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October 19, 2005 MP3, Podcasting and More In the wake of the popular MP3 file format* for downloading, listening, saving and storing music, a dazzling array of devices, services and software is now available. With software you can easily arrange your music and other audio files, create play lists and with players, take your music or audio with you anywhere. The small file size created by the MP3 format permits you to easily store vast amounts of music and audio (such as lectures, radio shows, audio books and more). Using the newer iPod and similar hard drive based devices, you can store not just music but photos or videos. Also available are other non-hard drive based MP3 players that store files in memory cards or fixed internal memory. The newest iPods (Apple, 20GB $299, 60 GB $399) come with a color screen and can hold up to an amazing 15,000 songs or 25,000 photos. Here are some examples of cool, small, portable fixed internal memory type MP3 players we looked at recently:
The JVC XA-A55CL-B Digital Audio Player (JVC, $129) is about as minimalist as you can get, consisting of small left and right stereo earphones connected by a flexible wire. The earphones hook over your ear and contain all the electronics, 256 KB memory and even a little voice that helps you navigate through the control commands needed to enjoy your MP3 music or other audio on the go. The device holds about 30 MP3 or 60 WMA (Windows media audio) files of music or audio and plays for up to 20 hours on a single AAA battery. Very compact and convenient, sounds great and comes with a handy little carrying pouch.
The Iomega Mixx (Iomega, 256MB $55; 512KB $80; $1GB $115) has both the thumb-sized player unit and ear-bud type earphones attached to a necklace for handy transport. A small backlit display lists the command menu, titles of tunes or audio available and the operation modes. The Mixx also features a FM radio with 30 presets and a recorder that records up to eight hours of voice recording from either the radio or a built-in microphone. The Mixx holds up to 5, 10 or 20 hours of music (depending on model), plays MP3, WMA or WAV files and provides more than 10 hours of continuous play on its single AAA battery. For students, business people, fitness afficionados and others on the go, The Mixx provides loads of functionality, including the ability play your own song list or other audio, listen to FM or record and playback lectures or meetings. Both units provide various modes of operation, such as looped or repeat and several equalization settings; they also come with USB cables for computer connection and for help, user manuals on disk. Delivery of music or audio content via the Internet is undergoing a revolution with the advent of podcasting. Podcasting is a method for downloading music files or audio files and radio-style shows: some from major media, others from passionate individuals. Podcasts are usually delivered as MP3 files over the Internet and into your computer so you can listen to them when you want and, if you load the files into your portable MP3 player, where you want. The audio podcast files can be news programs (such as ESPN Radio, MSNBC radio), talk radio shows (such as Rush Limbaugh), other radio shows, entertainment reviews, opinions, audio books and much more. Podcasts are usually subscription services and offer access to these items by charging a flat fee or pay-as-you-go fee. Usually included is free downloaded software that will control how you receive your podcasts: automatically, semi-automatically or manually. These music or audio files are downloaded into your computer and, depending on the type of MP3 player you have, can be manually or automatically downloaded into the player or copied to memory cards or burned onto CDs. Some software and player combinations will automatically synchronize your files, adding only new or updated files to your MP3 player from your computer. Playback of your podcasts or MP3 music won’t be limited to small portable units such as these or your computer, since there are already car radio systems with built-in audio MP3 players and home theater systems that accept and play memory cards or CDs containing MP3 files. By year’s end you’ll even be able to buy songs pre-recorded by some of your favorite artists on special copy-safe memory cards that will play in MP3 players. Stay tuned.
*MP3 101 The "MP" is short for MPEG-1 (Moving Picture Expert Group); "3" refers to audio layer 3, which is the audio part of a standard format for audio/visual file storage. MP3 is a method of highly compressing and saving to a file near full-fidelity audio with virtually no loss of sound quality. The compression works, in part, by removing sound that’s extremely low in volume and nearly inaudible to the human ear. By using this method and other techniques, compression ratios of 12:1 can be achieved for MP3 sound. To play MP3 files on your computer, you need MP3 player software such as Windows Media Player or RealPlayer. Portable MP3 players have the decoder for MP3 files built in.
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