Acer spinoff preps Microsoft "Media2Go" player
Staff | Date: Mar 7, 2003 | Comments: 1
Beng, a Taiwanese electronics company that’s a spinoff of Acer, is readying a combo cellphone and DVD-capable "Personal Media Player" based on Microsoft’s Media2Go multimedia software platform, according to a report on CNET.
As we reported in January, Media2Go is a spin of Windows CE which was designed specifically to power the PMP. Bill Gates showed off a prototype of the Walkman-like device at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The PMP is an iPOD on steriods--and indeed is believed to constitute a potent market challenge to Apples popular take-along music player. Along with DVDs, the PMP will enable users to download, store and play back digital media content including mp3 music files, video, and photos.
Samsung, ViewSonic, and Sanyo are all known to be readying Media2Go players--possibly using Intel XScale processors--in time for the 2003 Christmas shopping season. However, the Beng device is apparently the first to combine a PMP with a phone.
