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It’s been almost a year since I last wrote about MP3’s. The demand has grown tremendously since that time, and with it the demand for higher-performance products to play them on. Here are a few of the innovations in MP3 hardware, some of which are just amazing! IRock now has an MP3 player, which does karaoke! Look out, singing in the car, now sing while you run, jog, bike, work. Now singing with your favorite songs isn’t just limited to the shower. Visit myirock.com for more info. MusicStore by DigMedia is the ultimate in MP3 technology. Not much larger than a CD player in a base station, this is a virtual jukebox. It’s internal 5 gig hard drive allows you to record, play, and store as many as 200 CD’s in MP3 format. Organize entire CD’s by artist, music style, or by favorite tracks using the MusicMatch software. You can create disks in only 0.7 seconds per track, or listen while you are encoding. But it doesn’t end there. It comes with the SoulMate portable MP3 unit that can store hours of music to take with you. Record from CD to MP3 on the MusicStore, then transfer up to 48, 64, or 96 megs onto the SoulMate to take on the road. Want more? The MusicStore docking base supports up to 8 of the SoulMate portable units. With its hookups for USB, speakers, headphones, RCA jacks, there’s not much you can’t do with it. Kodak has an innovation on their hands. Their MC3 wins the “most fun new product” award. It will take still shots like all the other digital cameras, at 640x480 resolution. But wait, it also records Quicktime .mov video clips complete with sound (up to 32 minutes worth at 320x240!) so leave that bulky camcorder at home. And the kicker, it stores your MP3’s as well! The MC3 uses compact flash cards up to 96 megs of fun on one disk. . Included is Arcsoft’s Videoimpression software to allow you to edit your videos, and Photoimpression for stills. It also comes with the MusicMatch library software. Ports include an AV jack for NTSC or PAL output and audio “line” output, as well as a stereo headphone jack Many people now have mobile phones. Since you’ve got to carry it anyways, why not get some enjoyment out of it? Samsung’s new Uproar phone is, “A wireless phone that ROCKS!” and they mean it literally. Imagine, a mobile phone that plays MP3’s and has a remote control! Voice dialing, wireless web, its amazing what all this phone can do. This one also comes with the MusicMatch software (do I see a trend here?) It has a USB connection for transferring files, microphone for use as a personal digital voice recorder, built-in personal information management system complete with calendar, timer, alarm and to-do list! Did I mention it has a remote control? View a demo at samsungusa.com. As components continue to decrease in size, so will the size of the players. We’ll have MP3 devices on a keychain in the near future. Who says you can’t take it with you? |
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