LG &37 media player melds touchscreen with brushed metal

While everyone is still waiting for the true video iPod, LG appears to have kinda sorta beat 'em to the punch with its new "&37." Sure, we've seen touchscreens before on media players and even electronic dictionaries -- but none of them come in brushed aluminum, and really, who doesn't love brushed aluminum? Good looks aside, this 2.4-inch media player, which recently debuted at the Korea Electronics Show, packs 4GB of strage, a three-hour battery, a photo viewer and a "mobile XD engine," whatever that is. We imagine that you'll be able to find this 51.5 x 90 x 10.4mm (2.02 x 3.54 x 0.4-inches) ampersander in Korea sometime soon, but no, we don't know how much it'll set you back. Click on over to the next page & check out a few glamor shots of the &37.

[Via I4U News]

[nerdtalker @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:17AM]

Is 4 GB really enough storage to even hold that many shows, movies, or short videos? /rhetorical question

I think not... (But anything is better than the 'ol video iPod)

[ChuWei @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:28AM]

the mobile XD engine is probably the mobile version of the picture/video processing engine used in LG televisions. Much like Toshiba's Meta engine and Samsung's DNIE. Good to see soemthing like this in a mobile device.

[Ypoknons @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:31AM]

Well, 2GB SD cards are 30-40 these days, so you do the math :) I don't see how touchscreen adds to the device, though.

[Haydio @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:47AM]

Correct me if i'm wring but isnt that screen 4:3 just like the ipod?

[LittleJoe @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:48AM]

a bit tiny for a touch screen imo. I like the brushed aluminum/chrome look though.

[Matt F @ Oct 22nd 2006 7:33AM]

a 3 hour battery eh? hmm...

[Travis @ Oct 22nd 2006 9:42AM]

In picture #2 you can see a condenser mic hole and a push to record button. While it has always made sense to me that portable media players double as voice recorders, to Start/Stop recordings is always more hassle then it's worth. This picture offers hope that it truly is "one button away" on the &37. Let's hope!

[Peter Garner @ Oct 22nd 2006 10:03AM]

3-hour battery life? That's pathetic by any standard.

[Mike @ Oct 22nd 2006 10:53AM]

I'm waiting for the wide screen version.

[tom @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:35PM]

Not exactly a looker, is it?

[Dave Pevsner @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:42PM]

it reminds me of a cross between the shine phone's looks, the clix's 4GB tiny screen video function, and a touchscreen thrown in to get rid of ugly buttons (a la sony cybershot N series).

but the battery life is nothing to rave about, the screen size is better than my phone but still pathetic for video if you compare it to a PSP or full sized PMP, and the rubber cover over the SD slot kind of kills the look.

[jaalin @ Oct 22nd 2006 11:08PM]

im guessing the 3 hour battery is referring to its video playback? in which case, its better than the ipod video.

for music its probably up to 15+ hrs

love the sd expansion... not enough players have those...

[kadajawi @ Oct 23rd 2006 9:50AM]

The touchscreen removes ugly buttons and is more flexible, and I love the touchscreen of my mobile phone. The design is good too, very clean. Does it has a SD expansion slot? If yes, then I think I like it.

[liwenliu�? @ Oct 23rd 2006 1:16PM]

样子不错！！

[Blackdrive @ Oct 25th 2006 6:53AM]

what's that thing on the back?

[ChuWei @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:30AM]

i think it's something used in display stores to prevent theft

[Gerard Boyers @ Dec 18th 2006 6:15AM]

Funny how, in HTML, &37; is a Percent sign?