Ah, there we go — a little more info about Creative’s mysterious “Zii” project. It now appears to be an iPod touch-like device, called the Zii EGG, running Android. Interesting… I’m listening.
The platform, called Zii Plaszma (oh, I get it — they stuck an extra Z in there), is capable of displaying HD video both on the unit’s 3.5-inch screen and outputting it to an HDTV as well. The screen just has a 320×480 resolution, though, so HD video will be downscaled. Graphics are handled by an OpenGL chipset that can push 3D buildings and navigation in Google Maps, for example.
Other features include a multitouch screen, 32GB storage space, full-size SD card expansion slot (nice!), front-mounted VGA camera and rear-mounted HD camera, headphone jack, mini-USB port, and dock connector which handles TV connections (composite and HD) and even line in and line out connections.
Connectivity is handled by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and hardware GPS. No cellular connection, although you could guess that, being open source, there will undoubtedly be a myriad of VOIP apps available.
A $399 unit is currently available to Android developers, while bulk purchases of the Zii Egg with no onboard memory start at $199, meaning the price to consumers may start at around $250 or so. That’s just speculation, though, as it’ll be up to resellers and development companies to set the pricing whenever these things are ready to go.
Full press release here.
What doesn’t look like iPod Touches/iPhone’s these days. You can only do so much without ruining the aesthetics of the device. Its not so much a standard or copy cat as it is an inevitability.
Very tempting. If the google VOIP apps worked well, you’ve got a pretty decent little phone/player there out of the box. When we have blanketed wifi of course, or a MyFi.
$399 for the kit – incl. hardware is a great deal.
Android, OpenGL support and hardware GPS mean in capable hands Zii Egg could be made into anything. Like a deskop computer really. In fact my ageing desktop runs as much RAM as the Zii – 512 MB. No developer’s subscription needed like for the Apple store. Really nice.
Interesting. Just as expensive as the 32G iPod Touch with better outputs, HD capability, Android, and GPS. This is so much better that the iPod Touch for the same price right now. Possibly cheaper that the Touch when resellers get a hold of this thing.
Seems to lag a little bit. I would have to see it run some of the graphics the iPod touch runs such as 3D graphics and such.
Love the camera in front and 32GB for about $250 would be nice … of course I would always want to be connected like the iPhone, but not paying about $130 a month for a decent phone service
This looks like the best Android device I’ve seen…With the Google Voice app, and a VOiP app, this could be a perfect replacement for my phone as I don’t talk on the phone much anyway…mostly just SMS everyone.
This is great, i hope its easy to charge and the battery life is better than a netbook. I only need a device for web pages