OK all you serious media player owners that want the most you can possibly get out of a player. This one is for you. Are you looking for a media player that can not only mirror the entire music, video, and picture library you have on your harddrive but also allows you to jack in and play media on your plasma or other large TV (without taking a soldering iron to it)? Then have a look at the Wolverine ESP 5160. I want you to, right now, go and write a 2,000 word essay on what 160GB of portable, playable media storage means to you. Well actually if you want to be all technical you can do it in 16 words or less. 160GB of storage means 80,000 digital photos or playing 320 hours of video or 50,000 songs! The system also comes in an 80GB model as well if you’re scared.

As for features, one thing I was fairly impressed with is its ability to connect peripheral media devices without a computer. For example on the photo side you can download images directly from any digital camera and print directly to a printer. It also has a built in 8 Ohms – 400mW speaker for out-loud play.

On the audio front it supports 5 audio formats. MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, AAC (MP4-audio)  and CDA. The 3.6″ wide view angle TFT LCD (320×240 pixels) has an adjustable backlight for easy low light ops. The 7-in-one built in memory card reader means you can transfer your stuff from darn near any media card.

OK OK, I’ll cut to the chase. What’s the battery life and how much does it cost? Well they are claiming that their 2300 mAh Lithium Ion rechargeable and replaceable battery can support up to 13 hours of music play, 4 hours of video viewing, or 20GB of memory cards data transfer. But since the battery is removeable it looks like you are only limited by how many batteries you buy. Speaking of buying, this puppy will set you back $549.99.

I can’t help but wonder. If Microsoft truly wanted to release an “iPod killer”, if something like this might not have been better suited for the task. Instead they tried to compete with Apple by playing Apple’s game and going for cuteness and social features. As of this writing that hasn’t worked out so well. But imagine if they had released a monster like this. With the Microsoft name backing it and a slightly better design it would have, if anything, caused quite a stir.

I’m going to need to catch one in person though because frankly I’m a bit concerned about it’s size. The Wolverine site says it’s shipping weight is 7.00 lbs. But that can’t be the actual device weight can it? I shudder when I think about back in the day how people would walk around with those huge video cameras. Even after they all went digital some manufacturers still seemed to cling to the belief that physically bigger is better. If this thing is as big as I fear, we may have the equivalent to that on our hands. Great idea, great features, but way too big.