Speaker hit these shores and it has been around for several months now.

MobiBLU went back to the lab to improve upon their last geometric creation, this time it is in color. The size still remains the same 28mm cubed, but they have improved upon the design by rounding the corners and recessing the lanyard hook to give it a sleeker look and feel.

Judging by the first Cube product line, expect to see capacities of up to 2GB. Price and release date are unknown at this time.