[headwhacker]

I'm thinking that if you had a chance to listen to the K10 with the X5, such an idea, though possible, would not come quite as easily to You.I'd venture to say you'd gain more respect for the dap side of the equation as I Have.

I don't get what K10 has to do with msata on a DAP or convergence in general.

 

[alnilam]

@headwhacker

I only wanted to say, the more a producer ventures into some neighboring territory, the more his product will be regarded and perceived under that territory's angles/rules/practices, and compared to other products in that territory too.

UPDATE, price comparison, roughly:
FiiO X7 + 128GB microSD card ........................................ $700 + $120 = $820
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact + 128GB microSD card ................ $500 + $120 = $620

 

[olddude]

(Big) apples and (small) oranges (Sony and Fiio).  
 
Fiio is hitting a market in China, and it is focusing on that market.   Fiio is very clear on what it is doing and not doing with the X7.  Continuing the discussion, after James has SAID no mSATA, is sort of non-productive.  
 
So.  No replaceable battery.  No mSata.  One card slot and some root memory.  Wifi.  Probably BT.  Limited apps that apply only to music.  Very good sound quality.  Buttons (including the "secret one.").
 
That's where we stand.  Target date is summer 2015 for release.  Fiio is already testing the X7.  It's figuring out the extras, like amp modules.  
 
Don't expect a full revamp.  If Fiio did decide on a revamp, it would likely push the release date back to fall/winter of next year and probably raise the price as well.  Not to mention the size of the unit.  
 
That seems VERY unlikely.

 

[alnilam]

(Big) apples and (small) oranges (Sony and Fiio).  

Fiio is hitting a market in China, and it is focusing on that market.   Fiio is very clear on what it is doing and not doing with the X7. Continuing the discussion, after James has SAID no mSATA, is sort of non-productive.

'FiiO is very clear about the specs' - sure. 'FiiO is entirely open and truthful and clairvoyant about the final specs' - I hope not, after all this is market and very serious competition, to put it mildly.

Productive or not to continue the discussion - not reason to get nervous, we are just talking here, debating this and that. You can freely express you views about the forthcoming FiiO product, whatever those views are, but preventing other people from talking is another matter entirely (the last time I checked, it was called 'censorship' and 'silencing the opponents' and 'policing the thread').

So. No replaceable battery. No mSata. One card slot and some root memory. Wifi. Probably BT. Limited apps that apply only to music. Very good sound quality. Buttons (including the "secret one").

That's where we stand. Target date is summer 2015 for release. Fiio is already testing the X7. It's figuring out the extras, like amp modules. 

Don't expect a full revamp. If Fiio did decide on a revamp, it would likely push the release date back to fall/winter of next year and probably raise the price as well. Not to mention the size of the unit.  

That seems VERY unlikely.

I don't expect anything (except hoping for one or two nice surprises from FiiO), just considering various parameters, options, pros and cons.

 

[olddude]

Not censoring.  Just pointing out that more mSATA talk when that has been put to rest is not productive.  Talking about what may come from what we've learned is productive.  Hinting that Fiio is going to/may change its mind and put mSATA in just seems to be beating that dead horse even deader.  
 
As I said to someone else, since this thread is now about what IS coming from Fiio- not what we HOPE is coming from Fiio, perhaps discussion re mSATA and its future in portable devices should move to a different (dedicated) thread where that discussion can be carried on.  

 

[alnilam]

Not censoring.  Just pointing out that more mSATA talk when that has been put to rest is not productive.  Talking about what may come from what we've learned is productive.  Hinting that Fiio is going to/may change its mind and put mSATA in just seems to be beating that dead horse even deader.  

As I said to someone else, since this thread is now about what IS coming from Fiio- not what we HOPE is coming from Fiio, perhaps discussion re mSATA and its future in portable devices should move to a different (dedicated) thread where that discussion can be carried on.  

I am not hinting - for that, I have no inside information from FiiO, to begin with.

'The discussion about mSATA has been put to rest' - apparently I missed something, 'put to rest' by whom, and why?

(also, mSATA is on the way out, and m.2 SATA (NGFF) is on the way in, there are some differences between them)

'This thread is now about what IS coming from Fiio- not what we HOPE is coming from Fiio...' - again, who are you to make decisions like what this thread is about, and what it is not?

I think this 'X7, the Flagship DAP from FiiO' topic is somewhat broader (wider, deeper), than you want it to be.

I may be right, or I may be wrong - but at least I am not trying to silence you, regardless of whatever you say here.

 

[olddude]

"Also, under the 'competition in convergence territory' angle, something tells me that perhaps either mSATA, or more likely m.2 SATA (NGFF) storage option/slot may not necessarily be completely out of the question (yeah right FiiO says it is, but who can blame them, if they suddenly change their mind, stranger things have happened)."
 
If you read back through the past 20 or so pages, you will find that James stated that there will be no mSATA and the mod of this site also posted that people here need to stay on-topic.  Since the topic of mSATA has been put to rest. it's no longer a topic of discussion.
 
Again, if you think mSATA is something to be discussed in relation to DAPs, start a thread about it.  

 

[alnilam]

@olddude

In my last posts, I talk more about convergence (which is, IMHO, a very interesting topic, closely related to X7), and less about mSATA (and even that more about m.2 SATA NGFF), but for some reason you only see and react to that magical word 'mSATA'.

Again - I am not jumping on you, and I am not trying to silence you, regardless of whatever you say in this thread.

And I honestly don't understand, why the concept of free speech is so alien to you, as on many occasions you do the opposite, under whatever pretense.

 

[alnilam]

(Big) apples and (small) oranges (Sony and Fiio).

Fiio is hitting a market in China, and it is focusing on that market...

You keep talking that X7 is designed/intended mostly for the Chinese DAP market, without actually providing any reason for such an extravagant move, albeit hypothetical.

Then perhaps you can explain, why anyone can routinely see many FiiO products (including X1, X3 and X5) all over, available in many electronics shops and outlets of many countries around the world.

If that is not 'deep international DAP market penetration' - then I don't know what is.

And I have no reason to believe, that the situation with the forthcoming FiiO X7 is going to be any different, none whatsoever.

So, frankly, the meaning of your repeated statement 'Fiio is hitting a market in China, and it is focusing on that market' is lost on me.

 

[olddude]

"You keep talking that X7 is designed/intended mostly for Chinese market, without actually providing any reason for such an extravagant move, albeit hypothetical"
 
Because James has talked about it in this thread.  What country has the most people?  What country is Fiio based in?  What market is Fiio interested in?  Where will most devices be sold?

 

[alnilam]

"You keep talking that X7 is designed/intended mostly for Chinese market, without actually providing any reason for such an extravagant move, albeit hypothetical"

Because James has talked about it in this thread.  What country has the most people?  What country is Fiio based in?  What market is Fiio interested in?  Where will most devices be sold?

Yes, James talked about it, and yes you repeated it more than I can remember - so what?

Yes, China has the most people, and FiiO is based in China, and FiiO is interested in Chinese DAP market - but all that does not necessarily automatically provide the right answer to your last question 'where will most FiiO devices be sold' (or perhaps even better question might be 'from sales on which market FiiO expects better profits - from local Chinese market, or from combined international market').

It seems to me that with this repeated ad nauseam 'X7 is for Chinese market' mantra (IMHO, false) you are trying to make certain group of users of this forum feel somewhat less important than they really are.

UPDATE
FiiO - Where to Buy - http://www.fiio.net/en/stores
Official FiiO distributors/stores, number per country: Australia - 5, Austria - 1, Belarus - 3, Brazil - 1, Bulgaria - 1, Canada - 17, Chile - 1, China - 8, Croatia - 1, Czech Republic - 1, Estonia - 1, France - 3, Hungary - 2, Germany - 3, Greece - 1, India - 3, Indonesia - 2, Ireland - 1, Iran - 1, Israel - 1, Italy - 1, Japan - 1, Lithuania - 1, Norway - 1, Nigeria - 1, Netherlands - 1, New Zealand - 1, Malaysia - 3, Mexico - 1, Romania - 1, Russia - 3, Philippines - 1, Poland - 2, Peru - 1, Saudi Arabia - 1, Singapore - 8, South Korea - 2, Salvador - 1, Serbia - 1, Spain - 3, South Africa - 1, Sweden - 2, Switzerland - 1, Taiwan - 1, Thailand - 2, Turkey - 1, Ukraine - 2, United Arab Emirates - 1, United Kingdom - 3, USA - 41, Vietnam - 1, Venezuela - 1

Total countries: 53
Total stores: 149

In addition, there is FiiO Aliexpress Store - http://www.fiio.net/en/story/224 | http://www.aliexpress.com/store/1473108 - to provide FiiO sales and services to international customers in other countries, not included in the above list, so the actual international DAP/DAC/AMP market penetration by FiiO is even stronger.

 

[Mython]

  Hinting that Fiio is going to/may change its mind and put mSATA in just seems to be beating that dead horse even deader. 

 
 
If the horse is really dead (IF), then it won't mind being beaten - in fact, it won't feel a thing, so quit worrying about it

 

[Mython]

@ James:
 
All the best with your ongoing recovery, mate. Hope all goes well for you, and don't worry about bickering in this thread - your recovery is far more important than what features the X7 does or doesn't have.

 

[Mython]

I wonder what the physical dimensions of the X7 battery are:
 
 
 

 
 
 
There are some suppliers of approximately-similar cells, but this ones higher mah rating probably means it is physically larger than the actual 3700mah X7 cell (above).
 
http://www.extremecells.de/shop/apple/ipad-mini/81/marken-qualitaet-von-extremecells-passend-fuer-apple-ipad-mini-4440-mah-und-3-8v?c=8
 
James, is the X7 battery commissioned specifically for Fiio or is it a standardised cell, used in other devices, too?
 
 
.

 

[Mython]

Waiting for the newest ultracapacitor/supercapacitor tech to make it to market. Using graphene they are able to store more watt hours than current capacitors and begin to approach chemical batteries for run time. They also have extremely fast charging capabilities, seconds for a full charge. We are a few years away from this though as graphene is currently very expensive to produce.

An alternative discovered from a Canadian University (University of Alberta) uses the trunk of the hemp plant that is extremely cheap and has even better properties than graphene for ultracapacitors, but the unfounded stigma against hemp (not the same as its THC cousin) is a roadblock for its production.

A good article about it here. Link

 
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/148247-german-student-creates-electromagnetic-harvester-that-gathers-free-electricity-from-thin-air