Zvue Players from Handheld to Get Face Lift

Next generation of portable media players from Handheld Entertainment to have on-board flash memory in departure from memory cards for storage only.

HandHeld Entertainment, the makers of the Zvue portable media players, today announced their plans for their next generation of devices. Chief among the new features are on-board storage and support of Windows Media.   The next generation Zvues, which will be publicly unveiled at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is the first player from HandHeld Entertainment to offer on-board flash memory. Previous generations of this device utilized SD/MMC memory cards only for storing music, videos and digital photos.   Other features of the next generation of Zvues will be support of Windows Media Video and Audio through Microsoft’s Digital Rights Management software, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, a thinner then the first generation housing and multiple exterior colors.   The price points will fall between $149 and $199, most likely depending upon the amount of on-board memory. The previous Zvue players, which first appeared in mid-2003, will continue to be available as well.   "Our ZVUE product family (the current ZVUE, the next generation ZVUE and beyond) will provide our customers with easy access to great music and video content on both our site and all over the Internet," Oscodar said. "By supporting industry standard security software and developing our own site, our customers can start enjoying digital video and music right out of the box.”