Pocket Video Player Runs On Linux

A company called Video Without Boundaries, Inc. plans to unveil at the Jan. 9 CES conference its new $349 Linux-based MediaREADY Flyboy portable media player.

The Flyboy is an ultra-slim MPEG4 player and recorder that can store about 80 hours of video, more than 200,000 digital pictures or up to 740 hours of music on its 40 GB hard drive, according to the company.

The device sports a 3.5 inch LCD screen with built-in speakers and plays video and music with pre-installed RealOne software.

Media is stored on a USB-accessible hard drive, which can also be used as a general-purpose external portable hard drive.

Pictures and video can be viewed on screen or zapped to any standard TV.

The Flyboy also lets you record audio using its built-in microphone.

The company plans to release the Flyboy in "early 2005."