While firstly, the hottest news: Android ubiquity heats up as Philips has confirmed
it is releasing a MP4 Portable Media Player (PMP), MP4 Music Player 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 Philip said it will be showcasing the Android 2.1 'clair' 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 Video MP4 Player 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 Digital 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.