Samsung IceTouch hands-on: MP3 player with transparent AMOLED screen

Samsung's MP3 players still play second fiddle to Apple's, so the Korean giant is churning out inventive new designs to turn the tide. The latest in its line-up of portable media devices is the IceTouch, which stands out thanks to its transparent AMOLED touchscreen.

Yup, we said 'transparent', as in 'see-through'. We're not entirely sure why anyone would want a see-through screen, but we'll confess it's a very cool way to look at your media -- be it album artwork, the menu system or a movie -- and then to peer right through and on to the horizon. Come to think of it, you could stare at pretty girls while pretending to browse your music collection, or reduce the likelihood of walking into lampposts while flicking through your photos on the street.

The IceTouch supports a variety of formats, including MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, mp3HD, AAC, M4A and WAV audio files. It'll also play MPEG-4, WMV, H.264, DivX and Xvid video files, has a built-in radio, and will come in 8GB and 16GB models.

The word from Samsung is that the IceTouch may appear as soon as the second quarter of 2010, for an as-yet-undisclosed price. In the meantime, we suggest you start saving your pennies and take a gander at a few of our pictures by hitting the 'Continue' link below.