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Jason Dunn
01-17-2003, 07:36 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketmind.com/pocketmusic.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketmind.com/pocketmusic.htm</a><br /><br /></div>Looking for a new digital audio player, and a free one at that? Check out PocketMusic! I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but the feature set looks awesome! 10 band EQ? Winamp skin support? Free? Awesome!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/pocketmusic.gif" /><br /><br />Some of the features include:<br /><br />• "It plays MP3 files with all known bit rates along with possibility to recognize some not fully ISO compatible MP3 files, so you can enjoy your favorite music no matter how it's encoded. <br />• You don't need to copy MP3 files to "My documents" folder anymore - PocketMusic plays them from any folder on your Pocket PC device<br />• Also there is a possibility to add Winamp skins support, various sound Presets, powerful player control with arbitrary mappable hardware buttons, option to edit ID3 tags in your music files, and Advanced Playlist Organizer!<br />• Customizable Interface<br />• Quality 10-Band Equalizer <br />• Spectrum Analyzer (Visualizer)<br />• Great Playlist Editor"<br /><br /><b>UPDATE:</b> I've been informed that some of the advanced features are part of a $20 add-on pack. So the basic player is free, but you'll want to go to the site to see what the add-on pack offers. Sorry for the confusion! The developer's Web site wasn't very clear on this point...

Paul
01-17-2003, 07:41 PM
Where's the WMA support?

nirav28
01-17-2003, 07:43 PM
Yeah, but does it support streaming or network folder access?

I like withAmp, because it supports shoutcast and network folder access.

I do however like the winamp style interface this thing has and also that its free. withAmp ain't free.

Jason Dunn
01-17-2003, 07:49 PM
Where's the WMA support?

Hey, cut the guy some slack - it's a 1.0 release, and quite impressive at that. And it's FREE!

Come on guys, with attitudes like this you'll drive away any developer making freeware apps. :?

BigCanoe
01-17-2003, 07:52 PM
It looks awsome, great job!

bdeli
01-17-2003, 07:53 PM
Looks good, trying it now.

Needs some polishing though hopefully in the next update.

don dre
01-17-2003, 07:53 PM
From what I understand WMA support cost money. I use withmp3 and am quite happy but am glad to see more competition on the market. with good free players th paid ones will have to keep improving.

pjtrader
01-17-2003, 07:54 PM
I'm ecstatic :D at finally being able to transfer a storage card of musci from one device to another and having both devices "find" the files. Not having to bury them under the My Documents folder is something Microsoft should notice and emulate. I'm going after this product now!

griph
01-17-2003, 07:55 PM
Where's the WMA support?

Hey, cut the guy some slack - it's a 1.0 release, and quite impressive at that. And it's FREE!

Come on guys, with attitudes like this you'll drive away any developer making freeware apps. :?

ABSOLUTELY agree there Jason. There is an old saying - 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth' Anyone releasing free software needs a hearty pat on the back - well done! :D

Regards
Griph

don dre
01-17-2003, 07:56 PM
if you use a program like Pocket LAN you will have network access.

Kirk Stephens
01-17-2003, 07:58 PM
Wow, very kind of the developer to provide this software for free!

THANK YOU :!:

Perry Reed
01-17-2003, 08:14 PM
It looks nice but sadly does not work on my Jornada. When I try to open a file, I get a strange looking directory tree that has a root "\" folder and TWO Windows folders, each with only a Temporary Internet Files folder inside. That's it.

Too bad.

logo20heli
01-17-2003, 08:20 PM
I have the same problem selecting files to play on my iPaq 5455. Since I can't play anything, I can't tell if it sounds any good. It looks good.

I wonder if the WinAMP 2.0 source code has been released to the net. This is the second player this week that functions very similarly to WinAMP 2.0.

T-Will
01-17-2003, 08:24 PM
Does it support network/microdrive caching?

Evee Ev
01-17-2003, 08:26 PM
the player is free but if you wanna change skins and stuff you gotta buy the advanced features pack? right?

PPCRules
01-17-2003, 08:29 PM
• Also there is a possibility to add Winamp skins support, various sound Presets, powerful player control with arbitrary mappable hardware buttons, option to edit ID3 tags in your music files, and Advanced Playlist Organizer!
• Customizable Interface
• Quality 10-Band Equalizer
• Spectrum Analyzer (Visualizer)
• Great Playlist Editor"

Right.

This "possibility" is only possible when you pay $20 for the add-on pack.

Sanjay Srikonda
01-17-2003, 08:43 PM
This is AWESOME. Divx for PPC doesn't let you select individual files and I found myself going back to .8 release because the newer release didn't have a next song selector on the main screen.

This is great software. Good job.

stareja
01-17-2003, 08:47 PM
Looks great! Glad to see more freeware being developed.

I would like to see ogg support incorporated, though.

spongeworthy
01-17-2003, 08:59 PM
Where's the WMA support?

Hey, cut the guy some slack - it's a 1.0 release, and quite impressive at that. And it's FREE!

Come on guys, with attitudes like this you'll drive away any developer making freeware apps. :?

Hmmm...howsabout this....

Love it! Thanks for the freeware, and please consider WMA support in future (payware?) releases.

ricksfiona
01-17-2003, 09:50 PM
Installed it and LOVE it! Very nice software.

Foo Fighter
01-17-2003, 10:48 PM
Excellent piece of software. Very well engineered.

Great job PocketMind! :)

FrankO
01-17-2003, 11:01 PM
I've only played with it for a couple minutes but it was a snap to load my 512MB CF card full of mp3's, randomize it and hit play. Goin on a ski trip this weekend and now I can re-load the card through my firewire card reader. SPEEEEEEEEEDY! :lol:

jngold_me
01-17-2003, 11:15 PM
Divx for PPC doesn't let you select individual files and I found myself going back to .8 release because the newer release didn't have a next song selector on the main screen.

Version .8-letter O of PocketMVP allows you to view the entire playlist on screen and tap-to-select-song play.

I am currently using PocketMVP because I converted alot of my music from MP3/MP3Pro to .OGG.

Anyhoo, it's good to see more freeware in the PPC scene!

PocketMind
01-17-2003, 11:25 PM
Thank you guys for kind words!
We'll do our best to keep doing good player. I don't know yet how about wma support but we'll add ogg support and support of pocket Media player playlists to the next release.

Many thanks to everybody for support. :D

Best regards,
Ann Braun,
PocketMind.

felixdd
01-17-2003, 11:57 PM
Converted mp3 to ogg? Did you notice a drop in your ogg files? It seems to me that they were a bit staticky...how do you re-encode to prevent that? And is the new product file smaller than the original mp3?

Oh, and...is there any relationship between this program and winamPAQ?


&lt;edit: nm -- you guys are separate right? winamPAQ has ogg and you don't (yet). >

Underwater Mike
01-18-2003, 12:32 AM
How does the sound quality compare to withMP3? I'm not going to worry about .ogg support until it's actually here, but I AM concerned how the sound quality compares, especially using the EQ.

Thanks!

yawanag
01-18-2003, 12:50 AM
I had already downloaded this app. before I saw it posted. It's awesome. I gave up my Pocket Divx. I'd like to see something just as nice for my .mpeg files.

Can't say it enough, but most of my favorite and most used software has been free (or close to it) Thanks Pocket Mind.

Jonathon Watkins
01-18-2003, 12:59 AM
Many thanks to everybody for support. :D

Best regards,
Ann Braun,
PocketMind.

That's allright- thanks for dropping in! :D Always nice to see Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers! :wink: :D

Underwater Mike
01-18-2003, 02:53 AM
Ann,

Some quick comments, in no particular order, after testing on my Axim 400MHz:

1) I can't seem to get the scroll buttons on the playlist pane to work. Scrolling via the "thumb" is fine, but the two scroll arrows immediately beneath don't appear to function.

2) The EQ bands appear to function properly, but the preamp slider has no effect. Same volume regardless of setting. And, the volume was almost double with the EQ off versus with the EQ on (but all bands at the neutral position) and the preamp maxed out.

3) When I click the folder icon next to the "shuffle" button, I get a root-level directory icon with the ability to include or exclude the entire device, as well as choose among subdirectories. Also included is a textual "Cancel" option next to the "Select" menu. When I use the "+" icon on the playlist pane and choose "dir," though, I can select the entire device but there are no options to select among subdirectories. And, no "Cancel" option in text.

4) In either case, even when PocketMusic is the only app running in 50 MB of free program memory, it still takes between 10-15 sec to put up a window for selecting music, and approx. 5-10 sec to display subdirectories for browsing when using the folder icon.

5) The "shuffle" button appears to have no effect.

6) "MISC>SORT>Randomize List" has no effect, regardless of whether all titles in the playlist are selected, none are selected, or any combination in between.

In all, it's a good start and could be a strong contender in once the kinks are worked out. I especially like having the program text and Web site in standard English! (No, I'm no xenophobe, but I do expect to be able to understand reference materials in a product that's marketed to native English speakers. Cardinal Info Tech should take note.) I can't judge the Feature Pack since I'm reluctant to spend anything until the basics are covered, but I do like the additional capabilities included and feel that $20 is a fair ballpark price for what you offer.

A couple additional suggestions:

First, a well written built-in help file and downloadable user manual are a must for software with this many options. It took me a lot of trial-and-error to figure out some of the controls.

Second, some form of hover text which serves to label control icons also is essential, IMO.

Right now, I'll stick to withMP3, for which I already paid. But if you can clean up these glitches AND offer OGG support as part of the Feature Pack (I understand the WMA licensing issues), I'd definitely defect.

Thanks, and hope this helps.

Askani
01-18-2003, 03:06 AM
It looks good, but I can't give my personal opinion/review because it does not work with the iPAQ 5455 (ie. does not show any folders). Here's hopeing you will fix this problem ASAP. :wink:

jeffmd
01-18-2003, 04:43 AM
mmm..

pocket MVP.. free.

WinamPAQ (which is escentualy what this progam is) ... free

why do people insist on creating these programs to make money when there are equaly as good or better programs out there. Face it, trying to make money on a music player is like trying to make money on a web browser.. it aint gona happen.

cgavula
01-18-2003, 05:31 AM
It looks good, but I can't give my personal opinion/review because it does not work with the iPAQ 5455 (ie. does not show any folders). Here's hopeing you will fix this problem ASAP. :wink:

You know, a couple of people said that it didn't work with the 5455. Well I have a 5455 and it works fine. There was a slight delay once I hit the DIR button (appears after you hit the + button on the playlist), but after a couple of seconds it showed my directory structure including my storage cards (I have an SD card in the PPC and a CF card in a sleeve). No problem it works great!

--Chris

Jason Dunn
01-18-2003, 05:57 AM
why do people insist on creating these programs to make money when there are equaly as good or better programs out there. Face it, trying to make money on a music player is like trying to make money on a web browser.. it aint gona happen.

There are always people willing to pay for quality applications. The era of everything being free is over - you just have to pick what you support a little closer. Heck, I just paid $20 for a year's subscription to join a software download site because I felt the developer of the site was doing a good job and deserved my support.

You can not buy their product, you can complain about the price, but don't criticize them for trying to make a living off of their hard work - no one has that right.

Janak Parekh
01-18-2003, 06:45 AM
There are always people willing to pay for quality applications.
Amen to that. I used to follow the "free" route, but found that the applications that I research and pay for are so much better, overall, that I wouldn't go back. Pocket Informant for one. I can't believe I was using the built-in Pocket Outlook stuff. eWallet and ListPro are also fantastic. Fitaly is next on my purchase list, I've been learning it this week and smacking my head because I didn't bother to do so earlier.

And they aren't a huge cost -- people spend more money than this on movie tickets for the weekend.

--janak

gwizard
01-18-2003, 07:18 AM
Awesome!!! I love it...although I'm kinda disappointed with the Shuffle option. I'm keeping it as my main MP3 player though, and I'll just use WMP for video and stuff.

felixdd
01-18-2003, 07:25 AM
I'm still kinda confused. IS this or is this not winamPAQ? :P

As for the paying issue -- I think that there are some things that shouldn't be charged -- like emulators for example. But then again, I think I'm a purist...and I started this discussion on BH before so there really is no point in getting into it.

As for this proggie -- the skins doesn't turn out as nice as it does on the website -- it's sort of blurred. (with winamPAQ at least)

Underwater Mike
01-18-2003, 07:42 AM
No, WinamPAQ is the OTHER new one! :wink:

As I mentioned in my post, I'll happily pay $20 for all the features this can offer with the add-on pack -- when everything works as it's supposed to.

And, now that I have an Axim instead of an iPAQ, I can honestly say that the cost of the software IN my device is nearly as much as the cost of the device itself.

I'm still kinda confused. IS this or is this not winamPAQ? :P

Askani
01-18-2003, 07:57 AM
well cgavula, I'm glad you got it to work, but it still doesn't for me. Just shows a folder and a \ next to it. Thats it. It would be one thing if it didn't work for me, but it also didn't work for someone else. This looks like a great product. I just wish it would work for me and whoever else it is not working for. I just hope the authors can address this problem.

jizmo
01-18-2003, 08:33 AM
How is it possible that we always anticipate for a certain kind of program for years and then suddenly they come out in vast amounts?

I waited for even a simple OGG player for a long time, and now all the sudden, we've got three of them, with nice features.

Owning a PPC, you gotta love it. :wink:

/jizmo

jeffmd
01-18-2003, 08:34 AM
ok, im gona play some 20 questions with you peeps willing to pay for this. lets look at the "plus" features...


• Also there is a possibility to add Winamp skins support, various sound Presets, powerful player control with arbitrary mappable hardware buttons, option to edit ID3 tags in your music files, and Advanced Playlist Organizer!
• Customizable Interface
• Quality 10-Band Equalizer
• Spectrum Analyzer (Visualizer)
• Great Playlist Editor"

Winamp skin support.. hmm.. what other player have we seen this in? winampaq.

Variuse sound presets and eqlizer. I could probably answer this, so im just going to lay down the scenario and you tell me if im right. You probably think earbuds are "ok" and your main headphones are a pair of sonys (take your pick from any in the price range of 0-$170.. they all equally suck. Yes folks, sony cannot make a good pair of headphones), yes? And you guys are crying over a good eqlizer to try and makeup for the entire lack of sound your headphones can produce? Buy a descent pair of grados or sennheiser phones. You won't need any eqlizers in any of your players except maybe for some nice bass boost when you want some seriouse thumpen.

powerfull player control and mapable buttons. it has standered controles! It has winamp controls and well, thats pretty much the standered today. mapable keys? winampaq dosnt have them customizable but it has a descent button map allready, pocket mvp does has customizable.

edit id3 tags.. this is laughable. who copies their mp3's BACK to their pc? can I see a show of hands? thank you...

Customizable Interface.. yea.. its called skinning. both winampaq and pocket mvp have this.

Spectrum Analyzer.. prolly the only unique thing here. worth $20? I dont think so.

Greate..playlist..editor. Well this is more personal opinion. you might find it better then PMVP and winampaq, I personaly don't use play list.

so in the end your paying $20 for what... a spec analyzer?

jizmo
01-18-2003, 04:36 PM
so in the end your paying $20 for what... a spec analyzer?

So what is the point of your post? One is stupid if he buys this? Unlike you?

I think it's a quality piece of software that works, someone has used time to program it and there'll be upgrades to the software. Anyone is entitled to ask money for their work and I supposed there are worse ways to spend 20 bucks than this.

For my needs MVP is sufficient, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying this software.

/jizmo

jeffmd
01-18-2003, 08:13 PM
oh come on is that the BEST you can do? If your asking me if I think its stupid to buy a piece of software when just as capable free ones are out there, then yes you are right.

I don't discourage people from buying stuff, but I can tell them if they are not spending their money wisely.

Askani
01-18-2003, 08:13 PM
you said it perfectly jizmo. no need to trash someone's hard work. if they want to charge they can charge. jeefmd, if you want to give your opinion thats fine, but don't do it in a way that trashes someone's work (which is how your post came off sounding). now if I could just get this to work with my 5455. :cry:

mhowie
01-18-2003, 09:45 PM
Any comparisons (from an audio, not visual, perspective) with iPlay???

PocketMind
01-19-2003, 01:28 PM
2 felixdd:
>is there any relationship between this program and winamPAQ?

No, there is not any relationship between PocketMusic and Winampaq. Honestly, we were surprised to know about such software, released at the same time. Maybe that's because we announced freeware mp3 player idea on our site when we began developing it. Anyway we had a lot of fun when saw news about winampaq :D

2Askani: see inbox, I guess I've understand the problem :wink:

2jeffmd:
>so in the end your paying $20 for what

Do you mean we should cut all valuable functions from the freeware player and add them to the Features Pack, so people have reasons to pay for it? :lol:

Yes, we realized the most valuable functions in freeware PocketMusic to give people GOOD MP3 player for FREE and some additional features we have added to the Feature Pack for money. If the person needs them he will buy the pack, but we don't force him to do this by cutting the most needed functions out from the freeware player.

As for Winamp skins support - important thing (ihmo) - our programmers built a zip decoder in Feature Pack, so user can store all skins zipped and this fact gives user about 100-600 Kb of free space/each skin.
As for Advanced Playlist Editor, in my opinion - this is a good way to manage playlists, it was not so easy to develop it.


Regards,
Ann Braun,
PocketMind.

jeffmd
01-20-2003, 12:09 AM
pocketmind, what mp3 decoder do you use? do you use MAD?

Wiggin
01-20-2003, 08:32 PM
PocketMind/Ann
Good piece of SW, nicely done. In addition to finding a number of the problems already posted in this thread, I am experiencing another "oddity" that is a bit frustrating, and would prevent me from using the app going forward. :cry:
When I blank the screen, the player begins to skip, and will not play a continuous stretch of music longer than 3-5 seconds. If I turn the screen back on, all is fine. This happens regardless of the number of other apps that are running (from 0 to n). The music files are on an SD 256MB, fyi.
Thougths?

67stang
01-22-2003, 06:30 PM
PocketMind/Ann
Good piece of SW, nicely done. In addition to finding a number of the problems already posted in this thread, I am experiencing another "oddity" that is a bit frustrating, and would prevent me from using the app going forward. :cry:
When I blank the screen, the player begins to skip, and will not play a continuous stretch of music longer than 3-5 seconds. If I turn the screen back on, all is fine. This happens regardless of the number of other apps that are running (from 0 to n). The music files are on an SD 256MB, fyi.
Thougths?


LOL, I just logged on to post the very same "bug" - what a coincidence that its the last post on here.

Anyway, on my e740 I get the same problem as mentioned by Wiggin. The player freaks out and skips or locks up, or stops all together, when the screen goes into energy saver mode. I have my systems settings set to turn the screen off after 30 secs of no use. Now what is interesting is that with windows media player the screen never goes pure black, it just turns the front light off.... but when i am using your winamp player it tries to black out fully, and thereinlies the problems.

otherwise i like it! :lol:

TECHIUM
01-22-2003, 09:03 PM
PocketMind/Ann
Good piece of SW, nicely done. In addition to finding a number of the problems already posted in this thread, I am experiencing another "oddity" that is a bit frustrating, and would prevent me from using the app going forward. :cry:
When I blank the screen, the player begins to skip, and will not play a continuous stretch of music longer than 3-5 seconds. If I turn the screen back on, all is fine. This happens regardless of the number of other apps that are running (from 0 to n). The music files are on an SD 256MB, fyi.
Thougths?


LOL, I just logged on to post the very same "bug" - what a coincidence that its the last post on here.

Anyway, on my e740 I get the same problem as mentioned by Wiggin. The player freaks out and skips or locks up, or stops all together, when the screen goes into energy saver mode. I have my systems settings set to turn the screen off after 30 secs of no use. Now what is interesting is that with windows media player the screen never goes pure black, it just turns the front light off.... but when i am using your winamp player it tries to black out fully, and thereinlies the problems.

otherwise i like it! :lol:

Sorry I quoted so much, but I have had the exact same problem. BTW I wonder if this is hardware specific. The reason being, I'm running it on a e740 using 128MB Lexar SD card for MP3 storage. I wonder if anyone else is having this problem, or is this e740 specific?

Wiggin
01-23-2003, 01:06 AM
I wonder if anyone else is having this problem, or is this e740 specific?
I'm using an iPaq 3850, so it appears that the problem is not specific to the e7s.

67stang
01-23-2003, 01:38 AM
are you guys also noticing that with this winamp player the screen tries to turn off completely, rather than dim out? seems to me like the problem has something to do with that.

moholland
01-23-2003, 03:16 AM
I have the same issue with my hp1910. I sent an email to pocketmusic and I got a response this afternoon...

Matthew, this issue is fixed, we'll release an update nearest days.

TECHIUM
01-23-2003, 04:46 AM
I have the same issue with my hp1910. I sent an email to pocketmusic and I got a response this afternoon...

Matthew, this issue is fixed, we'll release an update nearest days.

Matthew, thanks for the info. Well, personally besides that issue, and with the other "promised" features to come, this'll be a nice addition to my already numerous collection of media players. I'm not sure what others do, but depending on the media I'm playing I use different players. So far I haven't found one with the killer feature set we all seem to be after. Untill one makes it my way, this one's made the play list. &lt;-- pun intended :D

Wiggin
01-24-2003, 07:32 PM
FYI everyone, version 1.1 of Pocket Music is now available on the Pocket Mind Download Page (http://www.pocketmind.com/download.htm). This version has fixed the problem I mentioned earlier about the music skipping after turning off the screen, as well as other bugs I'm sure.
This app is now in the WOW category, esp given the price... Free!! :way to go:

Carlos
01-29-2003, 06:01 AM
I'd pay good money just for WMA support. It's a beautiful interface, and FINALLY, a player with its own independent volume control.

The EQ seems a bit off though, anybody else notice it doesn't seem to work as you'd expect?