Microsoft's unflagging attempts to gain a foothold in the entertainment market are continuing with the introduction of its Portable Media Center (PMC). We've exclusively got our hands on a preproduction Creative Zen, to bring you a preview of what you can expect.

As with its standard Media Center, Microsoft is only providing the software and hardware requirements for the portable version. All other decisions are made by the manufacturer - Samsung and Iriver are two who plan to make devices. The size and shape of Creative's Zen, therefore, shouldn't be taken as representative of all manufacturer's choices.

For this particular model Creative has supplied its device with a 3.5in screen and a 40GB hard disk. It's reminiscent of a portable games console with the controls set out around the side of the screen.

While the design choice was Creative's, the way it works is pure Microsoft, with the same interface that all PMCs will have. From a hardware perspective this includes a USB dock, which is used to transfer mp3s, videos and images onto the PMC.

Microsoft requires that users have either Windows XP or a Media Center PC. While the transfers will work with Windows XP, it's Media Center where the device really flourishes. With the main PC used to automatically record TV, the PMC becomes the viewing platform, so you can catch up with your favourite shows on the train to work.

Obviously, the 40GB hard disk in this model sounds a bit paltry for storing hours of video. However, the synchronisation software also puts video files through a conversion process into wma format. This currently works out at around 175 hours of video. When we tested the Zen, the quality of the video was perfect for the small screen and we detected no obvious loss in quality. The video has all the usual control functions, although we found it took a while before the fast-forward and rewind buttons would work properly on this preproduction model.

Using the PMC is very much like using the full Media Center. This is no bad thing, as the menus are intuitive and simple to navigate, with options for TV, music, pictures and videos. A green Windows button, which is the same as the one on the Media Center's remote, is used to jump back to this menu.

The TV option is used to view all TV files recorded on your PC. They come across with the name of the show and the episode title. However, extras, such as detailed episode information isn't copied across from the Media Center. Fortunately, the resume mode is available, so you can turn off the PMC mid-show and jump back to the exact point you left off.

The menu is also dead easy to use and a quick tap of the cursor keys changes the order the recordings are sorted in.

Back at the main menu, the music option lets you access all your music. The usual options to browse by album, artist, genre and song are there, so it's also easy to find your favourite track. The album art, where an image of an album is displayed also comes along for the ride. The artwork is shown when a song plays, although the cursor keys can be used to cycle through to different views. In our PMC the screen remained on for the duration of a song, although the backlight did turn off. To conserve battery life it would be good to see the final version with an option that powers down the screen. Finally, the photo slideshow option lets you carry around collections of photos and you can even play an mp3 in the background.

It's shaping up to be one of the must-have toys of the year and we were impressed by the quality and ease of use. The price for the Zen of between £399 and £449 looks very competitive, although an exact release date hasn't been decided. We'll bring you a full review as soon as devices are available.

Contact: Microsoft
www.microsoft.com/uk

Specifications:
TBC

Price details:
RRP: £399-449 estimated.