TrekStor Preps Four PMPs for IFA 2007, Could be Accused of Racism

TrekStor is one of the most important European manufacturers of portable media players, external HDDs and portable flash-based storage solutions, and, over time, it has launched quite a large number of such devices, although they have enjoyed a rather moderate level of success, at least compared to other similar items coming from much more famous brands. However, in preparation for IFA 2007 (which will be held on the company's home turf, in Berlin, Germany), the company announced 4 new devices from their i.Beat series, namely the emo, sonix, cody and the blaxx, which is by far the worst choice of names the company could have come up with.

The emo, sonix and cody can replay videos and are equipped with an integrated FM radio as well as a USB connection. Whereas the i.Beat emo sports a 3.7 cm (1.44") display, the i.Beat sonix has a screen diagonal of 6.1 cm (2.4") and the i.Beat cody has a screen diagonal of 8.9 cm (3.5"). Moreover, all three PMPs have memory capacities ranging between 1 and 4 GB.

The three devices provide some other interesting features as well. Thus, the i.Beat emo and the i.Beat sonix allow the storage and display of pictures in JPEG and BMP formats, while the i.Beat cody uses expansion memory connected via an SD/MMC memory card slot for this feature. The players also use a different video format. Thus, whereas the i.Beat cody and sonix replay films or music videos in AVI format, the i.Beat emo replays movies in SMV format. The i.Beat emo also has 19 additional equalizer settings and offers users a CSTN display with 65,000 colors. In contrast, the i.Beat cody and i.Beat sonix offer viewing on an extremely sharp-image TFT display with 262,000 colors.

And now, for the blaxx model. Despite the fact that it will most certainly raise some racist concerns, the device offers some pretty impressive features, as for example a TFT display with 260,000 color capability, an integrated stereo FM radio as well as a voice recorder, folder navigation and an ID3-tag display. Moreover, the blaxx features a line-in connection for recording from external audio sources, is available in 2 or 4 GB models and also sports a flat touchpad for simple operation via illuminated sensors.

The i.Beat emo will retail for 60 - 80 Euro (depending on the model), the sonix for 90 - 120 Euro, the cody for 140 - 160 Euro, while the infamous blaxx will cost 120-140 Euro, which are some pretty affordable price tags, taking into consideration what these things have to offer.

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