While fanboi debates rage just as strongly as they ever did, in general gadgets across the board are better designed, better constructed and better performing than we could’ve hoped for five or so years ago. That’s why it’s so nice to find a real humdinger of a review for Archos’ 1 Vision PMP, an MP3 player that anythingbutipod describe as having “bad build quality, awkward design, peculiar button placements, an undeniably unnecessary power switch, somewhat peculiar menus and an extra features set that might as well not have been there.”
The display – at 128 x 128 resolution – is too low-res for either video or photo enjoyment, meanwhile, and the voice recorder produces fuzzy tracks. In the PMP’s favor, mind, is its super-budget price. Despite an MRSP of £35 it’s already – at launch – selling at £21 ($31) which puts it firmly in the bargain category. Meanwhile sound performance is also reasonable, so as long as you only want to listen to music and have no desire to do anything so demanding as frequently change tracks, maybe this is the budget PMP for you.
Clearly not content with letting Ryobi steal all those carpenters who grew up with MP3 players and digital cameras, Stanley is striking back with their Jobsite Radio and iPod Dock which appears to be a rather sturdy and durable source for tunes on a construction site. It’s got an AM/FM radio of course, but on the back you’ll also find a place for stashing and connecting an iPod or presumably any MP3 player given the headphone cable that’s wired in there. It will also play MP3 or WMA files directly off of an SD card or USB flash drive, and can be powered by an AC hookup or connected to a 12V DC battery. $59 from Northern Tool + Equipment.
Nothing puts the quality cat among the audiophile pigeons like products billed as offering “premium” sound being found to use mainstream components. Latest to potentially fall foul is HiSoundAudio’s Studio PMP, on sale for a whopping $345, but which – after MP4 Nation opened it up – was found to be using a Sigmatel 3770 chip as its main processor and DAC, something more commonly found in mid-range MP3 players.
Now, HiSoundAudio themselves have said that they’re more focussed on using the right blend of components to achieve excellent sound quality, rather than chasing big-name chipsets, which is admirable. However, they also seem a little ashamed of their Sigmatel choice, going so far as to cover it up on the circuitboard with a logo-engraved custom cover.
MP4 Nation reckon the total cost of the components – bar the amp and 4GB of Samsung flash memory – would come to under $25, though obviously you’d have to add the casing, R&D, build and overheads on top of that. Actual audio quality is apparently pretty good, though there’s noticeable hiss, but whether it’s $345-good is the outstanding question. HiSoundAudio could also do with reworking their software; it only supports folder browsing, not by ID3 tags, and crashed repeatedly when trying to read a 16GB microSD card.
No doubt the company will have an explanation, but personally we’d save our money for something slightly less finicky.
Nothing puts the quality cat among the audiophile pigeons like products billed as offering “premium” sound being found to use mainstream components. Latest to potentially fall foul is HiSoundAudio’s Studio PMP, on sale for a whopping $345, but which – after MP4 Nation opened it up – was found to be using a Sigmatel 3770 chip as its main processor and DAC, something more commonly found in mid-range MP3 players.
Now, HiSoundAudio themselves have said that they’re more focussed on using the right blend of components to achieve excellent sound quality, rather than chasing big-name chipsets, which is admirable. However, they also seem a little ashamed of their Sigmatel choice, going so far as to cover it up on the circuitboard with a logo-engraved custom cover.
MP4 Nation reckon the total cost of the components – bar the amp and 4GB of Samsung flash memory – would come to under $25, though obviously you’d have to add the casing, R&D, build and overheads on top of that. Actual audio quality is apparently pretty good, though there’s noticeable hiss, but whether it’s $345-good is the outstanding question. HiSoundAudio could also do with reworking their software; it only supports folder browsing, not by ID3 tags, and crashed repeatedly when trying to read a 16GB microSD card.
No doubt the company will have an explanation, but personally we’d save our money for something slightly less finicky.
Despite recent pricing controversies, the iTunes Store has already hit the 10 billion song download mark, making Steve Jobs look even better despite the iPad fiasco, as well as broadcasting the potential of digital distribution.
The announcement from Apple also includes a list of the all-time top songs downloaded from the iTunes store, Lada Gaga taking two of the top ten songs, and Miley Cyrus coming in 20th. Well, I guess that’s not surprising, to say the least.
It seems as if Apple sets a record every now and then. With every tier of iPod, iPhone, and, prospectively, iPad hooked up for life to the iTunes Store, Apple’s not resting on its laurels anytime soon.
Samsung have announced a new iPod shuffle competitor, and they’ve taken the Apple MP3 player’s shake functionality to its reasonable-logical conclusion. The Samsung TicToc has only one button; track playback is controlled by shaking the mediaplayer, and the TicToc can automatically choose a slow track if you shake gently or a faster one if you’re more vigorous.
As for that single button, usually it controls power but, when held down, it adjusts the volume – you hold the TicToc upside down to reduce volume, or the right way up to increase it. No display (nor anything like Apple’s VoiceOver track announcement) but the presumption is that with only 2GB or 4GB of memory you probably won’t need it. MP3, WMA, OGG and FLAC tracks are supported, and battery life is up to 12hrs; Samsung have also produced a little docking station to recharge and sync the PMP. Look for the Samsung TicToc later in 2010, price to be announced.
It apparently wasn’t important enough to make the announcement roster during Samsung’s CES press conference, but the TicToc was on display at their booth and is a clever alternative to Apple’s iPod Shuffle. A built-in motion sensor makes switching tracks as easy as shaking the player, and it’s smart enough to cue up a slow song if shaken slowly, or a fast one if shaken vigorously, should you so desire.
On one end there’s a large button that’s used to power the TicToc on and off, but it’s also used, in conjunction with gravity, to adjust the volume. Hold the button with the player upside down and the volume will decrease, and vice versa. To be honest the gimmick actually seems like kind of a pain to use, but I’m sure it will appeal to the player’s target demographic which is somewhere in the tweens.
According to reps at their booth, the Samsung TicToc will be available later this year in 2 and 4GB capacities supporting MP3, WMA, OGG and FLAC audio formats with 12 hours of battery life. I’m going to assume it also comes with the syncing cradle pictured above, though the designer plastic sleeves used to customize the player’s appearance will be sold separately.
It’s still cold in most parts of the country, but the warm weather will be here before you know it. Once the weather starts getting warmer people will be heading to the beach and lakes to spend time in the water. You might like music with you when you go to the beach, but you might not want to use your iPod near the water for fear of getting it wet.
A company called Marinemart has announced that it is taking pre-orders for a new waterproof MP3 player called the Freestyle Audio Waterproof MP3 Player with Screen. The player is waterproof and shockproof so it will stand up to active outdoor use.
It has 2GB of onboard storage and comes with waterproof ear buds. The player can be submerged in up to ten feet of water and supports MP3, WMA, and WMA DRM files. The little screen is an OLED unit and it has EQ presets and a FM tuner. The player will sell for $89.99.
These days buying music and putting it on your MP3 player of choice is a pretty simple task. Unfortunately for some of the older generation, even that can seem like a daunting task. Instead they’d perhaps just prefer to listen to the radio. Well if you’re looking to bring them into the age of MP3 players without scaring them too much, here is an interesting device that I saw while roaming the floor of CES.
Myine has created a rather curious radio called the Abbee, which is essentially used to record music. At its very basics, it is your average FM radio that your parents and grandparents have used for years. The interesting thing is the small MP3 player docked on top of the unit. When you turn on the radio and hit the record button, that MP3 player will begin recording the music played (while automatically editing out the commercials and DJ talk).
Once you’ve let the device record for a while, you can take it off and use it as an MP3 player. There is no screen on it, so unfortunately you won’t have any way to see the song that is currently playing or anything. If there is a song that you like, just hit the star button and it will be saved. Otherwise once the 500 song (approximate) limit is reached, it will begin recording over the earliest songs (first in, first out) the next time you dock it an hit record.
It really seems rather simple to use, and could be good for those that really don’t mess with computers too much. The $249 price does seem a bit steep, though I suppose you are technically going to get a lot of free music (not of the highest quality of course) so you can factor that into the price. Most tech-savvy users won’t take much of an interest, but if you have an older relative they may very well love one.
If you’re the type of person who looks at the iPod Shuffle and thinks to yourself “it’s nice and all, but can’t they make it smaller?” then it’s pretty clear your standards are just too damn high. But thankfully you don’t seem to be alone, lest this Micro Sport Japanese MP3 Player from ThinkGeek wouldn’t exist. According to them it’s only about the size of 2 sugar cubes, but includes 4GB of storage, external control buttons and a rechargeable battery. And since there’s no display, its battery life is probably half-decent.
Using the ear-piece player alone you’ll enjoy all the glory of mono sound, but you stereo audiophiles can attach an additional earbud for the other side of your head which connects to the player with a short cable. The downside of course is that you’re forced to use the earbuds the player comes with, which is never a good idea, but if size > sound quality in your mind, you’ve just found a way to rid yourself of $79.99.
