[vicsireland] Re: Iaudio vs Book Port
- From: eoconnor@xxxxxxx
- To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 14:54:46 +0000
Hi Susan, tim and Robbie,
forgive me throwing another mp3-capable device into the mix!
Although originally designed to convert text-to-speech, the Book Port also
plays mp3 files, with complete accessible navigation.
That said though, it's largest capacity is a 4GB compact flash card -
the card provided is 256mb. The device also doubles as a braille note
taker, but has no built in radio.
Further info from:
http://sun1.aph.org/tech/bp_info.htm
I checked the Back From the Future site, but didn't see a price for the
Iaudio player.
The Book Port cost USD400, but in my view, is well worth it.
Regards,
Eamonn
"Tim Culhane" <tim.culhane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent by: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
15/01/2007 14:18
Please respond to vicsireland
To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
cc:
Subject: Iaudio vs Book Port
hi Susan,
I really think it would be worth your while taking a look at the
iAudio , in a hands on sort of way.
Robbie is right that you need a small extra connection in order to
access the usb, power and lin in/out jacks, but its really a very
small piece of hardware.
The player itself is extremely small and light. It would easily fit
in a pocket.
Tim
-----Original Message-----
From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Susan Curry
Sent: 15 January 2007 13:59
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vicsireland] Re: has any one heard of?
Hi Robert,
Sounds good, but unfinished and a little complicated, I would be using
it whilst travelling about, so I think we will have to wait until they
modify it or some thing else comes on the market.
thanks for all that info though, very interesting.
Susan
----- Original Message -----
From: Sandberg, Robert
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2007 10:22 AM
Subject: [vicsireland] Re: has any one heard of?
Hi Tim and Susan!
I also have the IAUDIO with Rockbox and I think a little more needs to be
said about it. Of course it's an excellent thing and it's fantastic to be
able to access the menu and alter the settings to your liking. That said,
it's not perfect. Rockbox will only speak the contents of the menu, but
not the files and folders, that's to say songs and albums you put on it.
It does spell them, but that takes some getting used to and it also takes
time. In order to have the names of files and folders spoken, you need a
second software called Voice Box. It's quite easy to handle. It does not
use its own voice, but your computer's default voice the Microsoft
Narrator.
Now, rockbox is not a speech add-on for the IAUDIO firmware. It replaces
the firmware, so it's a media player of its own and in my opinion it
comes with a couple of flaws. I find that when I skip through songs with
the joystick, in stead of moving to the next song, it will frequently go
back to explorer mode and speak the file name I started with. Also, I
bought the thing mainly to be able to record in mp3 format and process
recorded files on my PC. Unfortunately though, Rockbox does not speak at
all when in recording mode. I don't mean while recording, of course you
don't want that. But before you actually record, you're in a sort of
mixing desk mode where you can adjust the input level of the channels.
There is no speech for that. Also, it would be nice to have at least a
confirmation beep when you start and stop recording, preferably 2
different ones.
If you can live with these few shortcomings it's a brilliant device. And
also, since Rockbox is being constantly improved, the shortcomings might
well be dealt with at some point.
Just a quick word on the hardware. The IAUDIO does not have any USB ports
as such, but rather a customised shrunken interface, presumably to keep
the device as small as possible. This means that you can't connect to
someone else's computer unless you carry the interface cable with you.
The same applies to the line-in and line-out, as well as the power
socket. There's a little extra adapter you need for these connections.
That makes the device itself nice and small, but on the other hand you
need to carry a bit of kit around if you want to use it on the go.
Also, coming back to recording, I was assured that I could use an
external microphone without any peripheral hardware. That is not the
case. You need an extra amplifier to use even a battery powered mike. So
that's another thing to carry around if you want to make recordings.
It really comes down to what you want to do with the IAUDIO. For all my
moaning, it certainly is a liberating piece of technology.
Cheers,
Robbie
From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Tim Culhane
Sent: Montag, 15. Januar 2007 08:51
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vicsireland] Re: has any one heard of?
Hi Susan,
I have the iAudio x5 20 gb mp3 player with rockbox and find it
excellent.
The device is extremely small and light.
The buttons are easy to detect.
Rockbox makes all the menus on the device completely accessible.
Cheers,
Tim
-----Original Message-----
From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Susan Curry
Sent: 12 January 2007 18:11
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vicsireland] has any one heard of?
Hi folks,
has any one heard of this company or mp3 player?
I Audio X5 20GB MP3 player with Rockbox
if so, what is it like?
www.backfromthefuture.ie
susan
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