Guest Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 I'm looking at getting a 20GB or 40GB hard disk MP3 player (not not the overrated I-Pod) but was wondering if there any plans that people know of to release a SmartPhone with one built in? Any company. I'm thinking it would be nice to have it all in one unit but I guess it would have to mean the phone is fairly big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 It's inevitable i'd say, but the first phones / PDAs with hard drives are likely to be iPod Mini type capacties rather than monster 40GB jobbies. Having said that, with SD cards at 2GB already, who needs hard drives if they continue to grow at the current rate, lol... P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 The problem I see is size. I'm sure phones will come out with flash memory built in but flash memory has a limitation of how much storage it can hold. As you say SD cards are out with 2Gb but that's not very much. I can't see SD cards getting to 20GB let alone 40Gb. So therefore they'll have to go the hard disk route and even a 1.5 inch hard disk is much bigger than an SD card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr_StrangeTrick Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 Hi Bradavon, dont get me wrong but how many songs do you want to carry around with you on your phone :?: On a 2Gb card you could fit around 500 songs onto it :( this would work out to around 20 hours play time :) the battery on your phone would not last that long :cry: The other thought is how would you manage that many songs :?: it would be hard work with Media Player and even with packages like PocketMusic would not be easy trying to juggle the playlist around with the controls on the phone. But I have to agree I dont like the IPod's either :-& I have a 1Gb card in my phone and I have 300Mb of songs loaded which when left to random play in PocketMusic last me long enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 (edited) Hi Bradavon, dont get me wrong but how many songs do you want to carry around with you on your phone :?: A fair few. It's not easy to upload new music to your device when you travel for long periods. On a 2Gb card you could fit around 500 songs onto it :( this would work out to around 20 hours play time :) the battery on your phone would not last that long :cry: I don't want to just put music on my phone. I have documents, videos etc . . . also taking up space. I know that's why you'd charge it up??? :( The other thought is how would you manage that many songs :?: it would be hard work with Media Player and even with packages like PocketMusic would not be easy trying to juggle the playlist around with the controls on the phone. Exactly why it would need to be designed with music in mind also such as I-Pod's. I agree SmartPhone's in their current state it would be awkward as hell. But I have to agree I dont like the IPod's either :-& I have a 1Gb card in my phone and I have 300Mb of songs loaded which when left to random play in PocketMusic last me long enough. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It's just easier to have it all there. Not having to remove albums when you fancy a change. I guess this is why I-Pods sell so well. I just figure if your phone could be in the same device it would be better but as I said before I suspect it would have to be to big. I was thinking about a 20Gb MP3 player but the 40Gb model I'm interested in is only £30 more. Don't get me wrong I don't have an issue with the I-Pod per say I kind of like it but it's very limited compared to other MP3 players. Edited January 1, 2005 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 On my recent visit to Mobius, I was told there is a prototype phone with a 5GB hard disk, and it's volume is 20% less than the C500 :) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 FWIW, I have a 1GB card in my Jam synced with Media Center, would LOVE 40gb or something :) hehe P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 (edited) What's Mobius? Did they say how big it will be? And when it is coming out? So you're saying a 5Gb SmartPhone is coming? So it will be quiet then :) . What does FWIW mean? What is a Jam? Thanks Edited January 1, 2005 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Disco Stu Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 For What Its Worth. Have a look in the MoDaCo shop for the i-Mate Jam, though you won't appreciate just how sexy it is until you've got one on the palm of your hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 What's Mobius?A meeting organised my MS of influential website people in the Mobile Devices Arena (not just MS devices). Did they say how big it will be? 20% smaller than a c500. And when it is coming out?Unknown, it's not a product yet, it's an engineering sample I believe. So you're saying a 5Gb SmartPhone is coming? So it will be quiet then icon_sad.gif . Quiet? :-| What does FWIW mean?For what it's worth. What is a Jam? An iMate Jam, available in the MoDaCo Shop - http://www.MoDaCo.com/shop.htm - I have one, and it's stunning. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr_StrangeTrick Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 Sorry got hold of the wrong end of the stick there. As you can see 2Gb is the biggest you can get at the moment and that'ss if you stick with the E200 type phones (2Gb Mini SD do not exist yet) but you can keep a lot of music and video on that. Using products like BetaPlayer/PocketDivXEncoder you can squeeze a full length feature film into around 120Mb and still retain excellent quality. As far as MP3's go I re-encode mine down to 96Kps, this sounds fine on the phone or in the car through my car stereo and this brings MP3 files down to about 2.5Mb each. As mentioned earlier I have 130 music tracks, 3 full length movies, Sat Nav, bucket loads of games etc on my 1Gb card but if you need more then especially as you mentioned music, video and data then I would recommend you look at one of the personal media players. The Archos AV400 has audio, video recording and playback as well as appearing as a USB mass storage device so you can also use it as a massive USB pen. Mind you though, cant wait for 5Gb phones =p~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 (edited) Another reason for wanting an MP3 player (with or without phone) is because IMO while great it is finicky as hell to start, stop, pause etc... music on the phone simply because it's first function is a phone and the second media. For example as soon as I lock my E200 BetaPlayer hides in the background meaning I have to fire up XBar to Alt-Tab back to it again. I live with it but it is finicky. Using products like BetaPlayer/PocketDivXEncoder you can squeeze a full length feature film into around 120Mb and still retain excellent quality. I do the same but as well as using PocketDivXEncoder I also use DVD-to-Mobile. As far as MP3's go I re-encode mine down to 96Kps, this sounds fine on the phone or in the car through my car stereo and this brings MP3 files down to about 2.5Mb each. I'm surprised you don't use WMA's which were designed for sub 128Kbps bit-rates. I can't tell the difference between a 96Kbps WMA and a 128Kbps MP3 but 96Kbps MP3's sound awful (especially using headphones); the bass is completely lost. I can't tell the difference between MP3 or OGG though (assuming they have a similar bit-rate), many people can. As mentioned earlier I have 130 music tracks, 3 full length movies, Sat Nav, bucket loads of games etc on my 1Gb card I have about the same. An iMate Jam, available in the MoDaCo Shop - I have one, and it's stunning. Those are cool but as they're proper PDA's they must be rather large, right? The SmartPhone while limited compared to a PDA/PocketPC is the right size. 20% smaller than a c500. LOL you meant volume as in size. I thought you meant volume as in well volume :). Thanks. 20% smaller that looks very tempting. Just to confirm the (possibly) obvious but it is a SmartPhone you're talking about? After owning an SPV E200 I couldn't go back to a regular phone. Edited January 2, 2005 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gingepaul Posted January 9, 2005 Report Share Posted January 9, 2005 heres a bit of a story of slashdot, a new memory that'll really kick sd into touch..................... "Measuring a scant 20 nanometers across, Infineon AG's new nonvolatile flash memory cell could lead to 32 gigabit flash chips within the next few years. The cell contains a unique structure with a fin for the transistor to avoid nano-scale physical effects and uses 90% less electrons than today's memory to store data." "Approximately 5000 times thinner than a human hair, the new flash memory cell built by Infineon would increase capacity 8 times to 32 Gigabit." http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2004/104121703.asp very cool stuff :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 9, 2005 Report Share Posted January 9, 2005 Good find there. Surely they mean 32 gigabytes? As I'm sure 32 gigabits is only 320 megabytes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest martyb Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 Does anyone know if there is a way to access the SD card in an imate JAM without having activesync? I want to be able to access the SD card like a USB Mass Storage Device (basically so I can use it as a USB key for transferring data). I can't see anything in the doco but wondered if it could be done with software?? Hope you can help Thanx Martyb from OZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 Buy a card reader. Sorry but that is what you'll have to do. p.s - This isn't really the right post 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Perfectionist Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 The problem I see is size. I'm sure phones will come out with flash memory built in but flash memory has a limitation of how much storage it can hold. As you say SD cards are out with 2Gb but that's not very much. I can't see SD cards getting to 20GB let alone 40Gb. So therefore they'll have to go the hard disk route and even a 1.5 inch hard disk is much bigger than an SD card. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Check out this site.... http://www.sdcard.com/europe/TextPage.asp?Page=2 SD Cards will be holding 32Gb by 2007 !! SWEET :lol: Naturally, HD Drives will most likely be upto 5 Terrabytes by then ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Drewtech Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 I would think the biggest problem with a HD on a phone will be battery life. Flash memory uses very little power but a HD has to be spinning when in use so is going to eat power. If the phone had enough ram to cache a lot of data from one read of the HD then this would reduce the power consumption. The other issue would be weight. An SD card is a lot lighter than any small HD. I would like to see a smartphone with two SD slots so that one can be used for application installs and the other can be used for data. That way you could keep your music in cards that you swapped in and out but you wouldn't lose applications by doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Good idea but that would mean the phone needs to be bigger. I'm happy to wait until larger flash cards come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest xenophobe Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Hard drives on phone sized devices just don't make any sense. HDDs will most likely be obsolete in the next 10 years as larger Flash and Holographic technologies make it to the marketplace that offer better performance, greater longevity and more storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 10 years is a long time. Hard disks have been with us since the advent of computers some 20+ years ago. I can't see them going anywhere anytime soon. Personally I think they make a lot of sense. Everyone has a mobile pretty much and to combine an MP3 is a killer idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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