Yoto's M300 PMP plays just about everything, won't gossip about you

If you absolutely can't stand life without a widescreen PMP one more moment, Yoto just might have you covered. Sure, the M300 looks like a lot of other "all screen" media players out there, but can those other models handle AVI, DIVX, MPEG4, RM, XVID, RMVB, FLV, MP3, WMA, FLAC, APE, JPEG, GIF, and BMP files? Do they have 400 x 240 WQVGA screens? Are they made by Yoto? If you answered "no" to any of those questions, you're not talking about the Yoto M300 -- and you're hurting our feelings. You might pause at the apparent compatibility issues (Windows 2000 and Windows XP only?), and maybe this doesn't actually have a touchscreen, and sure, it was never really cleared of those murder charges... you know on second thought, maybe this isn't such a good investment.

[Via PMP Today]

[Anthony @ May 5th 2008 3:14AM]

i want one =]

[Einhanderkiller @ May 5th 2008 3:22AM]

"The Russian Box" looks fun.

[Gregg @ May 5th 2008 3:27AM]

Doesn't play the single most important format. It doesn't play ogg.

[A.C.E.R. @ May 5th 2008 3:47AM]

Real audiophiles use FLAC.

[A.C.E.R. @ May 5th 2008 3:52AM]

Someday when my PMP has a 1TB drive I'll be a real audiophile too.

[Dustin @ May 5th 2008 4:19AM]

Real audiophiles have the band follow them around and play live

[Kururugi Suzaku @ May 5th 2008 4:59AM]

No MKV, no buy.

[Amol @ May 5th 2008 5:07AM]

@Suzaku: Exactly.

Actually if .mkv is that hard, sofsub support is fine too [.ass and not .srt]

On a tangent: Suzaku is like the most annoying character. Rolo is like V2 of Suzaku. Ew.

[Sirius @ May 5th 2008 6:40AM]

@ Dustin

Gona be hell controlling the environment acoustics... :)

[randompass @ May 5th 2008 3:29AM]

Here's a question, will we ever EVER see this stateside? because I always read about these nice PMPs on engadget with impressive capabilities, but I never see them on shelf or in ads. So it would seem my only option would be to import it, which is a shame since I think that it could make for some good competition for the ipod, given that they fix the compatibility issue
because I know that alot of people wouldn't mind not having to convert all their video files to take it with them.

[d840 @ May 5th 2008 6:56AM]

I agree. It's OK occasoinally when the product is revolutionary or just plain awesome, but it seems like every day we're getting posts about stuff from other countries we'll never see in the States(where most of engadget's reader base is located).

Therefore, I propose Engadget Import(TM)
They can do the same thing as Engadget Mobile, Engadget HD, etc... where they only post the Products Actually Worth Posting About(TM) in the general engadget area, and put the rest of the stuff we'll never see in an out-of-the-way place.

Or perhaps some sort of feed like the no-apple feed?

As for the player, I am always left so disappointed after I see such a beautiful device only to read it is only to be found in China, or South Korea, or Japan. When will someone come out with an iPod Touch challenger (preferably iPod killer, but challenger will do) in the States?

Hell, I'd buy an iPod Touch if they weren't so expensive. Are you listening companies? We need competition over here!

[/rant]

[me @ May 5th 2008 3:31AM]

PMPToday used machine translation, so somethings are probably lost.

- not sure about the processor, apparently it's some sort of Chinese-made multimedia processor RK27XX series.
- 3-inch 400x240 screen
- directly supports RM, FLV, RMVB, AVI (doesn't say anything about mpeg4 on first page, I think)
- audio-wise supports mp3, wmv, APE, FLAC
.... (the next few lines are pretty much what's translated too)

then last line:
- just need to plug-in, drivers only required for systems older than W2K and W-XP.

[BrianB @ May 5th 2008 9:17AM]

Sorry, got the MPEG from another source. I know a little Chinese but not expertly enough to write, and keyboard's different :)

[Paul @ May 5th 2008 3:35AM]

What? Are they serious? Only W2K and XP?

[Reader @ May 5th 2008 3:58AM]

Read me's comment. Only need to download drivers if your computer is older than that. Assuming it's just a USB drive then.

[Blaine Oliver @ May 5th 2008 3:36AM]

In communist russia, the video plays you.

[Deluxe @ May 5th 2008 3:49AM]

Epic fail.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ May 5th 2008 5:00AM]

Speaking about formats.

Which of wide-touch-screen mobile phones has DivX support?

I was quite surprised to find that Samsung's F490 (aka Instinct) doesn't have DivX on official list of features (in fact data sheet doesn't mention video playback at all) though whole internet says it does in fact support DivX. Same applies to LG's Viewty (and it is even listed on www.DivX.com).

[Canglan @ May 5th 2008 5:05AM]

Ah I just noticed Yoto is Yuantong (圆通). If that's the case then avoid it, it's a (relatively) low quality brand in China. :/

[bearmann @ May 5th 2008 5:14AM]

I want MKV playback and sub support! >_<
And I want x.264 support ... NOW! =X

*pray*

[bk7 @ May 5th 2008 6:06AM]

So if it might not "actually have a touchscreen".. wheres the rest of it? :S

[chengdude @ May 5th 2008 8:54AM]

The "some sort of Chinese-made processor" mentioned previously is the Rockchip RK27XX series. Not bad; it supports all those formats mentioned in the article and is touchscreen compatible. TV out even. It's used by better known brands like Oppo, Teclast, Onda and RAmos. Problem is, with the exceptions of Oppo and to a degree Teclast, manufacturers rarely do much with the stock firmware, which is a bit rough around the edges to put it in the best possible terms. The Yoto is no doubt one of those players and far, far from being an "iPod challenger". Chinese manufacturers are getting better all the time with hardware and are coming out with really great designs...but they still haven't gotten the whole "It's the firmware/GUI, stupid" thing yet.

[Johnny G @ May 5th 2008 10:10AM]

Guys, I’ve been watching movies on my Tungsten T5 for the last couple of years using PQ DVD to rip my DVDs and a CD ripper for a few dollars to listen to my entire CD collection. I can get the lord of the rings trilogy on a SD card that costs less than £10.00. The resolution, colour and sound are magnificent. And it will give you a good game of scrabble. And it’s cheaper than an iPod. So why should I be interested in this?

[VampireHunter Z @ May 5th 2008 12:59PM]

And how is this thing better than a PSP? The resolution is very lacking for video.

[Richard @ May 6th 2008 5:57AM]

Meh, Cowon A3 has a better screen and plays mkv and ogg both formats missing on this PMP.