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Gateway Portable MP3 Player

Posted by michael on from the black-and-white-spots-optional dept.

dcsmith writes "Gateway has announced the Gateway Digital Audio Player, a 1.5-ounce USB device that also provides portable storage and voice recording. The device is curently available in a 128MB model priced at $129.99, with a 256MB model priced at $169.99 scheduled to debut on 14 August." The Gateway store has a picture. No mention of DRM.

41 of 284 comments (clear)

  1. Put into perspective by mao+che+minh · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Well, 20GB external USB 2.0 hard drives tend to run about $150 USD, like this one: Archos MiniHD

    A decent MP3 player, 128MB with FM/AM tuner, tends to run between $100-130 USD: iRock 830

    So basically, this Gateway offering is no more impressive then your run-of-the-mill 128MB MP3 player. All it adds is voice recording and the ability to use it for portable storage (which is handy, but at only 128-256MB doesn't impress me enough to buy it). However, you could buy a 20GB portable USB HDD and any other 128MB MP3 player for about $250 USD all together, which is only $80 more then their 256MB model.

    Verdict:
    A. For $170 you can get a 256MB MP3 player with a voice recorder.
    B. For $250 you can get a 128MB MP3 player and a 20GB external drive.
    C. You could just buy a 20GB MP3 player for $240 USD: Archos Jukebox Recorder 20

    1. Re:Put into perspective by kmak · · Score: 4, Informative

      In fact, the Archos Jukebox records as well, and the newer versions have a little movie player!

      Ya, when I saw the specs, the first thing on my mind was, "What were they thinking?"

      Truly two years too late..

      --

      I'm not the devil.. just his advocate.
    2. Re:Put into perspective by stratjakt · · Score: 5, Interesting

      For 250 bucks I can get a gig of SDRam for my PDA/Smartphone which can play mp3s.

      Whoopity do. This article was only posted so michael could add his "wah wah DRM" comment to the end.

      It's not really news or at all thrilling, just another in a sea of "me too" products.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  2. No more music hardware technology updates... by DeltaSigma · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...until the blurb includes "ogg vorbis."

  3. NEWS FLASH! by mrpuffypants · · Score: 2, Informative

    Every company under the sun makes an el cheapo MP3 player. Even Nike!

  4. Trying to figure out by stinkwinkerton · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why this is frontpage news? Is it the size or is it the fact that is records voice as well? I'm not trolling, really honestly trying to figure out what the supercool part is.

    --
    "Look! There! Evil, pure and simple from the Eighth Dimension!" --Buckaroo Banzai
    1. Re:Trying to figure out by gantrep · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Also I bet they don't really expect that many people to buy them from them straight out. They will try to sell them as part of a package with a new computer system, etc. You know, "Act now and get a FREE mp3 player! $130 value!"

  5. Oh yeah, this'll dethrone the iPod by Alexander · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What Product Manager OK'd this?

    Imagine, People at Gateway actually sat around a table with a white board in a conference room someone that probably smelled like day old coffee and stale garlic bagels, and thought that this functionality, at these prices (!) would launch Gateway competitively into the MP3 player market.

    It makes the mind hurl...

    --
    "oohhh... I didn't know Schopenhauer was a philosopher!" ..."uhhh yeah, he's the one that begins with
  6. looks like a repackaged muvo by utexaspunk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    looks like a repackaged version of creative's muvo, which means it uses its own proprietary USB key that has the controls on it. why can't someone make a little mp3 player that is basically the buttons and headphone jack into which one plugs an ordinary USB-keydrive? that way one could keep a couple keydrives around and swap them.

    1. Re:looks like a repackaged muvo by FatRatBastard · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I suspect because it would be expensive. If you add all of the controls and headphone jack to the dock you then have to pump data from the drive to the dock. Thus, the dock has to have USB hub hardware for data transfer from the drive to the dock. With all of the controls / jack on the drive all the dock needs to do is provide power to the drive, which I suspect is a much simpler hardware setup (thus cheaper).

    2. Re:looks like a repackaged muvo by nekura · · Score: 2, Informative

      The new MuVo NX also has a backlit LCD screen.

      --

      "Programming is like sex - one mistake and you'll have to support it for the rest of your life."
  7. Gateway Recommended by super-momo · · Score: 3, Funny

    so Gateway products have two categories. Gateway recommended and Gateway not recommended.

  8. Shows up as a Drive letter by sker · · Score: 4, Informative

    The article doesn't mention DRM because there isn't any to speak of. The device shows up as a drive letter and any MP3 or WMA in the music folder is seen by the player. It doesn't even ship with any special software aside from a voice file converter and an icon editor... pretty decent.

    --
    nonsig. unsig. desig.
  9. Price.... by I_am_Rambi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why spent $170 for 256 megs of space? I can spent less than double and get a faster transfer (firewire compared with USB 1.1) and 10 gigs of space with an iPod. That just doesn't make cents. An iPod is a much better deal.

    1. Re:Price.... by SunBug · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Or you could opt for a Creative Nomad Zen that has 2x the storage of your iPod, costs less than any iPod, and has Creative's legendary sound quality.

      If you really must have the nifty white look, there is the Creative Zen NX that holds 30 GB and has even more features.

    2. Re:Price.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Two Reasons
      1.Size
      2.Battery Life

      1.Is the iPod the size of your thumb? No, only solid-state mp3 players are.

      2.Does the iPod use a single AAA battery for 12 hours? No, only solid-state mp3 players do.

    3. Re:Price.... by Life2Short · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Not to mention Creative's crap software. I've never used anything so crash-ridden in my life as the software that came with my Nomad.

    4. Re:Price.... by Mikey-San · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The iPod doesn't need a AAA battery. It gets 8-10 hours on its internal rechargeable battery. A couple of hours less and no wasting batteries. I can even recharge it by plugging it into my FireWire port while I'm using it.

      I'll take the iPod on this point.

      --
      Mikey-San
      Karma: +Eleventy billion (mostly affected by watching Celebrity Jeopardy)
    5. Re:Price.... by Mikey-San · · Score: 4, Informative

      Of course not. It doesn't need to be, since it's a FireWire storage device. (It's bootable, too. Install OS X on it and watch as you can boot your Mac with it.)

      FireWire, strictly as a protocol, is much more interesting to me for a few reasons:

      1. FireWire is isochronous.
      2. FireWire is peer-to-peer, not master/slave (like USB). That means one could hook up a theoretical FireWire-eqipped TV and stream the DV footage you just shot of your day at the beach right to the screen, nothing else involved.
      3. TCP/IP communication over FireWire, because of point number 2, is much more flexible than USB. (I don't know if USB supports TCP/IP communication at all. Just guessing that it does.)
      4. FireWire can push 1.5 amps (versus less than a tenth of that for USB 2) to a device. That makes powering small notebook HDs or charging MP3 players quite easy to do.

      The only thing that sucks is when a computer manufacturer puts a 4-pin FireWire port on a machine instead of a 6-pin port. (The difference being the two pins that perform termination power transfer.) I dunno why people ship 4-pin ports on computers when a device the size of a deck of cards has a 6-pin port. Go figure.

      --
      Mikey-San
      Karma: +Eleventy billion (mostly affected by watching Celebrity Jeopardy)
  10. Missing features by nother_nix_hacker · · Score: 5, Funny
    No mention of DRM
    Does DRM have better sound quality than MP3?
    1. Re:Missing features by Frostalicious · · Score: 5, Funny

      Does DRM have better sound quality than MP3?

      Only if you enjoy the sound of sweet silence...

  11. What the appeal is... by LamerX · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The appeal is the size. Look at it, it's 128mb and 1.5 ounces. It's so super light, it could actually be put into your pocket without a big square lump. I haven't seen a lot of MP3 players, but this looks to be one of the smaller ones out there. And the fact that it can double as your geek-kit-driver-holder is pretty neat.

    1. Re:What the appeal is... by blamanj · · Score: 2, Interesting

      How about this one. Not only is it same size, weight, and price, but it supports an FM tuner and FM recording as well, which the Gateway does not.

      It also supports the Mac, which I don't expect the Gateway to do, either.

  12. I Pod by lostinchicago · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Im not even a mac fan and ide rather buy an ipod.

  13. I'll take a look when... by PeteyG · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'll take a look at this as soon as it gets to 5 gigs in capacity.

    If it gets to 10, then I'll really start paying attention, and start comparing it to the iPod.

    But sheesh. If you've experienced a player with capacity measured in gigs, then it's hard to seriously consider devices that are measured in (albiet high) megabytes.

    256 megs? I couldn't fit more than 3 albums and a few big audiobooks on that. Which is still a lot, I guess... But still not nearly as wonderfully flexible as my 15 gig iPod.

    Helluva lot cheaper though!

    --
    no thanks
    1. Re:I'll take a look when... by cnkeller · · Score: 2, Informative
      Hows jogging, or any other impact sport, with your ipod?

      I've never heard my ipod skip or had a problem with it.

      I've dropped it twice on the treadmill while jogging (non-consecutively) before i bought a case for working out. Must be that huge 32meg buffer. The new ones are very light as well, though not near as light as the Gateway. I happen to wear mine around my bicep with an arm band (just un-velcro the cover) that leaves it easily accessible to switching tracks, virewing the name of a song, etc. No problems on the treadmill or the weight bench ever.

      --

      there are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots

  14. your perspective is skewed by SweetAndSourJesus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    These are Gateway customers we're talking about. Basically, people who have no idea how to buy a computer or computer accessories. When a friendly Gateway sales representative says "would you like to throw in an mp3 player for just $129.99?", lots of people are going to go for it.

    --

    --
    the strongest word is still the word "free"
    1. Re:your perspective is skewed by dr.badass · · Score: 3, Insightful

      When a friendly Gateway sales representative says "would you like to throw in an mp3 player for just $129.99?", lots of people are going to go for it.

      Good.

      No, really. I'm all for the proliferation and popularity of easy-to-use MP3 players. But they aren't going to be as ubiquitous as CD players until they get as cheap, as simple, and as rugged.

      Most of the people here are obviously saying "It sucks, the iPod/Zen/Archos is better.". Well, yeah, but not everyone needs the power of one of those enough to justify spending $300 or so on it.

      If you could get a car that does everything you need for $20,000, are you an idiot for not spending $40,000 on one that's "better"?

      --
      Don't become a regular here -- you will become retarded.
  15. 128 meg vs 5 gig? by azav · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Honestly, what good is 128 meg? This is barely a CD or 2 at high quality MP3.

    Compare this to the original iPod with 5 Gig of storage.

    Seems like it's only good for short trips to the gym but not much else.

    --
    - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
  16. Plenty of these... by LamerX · · Score: 4, Informative

    There are TONS of other small mp3 players like this... it's really nothing new...

    RipFlash http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000 06RVH3/104-5806291-7855108?v=glance&me=ATVPDKIKX0D ER

    Irock 520
    http://hardwarecentral.dealtime.com/dealtime2 000/R eviews/product/read_product/1,7235,3310,00.html

    Sony NW MS9
    http://sudhian.dealtime.com/xPR-Sony_NW_MS9

    The list goes on and on...

    Just search google... Like I did....

  17. Just in time! by amorico · · Score: 5, Funny

    A friend of mine called from 2000 looking for a state of the art mp3 player. Even at 1.5 ounces the shipping is going to be hell.

    -a

    --
    "The plural of anecdote is not data." -- Roger Brinner
  18. Capcity, Weight are minuses by Alton_Brown · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I have one of the original 5GB iPods and still enjoy it very much. I could not imagine having anything less than 5GB in an mp3 player because I don't want to deal with changing out tunes every other day. As far as size is concerned, smaller size is better to a point. Like the palm OS watch, smaller can be bad. The size of the iPod fits nicely in my hand, it's easy to access everything and the weight is substantial - giving a sense of quality. I always thought the palmV was about the best form factor for the same reasons.<br><br>Don't even get me started on my disdain for Gateway in general... 3 family members have been disappointed to various degrees with their quality and service. Just my .02!

  19. Ok, we get it the IPOD is a great player BUT by shaka999 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Can you do impact sports with one? Even running isn't recommended. For me, and many others, one of the biggest uses of a portal player is for running. While there isn't anything fantastic about the Gateway player it is in a different class than the ipod. Hard disk based players and flash based players shouldn't be compared on storage...

    --
    One should not theorize before one has data. -Sherlock Holmes-
    1. Re:Ok, we get it the IPOD is a great player BUT by ColdCuts · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, I got my iPod for running. The first few weeks ran with it held in my hand, and have yet to have a problem. Prior to this, I ran with a portable CD player that advertised skip protection. The CD player I could make skip, something I haven't yet been able to do with the iPod.

      Last week, I broke down and bought one of them fancy fanny packs designed for the pod. Running with that is a dream, you could forget the ipod is there if not for the headphones (and this is where you really appreciate the wired remote.)

      Could be my incredibly smooth running style, but I doubt it. The iPod is great for runners.

  20. Gruvstick by barjam · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This looks very much like the Cenodyn Gruvstick. Apparently the internals of the Gruvstick are in a ton of products, I wonder if that ist he case here.

    The Gruvstick is a great MP3 player, for what it is worth (replace the headphones that come with it though).

  21. Re:I still hate Gateway by tbase · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Did you read the pages you linked to? They all say Gateway 2000 (the computer maker) lost, and Gateway.com (The "little guy") won. I couldn't find anything online about Gateway 2000 "stealing" the domain. I couldn't find anything about how they ended up getting it, either. Anyone know what happened? I would suspect they may have bought it from him, but your guess is as good as mine.

    --

    666-607: 6th floor apartment of the beast
  22. Wow! by AyeRoxor! · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is much better than my $100 CD MP3 player that holds 700MB at a cost of $0.20 per media and has never skipped even while jogging, thanks to loading songs into cache RAM and spinning down! /sarcasm

  23. Apples and Kumquats by tbase · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't understand why so many people are comparing this to hard drive or CDr based mp3 players. It's like comparing SATA Hard drives to DDR Memory. Sure, the hard drive based players are a "better deal", but only if you're willing to cart around the extra weight, and aren't the clumsy type.

    Personally, I prefer my car deck that plays mp3s from CDr's, because I don't need to listen to music when walking from my car to my home or office (yes, I know, I should jog/bike/walk more, sue me). But I can't compare it's price or features to any other type of player.

    --

    666-607: 6th floor apartment of the beast
  24. Re:Ogg Vorbis advocacy by DWIM · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Are people still hung up about ogg format? Give it up. It didn't make it.

    [...]

    It's really tiring when I see people on slashdot and elsewhere repeat the same thing over and over, in regards to ogg making headway into the consumer market. It's over. Neuros's support for ogg is just symbolic, and will eventually prove that vorbis feature doesn't really sell portables.

    Well, I was just waiting for you to tell me when it was over...

    Seriously, this is nothing that you (or anyone else, for that matter) can decide or declare and make it so. It is for the market to decide. There's no timetable for when Vorbis must catch on. And it doesn't necessarily mean one must win and the other lose. All there needs to be is sufficient interest in the format to make it compelling for player makers to include the codec for Vorbis along with their MP3 support (etc.). It might never happen, but it certainly won't if you simply decide it won't and quit.

    I agree it is tiring to see the same old things over and over on Slashdot when this comes up. That includes post such as yours declaring that Vorbis "didn't make it." Sorry, not your call to make.

  25. Wrong shape/size by thogard · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This looks like the MP3 player I just got for AU$200 (US$130). Teh only place I listen to MP3s anymore is in the car and for some reason the car has a cassette deck. I've got a cheap walkman to cassette adapters but it makes me wonder why someone hasn't made an mp3 player the right size to fit in a car radio. With the right sensors, you could trun the tape direction control into a skip to the next one, and turn off when the caspin stops spining. That way I could take the MP3 player in to the house, load it full of stuff and when it was in the car, it would work like a smart cassette.

  26. Do the math by SuperBanana · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The appeal is the size. Look at it, it's 128mb and 1.5 ounces.

    Math time, kids!

    128/1.5 = 85 MB per oz
    10240/5.6 = 1826 MB per oz

    Oh, but it's cheaper, you say?

    128/129 = ~ 1MB/$1
    10240/299 = ~ 34MB/$1

    Thanks for playing. The Gateway player is just Yet Another Mp3 Player; the non-hard-drive players are all pretty damn small and light. Some are cheaper than this, too. And no DRM.

    I agree with the other posters- it's completely yawn-inspiring, and reminds me of all the other suspcious stories we've been seeing recently...like that Tivo-like unit that randomly got three paragraph's worth on the front page for no apparent reason. When are slashdot editors going to realize they're being taken advantage of?(I'm politely assuming they're not doing product placements).

    --
    Please help metamoderate.