Video: iriver's Unit 2 hands-on

If you've been wondering how a portable media center, speaker dock, VoIP phone, and folding keyboard work together then you're in luck. We've got the elevator speech from iriver on what the Unit 2 is and how it works. Hitting the US in early 2009 for about $700. We ask you, can you wait? Video after the break.

[Richard Lai @ Jan 11th 2008 8:08AM]

That's sweet as hell!

[Callemin @ Jan 11th 2008 8:12AM]

sweet, really sweet. But so expensive...

[bob e @ Jan 11th 2008 8:15AM]

Looks like it is based on Windows XP !

At least when the dialog boxes pop up it looks like XP. I didn't have the patience to sit through whole video the guy was annoying as hell.

[Hal @ Jan 11th 2008 9:22AM]

It's probbably based on Windows CE

[Synthaxx @ Jan 11th 2008 12:14PM]

They said in the video it was linux based.

I really dig the remote too, altogether a unit to keep your eyes on.

[darkstar @ Jan 11th 2008 8:30AM]

wow!
but i dont know though...by 2009, everything changes!

[ShaunAlfonso @ Jan 11th 2008 8:32AM]

Wow. I'd like to see Apple top this.

[Dextro @ Jan 11th 2008 8:50AM]

Why would Apple have to top this?
The Aston Martin DB9 is a great car. Should they top that too?

[Dextro @ Jan 11th 2008 8:51AM]

Why would Apple have to top this?
The Aston Martin DB9 is a fantastic car, should they top that too?

[Chebwa @ Jan 11th 2008 10:02AM]

Right on, Dextro.

[Jonathan Bergeron @ Jan 11th 2008 8:42AM]

for $700 I can wait a long long long time.

[RadicalxEdward @ Jan 11th 2008 8:58AM]

Just for that phone/lcd combo alone i'd pay 700 despite being a cheap bastard. but 2009 is a long way away and this might not be so cool by then.

I'm also wondering if you have to store music and movies on the base station and not your pc, i already have everything set up in iTunes. I don't want to go around updating 10 playlists every day cause they can't sync.

[Thunderbuck @ Jan 11th 2008 12:25PM]

I'd be really surprised if such a network-enabled unit didn't come with software to find and use other music stored on the network.

It's a lovely unit, with a prototype design that could have come straight out of Apple (and I don't say that lightly). I'd buy this in a heartbeat.

[BobTurbo @ Jan 11th 2008 8:59AM]

I watched the video and still can't figure out what it is exactly. Is it a computer? :)

[Erik @ Jan 11th 2008 5:30PM]

From what I can tell, it's akin to having an iPod touch that streams content from an Apple TV (which itself also plays DVDs).

But since it's iriver, the file support will be greater and you won't be locked in software wise.

Also, thanks to the Linux basis, it should be pretty easy to get other apps running on it.

[BobTurbo @ Jan 11th 2008 9:02AM]

Why would Apple have to top this?
The Aston Martin DB9 is a great car. Should they top that too?

[riggs @ Jan 11th 2008 9:03AM]

double comment plus post? thats a new engadget record!

[NHAnimator @ Jan 11th 2008 9:10AM]

"Why would Apple have to top this?
The Aston Martin DB9 is a great car. Should they top that too?"

Might as well quote him as well - just to make sure the record will stand for a while.

[NHAnimator @ Jan 11th 2008 9:10AM]

"Why would Apple have to top this?
The Aston Martin DB9 is a great car. Should they top that too?"

Might as well quote him as well - just to make sure the record will stand for a while.

[Moze @ Jan 11th 2008 9:05AM]

That's UBER! and price i think is pretty good for such device

[wraypa1 @ Jan 11th 2008 9:27AM]

This piece of hardware really will be "the bollocks" i havent seen anything else that comes close to being as awesome as this! What would be great is if the screens had a few gigs of flash memory in them allowing you to take some tunes with you. Also if you could get multiple screens and phone attachments that would r00l. hopefully iriver will put in archos style video codec support and will not lock it down too hard so we can be creative with it!

[stickmanfc73_ @ Jan 11th 2008 10:09AM]

The Screen doesn't need memory silly *shakes head*. Everything is streamed to it via wi-fi. And I think iRiver knows that it'll need to have more IP Phone-Board-Remotes and Touch Screen Thingies. (DAMN THAT IS SEXY) I'm sure by late 08/early 09 they will double the hard drive storage as well. With some memory card ports, a built in stylus, and a way to have the free floating devices communicate with one another, this will be a home networking device to beat. It also needs to interact with multiple computers of the Windows, Apple, and Linus variety since it's made with Linux anyway.

And once again you people, watch the video before asking questions. It's only like 3 mins long. Plus you get to see how DAMNEDSEXY it is. I mean that DVD thing is so cool. It sticks out and it spins.

[Jamie @ Jan 11th 2008 9:30AM]

I like what I see. Better than that, having released this concept device should bring about others by the time they are ready to go to market with theirs. Myself, I would like to see something like Sonos' media controller, that did multi room video, music, and also photos (maybe tying in a wireless photo frame)

[Rich @ Jan 11th 2008 9:31AM]

"My music files, my MP3s, and my video files, my MP4s." Did he misspeak for the alliterative value, or is that all it supports? (or did I miss something?)

[wrabbit @ Jan 11th 2008 9:45AM]

Wow, that is really sweet! If that device does everything it promises I don't think $700 is too much, especially considering people are willing to pay half a G for iPhone. Granted, if you have the skills you can do that on a $500 dollar laptop but you really need to know what you're doing and it's not gonna look half as good as this. And that remote/keyboard combo is really interesting though I don't know if that keyboard is gonna be very comfortable to use.

[Mr. Picklesworth @ Jan 11th 2008 10:03AM]

Anyone catch that it (at least the mobile screen) is Linux-based?
I am most pleased.

I think the pad here beats even the iPhone in touch screen-ness, being seemingly without a single button on the face and entirely touch screen except for a tiny little border. Damn, I love iriver's stuff :)

Not a fan of that wireless keyboard, however. The big gap there must make it unusable... unless that ultimately disappears when the thing is fully opened.

[willyboy @ Jan 11th 2008 10:16AM]

So this is why some people grow out their pinky finger nail.

[nd @ Jan 11th 2008 10:18AM]

a loong time.

[mark @ Jan 11th 2008 10:32AM]

I think this is better than anything else during CES week. I hope it gets polished a little bit more and can connect to any computers on the network too. Now he said the devices talked to each other via Wi-Fi what I want to know is if they can talk via the internet to, can I take the voip phone and touch screen to another hotspot and talk to the main component if so incredible.

[mark @ Jan 11th 2008 10:42AM]

and they need to add a track stick to the keyboard

[Abba Shaib @ Jan 11th 2008 10:36AM]

That's definitely something I'd like to get my paws on!!

[Matt Nicholson @ Jan 11th 2008 10:53AM]

the keyboard could be usable if the put in a slide locking mechanism. Otherwise I feel like I'll be typing and It'll be folding up on me.
This is definitely the future though. Eventually, I can see things like this be the standard and *gasp* interoperable with other units like it.

[Jay @ Jan 11th 2008 11:37AM]

That is so sick. :D I'm gonna implant this into my arm lol ^^

[joe @ Jan 11th 2008 11:39AM]

check out the video clip

http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/09/video-irivers-2007-ces-lineup/

this was the 1G Unit2 in CES2007
and now 2G in CES2008

very cool~

[labrats5 @ Jan 11th 2008 11:42AM]

I gotta say, iriver was really clever and creative with this. A few complaints though. 1: the touch screen is clearly resistive and, after using the iphone's capacitive touch screen, I really don't want to go back. 2: the docking station has to 'transform' in order to dock the screen. while undeniably cool, it is very impractical. You have to leave open a huge amount of space on either side of the device. knowing me and my family, we would be constantly moving things there assuming it was empty space, only to have to move it again to dock the screen. finally, the screen should have a built in foldable stand, so that it can be used with the keyboard/phone from anywhere without having to prop it up.

Other than those very fixable issues, this seems like a phenomenal idea.

[bachviet @ Jan 11th 2008 12:34PM]

Sweet device! Would definitely consider to purchase one.

[Z @ Jan 11th 2008 4:50PM]

That's really slick, and I understand that the keyboard doubles as an IP phone, but I don't quite understand how the keyboard is supposed to work with the touchscreen device.

Do you dock the device and then hold the keyboard and thumb type that way while looking at the small touchscreen (which would be a clumsy way of doing things), or is the idea that the whole thing is supposed to be hooked up to your TV, and you look at your big TV screen from the couch while you're thumb typing? Or both? Still trying to figure that one out.

Maybe what would've been better is to integrate a sliding keyboard into the touchscreen device, rather than the IP phone, and maybe do away with the IP phone they currently show altogether and give the touchscreen unit IP phone capability along with BT so you could use a BT earpiece. Then everything would be integrated - touchscreen device/keyboard/IP Phone all in one. This would eliminate some confusion as to how it all works together and the end user wouldn't have to fumble with as many components.

[Z @ Jan 11th 2008 4:52PM]

That's really slick, and I understand that the keyboard doubles as an IP phone, but I don't quite understand how the keyboard is supposed to work with the touchscreen device.

Do you dock the device and then hold the keyboard and thumb type that way while looking at the small touchscreen (which would be a clumsy way of doing things), or is the idea that the whole thing is supposed to be hooked up to your TV, and you look at your big TV screen from the couch while you're thumb typing? Or both? Still trying to figure that one out.

Maybe what would've been better is to integrate a sliding keyboard into the touchscreen device, rather than the IP phone, and maybe do away with the IP phone they currently show altogether and give the touchscreen unit IP phone capability along with BT so you could use a BT earpiece. Then everything would be integrated - touchscreen device/keyboard/IP Phone all in one. This would eliminate some confusion as to how it all works together and the end user wouldn't have to fumble with as many components.

[Z @ Jan 11th 2008 4:55PM]

That's really slick, and I understand that the keyboard doubles as an IP phone, but I don't quite understand how the keyboard is supposed to work with the touchscreen device.

Do you dock the device and then hold the keyboard and thumb type that way while looking at the small touchscreen (which would be a clumsy way of doing things), or is the idea that the whole thing is supposed to be hooked up to your TV, and you look at your big TV screen from the couch while you're thumb typing? Or both? Still trying to figure that one out.

Maybe what would've been better is to integrate a sliding keyboard into the touchscreen device, rather than the IP phone, and maybe do away with the IP phone they currently show altogether and give the touchscreen unit IP phone capability along with BT so you could use a BT earpiece. Then everything would be integrated - touchscreen device/keyboard/IP Phone all in one. This would eliminate some confusion as to how it all works together and the end user wouldn't have to fumble with as many components.

[Z @ Jan 11th 2008 5:02PM]

Sorry for the trip post, but this commenting system is just being stupid.

(Engadget, you guys really have to get that fixed).

[Michael Moore @ Jan 11th 2008 6:14PM]

I'll be first in line to get one when (if) it comes to market but there's no way it will sell for $700. The display panel is a touchscreen PC with a small disc and wi-fi and the base station seems to have a lot going on as well. Given that it's an expensive product the volume probably won't be high enough to drive the price down so I expect the real price to be $400-500 higher when it comes.

[zach @ Jan 11th 2008 6:18PM]

i would def buy this if it makes it to the US. what a rad device.

offtopic: is there any way to change my password for commenting here?

[Tid @ Jan 13th 2008 7:27AM]

Click your name on your post, takes you to the profile page. You can change it from there

[Marko @ Jan 12th 2008 5:26AM]

I reckon we will see something very similar to this in a few days from apple. This is basically appletv + dvd + very nice touchscreen remote. I reckon apple can and will be pushing something very similar very shortly - they have got the technologies they just need to connect them. This is only my semi-educated guess.