Chintzy MP5 portable media player emerges

It's almost painful to even look at this atrocity for any extended period of time, let alone think of actually using it from day to day, but it's still hard to ignore for $59.92. The mysterious player simply touts a noticeable MP5 logo atop the 2.5-inch LCD, and while the format itself is news to us (or would that be "the company name?), it does manage to include an FM tuner, built-in camera, USB connectivity and a miniSD expansion slot. Personally, we wouldn't be the first in line to plunk down cash for a unnamed PMP with an interface that gaudy, but if you're interested in seeing a few more views anyway, click on through the break.

[LordFarkward @ Sep 13th 2007 6:43AM]

the back reminds me of the LG Shine

by the way, what happened to the 6 o'clock's hundred giveaway?

[Mike Jenkins @ Sep 13th 2007 12:06PM]

They're having their final one later

[Blackster @ Sep 13th 2007 6:44AM]

well, if that logo wouldn't be there, the uneducated not engadget reading nontechfreak could think that it's an iphone ^^ (almost ;))

[Santz24 @ Sep 13th 2007 6:44AM]

Kinda looks like the iPhone, dunnit?

[riggs @ Sep 13th 2007 8:28AM]

oh god. make it stop.

[JC @ Sep 13th 2007 9:26AM]

Way to go, Captain Obvious. You score 1 point. Now shut up.

[Baby-G @ Sep 13th 2007 11:24AM]

lmao i was waiting for it...

[Ryan P @ Sep 13th 2007 11:29AM]

Why does it look like they sawed off the bottom inch.... God it's so fugly!

[strider_mt2k @ Sep 13th 2007 6:48AM]

Isn't the company called MP5?

Either that or I'm gonna have to figure what that "Sansa" format is.

Or what that "Ford" format it is that all those cars use...?

[wilkmd @ Sep 13th 2007 6:53AM]

Looks like an iPod, functionally probably very similiar. Guess when you subtract some polish & mega marketing from iPod you get this + $250.

[SkyScrap @ Sep 13th 2007 6:53AM]

The linked page reads "Listen to MP3 Music and Watch Videos in AMV at 30FPS", so MP5 has to be the company name...

[John Cavanagh @ Sep 13th 2007 7:00AM]

I don't believe MP5 is the company or device name. If you follow the read link it shows other items with differing names using the same textual format.

[shaliron @ Sep 13th 2007 7:02AM]

I'm waiting for MP5 + 1

[L. Cyphre @ Sep 13th 2007 7:25AM]

My thoughts exactly.
I'll wait the six months for the MP6 version, other people can buy this obsolete junk if they want. Ha!

[Homeboy @ Sep 13th 2007 7:15AM]

No iPhone or iPod Touch mentioned in the article? Engadget, are you guys feeling ok?

[nih @ Sep 13th 2007 7:26AM]

I would be careful inserting the business end of any audio equipment labelled "MP5" into your ears. It might only have one 25-round track.

[kwai chi @ Sep 13th 2007 7:47AM]

MP5 is not the name of the company. They have made another product sold at ebuyer.com as can be seen on this video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BbefhAcHrKw with the 'MP4' written on it.

[aron @ Sep 13th 2007 8:28AM]

Why do crap products get the "china" tag, but when they do something decent, like the Hacha, it's not tagged under "china"?

http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/12/hachas-pa20-and-pc20-pmps-get-release-date-pre-order/

[joe23521 @ Sep 13th 2007 9:54AM]

Aron, that's a very interesting observation.
I wonder if they have an answer for that one.


(LMAO, please stop the ALL CAPS madness.)

[daniel @ Sep 13th 2007 10:27AM]

Madness? THIS IS SPARTA!

[aron @ Sep 13th 2007 8:46AM]

You're right; it IS pretty obvious. Funny how you lump "made-in" and "designed-in" all together though, considering those oh-so-lovely iPods are from, where? That's right, China. Now someone's gonna argue, well, it's DESIGNED in California. Well I bet half those toys with lead are designed elsewhere too. How about all the other 'crap' from China?

What's up Engadget? A little too racist don't you think?

[Matt @ Sep 13th 2007 9:23AM]

You have got to be kidding me. First of all the, Ipod is made by Taiwanese companies. Not every product produced in China sucks. I have a Vento scooter. It is 100% designed and manufactured in main land China (besides the fact that they copied a Honda engine). It is a great reliable product and I love it. But, as a general rule, that is not the case. Please tell me what world you live in where the majority of Chinese products aren’t crap? China’s economy pretty much runs on making cheap shit. If the Chinese were putting quality materials in their products then people wouldn’t buy them from China because they would be expensive. Just because something sounds racist doesn’t make it incorrect. This, however, isn’t even a racist issue. The Chinese people in Taiwan make and design nice stuff and they have a reputation for it. In fact, they started calling themselves Taiwan instead of the ROC so people wouldn’t confuse their stuff with the crap that comes from the PRC. It has nothing to do with the people being Chinese. It has to do with the government and the established economy. So please go take your PC ass and leave your comments on IamInChinaMakesQualityStuffJustLikeEveryoneElseFantasyLand.com

[JC @ Sep 13th 2007 9:28AM]

Matt, I agree with your argument for the most part, except yes, the iPod is in fact assembled in a factory in China, not Taiwan.

[LMAO @ Sep 13th 2007 9:53AM]

ACTUALLY, THE IPOD CRAP IS MADE BY SWEATSHOPS IN CHINA OR TAIWAN WHERE THE "SLAVE" WORKERS MAKE $5 A DAY AND DON'T GET ENOUGH BATHROOM BREAKS.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/26/ipod-city-admits-labor-law-violations/

[Tim @ Sep 13th 2007 10:41AM]

@Matt

I'm from Taiwan, and I couldn't agree more and JC, my guess is he was referring to this report
http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/afx/2006/03/21/afx2611825.html

[friendlyner @ Sep 13th 2007 9:13AM]

Be sure not to buy anything, anywhere, ever, if you're avoiding things made in China. Good luck with that.

[FrankTheCrank @ Sep 13th 2007 9:18AM]

This thing makes me want to take a dump.

[beeperr @ Sep 13th 2007 9:34AM]

Looking at extremedeal.com, I don't think this thing actually has a touch screen. Anybody see anything mentioned about being able to actually touch the screen?

[AJ @ Sep 13th 2007 1:41PM]

I'm sure anyone with fingers can touch the screen.

[LMAO @ Sep 13th 2007 9:39AM]

OMG, THE CHINESE BEGAN SELLING IPHONE KNOCKOFFS "iFungs". LMAO.

Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- At the end of an alley in Taiwan's most violent city, a black Mercedes-Benz sedan blocks a sliding- glass door that opens only from within. Inside, technophiles can buy iPhone knockoffs for two-thirds the legitimate price.

FORE MORE DETAIL, CHECK OUT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aSm8mwwFMr8k&refer=home

[André Pudiesi @ Sep 13th 2007 9:42AM]

MP5 is to continue from mp4, a device that plays mp3 and movies, not exactly mp4 formats. so mp5 is a mp4 player plus a camera.

odd anyway...

[Jeff @ Sep 13th 2007 12:23PM]

MP5 - 60% more MP's than an MP3!

[André Pudiesi @ Sep 13th 2007 6:27PM]

yeah, but it's very easy to find a lot of 'mp4' meaning a player to listen mp3 and movies, none can show mp4 files - then, mp5 was just a numeric sequence. To be a mp5 you have to play mp3, show movies and have a camera!
funny logic, eh?

[engadgetme @ Sep 13th 2007 10:18AM]

ROFL these things make laugh - $60 is a pretty good price if you are talking US dollars they normally have higher prices for certain nationalities with extra percentages for the stupidity level of the individual customer. Was it the 32GB or 64GB model? hahaha - I was offered a 64GB flash drive for $5 and I don't even speak the language!

[Cesar Cardoso @ Sep 13th 2007 10:44AM]

Hi all,

a little explanation.

- an MP3 player plays MP3 files. Pretty obvious, huh?
- an MP4 player plays MP4 files... ahn, not MP4 files, but MTV files. Read http://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php?title=MTV for the explanation of the file format and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_MP4/MTV_Player for the players itselves.
- an MP5 players DON'T play MP5 files. There's no MP5 file. An MP5 player is an MP4/MTV player with a digital camera.
- and some people have coined the term "MP6 players". Get an MP5 player and add a GSM phone to it. Look for Foston FS-868 on Google.

Hope it helps.

[Traveler @ Sep 13th 2007 11:26AM]

I know media likes to amplify particular incidents, but not every Chinese product is crap. Most Chinese products are reliable products. Assembled in or not, a lot of things we used today are probably made in China.

The first MP5 player has been out since January.
As far as I know, MP5 directs to the player itself, which plays almost every audio/video format, with DRM support too.
There are few well-known Chinese brands that offer MP5 players.

But for $60? this is way too cheap, even for anonymous brands where build quality is in doubt. This one probably has a small storage or no storage at all.

[Bill @ Sep 13th 2007 11:31AM]

I'd buy that, but unfortunately, I'm still using MP1 :-/

[Mediaguy @ Sep 13th 2007 11:44AM]

MP5 is a term that Aigo (Huaqi) introduced a few months ago...basically adds RealVideo and RealAudio format support (which is VERY popular in China) to the MP4 (MPEG-4) playback device marketplace. Basically MP5 is a marketing term to one-up MP4...

[Karl Viklund @ Sep 13th 2007 12:27PM]

Please please. This company should really really be ashamed over itself. But I guess they are not because they are probably Asian. This must be one of the most lame copy of the iPhone form factor to this date. Totally lame. Can't they come up with something of their own? Or do they lack of any creativity at all? This is ridiculous. It's lame to see how companies try to get an undeserved glide in Apples hype.

[Matt @ Sep 13th 2007 12:37PM]

I actually had no idea where the Ipod was made. I just knew that apple had subcontracted its manufacturing to Asustek, Foxconn, and Inventec, which are Taiwanese companies. It certainly makes sense that they would cross the straight to exploit cheap labor. In regards to that and traveler’s assertion that many quality products we use today are produced in China, my original comments was intended to refer to not necessarily to anything made in China but to, Chinese companies such as the producer of the “MP5” product and my example, Vento. A company from another country has to respect copyright law and can get sued for a bad product. Just because they sent executives to China to exploit cheap labor doesn’t change that. And BTW, when you go into the dollar store and you see a Chinese product for what you think is cheap, keep in mind that is after it’s been shipped, taxed, distributor marked up and retail marked up. I found out one time what the actual Chinese factory was charging for a certain line of products once and I was shocked.

[OffTopic @ Sep 13th 2007 12:53PM]

Nanuet Chinese restaurant cited for worker who reportedly used feet to prepare food

http://www.nynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070911/NEWS03/709110349

[anonymouspimp @ Sep 13th 2007 1:02PM]

1GB DAP with a camera that plays video?

for $60?

WTF is wrong with you people? How is this not impressive?

If there was a video or an explanation as to WHY or HOW it sucked... I could understand all the negativity! But this is completely unwarranted hate!

[beeperr @ Sep 13th 2007 2:21PM]

camera = 300k pixels...yikes...not impressive.

[anonymouspimp @ Sep 13th 2007 3:33PM]

If it didn't have a camera at all... a 1GB DAP that plays video for $60 is still pretty sweet.

Besides... I don't think they were expecting anyone to build a photography portfoilio with this thing... I have a ton of pix I took with my crappy cell phone camera that I enjoy.

[wilkmd @ Sep 13th 2007 4:48PM]

Uhm, because it's not made by Apple. *duh*

If it were, the same geeks hating it would be chessing themselves over it.

[Stefan Andersen @ Sep 13th 2007 6:01PM]

I got one from same OEM company judging for the screenshots of the software.

It absoluty sucks.. 30FPS? it can't even play mp3's without skip errors. The user interface is terrible.

I'ts only advantage it has it's it standard mini usb port connector - much easier to find replacement cable for than iPod.

(i bought since i thought i could save some bucks.. the day after I ordered an iPod.. so now it's just laying around as crap gadget)

[lapa @ Sep 13th 2007 6:10PM]

it's sold here:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8346~r.23486626

[Thomas @ Sep 14th 2007 7:04AM]

This is actually the i-PMP... i am not sure if it is 2.4" or 2.8"... there is NO 2.5" model so maybe the specs are off... ChinaGrabber has the 2.8" QVGA Screen iPhone inspired i-PMP w/ built in DV Cam...


http://www.chinagrabber.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1333