Newman M8000 PMP Offers Substance Over Style – Undoubtedly Capable Yet Decidedly Dull

A certain saying tells us that we must never judge a book by its cover whilst another serves to remind us that beauty is more than just skin deep and, whilst we subscribe to the sentiments of both, the plain fact of the matter is that, when it comes to Newman’s new M8000 PMP, we simply cannot ignore its wholly uninspiring (some would say ugly) design though, underneath that brash exterior undoubtedly lies a decidedly capable and not unimpressive PMP.

Sporting a 4” 320 x 240 resolution 16 million colour TFT display, Newman’s M8000 certainly ticks all the boxes what with JPEG, MP3, WMA, MPEG-1/2/4 file format compatibility as well as integrated support for NES emulation, built-in speaker, microphone and 1.3 megapixel camera, digital voice recording, PVR capabilities with TV-out and HDD based storage offering up to a considerable 250GB of capacity but, for us at least, its wholly un-ambitious styling just turns what ought to be a highly desirable piece of gadgetry into something eminently forgettable.

Certainly beauty is more than just skin deep, but as capable a PMP as Newman’s new M8000 most certainly is, for us at least, whilst we would not for a moment term the M8000 as being less than capable we just cannot bring ourselves to imagine being seen with it which, all said and done, is just as much a reflection on the M8000’s dull, wholly lacklustre styling as it is regarding our own shallowness as human beings.

But for those who can envisage being seen with a PMP as insipidly styled as this, there’s really nothing we can say to not recommend this particular PMP as being, quite probably, a particularly fine (if rather ugly) choice.

Newman’s M8000 PMP comes with 80GB, 120GB, 160GB and the aforementioned 250GB of storage capacities with pricing starting at around $300.

MP4Global [via PMP Today]