Samsung to battle iPod Touch with Android
A convincing image has emerged of a new Android-based Samsung portable media player called the YP-MB2, capable of music, video, web browsing, FM radio, photos, and compatibility with the Android App Market.
For all you Android fans out there who wouldn't be caught dead with an Apple product, the folks at Samsung seem to be working on an iPod Touch alternative based around Android. The YP-MB2 shown above bears the markings of Samsung's longstanding line of YEPP portable media players, with a dash of touch-screen UI goodness from the company's Samsung Galaxy S Android smartphones.
Currently listed for sale from South Korea's Daum store (shipping there August 11), the YP-MB2 is spec'd to include a 1GHz processor, Wi-Fi, FM radio, DMB TV, GPS, and a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen. Storage is listed as 32GB, with an option to expand using micro SD cards. Supported audio and video formats include MP3, Ogg, FLAC, AAC, WMA, WMV, ASF,AVI, MPEG4, DivX, and Xvid.
More importantly, the YP-MB2 ships with Android 2.1 skinned with Samsung's TouchWiz interface. So far, similar non-phone Android devices from Archos and Dell have been relegated to Android 1.6 or lower. We're also excited to see the Android App Market logo on the main menu, which has been a rare sight outside of Android smartphones.
Samsung has yet to make any announcements regarding pricing or availability in the U.S., but with Apple's annual September event looming in the distance, I'm willing to bet we'll hear something soon.
(Via Samsung Hub)