Multimedia Goes Mobile

So much digital video and music, so little time. To make the most of downtime while travelling, Singapore-based Creative has come up with the Portable Media Center (PMC) — you can watch or listen no matter where you are. Load up this paperback-sized device with your favorite videos, songs and photos from the Net or from your own collection, and take them with you on the plane or train. Or make yourself comfortable in the living room, park or café, far from the family PC — the Portable Media Center provides everything but your favorite armchair. Its 4-in. display won’t wow you with a big-screen experience, but it sure beats squinting at a mobile phone or packing several separate devices for sight and sound. The gadget’s 20-GB hard drive holds up to 87 hours of video, 300 hours of music and 50,000 still images. The PMC is the first portable device of its kind built around Microsoft’s Windows Media Center software, which distributes video, photos, music and other digital content around a home’s PCs, TVs and hi-fis. It therefore uses Microsoft’s Windows Media Audio (WMA) music format as well as MP3. Creative won’t yet commit to a retail price or a delivery date, but it hopes the PMC will be ready by Christmas. So do a lot of digital downloaders.