The Apple iPod has been seriously tempting to me. 40Gb of MP3s to take with me on the road would be really great. But I haven't bought one yet - I've been content to squeeze what MP3s I can into my 128Mb SD card, and switch that between my XDA, QTek 7070, and XDA II in turn. I was just about at the point where I committed to buying an iPod though, as I got tired of the same songs over and over - and I've got a huge CD collection, but don't want to take my CDs with me.

Matt M from MTekk looks forwards to endless reruns of the Simpsons ...

Now, however, I might never buy an iPod. Microsoft have announced a new product for their Windows Mobile software category called Windows Portable Media Center - and it might just rock!

To use some examples from the Windows Portable Media Center, imagine 175 hours of recorded TV (not so good while driving!) - every episode of the Simpsons from 1988 - 2003, or 75 years of Best Oscar Picture Winners. Or 600 hours of audio ("That’s like non-stop music for the entire month of February, without hearing the same song twice" - what a surprisingly vomit inducing marketing line though). Or 100,000 photos.

That's right - it's not just for MP3's. Windows Portable Media Center is for media - be that video, audio, or still images. Using the quoted figure of a 40Gb Hard Disk, you could really store a massive amount. Naturally, you'd probably mix and match. So much MP3's (probably the majority of space), a few videos, and your favorite photos. That's very cool. Sync with your home PC or Windows XP Media Center, and you're off and away. It will take many different formats, including Windows Media Video, Windows Media Audio, Windows Media Image, MP3, JPEG and TIFF files.

The devices are expected to be available in the second half of 2004, although naturally Australian availability may take longer. Some of the partners who will produce the device include Creative Labs, iRiver, Samsung, Sanyo and ViewSonic. You can see some of these devices in the video from the Windows Portable Media Center.

Choose your connection speed:

56k

110k

300k

So what do I think? Very, very cool. In fact, the only thing cooler for me would be a 40Gb Pocket PC Phone Edition with integrated TV tuner. dual-mode 802.11a / 802.11g wireless, Bluetooth, biometrics, camera, and 3G mobile. But that's a pipe dream for now.

Would I go back to carrying two devices for it? Definitely. I'd stop using my XDA II for MP3 and Video (other than that recorded with the camera), and use this for all my needs while travelling. I just hope we'll be lucky enough to see at least one with integrated TV tuner. In my mind, that would make it a must-have.

Visit the Windows Portable Media Center here .

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