[MacDEF]

Given my beliefs of the superiority of MD over MP3, it pains me to post this

But... I was at a trade show today and saw a demo of a new MP3 player that was co-developed by MCE Electronics and another company from Japan. MCE specializes in laptop accessories and portable computing, but the recently started doing development of other portable devices.

Anyways, this new MP3 player is about 2.5cm x 2.5cm x .5cd in size -- basically be enough to hold a single AA battery along the longest side (TINY). It has 32MB of memory built-in, with a slot for a MiniRAM card on the side (I think those go up to 64MB). It has a mini-USB connector on the other side for connecting to your computer. Everything is drag-and-drop on the computer.

The face has play, stop, forward, reverse, and volume buttons. There is a hold button, of course, to prevent you from accidentally hitting buttons.

The unit also has a digital EQ with three settings: Rock, Jazz, and one other (I forgot the third).

I wasn't able to get the headphone amp rating, but it seemed to be decent. At that size I'm not expecting a lot, though.

It gets about 6 hours on one AA battery.

Of course, there is no LCD on the unit, but IMHO, if you're going to use an MP3 player with 96MB of memory, how much do you really need a display?


OH! OH! OH!

I almost forgot... the unit also *records*! Not high quality recording, mind you, but it has a built-in condenser mic, and will let you record on any blank space available in memory, which you can then transfer back to your computer later.

All in all, the first MP3 player I've actually been impressed with.

I can't remember the name, but they said info would be up on the web site in a couple weeks:

http://www.powerbook1.com/

 

[ppl]

Have you tried any of the New Combo CD/MP3 players? I am thing this way at the present. I still think DC's sound way better than MP3's but the ability to put 500 plus songs on one Disc is Nice. and maby better than the Likes of Nomad. TIA PPL

 

[Mike Walker]

I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to get really impressed with a unit that comes with 32megs of memory (upgradable to 64) which "actually records, but not high quality".

My two year old RaveMP 2100 has 96mb of memory, and records (IN STEREO) through either the line input, or (in mono) through the built-in microphone! And (through Sporta Pro, KSC-35, or Sony MDR-V6) produces plenty of clean, low distortion volume at the headphone jack!

Perhaps if you were an mp3 fan, you'd be a little more current on what is, and isn't "cutting edge" technology!

 

[MacDEF]

Mike, I'm not an MP3 fan, but I am aware of what's "cutting edge" -- what's stunning about this product is that it comes with 64MB (32 built in, plus a 32MB card -- but you can upgrade the card), a built-in mic, gets 6 hours of playback, has a decent headphone amp, and sounds good -- at THIS size! That's amazing. Most of the "small" MP3 players sacrifice several of the above. This is supposedly the smalles MP3 player in the world right now, and it has all those features. I'd call that "cutting edge"

 

[ian]

Sorry dude, that really isn't cutting edge. Players very similar to this have been out for quite a while. Cutting edge is a lot more storage space than that with many new features. Hard disk based players especially.

I think one of the coolest players around is the Nomad II MG. Yes, its outrageously expensive. But its very tiny and darn cool. The cool special edition version is 256 mb and $500

A player I just got that is fairly cool is the new MP Man F35 (its the same as the Sensory Science RaveMP 2200). I just got it a week ago from planetminidisc.com. Nice aluminum case, quite small, 64 mb on board, smartmedia slot for expansion. It can store mp3s, voice audio files (it has a mic on it to record), and even telephone numbers (I love it!!). It has an fm tuner on it as well.

Another cool one is the SonicBlue Rio 800 - with 384 mb for $500.

I could go on and on, but there is a peice of cake calling "eat me! eat me! eat me!" in the kitchen.

 

[neil]

D-Link makes a very small inexpensive mp3 player/recorder. I think it's more useful for recording (voice recorder). It comes with only 32 MB RAM by default, so recording your voice in mp3 format allows for quite a bit of voice recording. DMP-100 is the model number. I thought that was the best feature of this thing.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Sorry dude, that really isn't cutting edge. Players very similar to this have been out for quite a while. Cutting edge is a lot more storage space than that with many new features. Hard disk based players especially.

"Cutting edge" isn't an objective term. For you, maybe it's a big hard drive-based system. For me, it's good sound in a *very* small package -- I don't listen to 12 hours of music at a time.

To be clear (*Sigh* I can't believe I've had to say this three times LOL), I'm not saying that this is the best thing since sliced bread. Heck, I think MP3 is far inferior to MD for my uses. However, this unit has features and sound that were unavailable IN THIS SIZE before -- that is what makes it innovative. And it's not that expensive as far as MP3 players go ($149).

 

[albau]

So what? For more than 1 year already I have Rave mp:2200 player that came with 64MB builtin (plus I bought for $30 64MB SM card). It's also almost same small, has recorder, USB and on top of that pretty usable FM radio with presets.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

It's also almost same small

The Rave mp 2200 is 2.26"(wide) x 3.29"(tall) x.68" (thick) = 5.1 cu.in.

The unit I'm talking about is about 1.5" x 1" by .5" = 1.1 cu.in.

The Rave is 5 times the size! Geesh, I thought *someone* would be excited by the smallest MP3 player in the world, especially since it includes decent sound and recording capability. But everyone seems to want to just trash on it

 

[Neruda]

MacDEF, I think I'm the only person that figured out what you were saying! It's the size you're talking about, all that stuff is impressive because of the size of the player. Oh well, maybe if you repeat yourself three or four more times.

 

[coolvij]

i get it - i usually agree with you, macDEF. just, i don't need to say that every time, do i?

 

[ian]

Yeah its small, but so what? It fits in your pocket just as well as the Rave:mp does.

 

[fiddler]

Quote:

Yeah its small, but so what?

So what? It's TINY! MINISCULE! Pretty cool stuff if you ask me.. Stop it with the cynicism people!

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

MacDEF, I think I'm the only person that figured out what you were saying! It's the size you're talking about, all that stuff is impressive because of the size of the player. Oh well, maybe if you repeat yourself three or four more times.

LOL! Thanks, Neruda (and cool and fid, too)

At least someone thought it was cool...

 

[ponzio]

I like the Panasonic SV-SD75 (1.938 in x 0.563 in x 1.875 in).
I can fit it in my mouth.