And, does it all without the usual stigma that affects these kinds of devices—utter butt-ugliness. It's a bit bulky, to be sure, but thanks to some solid Japanese ingenuity it's finally something I feel confident bringing into public for another of my infamous "photos of things you can never take back" field assignments.

As for the specs, the MP4 sports a 1.8-inch color screen (160x128), supports MP3 and WPA, WMA audio, and can display JPG or text files. A video camera mode recordsin 352x288, while the photo mode is 640x480. [Akihabara]

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED AND HIGH END
SPINN MP4 PLAYER RELEASED BY IRIVER

Leading Brand of Stylish Digital Devices Debuts
Metallic Touch-Screen MP4 Player with Groundbreaking Spindle Interface

Irvine, CA. – iriver, the international digital device leader known around the world for its innovative designs, launches the SPINN MP4 Player, the distinctive metallic MP4 player with a brilliant 3.3” AMOLED touch screen and unique spindle interface. Having generated buzz since its preview at CES 2008 with its striking design and impressive roster of capabilities, including video, music, FM radio, picture viewer, voice recording, wireless headset support over Bluetooth 2.0 and more, the SPINN MP4 Player is now available in the U.S. at $249.99 (4GB) and $289.99 (8GB) MSRP.

Sean Oh, Head of U.S. Operations for iriver, said, “We wanted to create a one-of-a-kind, high-end digital device that is truly unique. The SPINN maintains iriver’s signature simplistic design with a metallic silver, expensive look, but incorporates the new SPINN System Technology. The user has multiple options in navigating the device and can control the player using either the unique spindle interface, or the large 3.3” touch screen.”

The SPINN System Technology gives the user the ability to control the device through a spindle on the side of the player. With a simple movement of the thumb, the user can navigate through icons by rotating the spindle and pushing down on it to select options. The player can also be controlled with the touch of a fingertip using the large 3.3” AMOLED touch screen that exudes brilliant color and provides a clear, crisp picture.

The extensive features of the SPINN MP4 Player include:

· 3.3” QVGA AMOLED Touch Screen with Haptic Interface (reactive vibration)
· Spindle Wheel for Unique Operating Interface (use either spindle wheel or touch screen)
· Silver Magnesium Front Case for a lighter and stronger body as well as a gorgeous aesthetic
· Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless Headset Support
· Music (MP3, WMA, ASF, OGG, FLAC (lossless), APE)
· Video (MPEG4, WMV9, XVID)
· FM Radio and FM Recording
· Voice Recording
· Photo Viewer, Text Viewer, Flash Games

The iriver SPINN is available at iriverinc.com, Amazon.com, J&R and B&H Photo.

Even the girl in the pic is looking confused. The Tire-Clock-Camera-MP4-player combo is $217. Yeah, still baffled here. [ChinaVisionTechpin]

Forum members have already ruled out the possibility of it being a connection issue (higher bitrate DivX/XviDs stream just fine), and folks over at Tversity are saying it isn't a media server issue either — one guy apparently tested Tversity, Twonky Media and Nero Home Media. All are stuttering like crazy after the firmware update.

Other problems forum members have come across:
•10x, 30x and 120x speeds for MPEG2s stream at only 1/10 or so the usual frame rate (regular MPEG2 streaming works fine though)
•Skipping over unwanted content "became very hard to do"

What gives Sony? Don't you test this stuff out before releasing it to the public?

[PS3 Forums and TVersity Forums]

It's also got a USB port, a stylus and, from what I can decipher from the original page, screen res is 176 x 220 pixels. Its nasty plastic styling makes it rather loveable, don't you think? [Phone Daily viaAkihabara News]

This "multimedia super dictionary" stores 20GB of useless words, MP3s, MPEG4s and WMVs. Plus, it packs full QWERTY, an SD slot and voice recording. The 4.3" TFT 260K-color display is just enough power to support the black and white nature of print, especially if you are using the built-in ebook functionality.

Our photo is of a predecessor that should be similar to the new $500, 1.2" thick model when it's released this month in Korea. A tiny picture on Sharp's site shows the RD-CX300 could come in red. Oooohhh. – Mark Wilson

Product Page [via gizmowatch]

The gizmoito also has FM radio and a built-in speaker and will cost you $99.99 for the 1GB version and $139.99 for the 2GB. Accessories include stereo headphones, USB cable, CD driver and AC charger. Full specs are after the jump.

6.6 x 50 x 11 mm
1 or 2 GB internal flash memory + MiniSD card slot
Anti-scratch 320×240 LCD
RockChip Processor—allows playing back unconverted AVI videos at 25 fps
Built-in speaker
FM radio with 40 presets
Sound/voice recorder
Image viewer and e-book reader that work in parallel with music playback
Supported formats: mp1,mp2,mp3,wma,avi,jpg,bmp and txt

– Ad Dugdale

Product Page [First To You via Ubergizmo]

It works like an iPod, plugging into USB, but it brings more features as well, such as an OLED color screen, FM radio, voice recording and the ability to watch MPEG4 movies. Here's another pic of the white player with its black brother, plus a bit of harmless scatological humor:

For some reason this player reminded us of that bar of soap that looks like poop. At this low $99 price, we're wondering if this is poop that looks like a bar of soap. – Charlie White

Product Page [Brando]

We like the orange version quite a bit, as well as the gorgeous $98 pricetag. I hereby name this watch the perfect stocking stuffer for the upcoming holiday season. And you'll need to buy a few of them, because I celebrate Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/The Chinese New Year/MarkDay. I'm very spiritual. Hit the jump for the complete gallery. – Mark Wilson

Product Page [via fareastgizmos]

Forget those dated MP3 watches that are so 2005, Shenzhen Adragon Digitek is offering an Anlong MP4 wristwatch. Pretend you are just checking the time as you tune out the ramblings of bosses/children/firemen to watch your favorite soccer team score a goal.

The watch is water and shockproof and can play video for 9 hours, though the storage capacity is still unknown. Content is loaded via USB 2.0. We will probably see both Mac and PC support if the rest of the manufacturer's line is any indication. No price yet. – Mark Wilson

Manufacturer Page [via I4U]

We can, however, do a little prognosticating based on Maplin's history: right now, the rumor around the water cooler is that it'll come with a pedestrian 2GB of flash memory and a 1.5-inch display. Take that, nano!

We'll let you know when Apple throws in the towel and bows to the awesome might that is the Maplin A93GC if and when it's released on this side of the Sea of Atlas. – Nicholas Deleon

Maplin A93GC MP4 player [Ubergizmo]