Archose recently announced the Gmini 402, an upgrade to the Gmini 402. Engadget reviewed it here. This is one sweet device, though certainly not the only thing on the market.
The 402 doesn’t have a CompactFlash slot (which the 400 did have); instead, it has USB host capabilities, meaning you can download pictures from your digital camera. With 20GB of space, this could become an essential accessory for people with uber-pixel digicams, and could replace a laptop for a photog on the road.
The hard drive is 20GB, like the Gmini 400, and the screen measures 2.2 inches diagonally. With 100GB devices on the market, the Gmini 402 isn’t exactly a monster, but it’s not going to set you back $800 like some of the bigger devices; the 402’s street price is currently around $300. By some calculations, 20 gigs can hold 80 hours of compressed video (at about 70K/second), 10,000 songs (assuming 2MB each), or 200,000 photos (assuming 1MB each).
The big change in software from the 400 to the 402 is that the latter supports Microsoft’s PlaysForSure DRM, which lets you use your PMP with subscription-based media services such as CinemaNow, MusicMatch, and Napster. Yes, it’s DRM, but it only applies to stuff you download from those services, so it’s not restricting your own content.
The Gmini synchs with Windows Media Center 10, and supports DivX, MPEG-4, and Windows Media Video, and MP3, WMA and protected WMA audio. It comes with earphones, and of course, can output to a TV or projector. You can also display photos on an external device, so the Gmini 402 is perfect for torturing your family with vacation pictures on dad’s plasma HDTV. Just what you wanted, right?
