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Toshiba Bluetooth Portable Storage Device

Posted by timothy on from the are-you-listening-cupertino dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes: "Toshiba has announced a new portable storage device, Bluetooth Pocket Server, that can be used as a HTTP/FTP wireless server. This device with a 5GB of data can hold up to 37 hours of MPEG-4 moving images. You can read the press release on the Toshiba web site. Now while walking you can be a human web server..."

10 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Transfer rates? by questionlp · · Score: 3, Informative
    I wonder what kind of transfer rates one can get with that thing, since it is limited to the speed of the Bluetooth connection.

    The storage unit would be a nice add-on for those with a Pocket PC 2002 device and a BT card (or in the case of the iPaq 3870, which has BT built-in) as you could just sit the drive on a table or in a jacket pocket and listen to MP3s or even watch (shrunken versions) of Anime or movies with PocketDiVX.

    1. Re:Transfer rates? by DdJ · · Score: 2, Informative
      I wonder what kind of transfer rates one can get with that thing, since it is limited to the speed of the Bluetooth connection.
      It's interesting to note that they tell you to hook up USB if the bandwidth of the thing is too slow for you. That should tell you something significant about the transfer rate you get in practice.
    2. Re:Transfer rates? by questionlp · · Score: 2, Informative

      At least with Bluetooth, you can get a Compact Flash card (for most Pocket PC devices) or an SD or Memory Stick BT card for some Palm devices. If you don't have any of those options, then you are SOL :)

  2. Re:I wanna be a Bluetooth Radio Station by Merlynnus · · Score: 5, Informative

    Bluetooth? How about FM broadcast, so that anyone around you with a FM radio can tune in?

    It already exists, and it's cheap. When I got my SlimX MP3 player, I also got a Link-It which is a personal FM transmitter, with a range of a few dozen feet, weighing a few ounces, and only a few inches in size. You can buy them for about $30 US from various places, including here.

    Excellent for listening to MP3s in the car.

    A>

  3. Bluetooth is too slow by Mr.Sharpy · · Score: 4, Informative

    If I remember correctly, bluetooth 1.1 comes in with a transfer rate of about 720Kbps and only works in about a 10m radius (for devices, access points have longer ranges). At that rate, It would take about 16 hours to copy 5GB of data to or from the device. So unless you plan on standing close to somebody for a quite a while, the mental images of swapping mp3 collections or walking for warez can be put on hold for now.

    Now if they will support Bluetooth 2, the situation improves...

  4. But can you WATCH those MPEG4s? by chill · · Score: 5, Informative

    Speeds for Bluetooth spec out at under 1 Mbps, depending on range, obstacles, etc. At an average speed of 750 Kbps, could you watch an MPEG-4 encoded video clip at a decent resolution on a handheld? (Hmmm...that OQO has Bluetooth built in.) Check out the specs on Bluetooth.

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    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  5. Actual transfer rate. by juuri · · Score: 4, Informative

    Maximum transfer rate is asynchronous 732.2/57.6kbps. Sync is around 433kbps. So don't expect to be transfering lots of data around. This is still plenty fast enough though for DiVX movies.

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    --- I do not moderate.
  6. Picture by joeku · · Score: 4, Informative

    O'Grady has a pic of it. Nice and clean design I might add.

    http://www.powerpage.org/story.lasso?newsID=9274

  7. Re:I know I shouldn't... by thaigan · · Score: 2, Informative

    You can find out what it's all about here: http://www.beowulf.org/intro.html

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    42
  8. Re:This isn't a foolish as it may sound... by PatSmarty · · Score: 2, Informative

    And image using Nextlink Bluespoon wireless headsets to listen to your mp3s - each headset weights only 10 grams, yet runs for 8 hours - crazy!

    Btw: If you have questions about this headset, head over to this forum, where one of the creators regularly answers questions.