Perhaps the most interesting product from HP at this year’s CES isn’t a notebook or an all-in-one PC, but this: the HP Pocket Playlist. This pint-sized gadget promises to record and store media from a number of different sources then beam it to multiple other devices via Wi-Fi whenever you’re ready.
Sure it may not sound very impressive until you consider the fact that it works with streaming applications. Using a PlayLater account, you can record shows or movies from Netflix or Hulu Plus and watch them at a later date free of charge, without needing an Internet connection. It's all pretty similar to the Kingston Wi-Drive we saw at last year's CES but with more options.
It’s worth noting that the device comes with a free month of PlayLater service but after that, you’ll need to pay for that privilege. PlayLater service starts at just $19.99 per year or you can get a lifetime membership for $39.99.
The Pocket Playlist is compatible with Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices right out of the box, allowing you to share unencrypted content like movies, music and images with up to five devices at once. HP hasn’t announced exactly how much storage space the Pocket Playlist contains but we’re told it can hold up to 16 full-length movies, 10,000 pictures or about 7,600 songs. If we had to guess, 32GB of space sounds about right.
Look for the HP Pocket Playlist to go on sale February 15 for around $130. By then we should have an idea of exactly how much storage space it contains and whether or not there will be different capacities available.
