Toshiba Launches 60Gb Mp3 Player/Digital Photo Wallet with QVGA Colour Screen

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/12/preview_tosh_giga_60gb/' target='_blank'>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/1...tosh_giga_60gb/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Compact and weighty, the Gigabeat is roughly the same size as the iPod 40GB model. However, that's where the similarities stop. The front is adorned with a large 2.2in QVGA 240 x 320 colour screen that is crisp and clear, and a sliding control cross mechanism - a mix of the clickwheel from the iPod and the slider from Creative's Zen Touch.......Because of the large colour screen you can also view record covers and Toshiba is hoping to release a USB add-on that will allow you to input digital images to store or, more importantly, view on the player."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/gigabeat_1.jpg" /> <br /><br />The Register mentions in their review, that many had thought that the new Toshiba 60Gb Hard disk would be reserved for the iPod range. Instead, Toshiba have launched a very worthy contender of their own. The Gigabeat plays Mp3s (obviously), WMA and WAV, is supplied with a networkable USB 2.0 sync and charge cradle and is available in blue, silver and pink. (You can see the colours in the official press release <a href="http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2004_09/pr2701.htm">here</a>. With a QVGA colour screen, this unit really resembles a PDA, apart from the fact that it can run continuously for 20 hours on one battery charge. ;-) Just look at the photo above: to my eyes the Gigabeat really reassembles the first or second generation of Pocket PCs. Imagine running PPC2003SE on a device with 60Gb of storage! Surely such a hybrid device can’t be too far off? OK, it would be larger than a ‘normal’ Pocket PC, but for 60Gb of storage I would be prepared to live with that. What about you guys? Even those of you that don’t like the idea of hard drives in PPCs, must be tempted by storing 60 G's of 'stuff' on your pride and joy?

[yanathin]

First thing I thought to myself about this thing was, "this thing has to be so much bigger than the iPod." Well, according to the measurements I found on Toshiba's Press Release, I am extremely surprised. Look at the comparison:

Gigabeat F (60gb): 2.4 x 4.2 x .7 inches, 6.0 ounces
iPod 4th gen (40gb): 2.4 x 4.1 x .69 inches, 6.2 ounces

Okay, not only is this 60gb God of an MP3 player the same exact size of the iPod, it also has a QVGA color screen, better looks (in my opinion.. then again the color screen is probably the reason of that) and it weighs .2 ounces less! Let's just hope Toshiba doesn't overcharge for this thing, because if released at the right price, it will truely be THE iPod killer.

[Jonathon Watkins]

First thing I thought to myself about this thing was, "this thing has to be so much bigger than the iPod."

Ummm, did you not read the first line of the quote I included? :wink:

I too am very impressed with this unit. We'll wait to see what it costs however.......

[yanathin]

Whoops... I got too excited and skipped that quote. :wink:

Toshiba needs to seriously somehow get the word of this device out into the world... Even though it's better than the iPod in oh so many ways, the iPod will still dominate in sales.

[JustinGTP]

Wow, I love it. However, in the press release, it says that they plan to release this device at the end of November in the Japanese market. What does this mean for North Americans? Does Toshiba plan to release it here?

I hope so.

-Justin.

[surur]

Besides being smaller than an Ipod, its also smaller and only slightly thicker than most pocketpc's.

Now ive heard the argument against 4GB hard drives vs flash memory cards, but no one has shown me a 60GB memory card yet.

I hope the size argument has been clearly squashed, and if this can be used in a music player, the battery life argument too.

Again, this device has most of the guts of a pocketpc, where are the pocketpc's with hard drives?

Surur

[dean_shan]

I like it., it looks very cool. I'd like to try out that cross-pad and see how well it accualy handles.

[gibson042]

Besides being smaller than an Ipod, its also smaller and only slightly thicker than most pocketpc's.

Now ive heard the argument against 4GB hard drives vs flash memory cards, but no one has shown me a 60GB memory card yet.

I hope the size argument has been clearly squashed, and if this can be used in a music player, the battery life argument too.

Again, this device has most of the guts of a pocketpc, where are the pocketpc's with hard drives?

Surur
For better or for worse, they can't be too long in coming now. Sharp is releasing a new Zaurus (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/15/linux_4gb_hdd_pda/) in Japan with a 4GB hard drive built in. I'd wager that the first Pocket PC with a hard drive will be announced within a year.

[x999x]

Impressive, finally something as asthetically attractive as the ipod, only it's not from crApple.

Kudos to Toshiba for once again taking an original american idea and perfecting it in the way only the Japanese can.

I look forward to this product to smite my yuppie apple friends, hopefully the homebrew community can crack her open and add more functionality in the same way people have with the ipod.

[Jonathon Watkins]

For better or for worse, they can't be too long in coming now. Sharp is releasing a new Zaurus (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/15/linux_4gb_hdd_pda/) in Japan with a 4GB hard drive built in.

Funny you should mention that. :wink:

I'd wager that the first Pocket PC with a hard drive will be announced within a year.

I would like that, I really would. :D

[Craig Horlacher]

Everyone always talks about the iPod but if you're considering *any* hard drive based music player make sure you look at the ones from iRiver (www.iriveramerica.com). I have thier 40GB player and love it. Analog and optical in and out jacks, direct recording to wav or mp3 (40kbps to 320kbps bit rate), recording with the built in or external mic, FM tuner, and it plays wav, mp3, ogg, wma, and asf music formats. Besides that you can view text files on the screen while music is playing. Great for storing lyrics.

They have new players with color screens that I assume have all the old features. The ones with a color screen also let you view bmp and jpeg files.

To me the iPod has no purpose other than apparently working really well with iTunes. Many players from other companies have more features than just music playback. Make sure you check around. I'm glad to see a right up on one other than an iPod. It would be neat if reviews would recognize the iRiver players as more advanced than most (any?) other hard drive player (certainly than the ipod) and compare to the iRiver as well. Yeah, you have to compare to the ipod because that's what everyone who doesn't research buys. Yes, I know some who research buy the ipod. For me, the choice was clear. :)

[Fishie]

Played around with this at CEATEC, its really fun and intuitive to handle it and cycling pictures and playlists is really fast with the cross bar.
Ecellent screen too.

[sponge]

I hope the size argument has been clearly squashed, and if this can be used in a music player, the battery life argument too.

Nope. Caching a couple meg song into RAM is a lot less intensive than being read and written to by an OS.

[x999x]

The more I look at this device, the more I'm remineded about HP's "+" ad campaign. Can anyone give me a clue as to why?~

[Jonathan1]

*shrugs*

Supposedly Apple is releasing a 60GB color photo iPod in the next few months for the same price as their previous 40GB iPod before they lowered the price earlier this year...e.g. $500. I haven’t gotten an iPod because 40GB isn’t large enough to store my music. When they come out with the 60GB this fall I’m all over it. And if it has a color screen that can display the tracks cover art. So much the better. :)

[Spiral]

To me the iPod has no purpose other than apparently working really well with iTunes. Many players from other companies have more features than just music playback. Make sure you check around. I'm glad to see a right up on one other than an iPod. It would be neat if reviews would recognize the iRiver players as more advanced than most (any?) other hard drive player (certainly than the ipod) and compare to the iRiver as well.
What the ipod lacks in features, it makes up with the best interface and slick design.

[Silencer]

Where can I order? :D

Hey, if it comes with WM2003SE, let´s also have built-in GPS, GSM, GPRS, WLAN and BT - it´s big anyway.

And what about a DVD-Slot-In drive? :D

0X must be from outta space

[Cortex]

looks like the price is only 729.00!!!!!!

http://www.dynamism.com/gigabeat-f/index.shtml

[Jonathan1]

looks like the price is only 729.00!!!!!!

http://www.dynamism.com/gigabeat-f/index.shtml

To be fair. That is a Japanese import site. there is always a high markup on items there. Lets see if this device makes it to the US first before we scream about price.

[jngold_me]

Be vary careful with this device. In the past Toshiba's Gigabeat series used proprietary methods to get mp3's and wma's over to the device. You "have" to use their application to convert your current mp3's or whatever to their format - very similar to Sony's ATRAC format.

Before I bought my Ipod 4G 20gig to replace my PPC (for music only, of course) , I thought I would be limited too, but have found since mp3's can be tranfered either via iTunes or other apps on the market.

[Felix Torres]

Worth noting, the Gigabeat line is not limited to the 60Gb drive; they have models with the small drives.
If the pink ones show up here by mid-Feb I might be buying...
8)

[AhuhX]

What the ipod lacks in features, it makes up with the best interface and slick design.

People keep saying this ad nauseum, and while I like the minimalist design of the latest 4th gen and mini, one of my friends who has one said it will be the last one he gets because he is sick of having to take it out of his pocket just to change the volume when at the gym because of the two-handed "spinning wheel" interface.

The minimalist hardware interface is slick, but maybe not practical in all situations.

He also goes on about other annoyances like gaps between the songs, and some other issues he has with the playlist interface.

I just wish there was a non-Apple device that balanced the nice minimalism of the iPod with the features of the current competing players without ending up looking like some scary, kludgy Frankenstein gadget.

What I really, really want is a PPC with a 60 gig harddrive and then all these crappo, dedicated music players could go to h*ll for all I care. That's a long, long way off I guess though.. :cry:

[KayMan2k]

The more I look at this device, the more I'm remineded about HP's "+" ad campaign. Can anyone give me a clue as to why?~

I thought the same thing!!! The '+' pad reminds me too much of HP's advertisements. Will this hurt Toshiba or HP?

[Andrew]

Hi, I dont know if your friend knows about it, but theres an extension cable that plugs into the tops of the ipod and provides a min control panel, with volume, skip etc on it, so no need to take the ipod out.
As far as the gaps between the songs, there are ways around this, but I thought it affected other players too and was more to do with either how the songs were ripped, or the firmware on the players? There are some workarounds for this though on sites like ipodlounge.

Back on topic - this certainly looks like a nice device, I have to admit that I do like the look of the screen too, but then considering that the only time I really see the screen on my ipod is when I have it docked into the portable speakers at home, I have to wonder whether its the killer feature that would make me go for a device like this. *shrugs* I think I'd like to have the option on a device like this (even on an ipod, iriver or whatever) to be able to switch the screen off totally once Ive started a playlist going, as I believe even this slight reduction in power consumption would help maximise battery life. Have to admit that the screen looks nice though :)

[Jonathan1]

he is sick of having to take it out of his pocket just to change the volume when at the gym because of the two-handed "spinning wheel" interface.


http://images.apple.com/ipod/images/access_remotebuds01062004.jpg


He also goes on about other annoyances like gaps between the songs, and some other issues he has with the playlist interface.

Yah. I don't know what the heck is with Apple. This "issue" has been screamed about since day one and they haven't done squat about it. There are work arounds from what I've read. But they are far from good.


I just wish there was a non-Apple device that balanced the nice minimalism of the iPod with the features of the current competing players without ending up looking like some scary, kludgy Frankenstein gadget.

'I think the primary reason you don't see more real innovation in the iPod is that Apple is scared pissless that they are going to break the streak of good luck they've had with it if they dink around with the feature set too much. Consequently you have seen little to no real change in the iPod from version 1-4. (OK so they went from a moving wheel to a touchwheel. WEEEE.)
If it is true that they are coming out with a Photo iPod this fall I think the only reason the would do this is even greater fear that other OEMs might start eating into their sales. X-Mas season will tell the tale. I don't foresee anyone touching the iPod for the time being but we will see.

[AhuhX]

Thanks guys for the suggestion with the remote. I don't even know why he didn't think of that. I'm not sure if he has a preference for particular headphones which stops him from using the ones Johnathon suggested? I'll tell him anyway.

Anyways...

Does anyone else think that Apple might be shooting themselves in the foot long-term by not opening up the "iTunes" market to players from competing manufacturers?

It's getting to the point now where I feel I would be embarrased to get an iPod simply because every bl00dy person out there has one it seems; Oh, the irony given Apple's "Think Different" campain!

If I was after a dedicated player, I think I would wait until a decent one from another manufacturer came out before jumping on the iPod bandwagon- just to be different! :D