New models include a touch-screen operated model, and a flash-based version of the H10.

Martyn Williams, IDG News Service

Monday, June 20, 2005

Reigncom, the company behind IRiver-brand digital music players, has shown four new flash-memory based music players ahead of this week`s SEK exhibition in Seoul.

Among them is an addition to its H10 product line and the U10, a multimedia player which is operated through a touchscreen display panel.

The U10 marks a design step from other IRiver players in that it`s entirely operated via a touch screen display. It has a 2.2-inch QVGA (320 pixel by 240 pixel) landscape-oriented screen that takes up the majority of the front of the player. Menu choices are positioned towards the corners of the main display so they are within reach of the user`s thumbs while they are holding the player. It plays MP3, Windows Media Audio, ASF, and Ogg Vorbis format audio files and MPEG4 video files.

Other features include an FM radio, voice recording, and photo album. Two versions will be available: a 512MB version will cost $283 and a 1GB version will cost $335. A launch schedule has yet to be disclosed for the player.

H10 Junior and More

The second new player, a flash-based version of the H10 called the H10 Junior, will be available in two capacities: 512MB and 1GB. These complement existing versions of the player based on hard drives, which are available in 5GB, 6GB, and 20GB capacities.

The H10 Junior has a similar design to the other H10 models, with a color LCD panel on the upper half of the front of the player and an up-down scroll bar beneath it. By using flash memory the player has been made both smaller and lighter. It will be available from late June in South Korea at a price yet to be announced. International launch details have were also not announced.

The company also announced two additional flash music players, the T20 and T30. Both play the MP3, Windows Media Audio, ASF, and Ogg Vorbis audio formats.

The T20 has a USB plug built into the device which slides out of the player casing so it can be connected directly into the USB port on a computer. Three versions will be available at 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB capacities.

The final new player, the T30, is triangular in shape and will be available in the same three capacities as the T20. It runs off a single AAA battery and has a battery life of up to 20 hours.

Pricing and international launch details for the T20 and T30 were not announced.

All four new players will be on show at SEK 2005, which runs from Wednesday until Saturday at the COEX center in Seoul, South Korea.