Reuters reports that Amazon.com has begun taking pre-orders for Microsoft Portable Media Center devices including the Creative Labs 20 GB Zen Portable Media Center and the Samsung Yepp YH-999 20 GB Portable Media Center.
Both units will cost about $500 and include 20-Gigabyte internal hard drives, bright color displays between 3.5 and 3.8-inches, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, and USB 2.0 support. They will store audio and video in MPEG4, MP3, JPEG, and Windows Media formats. The devices also allow you to connect them to a standard TV via a composite video port.
According to Microsoft, which made the announcement in conjunction with Amazon.com and the devices’ manufacturers, the Creative Labs Zen is expected to be available in late August, while the Samsung Yepp model will ship in September.
I prefer the outward of the Yepp a bit to that of the Zen. But, I would need to do more research before making a final choice between them.