Epson on Monday unveiled its 40GB P-3000 and 80GB P-5000 handheld multimedia viewers — hard drive-based devices that enable Mac and PC users to store and view digital photos, videos and music files. They’re now shipping and cost $499 and $699 respectively.
Both the P-3000 and P-5000 tout what Epson describes as the world’s first four-color filter system for an LCD display — it combines red, blue, emerald green and yellow green for 16.7 million possible colors, rather than the standard three-color LCD display technology more commonly used. Compared to their predecessors, the devices both feature four-inch LCD displays, wider file support, faster download and processing speeds, built-in memory card slots and longer battery life.
The four-color LCDs allow you to view movies and photos at 640 x 480 pixel resolution. And the devices now work with JPEG, EXIF and select RAW formats, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG and DivX-formatted movies, and MP3 and unprotected AAC audio files. What’s more, Adobe RGB color space is now supported — provisionally, anyway — Epson said that the devices display up to 88 percent of Adobe’s RGB color space.
A new processor onboard the devices speeds up downloads by up to 250 percent; a new interface makes it easier to organize files and create albums. The rechargable Lithium Ion battery lasts for up to three hours when viewing video or slideshow modes. And the built-in slots allow the device to read Compact Flsh and Secure Digital memory cards directly. What’s more, you can print photos directly to select Epson printers using USB 2.0.
Epson’s Web site had not been updated with information about the new multimedia viewers as Macworld posted this article.