Ah, there we go — a little more info about Creative’s mysterious “Zii” project. It now appears to be an iPod touch-like device, called the Zii EGG, running Android. Interesting… I’m listening.
The platform, called Zii Plaszma (oh, I get it — they stuck an extra Z in there), is capable of displaying HD video both on the unit’s 3.5-inch screen and outputting it to an HDTV as well. The screen just has a 320×480 resolution, though, so HD video will be downscaled. Graphics are handled by an OpenGL chipset that can push 3D buildings and navigation in Google Maps, for example.
Other features include a multitouch screen, 32GB storage space, full-size SD card expansion slot (nice!), front-mounted VGA camera and rear-mounted HD camera, headphone jack, mini-USB port, and dock connector which handles TV connections (composite and HD) and even line in and line out connections.
Connectivity is handled by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and hardware GPS. No cellular connection, although you could guess that, being open source, there will undoubtedly be a myriad of VOIP apps available.
A $399 unit is currently available to Android developers, while bulk purchases of the Zii Egg with no onboard memory start at $199, meaning the price to consumers may start at around $250 or so. That’s just speculation, though, as it’ll be up to resellers and development companies to set the pricing whenever these things are ready to go.
Full press release here.