rumours of "mini" iPod

[atomic]

say that it will be introduced at the Jan. 6 Macworld Expo. this could be sweet for fence-sitters like me who haven't bought an iPod due to its high price. a 4GB model might work nicely.

Thinksecret source

 

[Soundstream]

It might be of interest if by "mini" they mean one that is reduced in physical size. I have never been interested in an iPod due to it's rather large size.

Cheers ... Ian

 

[Syntax Error]

and it comes in stripes!

 

[deep]

Yeah, Toshiba's new microdrive is bound to appear in a bunch of new smaller HD based players

Or is the new ipod going to be based on the Cornice drive? Because there are a bunch of companies out there using that right now...

A 4GB player will be a lot more accessible to people and help Apple keep a strangehold on the market...The Ipod, for all its success is still out of reach for much of the mp3 demographic

I think for my money I will be buying Iriver's next flash based USB 2.0 solution. Someone at head-fi posted their upcoming lineup and it looks awesome.

 

[OTIS]

Originally posted by Soundstream
It might be of interest if by "mini" they mean one that is reduced in physical size. I have never been interested in an iPod due to it's rather large size.

Cheers ... Ian

That's because there is an actual hard drive in there.. probably one similar to laptop drives, which brings up another downfall of the iPod: moving parts -means there is a chance of mechanical failure. And for me, being someone who has lost many hard drives including laptop ones due to nominal physical jarring, I've stayed away from drive based players, especially ones that I myself can't change the hard drive on. Flash MP3 players all the way!

 

[atomic]

it will be smaller in physical size as well, though I haven't seen any specifications yet.

that's why I haven't gotten an mp3 player yet. I like the idea of flash players becuase they're so small, but they have such a limited capacity they're not worth it for me yet.

I'm thinking this new player will fill that niche so I'll be watching out for this.

 

[Syntax Error]

what's the largest capacity flash drive?

 

[Soundstream]

Originally posted by OTIS
That's because there is an actual hard drive in there.. probably one similar to laptop drives, which brings up another downfall of the iPod: moving parts -means there is a chance of mechanical failure. And for me, being someone who has lost many hard drives including laptop ones due to nominal physical jarring, I've stayed away from drive based players, especially ones that I myself can't change the hard drive on. Flash MP3 players all the way!

Yes, I agree that Flash memory is the way to go for that reason alone. But I would be willing to consider an iPod if they used one of those IBM microdrives. I tihnk they are up to 4GB models now (for sure 2GB models), and they are only about 1 inch x 1 inch x 1/4 of an inch.

Cheers ... Ian

 

[Soundstream]

Originally posted by Syntax Error
what's the largest capacity flash drive?

I know for sure of a computer with an 8 GB Flash RAM drive. Bu I don't think that is on a standard CompactFlash sized card.

Cheers ... Ian

 

[OTIS]

Originally posted by Syntax Error
what's the largest capacity flash drive?

512 is the latest I've seen from MPIO & iRiver, and the MPIO has a SD/MMC slot so you can toss an extra 512 in there for a cool 1 gig of flash music.

 

[OTIS]

Originally posted by Soundstream
Yes, I agree that Flash memory is the way to go for that reason alone. But I would be willing to consider an iPod if they used one of those IBM microdrives. I tihnk they are up to 4GB models now (for sure 2GB models), and they are only about 1 inch x 1 inch x 1/4 of an inch.

Cheers ... Ian

Yea, me too.. weight is a another huge factor for me.. I like the fact that I can clip my player onto my shirt when I'm at the gym and not have to worry about it.

 

[deep]

Originally posted by atomic
it will be smaller in physical size as well, though I haven't seen any specifications yet.

that's why I haven't gotten an mp3 player yet. I like the idea of flash players becuase they're so small, but they have such a limited capacity they're not worth it for me yet.

plus the high cost per megabyte of flash memory itself in contrast to hard drives...

but as rob points out the biggest draw of flash is its durability...for many people portability implies movement and as such having something resistant to the stresses that can happen then is desirable

 

[deep]

Originally posted by Soundstream
Yes, I agree that Flash memory is the way to go for that reason alone. But I would be willing to consider an iPod if they used one of those IBM microdrives. I tihnk they are up to 4GB models now (for sure 2GB models), and they are only about 1 inch x 1 inch x 1/4 of an inch.

Cheers ... Ian

did you see the thread I posted about toshiba's latest microdrive? I think it's the world's smallest, 2-4 gig capacities at the size of a quarter.

 

[deep]

Originally posted by Syntax Error
what's the largest capacity flash drive?

for mp3 players, it's around 1 gigabyte, but flash memory as aforementioned is really expensive for manufacturer's to buy, so at that capacity and higher it starts getting really pricey for the consumer

 

[atomic]

here's something I've wondered about for awhile - can any mp3 players load the next track instantaneously?

 

[OTIS]

Originally posted by atomic
here's something I've wondered about for awhile - can any mp3 players load the next track instantaneously?

You mean gapless?

 

[atomic]

Originally posted by OTIS
You mean gapless?

yes, I think so.

so like, when one track ends it immediately plays the next.

 

[deep]

my iriver does...

gaps can come from a couple places...the latency of the player itself in loading up files, and if the actual mp3 is encoded poorly ... some rippers can add an audible gap when ripping tracks

in terms of software, some apps are better than others are producing gapless playback

the best way to avoid gaps i.e. for continuous mixes is to rip as a large file and use a cue sheet (along with a cue sheet aware player)

but most portable hardware players don't have cue file support I don't think

 

[atomic]

thanks deep.

I'll need to research the players more about this because I consider that a vital function. I have a number of continuous mix cd's that I'd love to send to a portable device, but it has to play the tracks seamlessly.

 

[deep]

that's one of the advantages of flash based players - pretty much instantaneous load time

hard drives have latencies , but players like the ipod get around that by having large cache sizes which queue up the next file in memory before playback actually begins

 

[ian]

One problem I've been having lately is when I rip DJ sets I get to MP3 is if the DJ has the set indexed (i.e. the tracks identified) it creates gaps betweeen tracks when I play it on my MP3 player. Kinda sucks. I usually rip using MM Jukebox. . . anyone know a simple solution? I've tried checking the MM Faq's but they only tell you how to reduce the length of the gaps or how to ensure you get the gaps in the first place.

-ian g.

 

[deep]

use eac to rip instead of musicmatch (which is shit)

there are buttons on the left hand side to give you the option of ripping a CD as one continuous file, or as individual tracks

even if you rip into individual track, eac is a better ripper so won't add those audible gaps that mm does


if you search past posts here you should find a few guides on how to get it setup easy

 

[ian]

Originally posted by deep
use eac to rip instead of musicmatch (which is shit)

there are buttons on the left hand side to give you the option of ripping a CD as one continuous file, or as individual tracks

even if you rip into individual track, eac is a better ripper so won't add those audible gaps that mm does


if you search past posts here you should find a few guides on how to get it setup easy

I will check this program out. Thanks!

-ian g.

 

[alexd]

Originally posted by ian
One problem I've been having lately is when I rip DJ sets I get to MP3 is if the DJ has the set indexed (i.e. the tracks identified) it creates gaps betweeen tracks when I play it on my MP3 player. Kinda sucks. I usually rip using MM Jukebox. . . anyone know a simple solution? I've tried checking the MM Faq's but they only tell you how to reduce the length of the gaps or how to ensure you get the gaps in the first place.

-ian g.

here is the solution i got from them

Hello,

Thank you for contacting MusicMatch.

To record multiple tracks from a CD as one track, please do the following:

- Open MusicMatch Jukebox.
- Click the "Options" menu.
- Select the "Settings" menu option.
- Select the "Recorder" tab.
- Under "Make Track Clips", place a check in the "Enable" box.
- Set the "Length" option (the length option will need to be set for the total time (in seconds) of all the tracks you wish to record as one).
- Click "OK" to save the entries made and exit the dialog.
- Open the Recorder module to select the tracks for recording using the following method:
- Click the "View" menu in MusicMatch Jukebox.
- Select the "Recorder" menu option.
- Select only the first track you want to begin recording.
- Click the Start button in the Recorder window.

When the recording is complete, please be certain to disable the Make Track Clips feature.

Regards,

Anish
MUSICMATCH Support

 

[graham]

4g minis are for vaginas