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Geek Culture / Walkman vs MP3 for jogging

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heartbone
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Joined: 9th Nov 2002
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Posted: 16th Jul 2007 08:02 Edited at: 16th Jul 2007 08:10
It has a really nice sound.
Better than the Delstar, almost as nice as an ARCHOS.

People are impressed when they hear the sound of the FM radio,
although the SportaPros that I am using have a lot to do with that.

Is this unit too good to be true?

Well... the thing filled up at 1.04 GB with 870 MB still being reported as free!



eTEC M106S


I was ready to gParted the thing when I noticed that the file system:
FAT (Not FAT32 or NTFS).
Turns out there is apparently some sort of limit as to how many files can be in the ROOT folder.
Once I figured that out, I was able to fill the player up with audio and video.

If you just try to fill it up with mp3s without creating folders,
you will think the unit is defective,
because the Windows reports errors when trying to copy files past the undocumented limit,
while the device reports it has free space.

There have been stories of unscrupulous people selling mp3 players on eBay
with 1 GB drives hacked to read as 2 GB drives.
You won't know the difference until you try to go past 1 GB of data saved.
I was briefly paranoid
then I realized that 1.04 GB of data saved was a good indicator that there was a flash drive greater than 1GB in the player
and I figured out the rest.

You have to convert the supported formats to something called AMV.
The supplied converter does not have to be installed,
you click on the executable and it converts the listed formats,
provided you have Windows Media Player set up to handle the supported types.

.MP4 video files are not supported by the converter,
therefore I must assume the output .AMV format is a variant of MP4,
otherwise the player's description makes no sense.
I've converted a few downloaded web videos,
and for the supported types it works very well.

I'm ready for a 9 hour road trip,
which should be a decent discharge cycle to train the rechargeable battery.
I think the battery will still have juice at the end of the trip.

If this thing had a built-in FM transmitter and could record FM broadcasts,
it would then almost impossible to improve it.

I'm unique, just like everybody else.

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heartbone
22
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Joined: 9th Nov 2002
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Posted: 16th Jul 2007 08:29 Edited at: 16th Jul 2007 08:33
I think that this price is a mistake that they will catch on Monday.

I've been telling all of my associates to hurry up and scarf one up before they realize the mistake.

Compared to a 2GB iPod Nano at ~$150, there is no contest.
The Nano does not even play video or have a radio.
And I've heard from reliable sources that the sound quality is not as good as it should be on the iPods either.

I'm unique, just like everybody else.

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heartbone
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Posted: 19th Jul 2007 22:18
This player is amazing.
After 10 hours of use (audio) the battery shows about 80% charge remaining, so I expect 40+ hours of play between charges.

It does record from the FM radio,
but the recordings are not all that great,
The low sample rate makes the audio lo-fi (missing the high end).
Still an outstanding unit.
Even the included earbuds are among the best that I've ever heard (that's not not saying much).

The ONLY missing feature: FM-Transmitter.

I'm unique, just like everybody else.
heartbone
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Posted: 19th Jul 2007 22:44
I knew that price was too good to be true.
http://www.brandsmartusa.com/CurrentCirculars.aspx?region=2&name=Georgia

They goofed.
It was suposed to be $58.88!
Still a good deal.

I'm unique, just like everybody else.
heartbone
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Posted: 28th Jul 2007 20:42
Here is another iPod killer.

Specifications for DELSTAR 1GB MP3/MP4 Player



This one has a built-in speaker too.

I'm unique, just like everybody else.
Seppuku Arts
Moderator
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Joined: 18th Aug 2004
Location: Cambridgeshire, England
Posted: 28th Jul 2007 22:54
An alternative is to get one of those mobile phones that have MP3 players in them, you have two functions really and will make things convenient in the sense you only need to carry one device in your pocket, I picked up the Motorola E1 iTunes phone second hand, it came with a 512mb MicroSD card inside, which you can buy up to 8gb MicroSD cards (On crucial, they cost £50-£60 - just over the price of a 1gb iPod shuffle, and as it's crucial, I've found their prices higher than anywhere else and if you live in the US, all that tax is knocked off and you could get the card much cheaper than I) Of course there are other phones like that, you've got the Sony Walkman phone for one thing. Or if you've got the cash, an iPhone. Though you might be spending more than your ultimate cheap alternatives, but bear in mind the contract system you've got with phones, the extra pocket space and the fact it would replace your current phone (Either through the end of a contract, or selling the bugger)

Of course, if that doesn't prove to be of convenience, there are plenty of solutions up for display in this thread.

Hakuna Matata
Zeus
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Joined: 8th Jul 2006
Location: Atop Mount Olympus
Posted: 29th Jul 2007 06:28
I simply use a CD Player. I put it my pocket put my earphones on and voila!

Shadow heart
17
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Joined: 2nd Dec 2006
Location: US
Posted: 29th Jul 2007 12:36
Quote: "An alternative is to get one of those mobile phones that have MP3 players in them"


yeah i've heard the audio quality is nice on those babyes my uncle has one he needs them when he get s acall from like comp usa or something to deliever computer parts or something.

haha lets rock this world.
Seppuku Arts
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20
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Joined: 18th Aug 2004
Location: Cambridgeshire, England
Posted: 29th Jul 2007 12:50
Yeah, even playing on the phone speaker there isn't a bad quality for what it is, I mean it was pretty effective when I was outside do some work yesterday.

Hakuna Matata
heartbone
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Posted: 30th Jul 2007 18:19
Quote: "and will make things convenient in the sense you only need to carry one device in your pocket,"

Unless you want to have defective children,
DO NOT CARRY A TRANSMITTING CELL PHONE AROUND YOUR REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

I'm unique, just like everybody else.

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