Gateway Inc. today unveiled its DMP-X20 Digital Jukebox, a USB 2.0-based MP3 player. While the 20GB digital music player offers similar features to other products found in the Windows space, Gateway seems more interested in setting its sites on Apple as competition. Unlike the iPod, Gateway’s new offering is Windows-compatible only.
In a release announcing the new device and several other new products, Gateway announced that the DMP-X20 is “$100 less than Apple iPod,” and a company executive even took a swipe at Apple in the same release.
“Until now, consumers were forced to pay a premium for a high-capacity ultra-thin digital jukebox,” said Matt Milne, senior vice president and general manager of consumer solutions, Gateway, Inc.
The $299 DMP-X20 measures 3.9 x 2.6 x 0.83 inches and weighs about 7.7 ounces. (By comparison, the 20GB iPod measures 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.62 inches and weighs 5.6 ounces.) But unlike the iPod, Gateway’s offering comes equipped with an FM tuner and 12 radio station presets, along with a digital voice recorder. Digital voice recording can be added to the iPod only with an optional $50 peripheral recently introduced by Belkin.
Gateway competitor Dell has recently introduced a similar product called the DJ, and electronics maker Samsung has also introduced a Napster-branded MP3 player device designed to work with the recently launched Napster 2.0 commercial music download service.
The devices already join an increasingly crowded market populated by MP3 players made by various manufacturers. Many of these devices, including the iPod, rely upon 1.8-inch hard disk drive mechanisms manufactured by Toshiba, which just announced plans to double its manufacturing capacity to keep abreast with increased demand for the diminutive drive mechanisms, which presently range in capacity from 5GB to 40GB.
Gateway plans to ship the DMP-X20 on November 26, 2003.
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