Archos, manufacturer of one of the first HDD-based MP3 players, the Jukebox series, has announced a new mobile media device that raises the bar for features in the emerging consumer product segment.
The Jukebox Multimedia will be available in 1st quarter 2002 (according to their Web site) and includes a 10 GB HDD, color LCD, FireWire, USB 1 & 2, real-time MP3 recording, Compact Flash (CF) and Smart Media (SM) slots, and optional modules that turn it into digital camera and digital VCR. (!)
I hope that Apple is paying attention as Archos has increased customers expectations in the HDD mobile media device space (bearing in mind that the new Jukebox Multimedia is not yet shipping). Apple should be able to add similar features, like recording, in the next major iPod revision (a.k.a. jPod, SuperPod), via the FireWire port.
Sound off on the feature set of the Archos Jukebox Multimedia on our iPod message board.
