p2pnet.net News:- I’m in love. And the object of my affection is a $149 USB connectable mini video-cum-mp3 player.

Zvue. It’s neat and affordable. And it was conceived and born here.

I’m not xenophobic, but it’s nice to see a piece of leading edge music and video hardware that’s uniquely North American and that’s so right for the moment - ie, it’s the first handheld device that comes with full DivX Certification, meaning it’s compatible with all versions of DivX Video, with all that implies. Full-length movies. TV programs. Say no more : )

Zvue uses SD (Secure Digital) and MMC (Multimedia Card) cards as hard drives, in effect. You download the video or music file of your choice (or you already have it) and then simply drag-and-drop it from your Apple or PC onto the card.

You store and convert camcorder movies, DVD videos, or just about anything else.

Then you just sit on the subway, plane, train, in the school cafeteria, under the stars while you’re camping, on the bus - you name it - and drive everyone mad with desire while you watch a movie. Or listen to your mp3s.

Powered by four AA batteries, it has a 2.5″ screen with a clear, sharp display, and the sound quality is excellent. With the batteries in, it has a nice heft and the controls are easy to use and intuitive.

What about formats that Zvue doesn’t like? Not a problem. You can teach it to play just about anything with the free ZFLICKS for Windows.

I downloaded some free movies from the Zvue archive, one of which was the Book of Poo. I grabbed it so my daughter Emma (almost eight) could watch it.

Big Mistake.

Now I’m going to have to get her a Zvue and her birthday is only a couple of weeks away.

Of course, it’s also a great little mp3 (or ogg, come to that) player that’s just the right size, but the video is where you score.

It’s also good as a jpg viewer, which makes it handy if you’re visiting relatives who haven’t seen the latest family pix, say.

This facility also works as a rationalization procedure for use in delicate situations, for example:

Wife / girl/boy-friend / parent - You want another gadget?
You, indignantly: This is NOT a gadget. It’s cutting edge portable picture storage, display and presentation technology and just what we need to make a family album. The fact it plays videos and music is a lucky coincidence.

The Zvue I tried out came with a 32Mb ZCard with Street Skating with Danny Way ($14.99).

A Zcard is a ready-to-play video program. Each 32 MB MMC card holds 15-20 minutes of material. But there’s as yet not a lot to choose from and what is on offer isn’t up to much.

Maybe that’ll change as time goes on. But whether that’s so or not, given the fact Zvue is OK with DivX, you’ll probably want to make cards with your own video (and audio) collections which you’ll then be able to enjoy when and where you want.

Anyway, I erased the skate boarding epic (sorry, skateboarders ; ) and transferred a few of my own video and audio files over.

iPod? That was yesterday.

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Zvue includes:

USB cable

ZFLICKS MP4 video-to-go software to convert digital videos to handheld profile.

32MB MMC memory card with free ZCARD video

4 AA Duracell batteries

Matching Zvue earbuds

Instructions for ZVUE player and ZFLICKS video-to-go software

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Specs:
USB 1.1-speed port compatible with USB2.0 speed connection
One media slot compatible with SecureDigtial/MultiMediaCards (SD/MMCs)
Two earphone jacks allows two users to view the same videos and music track.
4.33 x 2.91 x 1.1 inches: weighs about 5 ounces without batteries
Stop, play, fast-forward, rewind and menu navigation buttons
Motorola Dragonball i.MXL 200MHz processor
4 AA batteries for six to eight hours of video playback time.
90-day Limited Manufacturer Warranty

Screen
LCD backlit, active matrix TFT display
Measures 2.5-inch diagonally
24-bit, RGB full-color, 160×240 resolution
Five LED (light emitting diode), custom built, backlighting system
Displays 15 frames per second (fps)
Brightness and display quality makes viewing possible even in direct sunlight

Video
Format File Extension Supported
MP1/MPEG-1 .mpg, avi
MP2/MEG-2 .mpg, .vob, avi
MP4/MPEG-4 .avi, .divx
DV, mini-DV .avi
Ogg Media .ogm
ZCARD HHe .hhe

NO WMV, Quicktime .wmv, .avi, .mov

Jon Newton