Playing it loud
by Volker Weber
One of the things that I brought home from CeBIT is a Samsung MP3 player that packs amazing features into hardly more than one ounce:
- CSTN Color LCD (65K Color)
- JPEG Image & Text Viewer
- Clock Function (Alarm, Programmed FM Rec.)
- 512MB storage
- Real Time Equalizer Display
- MP3, WMA, Secure WMA, Ogg, ASF, JPEG
- Flash Storage Device
- FM Tuner & Recorder
- 10 Hour Built-In Li-Polymer Battery
- Voice Recording
- Magnesium & Aluminum Body
Given that many features you should not be surprised that it is quite complicated to operate. You need to go into a menu to switch from MP3 player to radio or any of the viewers. I wonder why it has a dedicated button for A-B loops but none for mode switching. Samsung could use some serious usability engineering.
You can make a playlist on the fly or just play one directory or all files. Ogg support will definitely resonate well with a lot of people. Since my music library is all MP3 I don't care that it does not play AAC files. Having a voice recorder will be very handy at times. Less for short notes but rather for recording an interview. A picture viewer the size of a stamp? I don't know. ;-)
On the PC you are installing a USB driver and a software package. On the Mac it just shows up as a drive. Dump a bunch of files on it and you are ready to go. Thankfully it uses a standard USB mini connector and charges over that cable.
This is not going to replace Woodstock but is definitely a good addition to the travel bag.
