HP has previewed the Pocket Playlist, an external hard drive with a twist, offering streaming media over Wi-Fi.

The 32GB external hard drive is compact, but will let you connect up to five external devices to the Pocket Playlist's Wi-Fi hotspot - so several people can access the content it houses at the same time. 

That means you can load it up with movies and then a number of people can get access: kids in the back of the car, for example. You'll need to use the app to connect to the Playlist and that will be available on both iPhone and Android.

That's nothing too spectacular, as we’ve seen similar devices from the likes of Kingston in the past. However, there's twist in the form of PlayLater. 

PlayLater is an app that will let you record content from online services to take with you. You'll be able to fill the Pocket Playlist with movies from Netflix to watch on the move.

There's a slight catch however, and that's that you only get a month's free trial of the PlayLater service, after which you'll be hit with the $39.99 fee, although that's a one-off payment.

The HP Pocket Playlist looks like an interesting twist on an external storage device that expands on the traditional role of just being dumb storage. Of course, you'll have to consider battery life. 

There's also a premium price attached. At $129, the Pocket Playlist is pretty expensive for external storage, but if it's movies on the move you're after and you're PlayLater user, it might be just perfect.

No word on availability or if there will be compatibility outside the US at this time.