Creative to ship cable-free MP3

Singapore's Creative Technology will soon ship a tiny MP3 player that does away with cables when downloading music from a computer.

The Nomad MuVo is a thumb-sized device with a detachable storage portion that can be inserted directly into a computer's USB port, allowing for drag-and-drop file transfer.

Besides music files, the flash-memory storage can also hold any type of data file. Creative is riding on this to market the product as an all-around portable data-storage gadget.

"You can transfer and store music, share digital images and data or back up your files in just seconds--no need to burn a CD or send files through e-mail," said Craig McHugh, president of U.S. subsidiary Creative Labs.

The Nomad MuVo was designed at Creative's Singapore facility.

Both MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) formats can be played back. The 128MB version, which can store about 2 hours of MP3 files, will cost $169.99 when it ships worldwide next month. The 64MB version will be priced at $129.99.

		Product review Creative Nomad MuVo CNET reviews Creative's new digital audio player

The main housing of the device is powered by a single AAA battery, which has a claimed 12-hour life. The detachable pod contains the flash memory, playback controls and headphone jack.

In use, the memory pod is recognized as a removable storage device by computers that run on Windows 98 and above, eliminating the need for drivers. People need only drag-and-drop files in and out of the MuVo using Windows Explorer.

CNETAsia's John Lui reported from Singapore.