I finally got a decent portable music mplayer!
Kyler Laird
and I've been waiting for a worthwhile portable player ever since.
I tried an early HD-based player that sucked batteries and in
general.
http://www.genica.com/MP3products/Mp3-roopaq.htm
I really wanted a CompactFlash version and did get one but it was
amazingly bad.
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=hr4cl-nc1.ln1%40news.lairds.org
I've only used it a couple times.
So...I've been reluctant to get another one but yesterday I was
blowing a chunk of Discover CashBack at Sharper Image and decided
to give the NHJ Limited V@MP iIOPS-F325 a try. I took my computer
with me and when I plugged it into my machine (with its built-in
standard USB plug) it appeared as a standard USB storage device!
I could easily mount its FAT16 filesystem. I also loved that it
has a lithium battery that charges from the USB interface. Even
though it doesn't use CompactFlash, it was too cool to pass.
Once I got it home, I became even more enamored with this cute
little device. It's small but has a great display and easily-
used interface. The FM tuner works well. The built-in microphone
does a great job and recordings are saved as MP3 files. The
manual mentions Linux compatibility! But the kicker...it plays
OGG files! Woo hoo!
The only problem I have with this device is that its 256MB of
memory is minimally useful. I can barely squeeze four CDs on
there. Today I'm going to be flying with my wife for over three
hours. That's almost enough music to cover the flights; it
certainly doesn't give me much selection. I'll probably end up
trying the FM tuner to get some variety.
My plan is to set up a USB jack on my computer rack so that I
can simply plug the V@MP into it whenever I want a new batch of
music. As soon as the device is inserted, all of the recordings
will be downloaded, and new music will be uploaded. Because it
also charges the battery, this should work well. If it does, my
wife will get one too.
The real solution however is to get more storage space. It
looks like that's coming.
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/iopsf300_1_gb_flash_music_player.php
1GB should do the job for awhile. I'll probably want another
way of charging it though. I might need to rig a 12VDC to USB
adapter. It seems like I've seen such a thing already.
It's nice to not be whining about music players for a change...
--kyler
mjt
> The only problem I have with this device is that its 256MB of
> memory is minimally useful. I can barely squeeze four CDs on
> there. Today I'm going to be flying with my wife for over three
> hours. That's almost enough music to cover the flights; it
> certainly doesn't give me much selection.
... hmmmm. "tuning" out the wife, eh? i thought the
idea is to maintain a conversation with the S.O. during
those extended flights :))
on the player front, i had a sony player that was the
size of a BIC lighter and used sony stick for storage.
that player was GREAT - you could put it in your top
shirt pocket and never know it was there! unfortunately,
i had it clipped to a beltloop while riding my bike
(motorcycle) and suddenly, there was no music. i looked
down and it was gone - i did a u-turn to see if i could
find it ... i did, and it was crushed by another vehicle.
the really crushing part is that sony quit making it :((
--
<< http://michaeljtobler.homelinux.com/ >>
"... And remember: if you don't like the news, go out and make
some of your own." - "Scoop" Nisker, KFOG radio reporter
Larry Gagnon
[snip: huge amounts of irrelevant non-Linux posting]
Tell some newsgroup that cares!
Larry Gagnon
Bill Unruh
]The only problem I have with this device is that its 256MB of
]memory is minimally useful. I can barely squeeze four CDs on
]there. Today I'm going to be flying with my wife for over three
]hours. That's almost enough music to cover the flights; it
]certainly doesn't give me much selection. I'll probably end up
]trying the FM tuner to get some variety.
Better not. It is illegal to use a radio on a plane. The IM oscillators
radiate and can interfere with the plane is the claim. Also you will be
flying in and out of any FM station's range pretty frequently.
Bill Unruh
]On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 15:09:02 +0000, Kyler Laird wrote:
][snip: huge amounts of irrelevant non-Linux posting]
]Tell some newsgroup that cares!
The fact that it is ogg compatible is of some interest to Linux newsgroups.
Kyler Laird
what code I've been hacking my way through lately...]
mjt <mjtobler@removethis_mail.ru> writes:
>> The only problem I have with this device is that its 256MB of
>> memory is minimally useful. I can barely squeeze four CDs on
>> there. Today I'm going to be flying with my wife for over three
>> hours. That's almost enough music to cover the flights; it
>> certainly doesn't give me much selection.
>... hmmmm. "tuning" out the wife, eh?
No, more like "placating."
>i thought the
>idea is to maintain a conversation with the S.O. during
>those extended flights :))
It is. She likes music so I've been trying to add some to the system.
I put two CDs of hers and two of mine in the player. We talk through
it and sing along sometimes. (She's the vocalist. I'm not.)
>on the player front, i had a sony player that was the
>size of a BIC lighter and used sony stick for storage.
>that player was GREAT - you could put it in your top
>shirt pocket and never know it was there!
I had a Sony FM player that was that size (from...junior high?!) -
in fact, it's in the plane now. I've been using it every so often
when I'm on my own even though it's only good for a few songs at a
time. The size is definitely handy and I thought of it when I got
this new player.
BTW, I only used the new player for a couple hours today but the
battery is still on "full". Way cool. It's good to see that makers
of decent hardware are thinking of us.
--kyler
mjt
> BTW, I only used the new player for a couple hours today but the
> battery is still on "full". Way cool. It's good to see that makers
> of decent hardware are thinking of us.
... i just might drop in at sharper-image and check it out!
thanks for the feedback.
--
<< http://michaeljtobler.homelinux.com/ >>
Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes
a wise person to be able to sell it.