Home Theater To Take With You

By WILSON ROTHMAN Thursday, Sept. 23, 2004
[an error occurred while processing this directive]If you're so addicted to TV that you feel withdrawal pangs when you're outdoors, Microsoft wants to help.

It released two new portable media centers — built by Creative and Samsung — in September, with a third by iRiver out this month. Each has a color screen and a hard drive that can store music, pictures and video. It may prove difficult to enjoy a full-length movie on a 9-cm screen, but you will have other media from which to choose: Microsoft has partnered with content providers CinemaNow and Major League Baseball (just in time for the World Series). The Creative Labs 20-gigabyte Zen or the Samsung Yepp YH–999 are available for $500 per piece from Amazon.com. Prices for the iRiver, available in both 20- and 40-gigabyte models, haven't been released, but are expected to start at about $700.