Much Anticipated iRiver SPINN Portable Media Player Gains Touchscreen Loses SD Card Expandability?

We've covered iRiver's up and coming SPINN PMP twice here on TFTS
primarily as we're transfixed by its aesthetic appearance (and we are by
no means alone in this respect) but now, as if the SPINN were not
already desirable enough, its emerged - just as the device is set to
become available for pre-ordering - that the SPINN will come not with
the D-Click means of navigation as initially touted but with full
touchscreen controls complete with haptic feedback otherwise known as
the 'Motion Touch System'.Interestingly, whilst the inclusion of
touchscreen capabilities will no doubt be universally applauded another
notable difference from the previously touted specifications is slight
reduction in purported battery life which is down from 27 hours to 24
hours but, personally, the loss of 3 hours of playback endurance
weighted against the new haptic feedback touchscreen is something we can
very much live with.Further specifications now officially confirmed is
the SPINN's 480 x 272 resolution 3.3' AMOLED display, integrated T-DMB
and Bluetooth connectivity but (and there's always a but, isn't there?)
the apparent non-existence of any form of memory slot (we expected SD
memory card expandability) is of some concern as the official
specifications make no mention of any card slot thus indicating that
you'll very much have to make do with the inbuilt capacities without the
ability to 'bolt-on' extra storage. This will, undoubtedly, be seen as a
curious omission by those who envisage either the 4GB or 8GB of internal
capacities available as being a little too restrictive.

Still, not withstanding the above, the SPINN remains a highly desirable
piece of kit and, thanks to having just been made available for
pre-order in Korea, we can, at last, get an idea of the SPINN's pricing
structure - which equates to around $300 for the 8GB version and $260
for the 4GB model.

Official iRiver SPINN Specifications