Haier brings ibiza Rhapsody Wi-Fi PMP to US
updated 09:50 am EST, Tue November 20, 2007
Haier ibiza Rhapsody
Normally known for its home appliances in the US, Haier today entered the American market with the ibiza Rhapsody, its first portable media player in the country and one of the few to take direct advantage of built-in Wi-Fi. Partnering with RealNetworks, Haier provides access to the former's Rhapsody unlimited subscription service to provide downloads of new tracks anywhere the ibiza can connect to the Internet; an existing subscriber can fill the player with music without touching a computer, Haier says. The device can also browse AOL Video clips for free and even subscribe to podcasts directly from the device.
The version available today contains a 30GB hard disk and offers Bluetooth for wireless headphones, FM radio, and a custom skinning feature to personalize the look of the user interface. It ships today for $330 in several colors and will be accompanied in the near future by 4GB and 8GB flash-based models without Bluetooth for lower prices of $230 and $250 respectively. Haier does not specify operating system support.
Sweet
11/20, 10:44am reply
wildseed and real networks, a match made in heaven.
redwood
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2003
she's a beauty...
11/20, 11:14am reply
...first I've seen I like the industrial design of as much as the iPod, at least from the pix... Interface will tell though, like the razr I returned within 24hrs a slick 'package' is only part of the appeal...
bobolicious
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2002
Alot of good ideas...
11/20, 12:00pm reply
...are packed into this one. FM radio is an easy feature to include, the rhapsody and podcast are good too... But let's really take advantage of the WiFi. and complete it with the ability to play streaming stations. I didn't see that in the description and it's the most obvious thing I'd want in such a device. Other than that, hopefully they understand enough about getting the interface right. That's tough to judge without using it.
JackWebb
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2007
For a first attempt...
12/06, 06:53pm reply
by a company that usually makes appliances, it's not bad at all. If the UI is decent and with those features, it should be fairly decent alternative to an iPod.
Needless to say it will probably only support Windows. Glad my MacBook Pro has BootCamp and WinXP Pro.
Constable Odo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2007