Second on that one... I own the SP250 and like it very much. Besides doing an admirable job of playing standard CDs, MP3 and WMA files (it's played everything I've tossed at it), it's got an FM tuner.
Another important feature: upgradable firmware. Few players have this. If you get the SP250, be sure to upgrade the firmware to 2.05 (available from Rio's SP250 page under the "Support" section), which adds a lot of neat stuff and fixes common complaints about the OS. I imagine it wouldn't be too hard for some enterprising soul to hack the firmware and get Ogg support.
Also: It comes with rechargable batteries, and the player doubles as a charger.
The only thing I don't like about the SP250 is the fact that it takes a little too long from the time you power up to the time you actually start hearing music. The SP250 "remembers" the information for the last 5 MP3/WMA CDs that you put into it -- so it doesn't need to do the time-consuming scan on them -- but it still takes several seconds of eternity from disc insert to disc play.
I bought a Clie S320 a few weeks ago. I was about to get a Palm device until I started looking at the feature-to-price ratio... the S320 won over anything out there right now, hands down. Having used the Clie very heavily since then, I must say I'm quite impressed with it. Besides the features you mentioned (lots of flash ROM, 8MB RAM, Memory stick expansion, fast processor, Li-Ion battery, Jog Dial), it also has a reasonably slim form factor (goes in my pocket without complaint) and an Indiglo-like backlight that blows the socks off the reverse backlights on Palms/Handsprings.
I've dropped it on a variety of hard surfaces (unintentionally) with no ill effects. Construction appears to be strong.
I like the included software, too. gMovie is a waste of time and RAM, but PictureViewer is cool, because it's integrated into the address book. You can associate faces with names (even though it's just a dim greyscale, it's enough to remind you), a feature that I think should have been in Palms since the OS supported greyscale.
(Minor correction on your post -- I think it's 4bpp, not 2bpp, since it can do 16 shades of grey.)
Other neat stuff: I like the fact that you don't have to use a cradle to charge it or synch it. One cable for synching, one for charging. I'm working my way through college, and it's nice to just roll up the synch cable and toss it in my backpack so I can talk to computers with it at home/school/work. Much less clumsy than a cradle.
Complaints are few. I wish it worked with Linux. It uses the brand new PalmOS 4 (which seems to be somewhat incompatible with pilot-link and coldsynch) and the package only includes a USB link (trickier than serial, even under the 2.4 kernel).
Also, the screen is a bit smaller than on most Palms (except the M10x line, I think); I suspect this was to cut down on the Clie's width.
I don't like the chromy shiny girly look much either, to be honest, and that was the reason I almost bought a Vx instead. But with the navy cover flap (wish it was a hard flip cover), it looks surprisingly professional. (-:
Overall, a great piece of hardware. Other devices do more, but for what I need it for, the Clie's fit the bill perfectly.
... So I can now use my ad-supported ISP with my ad-supported browser to view ad-supported web pages about ad-supported software.
Talk about your saturation levels.
People have been predicting the Death Of Banner Ads for ages, and it hasn't happened yet. The fact is that the Internet is becoming a place where a huge number of people spend their time, and the ads influence them whether they click on them or not.
99% of average Americans would probably say that television ads don't influence their purchasing decisions. Just like 99% of Internet users say they block ads at their brains (I don't even look at those! Not me! Ha ha! Those are for lame newbies!)
I suspect that Internet ads are the same way. People are going... to... look... at... them, whether they wind up making a a click (or a purchase) or not. I don't see the ubiquitious Banner Ad disappearing anytime soon.
Granted, they're not a fail-safe way to generate revenue. Maybe they're not even good investments. I don't know, I'm not in the commercial web industry (well, sort of, but not the ad-supported type). But I think we'll be enduring them for awhile.
Slashdot Mirror
Second on that one... I own the SP250 and like it very much. Besides doing an admirable job of playing standard CDs, MP3 and WMA files (it's played everything I've tossed at it), it's got an FM tuner.
Another important feature: upgradable firmware. Few players have this. If you get the SP250, be sure to upgrade the firmware to 2.05 (available from Rio's SP250 page under the "Support" section), which adds a lot of neat stuff and fixes common complaints about the OS. I imagine it wouldn't be too hard for some enterprising soul to hack the firmware and get Ogg support.
Also: It comes with rechargable batteries, and the player doubles as a charger.
The only thing I don't like about the SP250 is the fact that it takes a little too long from the time you power up to the time you actually start hearing music. The SP250 "remembers" the information for the last 5 MP3/WMA CDs that you put into it -- so it doesn't need to do the time-consuming scan on them -- but it still takes several seconds of eternity from disc insert to disc play.
CowboyNeal!
I bought a Clie S320 a few weeks ago. I was about to get a Palm device until I started looking at the feature-to-price ratio... the S320 won over anything out there right now, hands down. Having used the Clie very heavily since then, I must say I'm quite impressed with it. Besides the features you mentioned (lots of flash ROM, 8MB RAM, Memory stick expansion, fast processor, Li-Ion battery, Jog Dial), it also has a reasonably slim form factor (goes in my pocket without complaint) and an Indiglo-like backlight that blows the socks off the reverse backlights on Palms/Handsprings.
I've dropped it on a variety of hard surfaces (unintentionally) with no ill effects. Construction appears to be strong.
I like the included software, too. gMovie is a waste of time and RAM, but PictureViewer is cool, because it's integrated into the address book. You can associate faces with names (even though it's just a dim greyscale, it's enough to remind you), a feature that I think should have been in Palms since the OS supported greyscale.
(Minor correction on your post -- I think it's 4bpp, not 2bpp, since it can do 16 shades of grey.)
Other neat stuff: I like the fact that you don't have to use a cradle to charge it or synch it. One cable for synching, one for charging. I'm working my way through college, and it's nice to just roll up the synch cable and toss it in my backpack so I can talk to computers with it at home/school/work. Much less clumsy than a cradle.
Complaints are few. I wish it worked with Linux. It uses the brand new PalmOS 4 (which seems to be somewhat incompatible with pilot-link and coldsynch) and the package only includes a USB link (trickier than serial, even under the 2.4 kernel).
Also, the screen is a bit smaller than on most Palms (except the M10x line, I think); I suspect this was to cut down on the Clie's width.
I don't like the chromy shiny girly look much either, to be honest, and that was the reason I almost bought a Vx instead. But with the navy cover flap (wish it was a hard flip cover), it looks surprisingly professional. (-:
Overall, a great piece of hardware. Other devices do more, but for what I need it for, the Clie's fit the bill perfectly.
Okay, this is getting silly.
... to ... look ... at ... them, whether they wind up making a a click (or a purchase) or not. I don't see the ubiquitious Banner Ad disappearing anytime soon.
... So I can now use my ad-supported ISP with my ad-supported browser to view ad-supported web pages about ad-supported software.
Talk about your saturation levels.
People have been predicting the Death Of Banner Ads for ages, and it hasn't happened yet. The fact is that the Internet is becoming a place where a huge number of people spend their time, and the ads influence them whether they click on them or not.
99% of average Americans would probably say that television ads don't influence their purchasing decisions. Just like 99% of Internet users say they block ads at their brains (I don't even look at those! Not me! Ha ha! Those are for lame newbies!)
I suspect that Internet ads are the same way. People are going
Granted, they're not a fail-safe way to generate revenue. Maybe they're not even good investments. I don't know, I'm not in the commercial web industry (well, sort of, but not the ad-supported type). But I think we'll be enduring them for awhile.