Although Samsung‘s 2009 PMP lineup hasn’t really been much of a secret, the company has officially taken the wraps off its not-very-helpfully-named P3, Q2, and U5 media players, hoping to appeal to a broad range of portable media users who aren’t necessarily enamored with the Apple universe.
“We’re excited to introduce our latest portable multimedia players, which combine our best-in-class form factor and comprehensive feature set with Samsung’s iconic design,” said Samsung Electronics’ Reid Sullivan, in a statement. “Our 2009 MP3 products reinforce our brand commitment to providing consumers with innovative, high quality portable entertainment devices that deliver interactivity consumers now expect in their personal media products.”
At the top of the line, the Samsung P3 offers a 3-inch 480 by 272-pixel WQVGA display, anywhere from 8 to 32 GB of storage capacity, and the capability to play back up to 40 hours of audio or 6 hours of video on a single battery charge. The unit supports WMV9, H.264, and MPEG4 video along with a spate of audio formats (including WMA and DRM-free AAC files, but not Fairplay-protected tracks from the iTunes store), an integrated speaker, FM radio, voice recording, Bluetooth connectivity, a programmable hotkey, subway maps for 24 global cities (not making that up), and a revamped version of Samsung’s “EmoDio” 3D touch interface. The P3 also features a text-to-speech capability that converts text files into MP3 audio.
The smaller Q2 player features a 2.4-inch 320 by 240 display, 4 to 16 Gb capacities, an FM radio, voice recorder, text-to-speech, and video and audio support—including Ogg and FLAC, though it seems to drop support for AAC, WAV, and ASF audio. The Q2 also packs those subway maps (yep), a couple Flash games, and sports Samsung’s upgraded EmoDio interface.
Finally, the lozenge-shaped U5 is aimed at “active” consumers who want to listen to music or other material while exercising or on the go: available in a number of colors and a 2 GB capacity, the u5 features a 1-inch OLED display and support for MP#, WMA, and Ogg audio. The unit also features an FM radio and an accessory hole so users are less likely to lose track of it.
The P3 should be on sale in May at $149,99, $199.99, and $299 for 8, 16, and 32 GB capacities, respectively. The Q2 and U5 will arrive in April, with the Q2 going for $99.99 and $129.99 for 8 and 16 GB versions, and the U5s coming in at just $39.99.
