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New Generation of MP3 Players, New Features
i4u writes "We got our hands on new Flash MP3 Players from two Korean Manufactures. Both players feature audio functions not seen in MP3 Player before, like SRS, WOW and TruBass. The Muzio JM-200 uses a two color OLED display. The Eratech EMP-100 is betting on small size with measurements of only 30x75x16mm." The larger (and stranger looking) JM-200 also lists ogg playback as a feature.
how 1990s :)
seriously though anecdotal evidence suggests that the new HD-based devices are fine even for jogging. I guess the only niche left after that is if you need something even smaller than an IPod Mini...
Unless I can get a flash player for $50 that is the size of a AAA battery, flash players are dead to me. Nothing can stop the iPod!
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artlu.net
Not that I know anything about it, but it could be that the products have to be tested against US standards for EMI, etc. or redesigned so they are compatible with a different electricity distribution system.
People seem to understand that iPod got it right with their circular controls, but all the other MP3 plays I've seen implement it ths far shrink it so much. I'm no giant of a man, but my fingers are still fat enough to mash a few buttons at once. Smaller is not always better. I never understood the benefit of OGG either. Could someone explain that? When I have 15GB does it really matter how great my compression is on the songs?
UL testing, among other things. I used to work at Sony Electronics, and about half of the Japan imports failed UL testing - the first run of VAIO laptops actually caught fire - as in flames like a Christmas hearth - when they were first brought to SEL Park Ridge back in 1997.
UL stress testing replicates a lot of the unimaginably stupid things users do to their devices.
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It's nice to see these new players support open source audio formats like Ogg Vorbis. It's even nicer to see services like Audio Lunchbox and others offer Oggs for download.
I'm going to have to get hold of a copy of 'The Antisocial Urban Driver's Handbook on Making your Car into a Bloody Great Boom-Box' to make best use of this thing.
Note: I an entirely unaffiliated with iRiver, but they do make some damn fine mp3 players.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
FYI - Japan is on the exact same power distribution method that the US is. The rest of the AP companies aren't, but Japan is.
As a rock-in-roll Physicist once said, No matter where you go, there you are.
I recently bought a Korean import player at my local OEM computer shop. The Muro MR-100 is a standard flash based MP3 player -- 256mb ram, FM radio, variety of settings. But the whiz-bang feature that sold me on it was the FM transmitter built in!
For a 4 hour road trip on the long weekend I copied over my Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio plays and had a nice alternative to radio for the weekend. The transmitter worked flawlessly, and it saved me time and $ from burning my own CDs for the trip.
I agree that alot of the 'amazing new features' are totally bogus, but every once in awhile there is some real innovation between product generations (aside from increased capacity).
John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
I've been looking to get an MP3 player as a gift for someone for a few weeks now, and I just can't seem to find one model that has the features I want:
Flash-based: she's a runner, so I don't believe the HD based ones could last
FM Tuner
USB 2.0
Voice Recording
256 MB internal, with the ability to expand via a card slot (SD preferable, but others would be considered)
Act as pen drive (in Windows) without additional drivers or the need for a cable.
It seems like relatively simple and low-end requirements, but I can't seem to find a device that fulfills all these. If you know of one specifically, I would appreciate feedback.
well are there?
I want a gmail account. Can someone help me
Nah, I don't buy it. As the volume of, say, 4 GB hard drives increases, its price drops dramatically. If most people were given a choice between an $80 512MB flash-based player and an $80 4GB HDD-based player, they'd choose the latter. And no, my iPod Mini has never skipped on me...ever, yet my flash-based MP3 player hiccups on even the slightest imperfection in the MP3 file. All in all, the flash-unit stays in the drawer a lot more often these days (and I don't even have the iPod filled up).
After Apple told me in so many words to burn audio tracks of all my iTunes downloads so that I could be sure of not losing access to them, after they reset all my "authorized" computers because I couldn't de-authorize a system disk that had died, I treat the AAC version as ephemeral. The only real copy I have of a download is the CD I burned... so ripping that is no more trouble than ripping any of the other CDs I buy.
And there's no need to use that kind of language.
I've always been an advocate of the Minidisc player, ever since they came out with NetMD, so you could hook it up to USB. These things have amazing battery life, unlimited storage capacity (switching disks), and are quite small. They never skip, are quite cheap, very durable, and as one poster was searching for, they allow you to fast forward while listening.
Also, for me, it just feels a lot more like a music player, then those memory stick or built in hard drive players. Something about putting disks into it just make it seem more fun.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
The ideal mp3 player would be...
:)
1] A cell phone with bluetooth capability.
2] A bluetooth enabled headset.
3] All major music formats including ogg.
4] A "bookmark" feature (useful for book on tape or book on mp3).
5] Stopwatch with lap timing and counters. (For those of us who exercise)
6] FM tuner.
7] XM or Syrius Tuner.
8] Uses standard flash ram cards for expansion.
9] USB 2.0 at minimum.
10] Rechargable battery and docking station.
11] Garage door opener (for those who exercise and need a way to get into the house without lugging your keys around)
That's my wish list. To date, nobody has even come close.
The U. S. has had a good long run as global superpower, over half a century. The British Empire wasn't at its peak for that long.
"Waiting for the cool (technological) stuff" is one of a number of signs that the U. S. may be at about the peak of its power and influence, and a slight decline may have already started.
Computer technology is not a secret, and all the manufacturing is now being done overseas. We should not be surprised that the U.S. is no longer the dominant innovator.
The U. S. is no longer the dominant winner of Nobel prices in the sciences, either.
I am starting to see signs of Japanese cultural influence in the U. S. "Hello Kitty" merchandise, anime, etc. After years in which the rest of the world bought Jordache blue jeans and watched "I Love Lucy" and "Miami Vice," I think the tide is starting to turn there, too.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
One of the links in the post (i4u.com) asked people to send in a description of their dream mp3 player. Here's the (admittedly long-winded) email I sent them If someone knows a player that meets this description, I'd love to here about it.
(To be fair, flash cards are not essential. If they designed a 2 GB fixed flash player, I'd probably be happy with that as well. But HD is still too heavy and not rugged enough for serious exercise).
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Hi. I'm writing to answer the question posed in your June 24 article regarding what would be included in my "dream" portable music player. Here's my version.
I primarily use my mp3 player to work-out. So the popular hard drive-based players are either too bulky, too heavy, or, most importantly, just too skip- and damage-prone for rigorous fitness activities. Thus, I want to design the ideal flash-based player for active use. However, the flash-based players currently out there geared for fitness lack several key features.
The first problem is memory format. Most flash-based players (like the Nike PSA) have a fixed amount of flash memory. With flash card technology, that's just an unnecessary limitation. Why would I want fixed storage when virtually unlimited storage is possible with just the addition of a card port? However, even among card-based players there is an incredible paucity of those that support CompactFlash. Even though this is the flash format of choice for the immensely popular Canon camera line, and is the cheapest flash format per MB, very, very few players (with the exception of the hard-to-find Nex line) support it. This puzzles me quite a bit. I own a Canon camera, and I want a flash MP3 player. Why would I want to invest in two different flash card formats? It seems that a manufacturer that shrewdly marketed the lower cost and ubiquity of CF for existing cams could take advantage of this.
CF is larger than other card formats, but it's still so small and light that its form factor really does not add bulk. Plus, it is now available in higher capacities (like 1 GB) than any other flash format, rivaling some hard drive players.
The second feature I would want in my player is playlist support. Especially when I'm listening to music for exercise, the songs I pick hugely impact my level of motivation and performance. I want to be able to choose on the fly the subset of tunes that fit the mood of the moment. No flash-based player I know of support m3u or other playlist formats. This is a HUGE drawback. On my Nex II player, I have to create new folders with songs dropped in the order I want to hear them every time I go work out. It's a pain. Plus, with flash capacities growing, I want to maintain a set organizational strategy for my music (like folders by artist and album) and not reorganize music every time I listen. The built-in song-flagging pseudo-playlist feature some of these players have is not a substitute for a standard, reusable playlist. This is a must.
The third feature I want my player to have is a quality digital FM tuner. Most gyms have TVs set up in front of exercise equipment (like stationary bikes, treadmills, etc.), broadcasting the audio portion on local FM bands. I want to be able enjoy this feature of my gym, as well listen to local stations from time to time. Another must for any gymrat.
Finally, the player must be ergonomically designed for use by someone who is exercising while using the player. That is, it should, foremost, come with a comfortable, washable, neoprene *armband* case that holds the player snugly. Tunebelt makes some great generic versions of such a case, but they are not tailored for particular players (iPod being an exception). Second, the player itself must have *large* controls, clearly discriminable by touch, and inuitively positioned so one can reach them on their arm while working out. A tiny stick-like player is useless while working out, as is something bouncing around on a lanyard around your nec
This is exactly what I plan on doing when iRiver release UMS firmware for my IFP-790T. That will make it visible as a removable drive under Windows, instead of forcing me to use the nasty "copy a single file at a time by dragging and dropping" manager they bundle with the unit.
Pretty funny though, a actual example of where Linux's driver support is superior to Windows when using a just-released multimedia gadget!