14 DAY TRIAL // Lately, media players have pretty much become standard for every home theater setup out there, so Asus is trying its luck yet another time with the O!Play Mini that will hit Europe in early January for 69 Euros featuring full 1080p video playback and a compact size.
Taking a good look at its specifications, it becomes pretty obvious that the Mini has a lot in common with the previously released O!Play HD2.
However, this time, Asus decided to drop the HD2's trademark USB 3.0 support to allow for lower manufacturing costs.
As a result, the Mini features only a USB 2.0 connector that is found right next to the SD/MMC/MS/XD card reader, both of them being placed up front of the unit.
The rest of the available ports are placed in the back, the Mini coming with optical audio and HDMI 1.3 connectors as well as RCA outputs.
This means that the new O!Play is compatible with a wide range of TV sets and audio systems, Asus claiming the Mini can push 1080p video together with 7.1 audio in Dolby Digital AC3, DTS 2.0+, TrueHD and DTS-HD trough the HDMI port.
In addition, file format support looks pretty complete as all the regular MKV, MTS, OGG, and FLAC extensions are supported, even formats such as AAC, MOV or XviD making their way onto the list.
All these features are housed into a rather small 152x107x29mm case that weights only 175 grams, so the unit can be easily placed right next to a TV without requiring users to rearrange their entire A/V setup to make room for the O!Play Mini media player.
Slated to hit the European market in early January 2011, the Mini will be retailed for 69 Euros which translates into about $90 US.
Unfortunately, no information is available right now regarding a Stateside launch. (via engadget)