[Buddha]

Taken from mp3.com message board.....


"big photograph
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/do...0617/gigab.jpg
Japanese Press Releases
http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press...6/pr_j1701.htm
Name : GIGABEAT
Support File Type : MP3(16kbps~320kbps,22.05kHz~48kHz),WMA,WAV
HDD : 5GB(MobileDisc)
INTERFACE : USB 2.0(MAX 480Mbps)
DISPALY : 160 x 120dot LCD with a back light
Language : Japanese,English,French,Spanish,German
Power Supply : Advanced LithiumIon Battery
PLAYING TIME : 18Hour (Recharge time 3.5Hour)
Dimension : Approx. 72.5 X 22.3 X 112mm
Weight : Approx. 235g (including MobileDisc)
Price : About 50,000 yen (US$402)
June 22 sale in Japan"


Hmmm looks sweet ... swappable pcmcia HDDs... lightweight... excellent battery life...ill take one.

 

[leon]

Interesting.. the feature set really overlaps with the iPod. You need a (bundled) Toshiba application to transfer the sound files too. This one's street price is estimated to be about 50,000 yen.

I'm kind of nostalgic because I used to own a couple Toshiba (cassette) walkmans. They've come out with MP3/AAC players before but this looks more "threatening" to their rivals

 

[MacDEF]

Nice... the first MP3 player, IMO, that comes close to the iPod in size, style, and functionality. I'm anxious to hear more about it once it's available in the US.

 

[andrzejpw]

This player looks very interesting. . .

Its the ipod without the mac!

 

[Nezer]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF Nice... the first MP3 player, IMO, that comes close to the iPod in size, style, and functionality. I'm anxious to hear more about it once it's available in the US.

Yes, but will it even approach the PJB in *sound*?

 

[Magicthyse]

Quote:

Originally posted by Nezer Yes, but will it even approach the PJB in *sound*?

Well - as you know that's not just in the measure of the output stage alone, but in how the material you're playing back was encoded. Interestingly it plays back uncompressed WAV files as well - so superb quality shouldn't be impossible. However of course most people will use these with 128K MP3 files...

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Nezer Yes, but will it even approach the PJB in *sound*?

Dunno, that's one of the things I'm anxious to hear

The iPod is every bit as good as the PJB, if not better, out of the headphone jack IMO -- so if this Toshiba model (which actually uses the same hard drive as the iPod, BTW) sounds as good as the iPod, that would be quite cool.

The main questions I have are: 1) does it have a real line-out jack? and 2) Does it have a FireWire port? The fact that the drive is swappable is cool if you have a laptop with a Type II PC Card slot, but for the rest of the world, I think it's probably less of a benefit. I still think that FireWire is the way to go -- it's faster than USB, USB2, and PCMCIA, and it can be used to recharge the unit.

I'm still waiting on the "perfect" HD-based MP3 player before I buy one. The iPod almost got me, but I really want a line-out jack

 

[Taphil]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF I still think that FireWire is the way to go -- it's faster than USB, USB2, and PCMCIA, and it can be used to recharge the unit.

Actually, USB2 is 480mbps compared to firewire's 400mbps, so they're practically the same speed. USB also provides power like firewire. Toshiba probably only built USB so it would be compatible with USB1 and since it's made for PC's anyway. Firewire isn't any more advanced than USB2.

 

[leon]

More pictures (click to enlarge) of the Toshiba added to this news page:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/do...17/toshiba.htm

Toshiba hasn't got any kind of output numbers anywhere in their news release. This player accepts:
MP3 : 22.05, 44.1, 48kHz sampling rate, 32-320kbps bitrate (16-64kbps for Mono), Can use VBR
WMA: 22.05 or 44.1kHz sampling rate, 48-192kbps bitrate (32 only for Mono)
WAV: 22.05, 44.1, 48kHz sampling rate, 16-bit

I'm posting all that because the idea of 48kHz WAV probably sounds lovely to some of us (DAT owners?)... does the iPod do this?

PC card slot is listed as a kind of connection alongside USB, seems to imply that we can skip USB and use the slots. I heard there's a faster firewire coming out too, isn't there?

 

[Taphil]

I don't think the iPod does 48kHz. I heard there's a 800mbps firewire coming. But it's useless, because no hard drive can read at 800mbps, not mnay can do 400mbps, and the Toshiba 1.8" drive can't even reach 300mbps.