iRiver U10, music and photos at your fingertips

Eschborn (Germany) – “Even the most spoiled ears will not believe their eyes”. It is with this nice slogan that iRiver announced the imminent commercialization of the U10, a new portable multimedia player that has replaced any kind of button or pointing control with a large LCD touch-screen display.

The manufacturer explained that, unlike the touch-screen technologies usually used in PDAs, the U10’s “direct click” function responds to a light pressure of the finger, eliminating the need to use styluses and control keys in one fell swoop.

Available with 512MB or 1GB of memory, this “dis-player” measures just 69 x 47 x 16mm – less than a pack of phone cards – and weighs 70 grams. Despite its small size, the player has ample space for a 2.2 ″ color display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA).

The device is able to play the main audio formats, including MP3 and WMA (also protected), view photographs and images in JPEG or MPEG4 SP (Simple Profile) format and run games and animations in Flash.

The iriver U10 includes a built-in microphone for voice recording, an FM radio with timer-controlled recording function, and a clock. Once the device is placed in the optional cradle, equipped with speakers, the U10 can also be used as an alarm clock.

When the U10 is connected to the docking station the line in can connect other audio sources. Music from the home stereo, for example, can be encoded in real time in MP3 format and transferred to the player. Among the options there is also an infrared remote control.

In mid-August, two versions of the new iriver U10 will be available: the 1GB flagship model will cost 249 euros, while the 512MB younger brother will cost 229 euros. From the end of August, the docking station and infrared remote control will be available at a price of 79 euros.