EchoStar Intros Portable PocketDISH Players

EchoStar's new portable PocketDISH "media companions" let users play music, display photos, and view recorded television programming anywhere on built-in LCD screens.

EchoStar and its DISH Network satellite TV service today announced its line of PocketDISH “portable media companions,” handheld devices with built-in LCD screens which can play music (MP3, WMA, and WAV formats), display photos, and play back recorded television content.

PocketDISH units will be available in three, silver-cased models:

• PocketDISH 7-inch($599) features a 7-inch LCD screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 40 GB hard drive (enough storage for up to 40 hours of DISH Network programming, up to 400,000 photos, or as many as 30,000 songs). The PocketDISH 7-inch can also record video from non-DISH Network sources.

• PocketDISH 4-inch($499) features a 4-inch LCD screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 30 GB hard drive (enough storage for up to 30 hours of DISH Network programming, up to 300,000 photos, or as many as 20,000 songs). The PocketDISH 4-inch can record video from non-DISH Network sources.

• PocketDISH 2.2-inch($329) features a 2.2-inch LCD screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio and a 20 GB hard drive (enough storage for up to 20 hours of DISH Network programming, up to 200,000 photos, or as many as 10,000 songs). The PocketDISH 7-inch can also record audio non-DISH Network sources.

The PocketDISH units are compatible with most consumer electronics available today, and use a USB 2.0 connection to transfer video, image, and music data from PCs and Macs, as well as mass storage devices, camcorders, digital cameras, digital video recorders (DVRs), DVD players, and more. Via USB 2.0, an hour of DISH network programming can be transferred to a PocketDISH unit in about 5 minutes. PocketDISH units use a lithium-ion battery (which offers up to four hours of video playback, or up to 12 hours of music) and ship with headphones, USB cables and adapters, A/V cables, carrying case, and an AC adapter.