[vicsireland] Re: has any one heard of?
- From: "Sandberg, Robert" <robert.sandberg@xxxxxxx>
- To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:22:36 +0100
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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