Samsung's P3 media player, an iPod Touch-challenging capicitative PMP with "desktop" widgets, haptic feedback, extensive video and audio format support and a sleek metal case is heading to the US.
The Good: We've been eyeballing the Asian version of the P3 for a minute, and it looks like a solid successor to the P2, whose sound quality was especially lauded. It looks nice, and features a nice capacitative touch screen that features a variety of haptic feedback that buzzes in kind when scrubbing through tracks, changing the volume, etc. Comes in 8/16/32GB sizes, available in the good ol' first half of 2009. No price yet.
The Rub: With no wi-fi, there isn't a lot of things to widgetize. So you're looking at not much more than basic menu choices, along with a sticky notes, etc.
The Specs:
• Haptic feedback technology for new levels of tactile connectivity between the P3 and the user
• 3-inch WQVGA TFT LCD display with Samsung’s EmoTure™ touchscreen user interface, and widgets-type menus / icons
• True 16:9 widescreen video playback at 30fps
• Samsung’s Music Hot Touch Key for direct navigation of key features and options
• Bluetooth™ connectivity for wireless listening with headphones and speakers, mobile phone interactivity with incoming / outgoing calls, wireless file transfers and more
• Built-in microphone for voice recording, and built-in speaker for easy audio sharing without headphones or tangled wires
• DNSe 3.0 true sound enhancement technology upconverts audio to overcome the inefficiencies and limitations of compressed audio, earphones and speakers
• Multimedia playback including MP3, MPEG4, WMV (DRM included), WMA (DRM included), FM radio, FM recorded audio, JPEG and text files
• Available in 8GB, 16GB or 32GB of flash memory
• Durable metallic casing available in matte black or matte silver