OSUKid7
03-11-2006, 07:51 PM
Well, I've resisted getting a standalone media player for this long, but I think it's about time. If you don't know me, I'm a heavy antipiracy advocate, and thus, all of my music is legal. I'm one of the few people who actually subscribe to Napster. I have a Dell Axim X51v Pocket PC and Cingular 2125 Smarthpone, both with Windows Mobile 5. I've been able to sync purchased music (purchassed at $0.99/track on Napster) to my Axim's internal storage and storage cards. Last week, before I left on my trip, I upgraded my standard Napster subscription to the Napster To Go, in hopes that it might sync to my Axim's 1GB SD card. I didn't totally expect it to work, as the Axim X51v is not a PlaysForSure device; however, every time I connected the device with WMP/Napster open, a dialog box allerted me that I could upgrade to Napster To Go.
Well, for those familiar with Pocket PCs and WMP DRM, you know by now that it didn't work. The license wouldn't sync over to the storage card - only internal storage. I somewhat see the point of this, but why can't they just copy the license to internal storage, and the music files to the storage card?
Anyhow, I'm going to be traveling more this summer, both by car and plane, so I'm considering getting a standalone media player. Features I'd like: PlaysForSure compatible, obviously - since I'm a Napster subscriber now; relatively large storage capacity - I haven't decided if I want internal or expandable storage, but I'm leaning towards an internal hard drive, as I'd like some room to expand in the future; physical size - I would perfer something of pocket size, although if this compromises features, it's not the most important spec.
As I'm looking over the PlaysForSure.com (http://www.playsforsure.com) site, I'm reminded again of the Portable Media Center devices. I do have a Media Center system, so these still interest me. However, the size is definitely larger than I was thinking. I guess if I'm considering a PMC, I should consider a UMPC, (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/umpc/) since that would act as a normal PC, and save me $5 per month.
Well, as you can tell, I'm still a little overwhelmed with my options. I'm happy for any advice (other than to get an iPod ;)).
Thanks everyone!
Well, for those familiar with Pocket PCs and WMP DRM, you know by now that it didn't work. The license wouldn't sync over to the storage card - only internal storage. I somewhat see the point of this, but why can't they just copy the license to internal storage, and the music files to the storage card?
Anyhow, I'm going to be traveling more this summer, both by car and plane, so I'm considering getting a standalone media player. Features I'd like: PlaysForSure compatible, obviously - since I'm a Napster subscriber now; relatively large storage capacity - I haven't decided if I want internal or expandable storage, but I'm leaning towards an internal hard drive, as I'd like some room to expand in the future; physical size - I would perfer something of pocket size, although if this compromises features, it's not the most important spec.
As I'm looking over the PlaysForSure.com (http://www.playsforsure.com) site, I'm reminded again of the Portable Media Center devices. I do have a Media Center system, so these still interest me. However, the size is definitely larger than I was thinking. I guess if I'm considering a PMC, I should consider a UMPC, (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/umpc/) since that would act as a normal PC, and save me $5 per month.
Well, as you can tell, I'm still a little overwhelmed with my options. I'm happy for any advice (other than to get an iPod ;)).
Thanks everyone!