Sony's video iPod

Sony’s first ever personal video player, the Giga Pocket PCVA-HVP20, is to go on sale in Japan later this month. The device lets users take view video files from their PC on the move.

The good news is that it looks great too, miles better than the slightly industrial design of the prototype.

The bad news is that it doesn’t play MPEG4 files – which is the most common format for storing video files (often movies downloaded from peer to peer sites like KaZaA). Instead video playback is offered in MPEG2 (DV/DVD standard format) and the lower quality MPEG1 format. It can’t be plugged into a TV to record programmes, although it can obviously transfer TV programmes stored on a PC hard disk. There is a TV out though so you can view what you have stored on a TV.

As exclusively revealed on Tech Digest a few weeks back the player will debut in the UK early next year. It is likely to be more expensice than the £275 Japanese punters will pay for it.

Its features include

3.5 inch colour display
20Gigabyte hard disk (enough for 31 hours of video if using MPEG1)
AVI, WMA, MPEG1 and MPEG2 compatibility
Battery life of four hours
84x120x28mm
Weighs 300g.