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the H10 from a 4GB capacity to 6GB in the near future. Moves like this are pretty much a no brainer these days, as the iPod Mini and Creative Zen Micro have already made the jump

iRiver H10 Gets a 6GB Boost

the H10 from a 4GB capacity to 6GB in the near future. Moves like this are pretty much a no brainer these days, as the iPod Mini and Creative Zen Micro have already made the jump

iRiver H10 Gets a 6GB Boost

the H10 from a 4GB capacity to 6GB in the near future. Moves like this are pretty much a no brainer these days, as the iPod Mini and Creative Zen Micro have already made the jump

iRiver H10 Gets a 6GB Boost

MP3 PLAYER VS PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER

A MP3 Player is a portable digital device that plays and stores music and audio books.  A Portable Media Player (PMP) plays and stores audio and video. The name MP3 Player is used as a generic term to describe all portable devices.  Although PMPs can play audio not all MP3 Players can play video.  For example, the iPod Shuffle, Creative Labs Zen Stone and SanDisk Sansa Clip are MP3 Players and do not have the capability to play video. 

BRANDS

For those of you who were not aware, Apple Ipod is not the only brand of MP3 Players on the market.  There are several other brands of MP3 Players for you to choose depending on your needs and most importantly, your budget.  They are the Archos, Coby, Cowon, Creative Labs, iRiver, Philips, Samsung, SanDisk, Sony, Toshiba and Zune (Microsoft).   

 TYPE

MP3 Players are classified according to how they store digital data.  The most common are HARD DRIVE BASED PLAYERSand FLASH MEMORY BASED PLAYERS.  The Hard Drive Based MP3 Players have the highest capacity and are larger and heavier than the Flash Memory Based MP3 Players.  An example of a HARD DRIVE BASED PLAYER would be the iPod Classic 80 GB, iPod Classic 120 GB, iPod Classic 160 GB, Zune 120 GB, the Archos 80 GB 605 Wi-Fi PMP, Archos 160 GB 605 Wi-Fi PMP and the Creative Labs Zen Vision:M 30 GB MP3 and Video Player.  A drawback to the HARD DRIVE BASED PLAYERS is that it has moving parts that can easily malfunction if it is exposed to high temperatures or dropped.

The Flash Memory Based MP3 Players are light weight and smaller than the Hard Drive Based MP3 Players.  This type of MP3 Player has no moving parts and will have longer audio playback with a storage capacity ranging from 120 to 8000 songs. An example of Flash Memory Based MP3 Players is the Apple iPod Touch, Apple iPod Nano or Creative Labs Zen PMP.  A drawback of the Flash Memory Based MP3 Player is that it is more expensive than the Hard Drive Based Players even if the storage capacity is less.

CHOOSING A MP3 PLAYER OR PMP

            Now that you’re armed with the basic information you have to determine which type is best for you.  Your personal needs and budget will help you to narrow down your choice. 

Decide the type.  – Hard Drive vs Flash Memory.  When deciding the type keep in mind what you’re using it for. For example, if you’re going to use it while jogging, then the hard drive based player will not be a good choice because of the size, weight and high chance it will malfunction if it’s dropped.

Decide the storage capacity.  – When deciding the storage capacity also keep in mind whether you also want to play video and audio (PMP) or just audio (MP3 Player).  MP3 Players can come in various storage capacities which can vary by brand.  The iRiver brands features a 20 GB MP3 Player. The Archos has a PMP that has 60 GB capacity.  Whether you’re looking for 1 GB to 160 GB there is a brand and model to suit your needs. 

Decide the features. – Determining features is based on personal preference.  Some MP3 Players/PMP have several features that may include voice recorders, calendar syncing, FM radio, wireless capability, photo storage or recording TV like a DVR player.  For these particular features you may want to consider the Archos brand of PMPs.  Another popular feature is color. If you’re into pink then you can get a pink mp3 player.  Your options are endless it just depends on your personal needs and how much you’re willing to spend.   

Decide how much you’re willing to spend. –  The more features you desire the more you’ll spend on a MP3 Player.  If you’re just looking to play music and you’re not concerned about the fancy features then you can find a MP3 player for under $50.  For example, the SanDisk Sansa m250 2GB can be purchased for less that $35.  If you’re looking for at least 4GB then iPod Nano or Creative Labs Zen Mozaic would be a good choice. Or, if price isn’t a concern and you want the “Cadillac” MP3 Player with all the bells and whistles then consider the Archos 705 Wi-Fi PMP 160 GB.  

After considering the type, capacity, features and your budget check out each of the above mentioned brands to compare features and price.  Also, if you’re on a tight budget and still want fun features consider a refurbished MP3 Player.

I can’t stand wholesale Mp3 players. You walk into the park and everybody looks like aliens with their earbuds and empty demeanors. Or traveling on the bus, you are next to a person wearing an IPod or some other type of wholesale Mp3 players and you can really OVERHEAR what they are listening to! Rap pouring into their eardrums and, on the way, assaulting me! Have they never heard of tinnitus, or ear damage, that you can get from excessively loud noises? It is a permanent problem and here they are, young people and seemingly ignorant of the injury they are inflicting upon themselves. And the irritation they are raining down on me!

But that is not necessarily the biggest downside. No, the worst is when you try to talk to a person who is committed to tuning in to the diabolical devices that Mp3 player wholesalers market (by the way, have you noticed how cheap they are?). You know what these music lovers do sometimes? They take ONE earphone out, let it droop down to their neck, and then try to talk to you with the other earbud still going! Are you kidding me? Is this just normal multitasking for them? Has no one ever advised them that it is completely uncivil? It is surpassed by the habit of texting simultaneously with talking in person to someone. I suppose the distinction is with the wholesale Mp3 player, you can imagine it is no different from having taped music in the background. But it still makes me crazy!

And the real problem with all of this? It represents social isolation. It is another demonstration of lack of real direct personal communication. When wholesale Mp3 players are in the ears, people are not attuned to their surroundings or the people around them. They are isolated and by themselves, not relating to the sight of snow on the ground or the sound of wind in the trees or the scents on the air. What kind of artistic prose or poetry will the 20-something generation compose, given their scarce knowledge of anything genuine? Maybe it will go like this: “To be or not to be a wholesale MP3 player.”

I just wish they would all get lost. Now pardon me while I listen to my brand new wholesale mP3 player and dial up Bing Crosby!.

What makes Apple iPods likely the best selling wholesale MP3 players available? There are a whole host of reasons why MP3 player wholesalers view this item flying out the doors. The IPod became available in October 2001 and has been hugely popular ever since. Interestingly, it was named for a spaceship feature in the film “2001″ namely the space vehicle Discovery’s Pod door, which the memorable computer so hauntingly refused to open. So what features of this product makes it so suitable for tune and movie buyers alike? We can’t comment on all of all of the advantages, so let’s just take a brief overview.

First, you have an unbelievable bunch of possibilities in IPods when you are looking for and ordering your wholesale Mp3 players. You have many shapes, shades, storage capacity, configurations, and prices. You have to take all of these into account and that, in and of itself, is a big benefit. You are highly likely to find literally everything you want. Don’t worry that the research becomes too convoluted; because Apple is a master at sales, your Mp3 player wholesalers will have or make available simple reference guides so you can comprehend the various choices. Of course, you can also review candid sources like Consumer Reports.

Second, focusing on storage capacity, any version of the IPod can hold each and every tune you ever wanted to play. The Classic, for example, has huge room. How many days do you think it will take you to play the 40,000 songs that the Classic has tucked away in its electronic insides? How about watching the hundreds of hours of video and upwards of 20,000 photographs? You really couldn’t expect more from wholesale MP3 players.

Third, these devices are also relatively simple to work. Sure, wholesale MP3 players true fans may prefer something complicated to download to, but ordinary users want some simple on/off buttons and the ability to locate the music they want. This is easy with the IPod.

Fourth, the IPod has such variety that if you want to watch movies instead of listen to tunes, you can find an IPod that will let you do both. You can also save videos and keep track of your workouts on some models.

In the end, wholesale MP3 players have evolved into all purpose gadgets; some say they will soon have cell phone capability and once that occurs, they may be the sole item you need to have at all.

I have had the Creative Zen vision M for more than 3 years and absolutely used that piece of gadget more than any other device myself being a music addict. With the free space nearing 0 on my creative (had a 30 gb version), the announcement of the 64Gb version of ipod touch couldn’t have had come at a better time.
People keep telling about apple not including a camera. I am not bothered. If the amount of space is doubled and the speed is doubled keeping the price same then i cant find a reason not to be happy about.
The headphone included sure does have a microphone for voice control but i myself dont see myself using that piece of earbud. I am using the ipod with my Klipsch Image X10 and sure i am getting absolutely the best music. For people who complain about the quality of music output i would just say that get rid of the default earbud and get a good one ( I have already recommended one).

What i love about moving on to the ipod is the apps. They say there are 75000 apps. Nice chance that i would atleast find 75 that i would love(have already found more than 20).
Moving on to the games. Sure they arent as huge or i would say complex as the ones you would find in PSP but say what i love playing games without having to stress out my nerves. The graphics are good and the interface is the best point about it.

Genius is good but i see myself using the Pandora app more to discover new music.

To conclude I would say that if you are looking for a pocket PC go for this. If you are going for a good MP3 player still go for this and you will turn up liking (or even addicted) the other features as well.

My inaugural post, a lengthy history (personal and generally) of MP3 players, was meant to lay the foundation for this post.  This shorter post.

You’re welcome.

MP3 player.  Doesn’t just roll off the tongue, does it?  And isn’t it funny how the word “iPod” has become synonymous with MP3 playing devices?  The same way a band-aid is both a bandage and a brand name.  The power of success, eh?  But what exactly does MP3 mean in the first place and is it important?  Well, let’s take a look!

MP3 is actually a shortened version of something else, which also doesn’t roll off the tongue:  MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3.  And we can make this even longer by turning MPEG into Moving Pictures Experts Group.  You can begin to see why “MP3″ took off.

MP3 is a codec, which is a piece of software that compresses and then decompresses (the “co” and “dec” of codec) data.  In this particular instance we are discussing the compression and decompression of data related to a file of music; a song.  MP3 is just one of many codecs that exist in the consumer electronics field as related to digital audio.  Some are open source and some are proprietary.  Some are lossless and some are lossy.  Isn’t this fun?  Even more weird terms to wrap our heads around, but I imagine if you are here, at this blog, you probably already know something about these terms and as such I won’t bother to explain what you already know (and if you don’t know you will find wikipedia and google to be your best friend).

What I really want to get to in this blog is what I call codec snobbery.  The notion that one codec is superior to another and that to use any other codec is simply a waste of time and shows you to be a fool who doesn’t understand anything about digitizing music.

Much is written about the various codecs in the market place and why one is better…no….superior to the others.  There are those who swear by open source codecs like Ogg Vorbis and FLAC.  Why be roped into someone’s proprietary mess when you can be open source?  Well, because the vast majority of MP3 players don’t support either Ogg Vorbis or FLAC…and neither do the mainstream digital audio software players (think iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc.)

Are there advantages to going open source?  Sure.  It’s free.  But last time I checked I’m not paying anything to download and install Windows Media Player or iTunes.  There is no cost to me to do such, so I’m not really certain I understand how these free and open source codecs are of some great advantage.  I mean, if they sounded notably better than the more well-known codecs (AAC as used by iTunes, WMA as used by Windows Media Player) then one might be able to make a better argument, but they don’t really sound any better than any other codec in the great scheme of things.

Of course, there are those who swear by AAC, WMA and MP3, which is fine as well.  But I think these folks are mostly steered into their given codec not by some allegiance to the codec itself, but by the player they purchase.  The iPod.  The Walkman.  The Creative Labs.  The Archos.  They encode their CDs in whatever codec their player will play and their software will recognize.  It really is that simple.  As a matter-of-fact, I think it would not be unreasonable to assume that better than 80% of all MP3 player owners wouldn’t even know what is a codec, much less at what bit rate they are encoding their music on their computer.

Yet there are experts and writers out there who want to convince us that FLAC is the only way to go or that WMA VBR (Variable Bit Rate) at a bit rate setting greater than 256 is the bees knees.  But short of using complicated and precise measuring devices to actually “listen” to music encoded by these various codecs at various bit rates and alternating between Constant Bit Rate (CBR) and VBR there is no way to know which sounds best.  And even then I would swear that blind listening tests using tens of thousands of listeners would be the only way to fully understand and appreciate which codec at what bit rate is the best.  And I think it’s pretty obvious this isn’t going to happen.

So what does one do?

For many folks they do nothing.  They go out and purchase the MP3 player they want.  They go home and use the software they like best that will work with their given purchase.  They probably don’t know how to change the bit rate and have never heard of VBR or CBR.  And they probably couldn’t care less.  It makes the whole issue of which is the best codec a horribly moot point.

I mean..think about it.  The iPod, while clearly the run away success of MP3 players, isn’t the best sounding MP3 player on the market.  Never has been.  Will probably never be either.  But that hasn’t hurt its sales in the slightest, has it?  Its success was built upon either criteria.  In other words it sounds good enough.

The average consumer (and by “average” I mean something like 99%) doesn’t care or probably even know about codecs.  They buy the MP3 playing device they want and they want it because it looks cool.  Or is popular and will impart popularity upon them.  Or something.  But it is something other than codec support.

So when the experts tell us we need to be concerned about such matters because it might make an infinitesimal difference in the quality of the sound of the music, I think they should sod off.  Unless the sound quality is noticeably better and can be had without any extra work on my part (having to find special software being the big one), then I don’t want to hear about it.  I’ll stick to WMA or AAC and be happy that I can quickly and easily create music for on the go.

This month TaylorSpearsRecommends brings you an eclectic collection of holiday favorites (and some not so holiday-ish favorites too!). On the list is Kermit Ruffins, Count Basie, Harry Connick, Jr., Jeremy Davenport, Louis Armstrong, Wynton Marsalis, Sting, Sugarland, Carrie Underwood & Los Lonely Boys.

I’ll guide you the right gift for everyone on your list! There’s some great deals out there in November, so don’t delay, start your gift buying today!

These square (4 3/4″ x 4 3/4″) micro fiber cleaning cloths are not just for eye glasses. Environmentally safe. No need to use cleanser. Protect and clean: cell phones, MP3 players, monitors, cameras, eyeglasses, CD’s,  watches and jewelry.

I’m vastly entertained by the senselessness of that title, partly, I think, because I’m more than a little tired.

For my birthday, the beloved got me a new mp3 player, a 4GB Sansa Clip+ in blue, my favorite color. All it really does is play music, which is a good thing, because that’s what I want it to do. I don’t need or want all the other bells and whistles (I’m looking at you, Apple), and I certainly don’t want to pay for them, especially when the sound quality isn’t as good (at least to my ears).

One of the things the Clip+ has is a radio receiver that’s good enough for my purposes. I’ve been listening to the radio on the bus the last couple of nights, and over the course of the bus ride home, I’ve heard songs I thought I knew really well, things like R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.”

It’s like hearing completely different songs. There’s all kinds of stuff going on that I didn’t hear before with my sad little speakers and headphones, a whole layer of lusciousness I missed out on. There was another song tonight that sounded so different that I thought, “Is this a remake?”

I’m not sure what this has to do with anything — I just think it’s cool.

Heard of a Swiss Army Knife that features a 2″ blade, mini scissors, and nail file with a nail cleaner? Off course you have! Heard of a Swiss Army Knife with a MP3 Player with LCD display, 1 GB memory capacity, FM radio, 15 preset stations and 6 equalizer modes? We don’t think so… the Swiss Beat MP3 Army Knife includes all the above and is one more USB based device that is simple plug-n-play. Finally aSwiss Army Knife that you really use often! The Swiss Beat MP3 Army Knife is available for a price of $150. [more]

Many of my students are, at times, of the impression that I deliberately try to act against their own sense of logic.  Now, to be fair, there is probably some truth to that idea, though not in the manner they identify.

One example would be my desire for a fairly quiet learning environment.   Keep in mind that I run a music program.  A rock music program.  But here’s the thing: the issue is not so much the “quiet,” it’s the need to be able to accurately hear everything.

This has been one of the more significant learning experiences for me in developing and facilitating the CMAS (Contemporary Music and Sound) program.  I guess I’ve been doing so much of this kind of work for so long that the notion of being able to really hear the details seemed kinda self-evident to me.  Apparently not.

On the other hand, it’s not really the students’ fault. The proliferation of iPods and mp3 players (I have a treasured iPod myself) has been a really good thing in many ways, except perhaps for one:  they create an artificial sense of auditory isolation.  I say artificial because the fact is that by listening almost exclusively in headphones a person simply does not hear the elements of the recording accurately. Not even close.  It’s just the physics of it. (See my comments about crossfeeding for more on this and how to get around the problem.)

So they have learned to hear very inaccurately, and this inaccuracy has created a false sense of auditory reality when they work.  The toughest lesson I find for even my more advanced level students is the process of replacing their past auditory expectations with new, more accurate, instincts.  It takes a while, but it certainly can be done; and it’s very cool when one of them takes a step forward on it, but it definitely takes some pretty serious patience to say nothing of deliberate, work on their part.

Like everything else though it is a process.  One I suppose I have become somewhat hypersensitive to.  I love my iPod but actually use it almost exclusively as part of my car audio system – I rarely use it with headphones.  In fact, now that I am so obsessed with crossfeeding, I am not certain I could use it with headphones and not go a bit nuts without some kind of CF workaround – gotta look into that I suppose.

Anyway, back to my students and my love of messing with their logic – it’s really not about the silence, it’s about being able to hear.  On the other hand, I always know when a student really has learned the key elements of the program: when they are able to make the distinction freely on their own.  Who knows, maybe in this case, logic is over-rated.

A pocket sized MP3 player can be a really good way to pass time in a constructive way. The small wonderful gadget is a must have for everyone, be it a kid, some one young or a man or woman in his or her old age.

There are a number of ways to buy a MP3 player. One can easily go into a store and buy a MP3 player model of his or her choice. Talking of the models, the most economical and cost effective MP3 player models which offer the best value for money while offering the same features and styles as some of the more expansive MP3 player models. Buying these MP3 models makes much more sense, than buying these expansive ones.

These MP3 player models are mostly made from the cheap Chinese technology that is easily affordable, hence the really low prices. These models are available in variety of storage capacities, 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB and 16 GB respectively.

These MP3 player models can easily be bought from a website that offers Chinese mobile phones and MP3 players.

No sé si habrá sido por Yellow Submarine o por el Tractor amarillo, pero lo cierto es que habia una época en que toda la música portátil era amarilla: el Walkman de Sony que más de veía era amarillo con gris y los que preferían algo más “sport” recurrían a la pequeña radio GE que venía con una correa para llevarla en el brazo y todo. La correa te hacía un torniquete que ponía el brazo en riesgo de mutilación, pero esa es otra historia.

Parecía que se partía el mundo en dos de la novedad cuando el walkman de casete se reemplazó por el discman y la gente iba por ahí con un aparato casi tan grande como un tocadiscos colgado del cinturón o apoyado en la mano en forma horizontal para que no salte cada 30 segundos (así saltaba
solo cada 2 minutos). El discman era grandote, para que lea los CD´s había que frotarlo como la lámpara de un genio además de rezarle en 40 idiomas y la pila le duraba 4 temas: todavía no entiendo a quien se le ocurrió la brillante idea.

Con los reproductores de mp3, todo cambió. Los discman trataron de hacerle fuerza incorporando la posbilidad de leer cd’s con archivos comprimidos en este formato, pero duró poco. Los players evolucionaron de los primitivos 128 mb con una pila que se agotaba a la mitad del segundo tema a bichos de 160 gb, batería para una semana y pantalla touch que tenemos hoy en día.

Pero los que no evolucionaro tanto son sus usuarios, por eso todavía se pueden ver todo tipo de aparatos.

Pero que canchero

Inmediatamente después salieron equipos de todas las marcas que vieron que el negocio empezaba a dar sus frutos y querían llevarse una porción. Costaban bastante más que los genéricos, pero eran la misma cagada. Todavía se puede ver por la calle a gente que tiene reproductores Samsung Yepp (no entiendo porqué la gente sigue comprando cosas Samsung, si a excepción de los monitores todo lo que hacen es malo), Sandisk Sansa (muchachos, Sandisk hace memorias pero de audio no sabe nada), los Philips Gogear (el giga más caro del mercado y un software que hace de la experiencia de pasar música desde la computadora, algo tortuoso) o Sony Walkman en cualquiera de sus variantes (suenan bárbaro, pero ¿vale la pena el precio por funciones que nadie necesita como “contador de pasos”?).
Esta gente es la misma que solo compra pilcha de marca (jamás en La Salada) y no la eligen por cómo les queda sino por qué tan grande se ve el logo en el pecho: Si es de Lacoste pero no se le ve el cocodrilo, ni la compran. Ni les importa si la marca que están comprando tiene alguna experiencia en el producto pero se les infla el pecho de decir “compré un reproductor marca Pirulo“. ¿Y cómo anda? “Ah, no sé, porque tengo que instalar un soft para pasarle música que necesita una máquina con 3 gb de ram y USB 2.0 pero yo no tengo, así que por ahora no sé como suena“. Claro que esto último no impide que lo lleven colgando y bien a la vista.
Hay otros que quieren tener algo de marca pero no les alcanza y en vez de comprarse algo bueno pero genérico, prefieren comprarse un simil-ipod que hasta sale más caro y suena peor. Vendría a ser la versión en mp3 de comprarse una chomba Polo a un vendedor ambulante que además vende masajeadores, anteojos de sol y adaptadores para el enchufe.

En este subgrupo de marqueros podemos encontrar a unas pocas personas (2 ó 3, máximo) que compraron alguna versión del Zune de Microsoft. Y si hay gente que tiene la camiseta tan pero tan puesta que hasta usó el Windows Vista… ¿cómo no iban a comprar su reproductor?

El podio de los usuarios de reproductores son los que tienen un iPod para el auto, otro iPod para correr, un iPod para conectar al equipo de audio hogareño y usan un iPod distinto para llevarse cuando van de vacaciones. Por lo general ni saben usar el iTunes y terminan teniendo la misma música en todos lados, pero yo me imagino que hacen esto porque están convencidos que un día los va a llamar el mismísimo Steve Jobs a agradecerles lo bien que le hacen a la compañía. Sino, son unos giles.

Siempre es lo mismo: radio portátil, walkman, minidisc, discman o mp3, el mundo está lleno de aparatos.

What will tomorrow bring for MP3 players and other portable media players? No doubt digital players have enjoyed tremendous success to date. They’ve quickly replaced portable CD players and regular radios as the perfect traveling companions. But will MP3 players continue to sell or will they be replaced just as quickly by new technology? Consider 5 possible trends of the future.

1. The MP3 Player Market Will Grow A technology research firm by the name of DC recently released a market prediction that the MP3 player market will grow steadily until 2009, perhaps by improving sales some 4 times over%. Flash player technology is also expected to advance and grow in total gigabyte storing capacity.

2. Units Will Grow More User Friendly And Energy Efficient Older models, not to mention small and simplistic devices, will be discontinued, though many have been axed already. The latest design to beat is a full-featured MP3 player with video capabilities that’s as small as a regular MP3 player (IPOD anyone?). (Ideal size, smaller than a common PC mouse) Large bulky systems are out and so are internal iPod batteries that you can’t replace without professional help.

3. Wireless Technology Digital players now face a serious threat from cell phones provider, which are now incorporating MP3 playback into their products. Therefore, in order to keep up with the competition, expect many MP3 players to soon utilize wireless technology and feature a Wi-Fi connection for quick and easy Internet downloads.

4. Portable Media Players MP3 Players are also being scrutinized for value when compared to similarly priced products such as Pocket PCs, Ultra Mobile PCs and even portable game consoles. The Nintendo DS and Sony PSP use wireless technology to provide users with more multimedia entertainment beyond games, including DVD and MP3 playback. Pocket PCs cannot only play MP3 files; they can also open word processors and spreadsheets, check email and browse the web. In order not to be replaced by more efficient and similarly priced gadgets, MP3 players will have to truly become media players, that is, incorporate image viewing, audio and video recording, and more into their systems.

5. Prices Will Drop Going along with that prediction, a realistic belief is that in the coming years multimedia players and especially MP3 players will drastically fall in price. Pocket PCs and Ultra Mobile PCs are expected to be reduced as technology improves and the market changes. People certainly won’t mind buying a media playing device with limited features, but they won’t want to pay the same price for it that they would a complete portable PC for $400.00 to $500.00. MP3 player manufacturers like Creative Zen, iRiver, Dell Hewlett Packard and Apple iPod are certainly banking on the present, namely that MP3 players are relatively novel. Whether or not they bank on the future, however, remains to be seen.

What will tomorrow bring for MP3 players and other portable media players? No doubt digital players have enjoyed tremendous success to date. They’ve quickly replaced portable CD players and regular radios as the perfect traveling companions. But will MP3 players continue to sell or will they be replaced just as quickly by new technology? Consider 5 possible trends of the future.

1. The MP3 Player Market Will Grow A technology research firm by the name of DC recently released a market prediction that the MP3 player market will grow steadily until 2009, perhaps by improving sales some 4 times over%. Flash player technology is also expected to advance and grow in total gigabyte storing capacity.

2. Units Will Grow More User Friendly And Energy Efficient Older models, not to mention small and simplistic devices, will be discontinued, though many have been axed already. The latest design to beat is a full-featured MP3 player with video capabilities that’s as small as a regular MP3 player (IPOD anyone?). (Ideal size, smaller than a common PC mouse) Large bulky systems are out and so are internal iPod batteries that you can’t replace without professional help.

3. Wireless Technology Digital players now face a serious threat from cell phones provider, which are now incorporating MP3 playback into their products. Therefore, in order to keep up with the competition, expect many MP3 players to soon utilize wireless technology and feature a Wi-Fi connection for quick and easy Internet downloads.

4. Portable Media Players MP3 Players are also being scrutinized for value when compared to similarly priced products such as Pocket PCs, Ultra Mobile PCs and even portable game consoles. The Nintendo DS and Sony PSP use wireless technology to provide users with more multimedia entertainment beyond games, including DVD and MP3 playback. Pocket PCs cannot only play MP3 files; they can also open word processors and spreadsheets, check email and browse the web. In order not to be replaced by more efficient and similarly priced gadgets, MP3 players will have to truly become media players, that is, incorporate image viewing, audio and video recording, and more into their systems.

5. Prices Will Drop Going along with that prediction, a realistic belief is that in the coming years multimedia players and especially MP3 players will drastically fall in price. Pocket PCs and Ultra Mobile PCs are expected to be reduced as technology improves and the market changes. People certainly won’t mind buying a media playing device with limited features, but they won’t want to pay the same price for it that they would a complete portable PC for $400.00 to $500.00. MP3 player manufacturers like Creative Zen, iRiver, Dell Hewlett Packard and Apple iPod are certainly banking on the present, namely that MP3 players are relatively novel. Whether or not they bank on the future, however, remains to be seen.

Back in….2005? 2006? I bought my first MP3 player on a whim while out one of my and and my DZ chapter sister Jenny’s shopping sprees on Southridge.  Jenny had an iPod and loved it, and I thought I’d like one too.  At a weak moment in Target, I came home with Derek.  Derek was the name of a small, business card-size mp3 player, made by Memorex.  It was I think a 2 gig, and only carried about 200 songs on it.  I would have gotten an iPod at the time, but it was $50 more than Derek, and I wasn’t–and still not–fond of iTunes. 

Derek lasted me through Tech, DC trips, Cincinatti trips, various Amtrak trips home, and was a constant friend while riding the KRT while in East Bank.  Sadly, Derek died soon after I moved home in August.  I’ve been pretty distraught without him to block out all the slightly strange people who like to mutter under their breaths at me while riding the TTA. 

I’m very impressed with Derek.  He was originally $100 (you can now get a similar model for like $30ish), and lasted me 3-4 years.  I’ve been eyeing several players (including an iPod, despite my iTunes hate) for about two months, but as a late birthday present from my parents, I got Satine.

Satine is a 4 gig (4gig? what’s the grammar on that?) Sony Walkman.  She’s red and very shiny.  She’s currently holding around 500 songs with a gig left to go, so I’m happy.  It supposedly plays video, but seriously, her screen is so damn tiny I’d permananetly damage my eyesight trying to watch something.  My biggest beef with mp3 players is that they all come with earsbuds, none of which fit my ears and are rather painful.  I had to shell out a criminal $20 at Wal-Mart to replace them.

Next item on the agenda: Jamie Oliver, Naked Chef.  While I do enjoy food and nudity (just not together…), I really don’t want him in Huntington.  If you haven’t heard, Huntington about a year ago was proclaimed the “fattest city in America.”  It no longer has that title, but Mr. Nakey Nakey apparently doesn’t care about that anymore.  He has since opened a kitchen on 4th Ave., right across from Pullman Square, and has been filming and holding cooking classes.  I really do appreciate his concern for the well-being of Huntington, but I don’t think he really understands the socioeconomics behind the obesity in Appalachia.  Mostly, when people buy a majority of their of foodstamps, they’re going to buy what they can in larger quanities and that’s going to last the month, not buy a handful of items that are going to go bad in about a week.  Since his studio is located near Pullman, where I like to hang out, if I see cameras pointed in my general direction I flip them off.