iPaq 2215 as MP3 & MIDI player

[Stradivarius]

Hi,

My 1st post, sorry if it's the wrong section. If so please provide mye with instructions to correct any mistake.

I'm looking for a lightweight device for listining music and also doing some useful applications. I commute to work with my laptop (WinXP). I have all I need in term of applications. For the iPad 2215 I plan to purchase, I'll use it mainly as a MP3 player. Later on, when I get more comfortable with it, I'll probably use other Pocket PC applications.

I was planning to buy a MP3 device only (iRiver or iAudio). However, I start looking at a PDA as a friend has suggested the idea. The iPaq 2215 (+512 MB memory card) costs more than double but I don't mind the price knowing that it has much more potential.

I'm totally novice in PDA. I've just read the review made by Jason Dunn
HP iPAQ 2215 - The New Shining Star in the Pocket PC Galaxy?
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=126307

And I must admit that I am quite impressed by the iPaq 2215. Can anyone of you help me to answer these questions:

1. Is there anything wrong using a PDA as a MP3 player?

2. Using the HP iPaq 2215 as MP3 player, how good is the battery? Jason's review said "Display off, looping MP3 audio file: 8 hours 35 minutes". Can I really count on 8h of music?

3. How about MIDI player? A search on Google shows that there is some MIDI player for Pocket PC. If you have any experience in this area, I'd appreciate some leads to more documentation.

For example, at home I use the syntheziser of Audigy2 to play MIDI. At work, I use the softsynt of JetAudio 6. Can a PDA play a MIDI file as good as a desktop computer?

Thank you very much in advance for any advice.

[Chris Spera]

1. Is there anything wrong using a PDA as a MP3 player?
No, I use my 2215 as a music player all the time. I even bought a 2GB CF Microdrive to hold the music!

2. Using the HP iPaq 2215 as MP3 player, how good is the battery? Jason's review said "Display off, looping MP3 audio file: 8 hours 35 minutes". Can I really count on 8h of music?
The 2215 is the right size, and the battery does pretty well... You may want to charge it during the day in its cradle, or at night, but it does pretty well for me


3. How about MIDI player? A search on Google shows that there is some MIDI player for Pocket PC. If you have any experience in this area, I'd appreciate some leads to more documentation.
I, Unfortunately, don't do the MIDI thing at all, so I have no idea how it will do as a MIDI player.

[milkman dan]

How much did you pay for your 2gig drive? also what brand is it? any reccomendations on a good drive for the 2215's? last but not least, does it hurt battery life using a card like that?

As far as the midi goes, WinamPAQ (winamp's PPC version) plays MIDI great :D

[Kowalski]

winampaq is a good application but the sound adjustment is not good. it only changes the main volume which 2215 has only 5 steps

[Stradivarius]

As far as the midi goes, WinamPAQ (winamp's PPC version) plays MIDI great :D

Thank you all for your inputs. It's great news as it could play MIDI. I'll search the web to know more about this.

[Ripper014]

I have not tried it... but you can look at this... its free...

http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php?soft=756

[martyh1]

1. Is there anything wrong using a PDA as a MP3 player?

Works great for me but it simply is not as nice as my ipod when it comes to the user interface and controls. But this makes sense, as a general purpose device never matches up to a specific purpose device. That being said, I think my 2215 sounds better than my ipod. Don't forget to recheck the ipaq audio settings every once in a while (move the controls) as the sound coming from the ipaq seems to go back to default ipaq audio settings even though the setting controls themselves don't actually move.

2. Using the HP iPaq 2215 as MP3 player, how good is the battery? Jason's review said "Display off, looping MP3 audio file: 8 hours 35 minutes". Can I really count on 8h of music?

Don't count on 8 hours unless you really aren't going to interact with the player that whole time. I interact with it a lot which causes the backlight to come on (full brightness for me) a lot. Also, CF cards in general but especially microdrives will eat battery life considerably. I'm guessing that 8 hour test was done using an mp3 stored internally. That makes a huge difference. I could get maybe 3 solid hours using my 4gb CF-size microdrive, but that's a guess as I never use it for 3 straight hours. Basically I charge mine every day, occassionally skipping a day.

[Stradivarius]

1. Is there anything wrong using a PDA as a MP3 player?

Works great for me but it simply is not as nice as my ipod when it comes to the user interface and controls. But this makes sense, as a general purpose device never matches up to a specific purpose device. That being said, I think my 2215 sounds better than my ipod. Don't forget to recheck the ipaq audio settings every once in a while (move the controls) as the sound coming from the ipaq seems to go back to default ipaq audio settings even though the setting controls themselves don't actually move.


Better sound than iPod? Then that's perfect. Thank you for the info. This is strange however that a PDA could beat a music specific device in sound quality.

Also thanks for the battery duration based on your practical experience. Dropping from 8h to 3h is a huge decrease. But that's OK. I hope I can do a little longer as I usually listen without too much interaction.

[Janak Parekh]

Better sound than iPod? Then that's perfect. Thank you for the info. This is strange however that a PDA could beat a music specific device in sound quality.
The iPAQs happen to have a fantastic DAC. I can back up the audio quality reports -- my iPod was a step down in terms of audio quality, particularly bass reproduction -- not a huge one, but certainly noticeable.

Also thanks for the battery duration based on your practical experience. Dropping from 8h to 3h is a huge decrease. But that's OK. I hope I can do a little longer as I usually listen without too much interaction.
There's also the extended battery if you are willing to put up with the bulk and want longer playing time. Battery life is one of the major advantages of a dedicated music player.

--janak

[Trimac20]

1. Is there anything wrong using a PDA as a MP3 player?

If this is some moral/ethical argument? :wink: ...no, the simple answer is no, the 2215 is a great MP3 player...if you're one of those who doesn't mind using flash-based players, and constantly updating songs, then yeah nothing wrong with that. I used to use my 4350 as my main MP3 player, and I have to tell you the sound quality was among the best I have heard for any audio device. As for the comparison with the ipod, the ipod is a load of rubbish: Apple have no idea how to make a real music player :) . Look how crappy the sound is on their G4s!

Anyway, I found it annoying having to constantly update my playlist. There is one app which is essential if you're going to use your 2215 as an MP3 player: Playlist Sync found at pocketpcfreeware.com. It automatically updates the playlist for you.

But if you're really into music, than nothing still beats a dedicated MP3 player. I bought the iriver Ihp120: in my opinion a truly awesome product, you should check it out.

2. Using the HP iPaq 2215 as MP3 player, how good is the battery? Jason's review said "Display off, looping MP3 audio file: 8 hours 35 minutes". Can I really count on 8h of music?

You can't compare battery life to a dedicated music player (my iriver, for example, lasts 16 hours), but it is decent for most people. I am very suspicious of the review you quoted: '8hrs??'. My 4350, 1,500 mw battery lasts about 6 hr 30 mins looping a song, and since I think the 2210s battery is a 1,250 mw then it would last a shorter time. A more accurate estimate would be about 4.5 to 5 hours.

How about MIDI player? A search on Google shows that there is some MIDI player for Pocket PC. If you have any experience in this area, I'd appreciate some leads to more documentation.

I don't exactly what you mean by a MIDI player. If you mean a software app that plays MIDI files or WAV. MIDIs than Winamp should be fine.

[Kacey Green]

The 22xx has a 900ma battery and I'll have to disagree with your estimate, if you look at my above post where I describe the informal stress test I did on Rex. If Rex could do all of that with the standard battery, I'd be willing to hazzard a guess that if it was just playing mp3s with screen off it would be in the range of Jason's results (or better :wink:)

[bnycastro]

I use my 2215 for mp3s as well and it is great! Although I only have a 1 GB microdrive :)

You can also use GSPlayer for MIDI it is also free. Try 'Googling' (is this a word?) for it.