Microsoft has announced more Zunes for their Zune Originals series. They are adding a whopping 46 new sketches to the collection. The designs are available on the Zune Originals site. In addition, Microsoft will be releasing Zunes in a nice new shade of blue. Look for an official announcement soon.

Cowon, in an attempt to entice prospective buyers to take the plunge, has lowered prices on just about every member of their PMP line. This goes for the F2, D2, I7, Q5W, A3 and U5 models. Only the O2 escaped a price cut. The cuts range from $10 to $70 off of MSRP. For a full list of new and old prices, click on the link.

Fans of the iriver can rejoice this holiday season, as the company is cutting prices on three of their PMPs for the holiday shopping season. The E100 and the Lplayer will go down to $69.99 for the 4GB models and $99.99 for the 8GB models. The priciest of the three, the SPINN, will see a price cut to $189.99 for the 4GB and $229.99 for the 8GB unit. The price drops are in effect starting on November 1st. Hey wait, that’s today.

Sony and Universal have teamed up to produce series of "instant entertainment" vending machines in the UK. POP machines hit the country this holiday season. Unlike other kiosks that sell media players, this one sells the content as well. You will be able to download straight to a memory card, flash drive, PMP or other USB-supporting portable device. The machine will also let you purchase video games and media content on DVD and Blu-ray. Sony and Universal have not released word as to whether or not they plan on bringing the service anywhere else. Consider the UK a trial run.

When the Hybrid Dual Portable Computer was introduced two years ago, the premise was thus: mobile OS up front, Windows XP inside and about as pretty as a duck dipped in oil. Well, that duck has officially been scrubbed clean. The new shell is pretty sleek, is it not?

It’s not just aesthetics that have been tweaked, however. The unit now contains an Atom processor inside. The exact specifications of the Atom has yet to be revealed though.

Other than that, the specifications remain the same. It contains an e-book reader, PMP, netbook and even an in-car rear-view camera monitor. Oh yeah, it also makes phone calls.

No information has been released yet regarding price or availability. Let’s hope that scrubbed duck doesn’t cost it’s weight in gold.