Mp3 CD Players - just around the corner
Mar 01 '00 (Updated Mar 04 '00)
The question of should I purchase an mp3 player is simple. If you have a computer with mp3s on it, then you should buy one. If you do not have a computer with mp3s on it, then the answer is no. The real question is when should I purchase one?
What We Have Today
It seems as though most of the people on epinions advocate for the purchase of mp3 players. They give examples like the players are small, they do not skip, the transfer of data from the computer is simple, and songs are readily available. And I agree, these little machines are amazing and they do almost everything the companies say they do. My biggest problem is the high costs of flash memory. Meg for meg flash memory costs somewhere around 2000 times the cost of a CD. What does this mean? It means that if you could put mp3s on a CD and play it in a portable machine, you could have hours upon hours of music.
Currently, I have numerous CD-ROMs filled with mp3’s (mp3 CDs). I took the time to transfer a large part of my 150 CD collection to mp3 so that I could listen to my favorite music without fishing for the correct CD. Unfortunately, these CDs do not play in my portable Panasonic player, only my computer . . . until now . . .
Non-Computer Mp3 Playing Devices
A readily available non-computer device that plays CDs filled with hundreds (actually about 150-175) of mp3s is the Apex DVD player. Apex? What company is that? I asked myself the same question, but from the 4 reviews I have read on epinions and the buzz around the net, the Circuit City DVD/MP3/VCD/ etc Apex player is quite a good buy. Another player, the MP3-ROM, of Macpower, also plays CDs filled with mp3s.
My biggest complaint of these two devices is the size. The Apex DVD player looks like a normal home DVD player. And the MP3-ROM looks about as big as a good-sized dictionary. (about 7” x 10” x 4” by my visual estimates). Additionally Aiwa has a car deck called the CDC-MP3 Car CD/MP3-CD player. These three players are NOT close substitutes for portable mp3 players.
Portable MP3 Playing Devices
The close substitutes for the Diamond Rio, the RCA Lyra, and the Creative Labs Nomad are the mp3 cd players that are just around the technology corner. So far, Thompson Multimedia, the parent company of RCA has announced that they plan to put a device on the market that plays mp3 CDs. It should list for about $200 and will arrive this summer. Other devices supposedly available February 1st (it’s March 1st already) are the MamboX P300 MP3 Portable CD Player and the D'Music Portable Music Player.
I would first like to clarify that I have never actually seen any of these, only pictures. And please do not leave comments analogizing these devices to vaporware. I believe RCA is a respectable company and if they say the are going to make a product that does something, I believe it will. How well made this future product is, I can not say. Furthermore, I respect anyone who has postponed purchasing a DVD player, until after the Playstation 2 comes out. (I hope you get my drift) (I-jam also has plans for a mp3 cd player)
My Thoughts on MP3 CD Players
Will these new mp3 cd players skip? Yes and No. I can play my mp3 CDs on my computer, eject the disk, and still have the song running. If perhaps, some type of internal memory is implemented on these new devices then, they should have skip protection near that of current mp3 players.
They will also be larger than the current mp3 players, from what I have seen, they look exactly like normal CD players, except they have a screen in the front to show the song name and track. Additionally, a user will need a CD-writer on their computer to make the CDs play in the device. As anyone can see, the costs add-up to more. $200 for the mp3 CD player + $100 for a cheap CD-writer, and $1 for a blank CD. Conversely a Rio can be found for about $100. (I have seen some as low as $50 after rebate) Add another $100 for extra flash memory and its still cheaper. But the Rio, and other similar devices, will not have as many minutes of music stored.
Clarification
Moreover, I would like to clarify that I am NOT a person who just says everything will become obsolete, so do not buy. Although I agree with the statement that most electronic goods will eventually become obsolete, I believe people should still purchase electronics. The trick is to NOT purchase goods just before they become obsolete. (sort of like investing in a typewriter company 8 years ago) So are devices like the Diamond Rio just about to become obsolete? I do not know. But I do know that there is something new around the corner in portable mp3 playing, that people in the market for an mp3 player should know about.
--SirMontego, look for me on Battle.net
Selected Web-Sites
http://www.e-town.com/news/article.jhtml?articleID=1943
http://www.etown.com/categories/product_profile. jhtml?bodyinclude=product_review&productID=4154
http://www.macpower.com.tw/MP3/MP3.htm
http://www.zg169.net/~vsco/mpcd.html
http://www.mp3car.com/pine.html
http://www.mp3car.com/mambox.html
Related Information:
Coming soon is the ROME MP3 player that functions as a converter from flash memory to cassette (it looks and functions as a cassette). The rewind and fast forward will function as track up and down
There is also the Nomad Jukebox which looks portable and holds a mind boggling 6 Gb of music.
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SirMontego
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