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Fourteen Digital Music Players Reviewed
prostoalex writes "The PC Magazine reviews 14 digital music players that can play MP3, WMA or AAC files. The editor's choice among the models compared includes Apple iPod Mini and iRiver iFP-390T. The editors decided to conduct a single review of both Flash- and HDD-based music players. Of special interest is the battery life test as well as sound quality test. Even though the entire article is published online in HTML, the summary of the features is available in PDF only."
Yet OGG isn't "Where it's at" business-wise right now. Right now the handhelds are optimizing to be compatible with either Apple iTunes (FairPlay-ed AACs), RealNetworks Rhapsody (RealAudio codec), or Napster/BuyMusic/Walmart files (Microsoft WMAs).
Each manufactuer is picking exactly one to align with... and nobody's pushing OGG from that side of the business.
You are lost in a totally different world. You represent less than 1/10th of 1 percent of the potential market for these things. If I walked down the hall where I work (made up almost entirely of accountants with plenty of disposable income) I bet not one of them knows Ogg but all of them knows MP3.
Don't be fooled into thinking that the slashdot population is at all representative of the real world.
Unfortunately, you're not the target demographic. The target is a teenager / 20 - something with disposable income. MP3 is the standard and is what 99% of people care about. I believe the Rio Karma has Vorbis, get that one. If I hear a 17 year old girl ask about Vorbis support when she's looking at the pink iPod mini, then I'll be on board with you.
Do you hear that rumble in the distance - the growing outcry for Ogg Vorbis support on portable music players?
No?
Well I don't hear it either. That's because ALMOST NO ONE CARES. Outside of a small minority of the Slashdot crowd, there is basically no consumer demand for Ogg Vorbis. Deal with it.
(Well, that's sure to burn some karma...)
#DeleteChrome
Apple a major Ad buyer in PC magazine. That's a good one. Too bad I don't have mod points to mod you up funny...
You can tell a great deal about the character of a man by observing those who hate him.
- It plays MP3 (VBR/CBR) and WMA burned to regular CD-R or CD-RW. No OGG, but then again, very few players do.
- It plays regular CD's! Yes, the kind you buy in a store, or the kind you have to keep around still because it's all your car's CD player supports.
- Storage: As many tracks as you can fit on a CD(-R[W]), which is to say, about 700 MB. That is, between 150-250 songs (my regular playlist is about 50 songs, though I can see how being able to store "only" 250 tracks may be a problem for some people).
- Battery life: 10-15 hours. Well in excess of what most flash or HD-based players can do as reported by this article.
- Media costs: Dirt cheap and easy to replace (CD-RW's are what, $1-$2 apiece?)
- Portability: Not as good as a flash-based player, for obvious reasons. Comparable to one of the larger HD-based players in width, but pretty thin. Fits in most pockets (goes without saying that newer MP3/CD players are smaller). Doesn't weigh much.
- Other: Great sound. Does not crackle up when batteries run low. Headphone and line-out stereo connections. Menu-based interface, lots of options. Upgradeable firmware.
Now, this is not to say that MP3-CD players are without their issues. Do I hear someone mention skipping? The DMP-201 has 10+ minutes of cache memory. No, you can't use it while jogging (unless your jogs are really short) but it's sufficient on a bicycle or at the gym. Again, like the storage space, this is a problem that will not affect everyone.Quality, performance, value; you get only two, and you don't always get to pick.
Non only is the MP3 format ubiquitous, but the word itself has become something of a catch-all. I've heard more than a few people talk about downloading "MP3's" from iTunes or listening to "MP3's" on their computer that are unwittingly saved in WMA format.
It's like Xeroxing something - you can do it no matter what kind of photocopier you use. ; )
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