It ain't the
first time we've seen a gizmo take a backwards approach to launch, and we get the feeling it won't be the last. After
leaking out, getting
reviewed and
hitting the all-revealing FCC, Samsung's mildly exciting YP-R1 portable media player is finally an official product in the megacorp's product line. Expected to debut at IFA here in just a few days, the 8.9 millimeter-thin player will boast DivX compatibility, a 2.6-inch touchscreen, TouchWiz interface and a
Beat DJ feature that enables owners to add in their own crackly voice and space-themed sound effects to songs. We don't expect the $180 starting price to budge much, though exact pricing details should be uncovered in Berlin within the next few days. As for shipping dates? It'll march out next month in Europe, with "other markets including Russia, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan to follow."
posted August 31st 2009 9:02AM
BBC Iplayer is supported too in the UK.
Damn those lower pics look amazing.
This thing should have been how the Zune HD looked, Tegra + 2.6 inch screen + ultra thin and Divx would have been ultimate.... (is it too late to mention Wi-Fi?)
Of course Zune HD has its benefits. OLED/HD radio and of course wicked TV-Out so no offense.
Is the $180 starting price for 8 or 16 GB?
Samsung is doing a real good job in ruining its status in my eyes. I never liked its TouchWiz UI, and now they just added BeatDJ into their players...
PR guys do a very good job. Too good, I'd say.
"Don't use it if you don't like it" won't work here - I don't want to pay for what I won't use. I'd prefer lower price instead of more software features. BeatDJ and TouchWiz UI should both be paid apps/software updates and should be optional. Even if it cuts off only 10% of the price, I'd still be happy.
then people will be nagging why they didn't just include the software....
Jesus! That thing is *HUGE*!
That's what she sa-... ah forget it you're too easy.
Samsung players all have many things in common: great feature set, very cool UIs, outstanding codec support (AAC, FLAC, and OGG, MP3 and WMA, Xvid, DivX, H.264, MPEG-4, WMV), great sound/video quality,and very fair pricing.
With the Zune HD introduction looming, and the inevitable drop in price for the iPod line, I'm confident that R1 will drop to around 160.00 US for the 16gb by the time it hits the retail market.
It's a viable alternative to the bigger, bulkier touch-screen players, for far more flexibility..
I really liked my Samsung PMP, aside from the unresponsive touchscreen (which lead me to trade it in for an iPod). I do hope they've managed to improve that.
Apple is good but its exclusivity narrows its market. Yepp is a good competition. I hope Sony would come up with the same line of products. If not, the Sony Ericsson should venture into it.