iRiver Spinn: Korean knob-centric PMP

iRiver's Spinn player is our last hot new portable offering from the 'River at CES. This palm-sized, flash-based media player has an 81mm (3.2-inch) LCD screen boasting a decent resolution of 480x272 pixels.

As you might've guessed, it utilises iRiver's 'Spinn' technology, negating the need for expensive touch-sensitive screens. You'll have to spin and push the unorthodox toggle knob/wheel mounted on the right-hand side of the player to peruse your way through the menu system.

When it's released later this year for an unknown price, the Spinn will come in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities, with the option of having DAB radio inside and, for those countries that have it, DVB-H mobile TV functionality as well. It works with Bluetooth headphones and speaker systems, and plays the usual MP3, OGG, WMA, MPEG-4 simple profile and WMV media formats.

The Spinn was a cute player to hold -- much like cradling a freshly born kitten after the gunk's washed off. Unlike a kitten though, the Spinn has a solid build quality that'd probably survive a fall.

It certainly won't be for everyone, and whether or not the Spinn knob has the same warm reception as the Clix's popular D-Click interface will probably transpire in the coming months, since this model didn't work. More news on models that do actually work sometime soon. We hope. -Nate Lanxo

Update: Read our full iRiver Spinn review here.