If you didn't like the VAIO Pocket introduced by Sony a mere two weeks ago, take a look at this.
The VAIO Pocket did what...played ATRAC3 for 20 hours? You couldn't even transfer MP3s to it; you have to jump through SonicStage first.
Sony has apparently taken the hint. Similar to the portable AV player introduced by Sony in November of last year, this player has a 3.5" color TFT, and a 20GB capacity.
What sets it apart, however, is a wider range of compatibility for video files (namely MPEG-4), as well as MP3 playback. Yeah, not ATRAC3. It doesn't even play ATRAC3. But you do have to use MusicMatch.
Sadly, the specifications make no mention of DivX/XviD compatibility. That would be asking too much.

Sony will release the "HMP-A1," a portable video player with a 20GB HD, o­n June 26th. While the official price is Open Price, the estimated price is around 63,000 yen. Supported operating systems are Windows 2000, XP, and XP Media Center Edition.

This is a portable video player with a 3.5" TFT capable of displaying 320 x 240. It contains a 20GB HD, and can playback files transferred from a PC such as MPEG-1/2/4 video, MP3/WAVE audio, and JPEG. It features a touch sensor interface to the right of the screen, which is said to "allow intuitive operation."

The player is furnished with a USB 2.0 port, and video data is transferred to the device using the included "HMP-Image Transfer Manager" software. The supported file formats are the "Giga Pocket" format local to Vaios, MPEG-1/2/4, JPEG, MP3, etc. Furthermore, it does not support the playback of ATRAC3/ATRAC3plus.

Also, DV(AVI), WMV, dvr-ms (Media Center Edition's recording format), etc. are converted to MPEG-2/MPEG-4 during transfer. BMP, GIF, PNG, and TIFF still image files are converted to JPEG during transfer. For audio file transfer, MusicMatch Jukebox is used.

Although Sony has had the "PCVA-HVP20" portable video player with a 20GB capacity o­n sale for a while now, the "HMP-A1" supports playback of MPEG-4 and MP3. Also, it has a smaller body size, and is 50g lighter.

Apart from a USB 2.0 port, it features a video/audio output jack. It connects to a PC via USB, and can be used as data storage, though video and audio files directly copied with this method cannot be played back o­n the HMP-A1 (yet, I'm sure someone will hack it).

Using the internal lithium ion battery, the maximum battery life while playing 1Mbps MPEG-4 is 6 hours, a 4Mbps MPEG-2 at 4 hours, and 8 hours for MP3. Recharging takes about 2.5 hours. It also supports recharging via USB, and will take around 7 hours to recharge in this manner.

The external dimensions are 129.6 x 22 x 75.6mm (W x D x H), and the weight is around 250g. A remote controller that can play/stop, adjust the volume and such is included as well as headphones, a 1.5m USB cable, an AV cable, AC adapter, hand strap, and exclusive carrying case.




Inspired by (plenty more pictures):
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20040527/sony.htm

Press Release:
http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/Press/200405/05-0527/

Product Information:
http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/HMP/

PCVA-HVP20:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20031110/sony.htm

VAIO Pocket (TechJapan):
http://www.techjapan.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=276