iubi Blue 30GB PMP gets specs, pricing

With all the foreign PMPs we've featured on these pages, we can't blame you for not remembering a Bluetooth-enabled model from iubi that we brought you a few months back, but one look at its recently-released specs will definitely make you want to keep this one on your radar from here on out. Sporting a 30GB hard drive and a 4.3-inch, 480 x 272 widescreen LCD that Advanced MP3 Players calls "razor sharp," the iubi Blue (model number IUBI2500) supports nearly every codec known to man, including MPEG-1/2/4, DivX (3.x, 4.x, and 5.x), XviD, WMV 7/8/9, AVI, H.264, MOV, and Real -- and that's just for video, which can also be fed to an external monitor at 720 x 480 resolution. On the audio side you've got support for MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, AAC-LC, and AC-3, and best of all, the Blue features 3D sound enhancement from Wolfson for output that's described as "earth-shattering." Moreover, you're also getting A2DP for rocking wireless headphones, USB on-the-go functionality for dumping photos from compatible cameras, and like the Archos lineup, direct AV recording thanks to the included MPEG-4 encoder. Already available in Korea, this feature-packed model is expected to hit British shores soon for just $461, and may very well be htting our own gadget shelf shortly afterwards.

[Via DAPreview]

[Mcd @ Jun 21st 2006 4:37PM]

does it have wireless capabilites too??

[Mcd @ Jun 21st 2006 4:38PM]

does it have 802.11 at all???

[Dignan17 @ Jun 21st 2006 4:48PM]

How about the dimensions? If it's about the same size as the AV500, and has sufficient build quality, this sure sounds like a decent device. H.264? How many PMPs out there (other than the iPod) can claim that?! Wow...

[3rdsun @ Jun 21st 2006 4:51PM]

drool drool drool :p

[Gavin White @ Jun 21st 2006 4:52PM]

That looks pretty cool!

[rgk-nyc @ Jun 21st 2006 5:06PM]

wow!!! makes me re-think my gadget budget for the year...

[Scabies @ Jun 21st 2006 5:19PM]

Damn. A half step away from a umpc (but probably tons better in its current state)
Pretty sexy to boot

[Big Sam @ Jun 21st 2006 5:20PM]

Hmm makes me want to think about replacing my Cowon A2.

[Bob @ Jun 21st 2006 5:30PM]

Where the heck is Apple's?

[Crazylink @ Jun 21st 2006 5:35PM]

Needs a larger in screen resolution, but other than that I want one.

[diulei @ Jun 21st 2006 6:00PM]

Me likes. Price is a bit steep though.

[DC @ Jun 21st 2006 6:53PM]

Wow...this certainly makes me think about ditching my Archos AV500! If they offer a model with a 100-gig drive, I'm there.

[Stu @ Jun 21st 2006 8:06PM]

How can you call that steep when a 30GB iPod here (in England) costs £219. ($461 = £250) Seems like good value to me.

[Ben Hobbs @ Jun 21st 2006 8:30PM]

720x480?

Isn't that a 13.5:9 resolution, so basically its not gonna scale properly to 16:9 or 4:3 TV's/monitors.

When is someone going to at least release an 848x480 resolution device.

[tips @ Jun 21st 2006 9:36PM]

Man, this device looks amazing. All of those functionalities at a relatively low price point. If its going to cost our friends across the pond $469, the price in US and Canada will have to be lowered by 20 bucks to get the magical $449 figures. This certainly blows ipod video out of the water though I definitely do not expect it to sell nearly as many units.

I just want to know the dimensions now. As long as they fit in my pocket its all good. I'd move everything else like my cell phone and my wallet to the other pocket if I have to make room for it. Amazing device man!

[Andrew Childress @ Jun 21st 2006 10:09PM]

What the heck?

The screen on this thing is EXACTLY the same as the PSP's- 480x272.

[baddog70 @ Jun 21st 2006 10:45PM]

Yeah, same screen size as the PSP which is awesome for playing vids on the go... I have been ripping my dvds, converting to Divx to get the file sizes down, then converting with a freeware program called "Super" which is super easy to use and does a great job converting any file format to psp .m4v...... but no more conversion? Just drag and drop your Xvids into the pmp? Record your fav movie or tv show directly to it?? Drool!! I am so there!!!

[Sean @ Jun 21st 2006 11:06PM]

Need more space this thing sounds great but 30gb on a primary port video player isnt enough put 200 even 100 in it and it really would outsell the ipod

[Neal Saferstein @ Jun 22nd 2006 12:45AM]

Wow!

Neal Saferstein

[NiL^ @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:54AM]

No FLAC support :'(

[LS @ Jun 22nd 2006 8:15AM]

According to this site the dimensions are:

13.1(w)x8(h)x1.9(d)cm

260g

which is pretty freakin sweet if you ask me!

they also have it on pre-order (expected end of June) for 249 quid

[trueimage @ Jun 22nd 2006 12:56PM]

here are some additional photos, but it is in Chinese, I think.

http://mp3.yesky.com/mp3news/240/2329240.shtml

looks sweet, can't wait to get one.

[Shark @ Jun 25th 2006 8:08AM]

this thing looks ight and i bet it will be easier than ipods retarded click wheel and if this thing comes with sum decent headphones il take one. and to the people comparing it to the PSP .....PSP's DONT HAVE 30 GIGS!!! and anybody that wants more is retarded i mean you dont need a friggin months worth of video when the batterry life s 6 hours...if this thing has internet capabilities il never put it down!!!