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.

Comments

The US always the last to get cool stuff

[solarmist]

It's funny how a lot of the "cool" stuff takes forever to get to the states. I mean MP3's players like this have been standard since I got here in Jan and probably long before that. You'll see grandma's on the bus with these guys.

Why is it that when it comes to tech like this, or cell phones or cool laptops that we always have to wait years???

Re:The US always the last to get cool stuff

[John Harrison]

Why is it that when it comes to tech like this, or cell phones or cool laptops that we always have to wait years???

Why is it that when we have tech like proportionally spaced fonts some people refuse to use it, even after it has been around for years?

Re:The US always the last to get cool stuff

[cspenn]

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.

flash MP3 players?

[jbellis]

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...

Re:flash MP3 players?

[Like2Byte]

Yep, I need something smaller than an iPod Mini. In fact, I had something smaller than an iPod Mini, that cost $60, 128M, MP3 playback, looked like a disk drive to the computer, my daughter broke the USB connection too many times until I couldn't fix it... I've been looking for a replacement since.

Good luck on finding your new daughter.

As an aside, my father used to tell me that he could 'take me out' and make another one that looks just like me.

Wait a second

[stratjakt]

... these aren't iPods ...

They don't even have apples DRM nor work with iTunes.

So why is this on slashdot?

And we should get excited why...?

[gearmonger]

Unless the price of high-density flash RAM drops dramatically sometime really soon, hard drive-based MP3 players will continue to be the de facto standard for large-capacity players.

Besides, these "innovative" new features aren't really all that innovative. So there.

Re:And we should get excited why...?

[stratjakt]

Many people don't want a large-capacity player.

They want an affordable digital alternative to a walkman, that doesn't skip when they're jogging. They don't care if it can store 2 jillion hours of music. They just want their favorite workout tunes on it, or something to listen to riding the bus, etc.

That's an enormous market, and IMO Apple is positively stupid to ignore it. If they released an iPod that was under 100 bucks, that had say 64-256megs of flash, it'd sell like hotcakes and they'd increase the amount of iTunes customers 10 fold.

As a comparison, there is a niche market for those 100 disc DVD jukeboxes. But there's a much larger market for regular $50 DVD players for folks who maybe rent a movie a few times a month.

Those features

[91degrees]

I love the jargon they come up with to claim they have "features". Here's what they actually mean:

SRS - "Small rectangular sticker". This is a small sticker in a rectangular shape with the letters "SRS" on it.

WOW - "Works Over Water". this has been especially designed so that if you try to use it over a body of water it will still work.

TruBass - Much like TruCalling; If the bass dies it repeats the following day.

The moral - don't be fooled by marketing hype.

Useless features?

[Turn-X Alphonse]

I find it strange that everyone needs all these "amazing new features" etc. etc. but 99% of the time it won't change how the music sounds at all. I don't see the point of buying a new VCR because mine still works, same goes for TV, GBA(not SP) and so on and so forth.

Why waste 300 on some new gadget which will work pretty much identical to the old ones when the global standard isn't changing much (global standard for MP3s will always just be the old MP3 untill replaced for example).

I just see crappy iPod interfaces

[TheOtherAgentM]

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?

iPod

[blackmonday]

Look, I'm an unabashed Apple fanboy, but I'd like to know why I should choose this over an iPod. None of these features matter to me. Tru-Bass? the iPod has a huge EQ selection, and you can assign an EQ to each individual song in iTunes and it carries over to the iPod.

If these gadgets aren't half the price of an iPod mini, I have no reason to consider them. There's no mention of disk space on the JM-200, but I want GB's, not MB's.

Re:WOW?

[KeithH]

Sorry, nobody else here remembers wow and flutter specs from turntables. face it - we're old.

I was really impressed untill...

[TubeSteak]

I saw these two things:

1. powered by a built-in Li-polymer battery
2. Both players still feature only a USB 1.1 interface

I went to the Korean website and peeked at the specs page (it's in Korean, but #s are still #s) and found out the battery is 3.7 Volts. Anyways, even though it's a lithium polymer, it's still only got ~3yrs of lifespan before it's kaput. And USB 1.1! It's not horribly slow, but with all the stuff packed in their you'd think we could get our 400Mbps worth.

The USB 1.1 isn't a deal breaker, but if i can't easily get to that li-polymer battery... It'd be the whole iPod story again. This time with an overseas manufacturer.