There was a time when the Walkman was seen as one of the best things to happen when it came to listening to your favourtie songs on the move. It was portable, compact and the best companion for long journeys or waiting at the bus stand.
Today, it is the second best, for MP3 players have trumpeted themselves on the music player scene over the past few years and are here to stay. They are small, versatile, packing the punch, weigh less than 100 grams and are easy to handle.
What is MP3?
MP3 is the short form of MPEG layer 3. It is a powerful compressed audio file format like WAV, but even more compressed than the latter. It offers CD quality sound, the compression rates are up to 12:1 for CD quality sound, which means you can store up to 12 hours of music on a single data CD.
MP3 players come in a variety of brands, and the market is full of choices. The obvious advantage they have over audio systems is that there are no hassles of carrying messy audiotapes, which can often get stuck! More importantly, there is no loss of quality.
Most MP3 players today can play other audio formats as well. One can download songs from hundreds of websites offering MP3 music. There are basically 3 types of MP3 players – solid state devices with flashy memory chips, hard disk based players and CD players.
How does it work?
The MP3 player connects to your PC using an interface. Most players have a parallel or USB interface. In parallel, the data transfer is slower than the USB port. The parallel ports are often used to connect printers. The USB interface supports 12 megabits per second. Some portable MP3 players have an FM stereo tuner. Most of them have built in microphones. The storage capacity of MP3 players ranges from 16 and 32 MB. Some hav 64 MB storage capacity. It is useful to note than 32 MB helps you to run 6 tracks.
For additional memory, one can add on Smart Media cards that use flash memory, Compact Flash which has storage capacity between 2 and 96 MB and memory sticks. Prices vary from Rs 1,500 to Rs 20,000 and higher for the branded ones, says Chennai based dealer in MP3 players Antony. “most of our customers go in for Sanyo or Panasonic, which are not priced high and are available for Rs 3000 to Rs 4000,” he says. MP3 players come in a variety of brands. There are the much talked about Apple Ipod, Benq, Samsung, Panasonic, Creative and Phillips-Nike. The list hardly ends here. The market is a profusion of brands. There are others like Transcend, Umax, Xserve, D-Link, Ennyah etc. So how does one choose? The choice you make should depend on the storage space, and the interface apart from the features that areĀ specialĀ to each model.
All eyes on iPod
The next in line is the Apple 4 GB iPod Mini that can store as many as 1000 songs and it is one of the most coveted models. It has a USB connector cable, a FireWire chip and the Itunes 4.5 software. One of theĀ specialtiesĀ of the model is the new Click Wheel for navigating through the menu and play lists. The Apple iPod fourth generation 20GB model is priced around 22,000 and the 40 GB model is priced around 27,000.
However, says Kiruba Shankar a blogger, who was looking at buying an Apple iPod MP3 player, I found it very expensive; twice as much as it is priced in the US. I was quoted Rd 35,000 for the 40 GB model. Sourcing from the US was difficult. So I did a survey, and chanced on the Transcend Het Flas MP3 player. I thought I was taking a gamble. But, it is a superb piece. It workds as a dream. I would recommend the piece for anyone looking at buying an MP3 player. I bought it for a reasonable 3,200 and it is as good as the iPod.”
The Trasnscend hsa three features, which Shankar was looking at, thumb drive with USB 2.0 compliance, the voice recorder and the MP3 player, which he needed for his marathon practices.
For the fitness freak
Talking of marathons, Phillips has come out with the Phillips-Nike Portable Sports Audio Range, which is targeted at athletes and workout freaks. You can strap the MP3 player even on your arm as you jog or run. And what’s more, the music is not affected bby the jerks and the movement. The model supports both MP3 and WMA formats. The model also has the Smart Wire Management feature, which allows the headband and wire to curve behind the neck.
Then, there are the Sony models. While Sony has the Discman which supports MP3s in the upwards of Rs 10,000 range, it has recently launched the Walkman NW E99 and NW E95 , both based on flash drives.
The two players weigh 40 grams and are less than a centimetre in width. Sony also has the NW MS70D model, which has built in 256 MB flash memory with memory stick slot and USB cradle. The NW MS 90D model has a 512 MB Flash memoray and 44 hour long battery life, higher than the 33 hour long battery life of the 70D model.
