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Philips goes Android for MP4 music player
ANDROID UBIQUITY HEATS UP as Philips has confirmed it is releasing a MP4 Portable Media Player (PMP) running Google's open source OS.
Engadget released some details in mid-August on the Philip's Gogear Connect, with Android replacing the proprietary OS under the hood. Now Philips said it will be showcasing the Android 2.1 'Éclair' flavoured device at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin this week.
The Gogear Connect player has a 3.2-inch touchscreen and comes with Google's mobile apps installed. Obviously apps from the Android market can also be downloaded and used on the PMP.
Philips said its Full Sound technology offers a surround sound effect for movies and it will be bundled with sound isolation earphones that block out background noise.
The Gogear Connect supports WiFi but there's no mention of 802.11n specifically, which would be a must on an MP4 PMP as 802.11g would be too slow to cut it. Other than WiFi, it supports Bluetooth, has a built-in camera and a MicroSD card slot, and it comes with 16GB of internal storage. Philips has kept schtum about Engadget's touted five hour battery life on video playback and 25 hours of audio. The PMP weighs 128g and has some pretty slinky dimensions.
MP4 players haven't seen the exponential growth rate that hit MP3 players. What doesn't help is that kit advertised as MP4 doesn't necessarily play higher quality audio but can play higher quality MP4 video. This has confused Joe Punter no end and Philips isn't helping MP4's cause by not saying whether its PMP plays MPEG-4 Part 14 files, otherwise known as MP4 native audio. µ
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Properly configured 802.11N can use a lot less power than G. So if they did it right, that will mean more battery life.
I can stream 1080p HD mkv rips over my home wireless network using Wireless G ... there is ZERO need for Wireless N on this device.
Android OS makes portable media players waterproof?
surely?
For what it's worth, I found my Philips DA1102 DAB radio quite annoying. And I think that getting it wet once too often stopped it working for good. But if this device runs Android then maybe you can make it be more sensible.