the::unwired Asks: Portable Media Player - Is PPC Supreme?

[Jon Westfall]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=2595' target='_blank'>http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=2595</a><br /><br /></div>"Over at Yahoo! News, they have an interesting article called "PluggedIn: Portable media players may struggle to find market" where the author comes to the conclusion that Portable Media Players are too pricy, too hughe and that they haven't found there "natural" place yet, like MP3-players (a logical follower of the good old 80's Walkman).<br />Actually it's an interesting thought and even the media player manufactures might don't see a serious market yet if you count the available portable media centers and compare it with the number of Pocket PCs which can do basically the same."<br /><br />Arne makes a good point over at the::unwired about the current wave of portable music players and their features compared to what a Pocket PC can do. Not suprisingly, he reaches the conclusion that based on hard facts, our PPCs reign supreme. What do you think? Ready to trade in your Zen for a PPC?

[Paragon]

I've never really seen the point to them. They have a screen the same size as a pocket PC, yet they are bigger. They lack functionality. They are much more expensive than most of the alternatives. They have one advantage, larger memory, and that is going to disappear fairly soon when hardrives start appearing in Pocket PCs.

Dave

[aroma]

Hmm.... So in his article, Arne admits that a PMC has a larger storage capacity, supports video out, has a far better stand-by time, and the UI is easier and more user friendly, but in the end concludes that a PPC is a better portable media player because it can do other tasks and can possibly stream some media (if a broadband connection is availabe). IMO, I'm not sure that makes it a better portable media player. Does it make it a better all-in-one solution, if that's what you're looking for... ok, sure.

- Aaron

[OneAngryDwarf]

If I had a Zen or anything like it, I would trade it in for a PPC... My PPC as suggested is my PMP... listen to music, watch movies, read books and much much more obviously. I had a first generation mp3 player years ago but I don't think PPC's could even play mp3's back then (like 6 years ago). I really really want an iPod but my reasoning gets the better of me. What the heck do I need one for when I have my PPC on me all the time? They are just so damn cool and trendy though... that and those little Paris Hilton dogs (jk).

[silver99]

I have my eyes closley on the media players out there - they're looking more intersting all the time.

I'd probably be happy with a PPC media player but it lacks two things I really need:

- storage
- battery life

An no, 1, 2 or even 4GB cards will not do the trick when it comes to storage. You need a minimum of 20 GB preferably 30-40 GB to store some movies, music, photos, etc.

My x50v has an awesome screen, ultra-smooth playback, nice and compact but lousy battery life and storage. External hookups would be nice but not essential.

[shawnc]

I've never really seen the point to them. They have a screen the same size as a pocket PC, yet they are bigger. They lack functionality. They are much more expensive than most of the alternatives. They have one advantage, larger memory, and that is going to disappear fairly soon when hardrives start appearing in Pocket PCs.

Dave

I always find the sentiments about how the PPC is going to make some other technology obsolete (I think I read earlier about how the Blackberry will get run over shortly) rather amusing. I must admit that I hated the thought of adding a new gadget, but I needed more storage. I waited as long as I could for the 2GB SD cards to become available at a reasonable price. Got tired of waiting and purchased a 6GB Rio Carbon a little over a month ago for roughly the same price a 2GB SD card would have cost me. Haven't listened to music on my PPC since. Size and convenience are but two of the numerous advantages the Rio has for playing music over the PPC. My hunch is that the majority of people who will prefer their PPC over a dedicated music player will be those who have never owned a dedicated music player, just as I was in this camp until a couple of months ago. Music players aren't going anywhere anytime soon. And when they do go away, it will likely be caused by cell phones, not our trusty PPC's.

[Paragon]

I always find the sentiments about how the PPC is going to make some other technology obsolete (I think I read earlier about how the Blackberry will get run over shortly) rather amusing.

Good point....BUT.....I see Pocket PCs as only one of the better choices. If you are going to use a dedicated device, why not one of the portable DVD players on the market? The are much less money and have a bigger screen. I realize they can only play a single DVD, no memory and so on, but seem to me to be a better overall choice if choosing a dedicated device. The music capabilities of a Portable Media Player are easily reproduced by many iPod like deices on the market.

Dave

[jgalindo]

I refuse to buy an ipod while I own my pocket pc.

0X

[R K]

Music players aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
This, I agree with.

And when they do go away, it will likely be caused by cell phones, not our trusty PPC's.
I'm sorry but this makes little sense to me. The only thing that cell phones have over Pocket PCs is a keypad, and size (or lack thereof).
There's no technology that's proprietary to cell phones, preventing them from going into Pocket PCs.

For instance, Samsung is coming out with a Smartphone that has an integrated 3GB HD, but there's nothing preventing those same 3GB HDs from going into Pocket PCs.

[CoreyJF]

I love my pocketpc. I love my IPOD. For now they serve different purposes. With my Samsung I730, high speed EVDO connection and Orb for place shifting, I have come pretty close to not needing the IPOD at certain times. But the fact is, for me, it is easier to have a high capacity dedicated audio device. For video, I do prefer the flexibility ppc, especially if I am inside the EVDO network. But the ease of use and the sheer capacity of my IPOD, has made it my only real choice for my hour + hike around the Washington Beltway.

[aroma]

I refuse to buy an ipod while I own my pocket pc.

0X

Buy an iPOD and you'll probably never listen to music on you PPC again... and you'll wonder how you ever lived without one. I use to listen to music on my PPC all the time, until I got my iPOD.

- Aaron

[R K]

I wouldn't buy a dedicated music payer simply because I only have about 3GB worth of music.

[Don't Panic!]

I've always said that if MS had marketed the PPC as a consumer device instead of a corporate tool MS would have owned the digital music world. Of course at the time of the PPC release no one thought there was any money in digital music.

[shawnc]

I always find the sentiments about how the PPC is going to make some other technology obsolete (I think I read earlier about how the Blackberry will get run over shortly) rather amusing.

Good point....BUT.....I see Pocket PCs as only one of the better choices. If you are going to use a dedicated device, why not one of the portable DVD players on the market? The are much less money and have a bigger screen. I realize they can only play a single DVD, no memory and so on, but seem to me to be a better overall choice if choosing a dedicated device. The music capabilities of a Portable Media Player are easily reproduced by many iPod like deices on the market.

Dave

I don't have any hard data to support my theory, but since that's never stopped me in the past, here goes. With a portable DVD you lose the size advantage. And the one thing that MS and many in the PPC camp don't seem to get is how important size is to the majority (i.e. not uber-techies) of the market. Plus, I remain unconvinced that most folks really want a portable device to watch movies on the go. I listen to my Rio (formerly my PPC) while driving and jogging. I have no desire to watch a movie while performing either of those activities. While the idea of watching a recorded program or ripped movie on the train ride to work might be appealing to some, most will prefer the sweet simplicity and high reliability of a dedicated music device (IMO). Most of the folks I see with their headphones on during the commute are usually sleeping or dozing. I can't imagine them wanting a video player that results in sacrifices in both size and battery life.

Lastly, I don't think the buying public is interested in doing much of what we use our PPC's for. For instance, I love reading ebooks, but I know of no one else who has a remote interest in this. Basic calendar and scheduling functionality (which will suffice for most people) can be found in even the most basic of cell phones. That, and the emergence of miniSD, is why I can see cell phones and music players being converged. Many teens I know have both a cell phone and music player already. Combined, those two devices probably have 95% of the functionality needed by the overwhelming majority of the buying public.

[MatthewNCB]

Currentl
I dont think that PPC can provide a better solution to a dedicated PMP.

BUT

I bought my Loox 720 precisley because I think it will.

When the Mobile 5.0 update comes out, i will my tv sync features the same as a PMP
With the new Seagate 8Gb CF Card and 4GB SD Card, OK, i wont have got the same size of storage on its own.

However combine USB host and and "ORB" and i have access to a far far greater amount of media than a PMP has.

Oh and I get a pretty good PPC as well

I cant wait for that update!

[rdparris]

Actually, with my Dell X50v I can easily

--Watch converted video streamed wirelessly from my Media Center PC
-- Listen to my entire collection of music on my MCPC (again, streamed)
--Listen to lots of music on my PPC using various storage card options
-- Watch recorded TV or converted movies (I have fit 3 movies on 1 512meg SD card - there are many ways to squeeze good quality video in a small space using DivX, WMV, AVI, etc.)
-- Listen to audio books for hours
-- Read the most popular books
-- Surf the internet
-- Carry all my papers and references with me
-- Change channels on my TV and adjust the volume
-- Access my wireless network at home, and all the files on it
-- Control my desktop PC from my PPC and visa versa
-- Play all kinds of games, even 3D games!

A PPC can do all the above and more, but a DVD player, iPod, and to an extent a Portable Media player can't do as much. The battery on most DVD players and Portable Media players have a hard time keeping up with my X50v. While I admit the stock battery that comes with the X50 is lame, the extended battery works flawlessly for those multi-media chores.

An iPod or Media player? Nah. Why carry an MP3 player, Gameboy or PSP, DVD or heavier portable media player, and a bunch of papers and books when one single unit can do that .........and more?

[rmasinag]

[/quote]

Buy an iPOD and you'll probably never listen to music on you PPC again... and you'll wonder how you ever lived without one. I use to listen to music on my PPC all the time, until I got my iPOD.

- Aaron[/quote]

If not for the bulk, and safety considerations (i.e. tha data it holds) when commuting, I would use my IPAQ 2210 again as a media player because I swear the audio sounds 10 times better than on my 1GB iPod Shuffle which according to PC Mag, sounds better than any of the other iPods.

I can only attest to this because I use my Etymotics ER4P earbuds. I'm sure with any lesser listening output you cannot tell the difference (i.e supplied iPod earphones). I swear it's like night and day in audio quality between the iPod and IPAQ , especially acoustics and orchestra stuffs.

But since the Shuffle is a size of a small gumstick, I have to use it for music. :(



Honestly: If I want to do video and gaming, which is pretty soon, now that I have graduated, I would definitely be PSPing! :D

[ctmagnus]

The two advantages that some media players have are capacity and ease of use (not speaking from an iPod users perspective). I'm talking about capacity in the 30GB+ range and ease of use ie, you plug it in and Windows immediately recognizes it as removable mass storage - no additional software is required.

[n1ck]

I have an Archos AV4100 with 100gb storage and a drop in cradle with one connector to record and play back television. It connects via USB2 to my home pc. I use it as a backup device and a movie player for my (frequent) overseas trips - with the travel cord it plugs into the television and plays.

Separately I use my PPC to organise my life - claendar, email, browser, weather, travel details etc.

Horses for courses.