Intel has announced it is working with consumer electronics companies Creative Labs, iRiver America and Samsung to help them deliver a new category of digital devices called Portable Media Players (PMPs) that operate on Intel XScale technology to enable long battery life and high-quality video and audio.

These products are expected to help provide consumers with the ability to have anytime, anywhere access to their favourite authorised music, movies and photos residing on their PMP device. Intel XScale technology, with its high-performance and low-power consumption features, is helping to enable exciting new portable digital devices such as PMPs. It is another example of how Intel is developing technologies and standards to help create a more advanced digital home experience for consumers.

PMP devices are expected to be available by the manufacturers on retail shelves in 2004**. Creative Labs, iRiver America and Samsung are demonstrating PMP production intent devices here at the International Consumer Electronic Show.

A PMP with a 20GB hard drive is estimated to provide up to 70 hours of video storage, play 700 hours of music and hold up to 2 million photos. Actual device capabilities will vary. Intel XScale technology offers industry-leading, low-power consumption to help extend the battery life of these handheld devices by up to an estimated four to six hours.

To speed product development, Intel created a PMP reference design based on the Intel PXA255 applications processor, and includes a colour LCD panel, hard disk drive, AC97-compatible audio subsystem and a USB 2.0 interface. Microsoft engineers used the Intel PMP reference design to create their Windows CE-based Portable Media Center software.