Samsung YH-920 Napster 20GB Digital Portable Audio Player MP3 - Silver (2004)
Year First Appeared
2004
Creator
Mark Farish, Lisa Selden
Samsung’s Napster‑branded YH‑920 is a 20 GB hard‑drive digital audio player from 2004/2005 that supports MP3, WMA, WAV, Ogg Vorbis and Audible files, includes FM radio playback and recording, voice and line‑in MP3 recording, and USB On‑The‑Go, and launched in the United States at about $299 as an iPod alternative.
Importance in Internet Culture
The YH‑920 embodies the pivot from Napster’s outlaw P2P past to licensed digital music and early portable subscriptions (Napster To Go), built atop Microsoft’s WMP10/DRM ecosystem. It marks a moment when “the web’s music” tried to go legit on the go, before the iPhone‑era streaming revolution.
Interesting Fact
Unlike its predecessor, the YP‑910GS, the YH‑920 dropped the built‑in FM transmitter. Early units used a Hitachi 1.8‑inch hard drive and shipped with two free months of Napster, order code YH920GS/XAA.