CES 2005 Part 4

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The iPod Mini and Creative Zen Micro have definitely shaken up the MP3 player market, and Samsung is determined not to be left behind. The YH-820 is a great looking player that boasts similar features to the models from Apple and Creative. You get a 5GB capacity from an internal 1in hard disk and the device will playback MP3 and WMA, including Secure WMA.

One advantage that the YH-820 has over the iPod Mini and Creative Zen Micro is a full colour screen that can show JPEG images – although Creative has already shown a prototype colour screen Zen Micro. Battery life is quoted at eight hours, which is not amazing, but about average for a device this size.

There were a couple of new solid state music players on show as well. One of them was a nice looking device that’s very small and light, but still boasts a colour screen.

But the strangest digital audio player had to be the “pocket watch” style player that Samsung appeared to be very proud of.

This round player was strange to say the least. The front fascia was jewel encrusted – yep that’s right, the screen is surrounded by a ring of “jewels”. One of the guys on the stand was happily telling everyone that these were “real diamonds”, but somehow I doubt it. I imagine that this device is aimed squarely at the Asian market, where jewel encrusted mobile phones are bizarrely popular.

Even the packaging is overly ostentatious, and by the look of it Samsung really does expect you to wear a waistcoat so that you can carry this player in your pocket, with the chain draped across your torso.

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