Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Hi Zgear,

I'm very much into mp3, real player, devices etc.
I do not have an ipod reasons:
It is to limited in its functions.
What I have is an Xda2, it does everything that virtually a normal pc can, and it is a phone and has a camera.
Now, for me combining different features as you mentioned above is the thing for the future:
First of all long life by waterproofing and shock resisting the device (look at the different mobile phone companies that came out with shock, sand and water proof phones)
Then, get the batteries to live longer, its no fun having a device you need to charge all the time,
Third, have multiple features and bands available like, mp3, waf, and other formats and get radio, blue tooth and maybe even wifi on it with an easy setup to get to you preferred radio station online, like when you use avantgo when you active sync your device, similar for the new device.
Then, hard drive, see with the ipod you cannot use it as a storage device for other files and that is where they loose on flexibility.
Imagine you go abroad (on vacation) and you can on your new device store, all your favorite songs, clips, movies, videos, pictures, some documents, etc and then you can be capable of viewing them/playing them on the device AND you can share them on other computers from family and friends via simple ieee connection or USB2.
Hey I think the company that brings out such a diverse multimedia device will be in for a ride.
Greetings,
Wouter

The current market trends for portable music devices (Key-Note research etc $350+) indicate that the market aspirations are nearly always more features for the same price or marginally better features for the same price. There is an acceptance that the same features are still desirable for a lower price and that add-on ancillary products are acceptable as a way of providing such things as extended battery life or more memory.

Gimmicks such as games and such are of little value to the typical music player user and anything over extending the product into TV and comms mean that you might as well purchase a phone.

The memory capacity is probably as large as it needs to be for music – who can even listen to 10,000 songs in the lifetime of a product! Losing and iPod or suffering a breakdown also represents a huge cost to the user. Even if you have an adequate back-up of the basic material, re-loading it in the order you desire can be a job taking several weeks.

Personally, I’d like to see a re-introduction of the wind-up gramophone with a horn rather than a loud-speaker. No batteries needed, looks great and weighing 28lbs or more it is unlikely to be stolen in a pavement mugging.

Steve Alker
Unimax Solutions

Z gear,

All I can tell you is that my 12-year old ended up buying a PSP after he compared it to an iPod.

Being in travel soccer, it seemed to be a better option for him because of all the additional features.

He now seems to only use it for listening to music though.

Hope that helps.