Handheld Enertainment unveiled is new media player, the ZVUE 260. The ZVUE 260 is an entry level, next generation media player that is targeted at the low end of the media player market.

“We wanted to build a portable media player that is not only as sexy and useful as any player on the market, but is affordable as well,” said Jeff Oscodar, president and chief executive officer of HandHeld Entertainment. “We think we have accomplished these goals by creating the ZVUE 260.

The unit is about the same size as a Video iPod. The 260 has a 2.5 inch active matrix TFT backlit screen. Videos can run at up to 30 frames per second in a resolution of 320 by 240.

The 260 has a built in speaker in case you forget your headphones or want to share the small screen with a friend (That may be a good excuse to snuggle up close to that cute girl on the train). The 260 will use SD memory and will have a few different memory configurations available when it’s released.

The ZVue home page is similar to the iTunes site. You can purchase and/or download music and video content.

The ZVUE 260 uses a lithium-ion battery so you don’t need to change out batteries every few days, just remember to charge it.

The 260 is compatible with Windows Media Player 10 and the dreaded DRM (Digital Rights Management) scheme. You can play WMA and WMV encoded media as well as other media formats.

The unit is expected to sell for $99 and should be released sometime during the summer of 2007.

[Image Source: Mobile Whack]