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MP3Player/Cell Phone in One

Kanasta writes: "LG has a cell phone an MP3 decoder in one, but only in Korea. It has a slot of a MultiMediaCard, which apparently is used in various other mp3 players. Includes a built in remote, and there are speakers on the charging unit! It says 'You can download MP3 music to the phone,' but what exactly they mean isn't clear."

19 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. Technologically interesting. But I don't want one. by Spudley · · Score: 2

    The one question the tech-geeks who invent these new gadgets always forget to ask is "So what?"

    I forget who's quote that is, but it definitely holds true here. Okay, so this is another case of digital convergence (uh-oh - buzzword alert!), but will it really improve my life?

    If I want MP3s, I'll buy an MP3 player. It'll have more storage space for my songs than this phone, it'll probably be easier to use (just press play, rather than scroll through the phone's menus, pick the mp3 option, then pick a song...), and best of all, a normal MP3 player won't microwave my brain if I listen to it too long.

    --
    (Spudley Strikes Again!)
  2. http://mp3.TheMan.com by zpengo · · Score: 2

    Warning -- don't let the Man get you down!

    --


    Got Rhinos?
  3. Anyone know? by zpengo · · Score: 2

    Anyone know where I can get Dr. Dre and Metallica songs dubbed into Korean?

    --


    Got Rhinos?
  4. Slightly Off-topic: Losing Cellphones by daviddennis · · Score: 2

    Okay, I know this isn't exactly on the topic, but I have to get an answer to this question somehow.

    I have lost something like four different cell phones in the last couple of years.

    What I want is a cell phone that includes a device that makes a loud quacking noise (or something) when it falls out of my pants pocket - as it always does.

    Does anyone know of such a thing, or have alternative suggestions? I know I could clip it to my belt, but I know I'd forget to to that, too.

    There must be some absent-minded slashdotters with my problem.

    Many thanks for any ideas.

    D

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  5. Re:Why bother. by voop · · Score: 2

    I don't see this being a logical move, my cell phone should make and recieve calls, it should get my phone numbers using bluetooth from my PDA and it should leave playing music to my MP3 player.

    I, for one, would appreciate NOT having to have big pockets. When I travel (which is waaay too frequent), I carry my laptop (for the more serious work), a mobile phone, a PDA (for occationally checking mail + organizing my life) and a MP3-player. Even leaving the laptop out of this, I have 3 rather bulky devices to carry around. Also, checking email in an inconvenient situation requires both the phone and the PDA be present at the same time.

    Likewise, synchronizing information between the phone and the PDA using Bluetooth (or another such technology) is bothersome - and wastes battery on emitting and processing radio waves (which is not insignificant, btw.). I use "wastes" since that would be avoidable by integrating those devices.

    No, I believe that for some areas, integration is the way to go, and I - for one - appreciate the development of making a PDA-PHONE-MP3PLAYER-in-one.

    --
    -- "Life is a bitch - and she hates me..."
  6. Nice, but... by Percible · · Score: 2

    It's a great idea. The integration of this kind of device (MP3 player) with a phone is an inevitable evolutionary step towards the kind of combined PDA/phone/music/etc. devices that will be commonly available in a few years time.

    But... the bit about downloading MP3s on the phone made me wonder - the best bandwidth I've heard of over a cellphone is 14k4 ... what kind of MP3s can I get at that bandwidth? Would my batteries last long enough? :)

    As I said, a nice idea. But until 3G/high bandwidth phones become the norm.. downloading MP3s over a cellular link will be painful.

    ~P

    1. Re:Nice, but... by paRcat · · Score: 2

      I tend to think they mean downloading from your PC. Just like you download into a RIO et al.

    2. Re:Nice, but... by voop · · Score: 2

      But... the bit about downloading MP3s on the phone made me wonder - the best bandwidth I've heard of over a cellphone is 14k4 ... what kind of MP3s can I get at that bandwidth? Would my batteries last long enough? :)

      Not necessarilly: the page states that: You can download MP3 music to the phone, or you can insert a pre-recorded MultiMediaCard. (from SanDisk)

      Now, an interresting question (or a matter of ignorance from my part) is: is it possible (probably, if so how?) to record such disks from - say - a PC, and transfer those to the phone? SanDisk? Now, from where I am, the SanDisk www-server http://www.sandisk.com/cons/ appears to be down, but perhaps someone can enlighten me....

      I've for a long long time wanted a mobile phone, which could also replace my PalmIII and my Rio - and preferably one with a modem and an IrDA-port too - merge the Nokia Communicator with this CyON MP3-phone, and we are almost there (after reducing the size a bit).

      --
      -- "Life is a bitch - and she hates me..."
  7. Elevator music for your cell calls by Thanatos · · Score: 4

    Anyone know where I can download some "muzak" for this, so I can put my callers on hold and let them listen to some nice, soothing, RIAA approved non-infringing, no royalties needed tunes?

  8. We'd better ban mobile phone networks now... by Spider-Jerusalem · · Score: 4

    ...if people are going to be able to send mp3s to each others phones.

    These damn information sharing networks, the world will be a safer place when we get rid of all this dangerous networking technology.

    S-J ; p

    1. Re:We'd better ban mobile phone networks now... by Ed+Avis · · Score: 2

      In some cases, people have been known to answer the telephone while the radio is playing, thus ripping off the work of hard-working performers and stealing from the record companies. It's just like walking into a store and taking records of the shelf without paying.

      This sort of theft cannot be allowed to continue; we'd better ban telephones at once, or at least replace them with an industry-approved version that cuts off after thirty seconds, and has region coding to stop music from being heard over the phone in countries where it hasn't yet been released.

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      -- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
  9. What would be really cool by (void*) · · Score: 3
    is to be able to play that MP3 while you are having a conversation. Then I could subliminally play "I've got my mind set on you" by George Harrison while talking to my GF!

    (No, don't sue me Mr Harrison! I haven't got MP3s of your song, honest! :-) )

    1. Re:What would be really cool by paRcat · · Score: 2

      This-song-is-just-sev-en-words
      This-song-is-just-sev-en-words

      Back to reality... isn't it illegal to "broadcast" music over the phone? I know it's silly, but I've heard that many times. Anyone know if that's true?

  10. This will only cause problems. by garethwi · · Score: 3

    Imagine having spent ages downloading 'Enter Sandman' for your hold muzak, and then Lars calls...

  11. Why bother. by michael.creasy · · Score: 3

    I just do see why everyone wants to integrate everything together. I don't see this being a logical move, my cell phone should make and recieve calls, it should get my phone numbers using bluetooth from my PDA and it should leave playing music to my MP3 player. Also, I would have thought that the sound quality will not be that great, I mean how many times have you spoken to someone on a cell phone and then face to face and realised how different they sound. This is nothing more than a gimmick just like Casio's MP3 watch. Sure it maybe fun for a few days, but it won't be long before you'll go bac to seperate devices, especially when your phone battery dies in the middle of an important call because you've been playing MP3s all day. For-pay Internet distributed processing.

    My Webcam

  12. Re:Why bother - DO IT LIKE UNIX by Hrunting · · Score: 2

    Exactly.

    What happened to the days of Unix-oriented design, where you have many small things that do a certain task very well and you combine them together to do really big jobs? A cell phone that plays MP3 music is going to suck. It's going to have crappy sound and use up some a good deal of battery life. This isn't improving the cell phone or the MP3 player. It's making both worse. What I would rather see is a separate cellphone and MP3 player that, when I want them to be, can be combined together to get my cell/MP3 player (how many times are you going to use that, seriously?) and when I don't want them be combined, will function perfectly well.

  13. Actually, Phone and MP3 player makes more sense... by Kris_J · · Score: 2
    Think about the physical profile of these devices, due to their interface. Phones primarily use audio (with a little screen), PDAs are primarily screen (with a little audio) - the profiles for these devices is quite different. A mobile phone is long and thin, a PDA is flat. You're already listening to a phone, you're looking at a PDA.

    Ideally, you have a phone/mp3 combo in your pocket with audio cables to your ears, plus a mic somewhere and a PDA in your hand(s) and they talk using Bluetooth. If you cable yourself to a PDA then you can use it as easily (and if you combine a phone and a PDA, ewww, hair gel on the screen).

  14. Two out of Three by First+Person · · Score: 2

    The convergence in the handheld market is really fun to watch. This is the first mobile phone + MP3 combination I've seen. Elsewhere, we've seen the mobile phone + Palm OS from Qualcomm. And we've seen the Palm OS + MP3 combination from Handspring and Innogear Now each combination of two of the three technologies has been comercialized.

    The next step is clear: we'll see a mobile phone + mp3 player + handheld OS combination unit. I hesitate to say Palm OS (though I have some personal preferences there) because Microsoft seem interested in a CE system along these lines. A Linux based system seems an unlikely dark horse. At the rate this market has been developing, we could see this mobile + mp3 + Palm OS combo by Christmas - but I suspect 2001 is more likely.

    --
    Given one hour to live, the student replied: "I'd spend it with professor FP who can make an hour seem like a lifetime."
  15. Re:Seen it before. by Emil+Brink · · Score: 3

    Just in case anyone got interested, before you dive into the muddy hell that is www.ericsson.se, here's a quick link to a tiny picture of the MP3 player accessory for the T18. To complete that, here's a link to some information about the device itself. Don't expect any hard info (such as memory capacity, battery life, price, or availability) though... ;(

    --
    main(O){10<putchar(4^--O?77-(15&5128 >>4*O):10)&&main(2+O);}