You couldn't be blamed for wondering why the world needs yet another low-capacity media player, but with the increasing fervor for all things eco-friendly, it was only a matter of time before portable media players joined the party. Hence the Trevor Baylis Eco Media Player, which just debuted in the UK and incorporates the same windup technology originally developed by Baylis for portable emergency radios. Except for the cranking, there's not much revolutionary about the player, but it's not too shabby either: 2 GB of flash memory with expandability via SD memory cards, compatibility with most digital music formats, a 1.8" color screen (capable of playing .mp4 videos, photos, and e-books), and an FM radio chip.
One minute of hand cranking yields about 40 minutes of play time, which isn't too bad of a ratio for these kinds of devices, and you can even use the player as an indirect power source to charge your mobile phone. You can charge the player's lithium-ion battery via a normal USB connection as well, but for the premium you're paying to go green (£169.99, or about $340--ouch!), where's the fun in that?
