Seagate Unveils 12GB 1-Inch Hard Drive

[Jerry Raia]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.betanews.com/article/Seagate_Unveils_12GB_1Inch_Hard_Drive/1139859347' target='_blank'>http://www.betanews.com/article/Seagate_Unveils_12GB_1Inch_Hard_Drive/1139859347</a><br /><br /></div><i>"As consumer devices such as phones and MP3 players continually shrink, storage has remained a persistent drawback that limits their usefulness. Seagate thinks it may have found the answer thanks to perpendicular recording technology. The disk maker on Monday unveiled a 12-gigabyte drive squeezed into a 1-inch form factor."</i><br /><br />Last time I checked you can get an iPod with a 60GB hard drive. This is targeted for phones. Ok who really wants a hard drive full of music on their phone?

[Mike Temporale]

I regularly load my device with music. I really like the one device for music, phone, and PIM functionality. So, the larger the drive the better. Of course, I don't want a Samsung i300-like battery problem. It still has to last a good couple days. :D

[Stinger]

I think Sony Ericsson have got it right.

4GB of flash memory sounds about perfect for my needs.

[echosmyron]

You just can't beat an iPod for portable music. Even with a 1GB miniSD card in my phone, it doesn't compare to the 15GB of my iPod. I would imagine playing music on a Smartphone chews through the battery pretty fast.

[Mike Temporale]

Well, you can get 2 GB miniSD cards now - so you're already better than a Nano. As for battery life, when I was riding the train twice a day, I would listen to music both ways and while waiting for the train to arrive. All told, it would have been about 2 hours a day. The battery did seem to drain a little faster than normal, but it wasn't like I was stopping the music early to save some juice until I got home. 8)

[Jerry Raia]

Well I'm now obviously in the minority here! :lol:

[echosmyron]

I haven't actually tried playing MP3s with my phone yet. (Maybe once I get my 512MB miniSD card in the mail.) So how does the functionality of the Smartphone player compare to that of an iPod (i.e. library, playlists, equalizer, etc)?

In my case, the other issue is the earplugs. I know the MPx220 has a 2.5 mini plug which would need an adapter to use standard earplugs. However, I've heard of some people having problems with those adapters. Plus an adapter would also add another level of "bulkiness" and potential loss of sound quality.