Haier and AOL, to give Apple and MS run for the money in PMP market

January 7th, Las Vegas, CES 2007 AOL and Haier Electronics bow a Linux OS WiFi & BlueToothe Portable Media Player

It features a beautiful brushed stainless steel casing (which unfortunately looks awful when photographed with a flash, showing each and every fingerprint)

Naviagtion is controlled by a square, clickable trackpad which does a great job due to the fact that you don't have to lift your thumb off the trackpad to select an option. The Linux based operating system has a nice and simple (though, definitely iPod inspired) design, which flows well with the trackpad control system.

Features include: QVGA LCD screen, built-in WiFi that allows you to buy music and video content from AOL and other online stores, stream internet radio, do background downloads, and search for similar songs, etc, plus built-in Bluetooth stereo for wireless A2DP headphones, and USB 2.0 connectivity. The range of file types that it'll play is impressive, with PlaysForSure WMA files, AACPlus, AACPlus Enhanced, WAV, and MP3 all playable, plus you can play MPEG-4, WMV 7/8/9, H.264, and AVI video, as well as display JPG and PNG images.

Sources say the unit is expected to ship the player for around $249 sometime in the second quarter of this year.

Check back here for updates, or at www.firsttoyou.com for first retail availability