Toshiba's 80GB Gigabeat V801: the last Portable Media Center

In what constitutes a death rattle for Portable Media Center devices, Toshiba just sputtered forth the latest in the V Series of Gigabeat players: the 40GB V401 (¥49,800 / $409) and 80GB V801 (¥59,800 / $491). Each packs a new 4-inch, 24-bit color, 480 x 272 pixel display with built-in brightness sensor for automatic adjustment to local lighting conditions. In addition to supporting WM DRM10 and WMA 9 Lossless as you'd expect in a Microsoft PMC, the device also packs an improved 1Seg tuner and EPG for plenty of digital TV viewing (and recording) while on the go. The latest Gigabeat also features improved sound quality and 24-mm thickness and a battery capable of 28/10/8 hours of playback audio/video/1Seg TV, respectively. Available June 1st in Japan.

[Via Impress]

[J. McNair @ May 28th 2007 8:37AM]

Yeah, good job Microsoft, killing these off when they were starting to get good. Now will you ACTUALLY build the good bits of this into the next Windows CE/Mobile/Smartphone/whatever? Or will these companies simply have to turn to Linux, Symbian or another alternative (which may not be a bad idea)?

[Sean @ May 28th 2007 9:01AM]

I agree J. McNair. Love my gigabeat S. I really think MS is boning themselves here.

[The Aggie CEO™ @ May 28th 2007 8:42AM]

damn........$500 for the 80GB isnt bad........

but I would LOVE .mkv support for all my Anime.....it sucks having to convert all that over for my Zune as it is......

[Jonathan Allen @ May 28th 2007 11:35AM]

Zune 2.0

[Jeff Snugglebutton @ May 28th 2007 10:45AM]

When I saw that standing up like that, I first thought it was a microwave oven.

[kojo87 @ May 28th 2007 11:27AM]

i love my Gigabeat S30. i only wish it supported more video codecs. every time i try to convert to WMV the audio sync is off.

if i had an extra $500 to piss away i would be all over the 80GB V. why would you kill off the PMC?

[Terry @ May 28th 2007 12:23PM]

I think I'll continue to wait for the Cowon Q5 to come out this year ^_^

[Steve @ May 28th 2007 12:09PM]

I too thought this device was a microwave at a first glance.

[Maff @ May 28th 2007 1:15PM]

i also thought microwave, straight away!

[John Doe @ May 28th 2007 1:17PM]

For a second I thought it was a microwave.

[RijilV @ May 28th 2007 2:28PM]

I hate to jump on this bandwagon, but I totally went to post that at first glance I thought this was a microwave....

[NakedOldGuy @ May 28th 2007 2:17PM]

Do people actually buy PMPs? I go to Texas A&M and know plenty of the gadget carrying crowd and not a single one admits to wasting the money on a PMP.

[The Aggie CEO™ @ May 28th 2007 3:07PM]

Texas huh???

I go to NC A&T SU I know 6 people with them.....just too rich for my blood right now tho........

[JohnTitor @ May 28th 2007 5:27PM]

style is reminicent of Archos 604, pricewise it is high in comparison , buttons look more intuitive though
if it takes the DTV of air signals that would be awesome

anything is better than a Zune anyway
the Zune isn't even better than an iPod for video, it supports worse formats(WMV as opposed to iPod's .MOV, MP4, or traditional PVP's DivX, XVid) and the Screen is only .5" bigger and the color count just as bad (~26K compared to the 262K on players like Archos or Creative PMPs)
more people should do their research

[aiHD @ May 28th 2007 8:40PM]

Yes, more people should do their research. Zune supports MP4.

[ark_v2 @ May 28th 2007 9:09PM]

So, where's my gigabeat DAP? :(