Technology and Innovation

POGO! FLIPSTER PORTABLE AUDIO PLAYER $450 (£315) MP3 is sooo last week now that PoGo! has introduced the Flipster, the first fully portable MP4 player. Impersonating a flip phone, the $450 Flipster comes with 128MB of internal memory and has been designed to support SD/MMC cards (ever considerate, PoGo! promises future expansion is possible).The device can play CD-quality MP3,WMA and AAC digital music files, and display both Microsoft Windows Media videos (MP4) or high-resolution digital photographs on its LCD screen. Business peeps borrowing their kid’s Flipster will appreciate the device’s voice memo capability (and most likely the games that come bundled as well).

In its guise as a tray-loading DVD player, the H40 also shapes up, and the inclusion of progressive scanning will guarantee decent image quality. Compatibility-wise, it’s impressive if not utterly comprehensive, with support for standard DVDs and DVD-R plus CDs and CD-RWs packed with MP3s.

The H40’s low-slung dimensions measure up at 430 x 70 x 370mm, and it weighs a lithe 4.5kg. If the undoubted money-saving and operational benefits of this DVD/PVR hybrid catch on, then Samsung may well be conveniently placed at the forefront of a whole new breed of home digital recorders.The DVD-H40 will be in the shops in May.