Here, in a Live Digitally exclusive, we’re getting a first look at the latest Video iPod fighter. Ritek is planning on introducing their new OLE 8100 at the upcoming CES this January with availability for early 2006. The unit is to be flash based, with a capacity of 1 or 2 GB. The OLE 8100 will support audio, photo, and video files.
“The addition of the OLE 8100 MP4 player to our RIDATA family is
further evidence of our commitment to provide our customers with the
latest in portable digital-oriented products,” stated Harvey Liu,
Advanced Media Inc. president. “With audio, video, and photo-viewing
capabilities, it offers users phenomenal flexibility in when and where
they enjoy their media of choice.”MP4 is the latest compression standard developed by the Moving Picture
Experts Group (MPEG). Formally known as MPEG-4, it was designed to
store and deliver both professional-grade audio and video streams.The RIDATA OLE 8100 supports the following formats – music: MP3,
WMA, OGG, AC3; video: AVI, MPEG-1,2, and 4, VOB, DAT; and photo: JPG,
YUV (up to 4800 x 3600), support picture preview/slide function. Video
and photos are displayed on an energy-efficient 2″ LTPS LCD panel.It features five-mode equalization (normal, rock, jazz, classical, and
pop), three playing modes (normal, repeat one, and repeat all), and
both digital voice and line-in recording capability.With its embedded solid-state NAND flash memory, the OLE 8100 can
perform up to one-million erase/rewrite operations. 1GB and 2GB
capacities are available. The 2GB model provides up to 3.5 hours of
video play time and over 3 hours worth of audio.The unit supports WIN98SE/ME, WIN2000, and WINXP operating systems.
Video output to NTSC or PAL standards is by the included A/V cable.
Video output ports are RCA and S-tunnel. A/V input/output ports include
MIC in, line-in in, earphone out, and A/V out. A USB 2.0 PC interface
is also included.The RIDATA OLE 8100 MP4 player is packaged with an earphone, USB cable,
audio output cable,
S-terminal/RCA video cable, installation CD, audio line-in cable, AC/DC
universal charger, and a user’s manual.The compact, pocket-size unit is 2.6″ x 2.6″ x 0.75″ and weighs less
than 3 ounces. It comes with Advanced Media’s quality promise and
one-year warranty
For users (such as me) that don’t have an iPod, and have some music as WMA files, this could be a great music player. I’m also particularly intrigued by the MP4 support for video files. Maybe we don’t have to jump on the Apple bandwagon after all. One suggestion to Ritek though: they need a more memorable and enticing name for this thing!