slider is an 8GB N-Gager

Remember the sidetalkin' N-Gage? Yeah... well, this isn't it. This is Nokia's new N-81 gaming device built upon their revamped N-Gage gaming platform. The S60 device packs HSDPA (sorry, no US band support) for on-line gaming, integrated speakers (and 3.5-mm headphone jack), and D-pad navigation for getting your game on. Still, it's not just for gaming as it fully supports all the audio and video you'd expect in a new "pane-driven," UI which carousels your windows instead of lining them up in tabs -- a UI which will evolve in the coming months in line with Ovi. On sale Q4 in Europe in an 8GB flash model (€431/$585) or €360/$490 pre-bunged with a 2GB microSD card.

Panasonic's D-snap now even more cluttered with Bluetooth

If you look closely at the Panasonic SV-SD950N's jumble of controls (go ahead, look, we know it hurts) you'll notice a few new icons: a telephone and Bluetooth. No, they haven't turned their latest D-snap Audio player into a Bluetooth enabled phone. However, they have enabled the A2DP, AVRCP, and HFP Bluetooth profiles allowing their DAP to pair and control your Bluetooth-equipped stereo headset, phone, and handsfree rig in your car or office. Otherwise, we're looking at the same ol' D-snap only with far less juice with Bluetooth enabled. After all, it's Bluetooth 2.0, not 2.1. Hitting Japan on September 21 for ¥25,000 (about $219) with 1GB SD card.

Sony's NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610

So long ATRAC, hello NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610 Sony Walkmans. The A810 we've seen before, twice in fact, but this is the first time the S610 (pictured) has wiggled free from the rumor mill all dolled-up in full specs and pricing. The S610 series packs the same QVGA resolution in a slightly smaller 1.8-inch display and still one-ups the A810 with an FM tuner bunged inside. Both support USB Mass Storage file transfer, AVC (H.264/AVC) and MPEG-4 encoded video, and AAC, MP3 and DRM'd WMA audio formats without bothering us with any of that icky ATRAC stuff or their much maligned SonicStage software. Sony's also making nice by bringing their B100 series of Walkman DAPs to town in 1GB ($60) and 2GB ($80) models. The S610 series starts at $120 for 2GB on up to $210 for the 8GB compared to a $140 to $230 range for the same capacity A810 models. All available in September, pre-sales now.