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Hardware

MP3Player/Cell Phone in One 72

Posted by CmdrTaco from the but-can-it-make-toast dept.
Kanasta writes: "LG has a cell phone an MP3 decoder in one, but only in Korea. It has a slot of a MultiMediaCard, which apparently is used in various other mp3 players. Includes a built in remote, and there are speakers on the charging unit! It says 'You can download MP3 music to the phone,' but what exactly they mean isn't clear."
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MP3Player/Cell Phone in One More

MP3Player/Cell Phone in One

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  • The one question the tech-geeks who invent these new gadgets always forget to ask is "So what?"

    I forget who's quote that is, but it definitely holds true here. Okay, so this is another case of digital convergence (uh-oh - buzzword alert!), but will it really improve my life?

    If I want MP3s, I'll buy an MP3 player. It'll have more storage space for my songs than this phone, it'll probably be easier to use (just press play, rather than scroll through the phone's menus, pick the mp3 option, then pick a song...), and best of all, a normal MP3 player won't microwave my brain if I listen to it too long.
  • Warning -- don't let the Man get you down!
  • Anyone know where I can get Dr. Dre and Metallica songs dubbed into Korean?
  • I was already tired of the low-lever frequency-modulation sound used in today's cell phones ring tunes.

    I already got sick of Nokia's fur-elise melody. About time I could put some real music when my phone rings.

    "Wait a minute, I have a phone call - oops, sorry, it was just the radio ..."
  • Oh good... more car accidents at the hands of unattentive cell phone users.... imagine explaining to an officer that you careened into the back of a truck while listening to "Born to be wild" from the net... assuming you survived. =)

    Seriously, though, I kinda like having some things seperate...
  • Can we put linux on them and make about 40 of them a beowolf/napster/metallica pirating cluster!
    @*(*&$@)!!!!!*$()(*@@@@
  • WHY? So I can listen to low-bitrate MP3s in the tiny memory that it will
    undoubtedly have, over a crappy speaker? So that I can run down the battery of
    my cell phone even faster?

    Hey! I've got a great idea! I'm going to combine a toaster and a cement
    mixer! I'm going to only sell it online, too!
    It'll run Linux!

    *runs off to register e-toastmixer.com*
  • Okay, I know this isn't exactly on the topic, but I have to get an answer to this question somehow.

    I have lost something like four different cell phones in the last couple of years.

    What I want is a cell phone that includes a device that makes a loud quacking noise (or something) when it falls out of my pants pocket - as it always does.

    Does anyone know of such a thing, or have alternative suggestions? I know I could clip it to my belt, but I know I'd forget to to that, too.

    There must be some absent-minded slashdotters with my problem.

    Many thanks for any ideas.

    D

    ----

  • Re:Slightly Off-topic: Losing Cellphones (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Does anyone know of such a thing, or have alternative suggestions?

    Yes. A duck. Perhaps a penguin if you want it to also run Linux.

  • Uh, count 'em again -- your song is seven syllables, but only six words. And lo, thus spake Weird Al:

    This song's just six words long

    This song's just six words long

    Only through hard work and perseverence can one truly suffer.

  • First line should read :
    I just do NOT see...
    One day I'll learn to use the preview button.

    My Webcam [michaelcreasy.com]
  • I don't see this being a logical move, my cell phone should make and recieve calls, it should get my phone numbers using bluetooth from my PDA and it should leave playing music to my MP3 player.

    I, for one, would appreciate NOT having to have big pockets. When I travel (which is waaay too frequent), I carry my laptop (for the more serious work), a mobile phone, a PDA (for occationally checking mail + organizing my life) and a MP3-player. Even leaving the laptop out of this, I have 3 rather bulky devices to carry around. Also, checking email in an inconvenient situation requires both the phone and the PDA be present at the same time.

    Likewise, synchronizing information between the phone and the PDA using Bluetooth (or another such technology) is bothersome - and wastes battery on emitting and processing radio waves (which is not insignificant, btw.). I use "wastes" since that would be avoidable by integrating those devices.

    No, I believe that for some areas, integration is the way to go, and I - for one - appreciate the development of making a PDA-PHONE-MP3PLAYER-in-one.
  • The real need for an MP3 decoding cell phone is in encoding and decoding the phone calls.

    I know it's not designed to make the cell phones sound any better, but it'd be nice to have clear, CD-quality audio, so I can clearly understand who I'm talking to. I still think people have accidents while chatting on the cell phone, partly because they're straining to understand the garbled transmission.

    And before someone comments about Sprint PCS, I've got a PCS cell phone. Works great, far, far better than analog phones (or when I'm roaming in analog land), but still not that great. Even if I use a headset, it's still not that great. There's far less static, but it's quite clear that the audio frequency range has been sacrificed for the sake of bandwidth. In digital mode, it sounds like I'm clearly talking down a pipe.

    One of you EE's out there care to set me straight?
  • I do support the integration of PDAs and MP3 players though.

    My Webcam [michaelcreasy.com]
  • If by muzak you mean unchallenging, tedious, repetative cack, you could try stuff by a band called `metallica`. I hear there is some stuff by them on a site called `napster`.
  • It mentions in the article that you can get 16MB or 32MB. But why use it for just MP3s? If you've got the extra storage space, why not load Linux on the phones? Then you could use them as Web servers as well. Or maybe a quick game of Doom or something. Hmmm...
    I'm just waiting for the time to come when you can play DVDs on your cell phone. Just hope Nextel doesn't decide to use this technology -- they can't even get their two-way radio feature to work properly...

  • These phone users are screwed. The phones probably can be used as Napster clients, the service is going to be renamed into Phonster but the idea stays the same. You dial a number to connect to Napster, then you download a bunch of MP3s to your phone and other users download your MP3s, then Lars brings your name as a part of 3000000 list to your phone provider as a grunting Neanderthal capable only of simple phrases like, "Money good. Napster bad."
  • Well, there's already a commercial featuring someone calling a friend from a rock concert (not to be confused with the guy on the phone at the opera)... so is there a phone that can create MP3s from audio? Not that we need to overload the cells covering rock concert locations...
  • I was in Japan for a week last month (I live in the US) and one of the things that fascinated me most was the cellphones people had.

    They were incredibly light compared to US phones and the Japanese people seem to like their phones brightly colored - even stuffy-looking businessmen in suits carried fluorescent green cellphones! In fact, looking at a few cellphones out on display on one of the street corners (like apples at a flea market), me and a friend swore it had to be a toy - turned out we were wrong. Light and bright as it was, it was a real cellphone. And the sound quality was incredibly good and the batteries lasted several days without having to be recharged too.

    Another thing I saw was these little vending machines at street corners where you could put in a few yen, plug one of the adaptors into your phone, and download music onto it to play.

    Looking at those phones compared to ours made me feel like a small-town bumpkin entering a city for the first time.
  • Surely the point of integration is so your devices can SHARE their resources. You don't have seperate computers for word-processing and checking email and doing the accounts and what have you.

    Does the MP3 player use the same memory for storing it's songs as the phone does for storing numbers? Can I dump a song if I need a bigger address book? They both need power so I'm happier with one battery rather than carrying two around.

    I mean, if you're worried about missing a phone call when your battery runs out then TURN OFF YOUR MP3's when it gets half way worn.

    I won't be bothering with this becasue They haven't gone far enough I need a pocketPC, not some dumbed down thing that can only make calls and play tunes. Gawd.

    Pre...........

  • Nice... (Score:1)

    by smc ( 191129 )
    I've seen the Ericsson T28 and its prototype MP3 module, tried it, and it's great. You get to choose and read all the info on your screen and using your keypad. Only thing is: When I tried playing a Metallica MP3, the WAP browser opened and took me to www.paylars.com. Hmm...

    Also, more innovation from Ericsson: FM Radio/hands-free headset modules are now available to Rogers AT&T Wireless customers in Canada. (Ericsson A1228d)
  • Interesting article, but there are other cell phones that do this.

    Now all you have to do is put an ftp/webserver or napster on the phone... and listen happily until Metallica/Dr Dre/RIAA sues your ass into the ground, and all other people who own cell phones.

    The gnutella guys could even get a bad rap from the media for using the lcd on their phones to look at kitty porn [sexfreebies.com] ;-)

  • I have a korean phone that plays MP3, poaches fish and is a rice cooker all in one! I am waiting for the nose hair clipper attachment so I can start a full service resturant.
  • That's my ideal PDA - take pics with the cam, record a few verbal comments, build a webpage with the palmtop, upload the whole thing on the run, then call a friend and ICQ them the URL. Perfect tool for a freelance journalist.<BR>
    <BR>
    Great personal security device to:<BR>
    "Give me your wallet"<BR>.
    "I'm uploading streaming video to the police right now. Even if you break my phone there'll be pics of you."<BR>
    <BR>
  • I have seen a Samsung phone like this, sweet :)


    --
  • but does it cook the fish?
  • It's close to an extra for the Ericsson T18 (GSM)


    --
    It could be coffe.... or it could just be some warm brown liquid containing lots of caffeen.
    At least it'll get me through the night.

  • It's a great idea. The integration of this kind of device (MP3 player) with a phone is an inevitable evolutionary step towards the kind of combined PDA/phone/music/etc. devices that will be commonly available in a few years time.

    But... the bit about downloading MP3s on the phone made me wonder - the best bandwidth I've heard of over a cellphone is 14k4 ... what kind of MP3s can I get at that bandwidth? Would my batteries last long enough? :)

    As I said, a nice idea. But until 3G/high bandwidth phones become the norm.. downloading MP3s over a cellular link will be painful.

    ~P

  • I wish my LG phone could do this :P ah well. Speaking of mp3 players, when is the MamboX going to come out? I really want one.
    -motardo

  • Elevator music for your cell calls (Score:4)

    by Thanatos ( 15980 ) on Tuesday May 23, 2000 @04:03AM (#1054248)
    Anyone know where I can download some "muzak" for this, so I can put my callers on hold and let them listen to some nice, soothing, RIAA approved non-infringing, no royalties needed tunes?
  • ...what I need is a phone that can download/play MP3's while searching for quality pr0n and at the same time check my e-mail, answer my calls, send my faxes, get my global position, photocopy A4-sized papers, control my car, feed my cat, and don't forget the good ole game of snake (my current highscore is 1710 - best left for those long, constipated sessions in the loo)...

    Of course, I want it in Blueberry and it *must* run Linux!
  • Maybe I will be able to share MP3's via the my Sprint PCS cell phone, by playing music-on-hold.

    then again maybe not.
  • ...if people are going to be able to send mp3s to each others phones.

    These damn information sharing networks, the world will be a safer place when we get rid of all this dangerous networking technology.

    S-J ; p
  • ...if it means that I can select my own "on hold" music! ;)
  • I wonder if the phones will come in a metallica....er....uh.... metallic color? ;)

  • 'You can download MP3 music to the phone', but what exactly they mean isn't clear.

    That's because you are not using Sprint PCS: "The Clear Alternative to Cellular".

  • Don't use this product! Metallica is using the GPS transceiver embedded in the phone to track down Napster violators!

    -Omar

  • What would be really cool (Score:3)

    by (void*) ( 113680 ) on Tuesday May 23, 2000 @04:11AM (#1054256)
    is to be able to play that MP3 while you are having a conversation. Then I could subliminally play "I've got my mind set on you" by George Harrison while talking to my GF!

    (No, don't sue me Mr Harrison! I haven't got MP3s of your song, honest! :-) )

  • This will only cause problems. (Score:3)

    by garethwi ( 118563 ) on Tuesday May 23, 2000 @04:11AM (#1054257) Homepage
    Imagine having spent ages downloading 'Enter Sandman' for your hold muzak, and then Lars calls...

  • Why bother. (Score:3)

    by michael.creasy ( 101034 ) on Tuesday May 23, 2000 @04:12AM (#1054258) Homepage
    I just do see why everyone wants to integrate everything together. I don't see this being a logical move, my cell phone should make and recieve calls, it should get my phone numbers using bluetooth from my PDA and it should leave playing music to my MP3 player. Also, I would have thought that the sound quality will not be that great, I mean how many times have you spoken to someone on a cell phone and then face to face and realised how different they sound. This is nothing more than a gimmick just like Casio's MP3 watch. Sure it maybe fun for a few days, but it won't be long before you'll go bac to seperate devices, especially when your phone battery dies in the middle of an important call because you've been playing MP3s all day. For-pay Internet distributed processing. [processtree.com]

    My Webcam [michaelcreasy.com]
  • Okay, so why a remote on a cell phone? The phone is not portable enough? Your friends need to control your phone while you're using it? Is there a remote for the remote?
  • In all fairness it just might by a little.

    Even having the two gadgets in one case is kind of handy. I noticed this yesterday while trying to make room in my pockets for my individually-small but collectively-quite-bulky celphone and walkman.

    While I'm skeptical of the real benefits of being able to schedule my PDA to download the latest Metallica (just say) MP3's and call up my buddy to listen to them, I'm grateful to have the two (three?) functions in one small package.

  • Exactly.

    What happened to the days of Unix-oriented design, where you have many small things that do a certain task very well and you combine them together to do really big jobs? A cell phone that plays MP3 music is going to suck. It's going to have crappy sound and use up some a good deal of battery life. This isn't improving the cell phone or the MP3 player. It's making both worse. What I would rather see is a separate cellphone and MP3 player that, when I want them to be, can be combined together to get my cell/MP3 player (how many times are you going to use that, seriously?) and when I don't want them be combined, will function perfectly well.
  • It is not the first. Ericsson T28s (GSM Dual Band, avaliable in Europe) has a plugin MP3 player at least since CeBit (my friend, a fanatic of Ericsson GSM phones tested one then). But I'm not sure if it is avaliable on the market now.

    Alex
    --
  • Personally, I do not like the idea of purchasing a unit like this. Wireless phone networks are rapidly evolving and the phone is likely to be rendered obsolete long before the MP3 player becomes obsolete. Besides, it forces you to use the smae phone network in order for the phone to continue being useful. This trend towards integration should slow when people realize that their being forced into a lengthened exclusive contract with a single vendor in order to keep the phone useful.
  • good one. I completely missed the opportunity to make fun of metallica. nice save...
  • Think about the physical profile of these devices, due to their interface. Phones primarily use audio (with a little screen), PDAs are primarily screen (with a little audio) - the profiles for these devices is quite different. A mobile phone is long and thin, a PDA is flat. You're already listening to a phone, you're looking at a PDA.

    Ideally, you have a phone/mp3 combo in your pocket with audio cables to your ears, plus a mic somewhere and a PDA in your hand(s) and they talk using Bluetooth. If you cable yourself to a PDA then you can use it as easily (and if you combine a phone and a PDA, ewww, hair gel on the screen).

  • Dammit

    PDA then you can't use it as easily

  • You can get som more info about the mp3player here [ericsson.com] and see what it looks like.
  • It think this isnt new. There already is that Ericsson Add-On that is quite similar to this phone. Well, you cant cahnge memory cards with the Ericsson one, okay. The idea sounds nice, but in fact its not really useful. Short battery- life, worse playing quality, ridiculous storage capacity. Who wants that?
  • *shakes head*
    I like cellular phones. I like mp3s. Huzzah for technology. But good grief, is this really necessary? I dare say that this whole thing is getting out of hand. The next thing you know, we'll have waffle irons and toasters that play mp3s. And Ottomans. And desk fans. And toothbrushes. And lawnmowers. And...

    This is getting kind of silly. :)
  • Okay it wasn't enough that people have cell phones going off in movie theatres and restaurants, now they have to play other people's bad taste in music as well?
    "Well, I WAS enjoying Rocky XXIV until that guy's phone started playing the 'Beaches' soundtrack."

    The Divine Creatrix in a Mortal Shell that stays Crunchy in Milk
  • In some cases, people have been known to answer the telephone while the radio is playing, thus ripping off the work of hard-working performers and stealing from the record companies. It's just like walking into a store and taking records of the shelf without paying.

    This sort of theft cannot be allowed to continue; we'd better ban telephones at once, or at least replace them with an industry-approved version that cuts off after thirty seconds, and has region coding to stop music from being heard over the phone in countries where it hasn't yet been released.
  • This-song-is-just-sev-en-words
    This-song-is-just-sev-en-words

    Back to reality... isn't it illegal to "broadcast" music over the phone? I know it's silly, but I've heard that many times. Anyone know if that's true?

  • With enough storage space you could use CDPD (protocol used by most cellular based data streams) to receive and cache mp3 files to a device.

    assuming you could actually get the full 19.2 which you can't in the real world - that's around 5 hours per day of 96kbps mp3s streamed to your mp3phone/palm7/whatever - you'd only need 160 megs of nonvolitile storage to cache them all.

    intermingle the stream with news headline feeds and you have a reasonably useful portable information device (even if it is slow)
  • It's me. Just let me put down those HUGE Samsonite suitcases before I make you an offer which you can't resist. See this sleek watch. It does EVERYTHING you indicate, plus it has a few goodies. In addition to all your requirements. It has a navigation system (GPS) which shows you detailled and accurate maps for EVERY place in the world. Further you can beam your favorite (downloaded) movies to a screen size of 4000 ft. (6 channel, dolby stereo THX etc...) Oh, did I mention that it sends your faxes in color and automatically calls your mother on her birthday ? It's a prototype though, and not cheap, 50'000 bucks. OK, we have a deal ? Here's the watch (Sound of walking feet...) (Me, lifting the HUGE samsonites) : HEY! DONT FORGET THE BATTERIES...
  • I tend to think they mean downloading from your PC. Just like you download into a RIO et al.

  • Does this mean that instead of jerks saying in a really loud voice "Yeah. I'm on the train. Tell soandso to get xyz the abc" and all the stuff which should be done in the office, we'll now have tele-clubbing. Does the phone come with a free whistle and some pillz?

  • The convergence in the handheld market is really fun to watch. This is the first mobile phone + MP3 combination I've seen. Elsewhere [qualcomm.com], we've seen the mobile phone + Palm OS from Qualcomm. And we've seen the Palm OS + MP3 combination from Handspring and Innogear [innogear.com] Now each combination of two of the three technologies has been comercialized.

    The next step is clear: we'll see a mobile phone + mp3 player + handheld OS combination unit. I hesitate to say Palm OS (though I have some personal preferences there) because Microsoft seem interested in a CE system along these lines. A Linux based system seems an unlikely dark horse. At the rate this market has been developing, we could see this mobile + mp3 + Palm OS combo by Christmas - but I suspect 2001 is more likely.

  • Does *everything* have to have MP3 compatibility these days? It just seems a little overdone. What's next? A dog collar that plays MP3s?

    --

  • I would rather see is a separate cellphone and MP3 player that, when I want them to be, can be combined together to get my cell/MP3 player (how many times are you going to use that, seriously?)
    When you feel like downloading a new MP3...

    Whats more worrying with the proliferation of bluetooth is that the end result would be like living in a microwave.

    Microwave radiation is (probably) okay in small doeses, but as the dose increases you start to cook things. As bluetooth becomes more popular, we will be spending more and more time on low heat. This might not be a bad thing, but if it turns out that it is, will it be to late before we find out...

    What I'd like to see is more acceptance of "docking" appliances, it may not be as "cool" but its safer and more efficient.

    Thad

  • It would not be a very big technological leap to create a phone then that could record a call as an mp3. Could this phone be hacked/cracked in such a way that it could do this. Think of the legal ramifications of this.

    Just food for thought.

  • FWIW, the phone on the tiny pic is a T28, the bit more expensive, superflat Ericsson.

    Thimo
    --
  • Don't people realise that MP3 was originally intended for compressing voice for cellular phone communication?
    What a crap. MP3 was never designed to compress voice. Or do you really think voice requires 16bit/44.1kHz stereo ?
    The original intent was to allow high quality music transmission via ISDN. (64 or 128kbit) However later they added some low bandwidth capabilites.
    But nevertheless there are still dedicated voice compression algorithms which are used in cell phones.
  • ya, ya, I know.

    I was being a bit different.

    "I've-got-my-mind-set-on-you" is seven words long.
    Hence, "This-song-is-just-sev-en-words".

    Yes, to Wierd Al lovers I know this is probably sacrilege. Oh well.

  • Try a wrist watch - in a Diners Club catalog I just saw a wrist watch [citibank.com] with an USB port which can load up to 33 minutes of MP3 music, and has a head set jack for you to listen to them...
  • I haven't seen it but being optional gives you a choice (personally I prefer MiniDisc to MP3). And if MP3 was created for GSM, what are those all GSM codecs for, then ? Alex --

  • Apparently, cell phone designers think I'm not in enough danger from people zipping around at 75mph with phones glued to their heads.

    Now, the same guy who's driving into ditches whenever his phone rings is going to have the additional distraction of peering at a tiny LCD to see what track he's listening to.

    What's next? MP3 handguns?

  • Batteries, we don't need no stinkin' batteries.

    Just check out these [eetimes.com] fremen type, power your mobile phone not vapor-ware "Maxwell Smart would be proud" shoes.

    Sigh if only that whole Y2K scare hadn't already been over. . .

  • Re:Seen it before. (Score:3)

    by Emil Brink ( 69213 ) on Tuesday May 23, 2000 @04:24AM (#1054288) Homepage
    Just in case anyone got interested, before you dive into the muddy hell that is www.ericsson.se [ericsson.se], here's a quick link to a tiny picture [ericsson.com] of the MP3 player accessory for the T18. To complete that, here's a link to some information [ericsson.com] about the device itself. Don't expect any hard info (such as memory capacity, battery life, price, or availability) though... ;(
  • But... the bit about downloading MP3s on the phone made me wonder - the best bandwidth I've heard of over a cellphone is 14k4 ... what kind of MP3s can I get at that bandwidth? Would my batteries last long enough? :)

    Not necessarilly: the page states that: You can download MP3 music to the phone, or you can insert a pre-recorded MultiMediaCard. (from SanDisk)

    Now, an interresting question (or a matter of ignorance from my part) is: is it possible (probably, if so how?) to record such disks from - say - a PC, and transfer those to the phone? SanDisk? Now, from where I am, the SanDisk www-server http://www.sandisk.com/cons/ [sandisk.com] appears to be down, but perhaps someone can enlighten me....

    I've for a long long time wanted a mobile phone, which could also replace my PalmIII and my Rio - and preferably one with a modem and an IrDA-port too - merge the Nokia Communicator with this CyON MP3-phone, and we are almost there (after reducing the size a bit).

  • of course, spending $50/month on the service (unlimited data from Bell Atlantic or Verizon these days) just to listen to new mp3s every day is rather cost prohibitive.

    It would probably be easier to have a box at home cache your mp3 streams and then dock the device at night.

    Somebody remind me of this again when CDPD drops to $5/month for unlimited data. :-)

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