Finally there’s an English review of the most anticipated Toshiba’s Gigabeat S30 (MES30VW) Portable Media Player (PMP) from cnet (link below). Incorporates Microsoft Portable Media Center (PMC 2.1), the HDD-based entertainment features a 2.4-inch (320×240) 65K colors QVGA LCD, 30GB of storage capacity, audio playback (MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless, WAV), video playback (MPEG-4, AVI, DivX, MOV – automatically transcoded in Windows Media Player 11), WMA subscription services (Napster, MTV Urge) support, picture viewer (JPG/JPEG), FM radio tuner, TiVo To Go compatibility, and Media Center recording. Measures 3.93 x 2.36 x 0.58 inches and weighs 4.8 ounches, Xbox 360-users may also connect and control the Gigabeat S30 PMP using their gaming console.

Priced $269.88 at Amazon, some of the dissapointment found on Toshiba’s Gigabeat S30 PMP are the missing audio and video recording capability (even direct FM radio recorder not available) and the very poor battery life (12.5 hours of audio playback and 2.5 hours of movie). Too bad.

Excerpt from the review:

The Toshiba Gigabeat S makes its mark as a supercompact 30GB or 60GB portable video player. It supports many music, video, and photo file types, including subscription services, and it has a bevy of features, such as an FM tuner and support for digital camera transfers. Best of all, the device is completely intuitive, thanks in part to an improved Portable Media Center operating system, and it boasts excellent sound performance.

[ Full Review ]