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Gateway Portable MP3 Player 284
dcsmith writes "Gateway has announced the Gateway Digital Audio Player, a 1.5-ounce USB device that also provides portable storage and voice recording. The device is curently available in a 128MB model priced at $129.99, with a 256MB model priced at $169.99 scheduled to debut on 14 August." The Gateway store has a picture. No mention of DRM.
Put into perspective (Score:2, Insightful)
A decent MP3 player, 128MB with FM/AM tuner, tends to run between $100-130 USD: iRock 830 [buy.com]
So basically, this Gateway offering is no more impressive then your run-of-the-mill 128MB MP3 player. All it adds is voice recording and the ability to use it for portable storage (which is handy, but at only 128-256MB doesn't impress me enough to buy it). However, you could buy a 20GB portable USB HDD and any other 128MB
Re:Put into perspective (Score:5, Informative)
Ya, when I saw the specs, the first thing on my mind was, "What were they thinking?"
Truly two years too late..
Re:Put into perspective (Score:5, Interesting)
Whoopity do. This article was only posted so michael could add his "wah wah DRM" comment to the end.
It's not really news or at all thrilling, just another in a sea of "me too" products.
Re:Put into perspective (Score:2)
Re:Put into perspective (Score:2)
I looked between the lines as always looking for what they are not saying. I found it.. It says Write and Delete files. That takes care of the serial copy problem. It does not say READ. My between the lines discovery indicates there will be no way to get the MP3's back off the device except delete them.
your perspective is skewed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:your perspective is skewed (Score:4, Insightful)
Good.
No, really. I'm all for the proliferation and popularity of easy-to-use MP3 players. But they aren't going to be as ubiquitous as CD players until they get as cheap, as simple, and as rugged.
Most of the people here are obviously saying "It sucks, the iPod/Zen/Archos is better.". Well, yeah, but not everyone needs the power of one of those enough to justify spending $300 or so on it.
If you could get a car that does everything you need for $20,000, are you an idiot for not spending $40,000 on one that's "better"?
Man, you need some price skills (Score:2)
Anyone who's paying $150 for a 20GB drive is throwing their money away.
No more music hardware technology updates... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:No more music hardware technology updates... (Score:2)
Re:No more music hardware technology updates... (Score:2)
Re:Ogg Vorbis advocacy (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, I was just waiting for you to tell me when it was over...
Seriously, this is nothing that you (or anyone else, for that matter) can
Re:Ogg Vorbis advocacy (Score:2)
Are people still hung up about ogg format? Give it up. It didn't make it.
::Looks at over 20 GB of Ogg Vorbis audio on the hard drive::
Guess I'll just delete these now, thanks for showing me the light, oh great Anonymous Coward.
or from spammers (Score:2)
NEWS FLASH! (Score:2, Informative)
Re:NEWS FLASH! (Score:2)
Re:Stop the Presses! (Score:2)
Once they become Walkmans then nobody'll care about the iPod anymore...
Trying to figure out (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Trying to figure out (Score:2)
Re:Trying to figure out (Score:2, Interesting)
Oh yeah, this'll dethrone the iPod (Score:3, Insightful)
Imagine, People at Gateway actually sat around a table with a white board in a conference room someone that probably smelled like day old coffee and stale garlic bagels, and thought that this functionality, at these prices (!) would launch Gateway competitively into the MP3 player market.
It makes the mind hurl...
Oh my god (Score:2)
Re:Oh yeah, this'll dethrone the iPod (Score:2)
"Muvo says we can license their player for a few bucks."
"Oh, cool. Then we could put it in the gateway store with some huge markup and fleece morons."
"Right on. Should be done in a week."
looks like a repackaged muvo (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:looks like a repackaged muvo (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:looks like a repackaged muvo (Score:2, Informative)
Gateway Recommended (Score:3, Funny)
Shows up as a Drive letter (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Shows up as a Drive letter (Score:2)
Linux (Score:2)
Having an MP3 player act as a usb drive has the advantages of being cheaper, easier to develop, and multi-platform compatible.
Rio used to be that way too. (Score:2)
Any USB device is suspect, as far as I'm concerned. At a honking 3.3 x 0.5 x 1.4 inches (w x d x h), they might as well have u
Re:Rio used to be that way too. (Score:2)
If you can't, that would take care of any legal entanglements regarding serial copy control.
Price.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Price.... (Score:2, Insightful)
If you really must have the nifty white look, there is the Creative Zen NX [nomadworld.com] that holds 30 GB and has even more features.
Re:Price.... (Score:2)
Re:Price.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Price.... (Score:5, Insightful)
1.Size
2.Battery Life
1.Is the iPod the size of your thumb? No, only solid-state mp3 players are.
2.Does the iPod use a single AAA battery for 12 hours? No, only solid-state mp3 players do.
Re:Price.... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll take the iPod on this point.
Re:Price.... (Score:2)
Re:Price.... (Score:2)
With USB storage, you can be virtually assured that wandering up to a strange computer will allow you to load the files. Firewire isn't common enough for that to be a safe assumption.
Re:Price.... (Score:2)
Re:Price.... (Score:5, Informative)
FireWire, strictly as a protocol, is much more interesting to me for a few reasons:
1. FireWire is isochronous.
2. FireWire is peer-to-peer, not master/slave (like USB). That means one could hook up a theoretical FireWire-eqipped TV and stream the DV footage you just shot of your day at the beach right to the screen, nothing else involved.
3. TCP/IP communication over FireWire, because of point number 2, is much more flexible than USB. (I don't know if USB supports TCP/IP communication at all. Just guessing that it does.)
4. FireWire can push 1.5 amps (versus less than a tenth of that for USB 2) to a device. That makes powering small notebook HDs or charging MP3 players quite easy to do.
The only thing that sucks is when a computer manufacturer puts a 4-pin FireWire port on a machine instead of a 6-pin port. (The difference being the two pins that perform termination power transfer.) I dunno why people ship 4-pin ports on computers when a device the size of a deck of cards has a 6-pin port. Go figure.
Missing features (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Missing features (Score:5, Funny)
Only if you enjoy the sound of sweet silence...
Re:Missing features (Score:2)
Hah, someone already has a copyright [slashdot.org] on that!
Re:Missing features (Score:2)
Simon and Garfunkel and sugar on top? I gotta get me one of those ASAP...
What the appeal is... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:What the appeal is... (Score:2)
Re:What the appeal is... (Score:3, Interesting)
It also supports the Mac, which I don't expect the Gateway to do, either.
Re:What the appeal is... (Score:2)
Lumpy. (Score:2)
Do the math (Score:5, Interesting)
Math time, kids!
128/1.5 = 85 MB per oz
10240/5.6 = 1826 MB per oz
Oh, but it's cheaper, you say?
128/129 = ~ 1MB/$1
10240/299 = ~ 34MB/$1
Thanks for playing. The Gateway player is just Yet Another Mp3 Player; the non-hard-drive players are all pretty damn small and light. Some are cheaper than this, too. And no DRM.
I agree with the other posters- it's completely yawn-inspiring, and reminds me of all the other suspcious stories we've been seeing recently...like that Tivo-like unit that randomly got three paragraph's worth on the front page for no apparent reason. When are slashdot editors going to realize they're being taken advantage of?(I'm politely assuming they're not doing product placements).
I Pod (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I Pod (Score:2)
I'll take a look when... (Score:4, Interesting)
If it gets to 10, then I'll really start paying attention, and start comparing it to the iPod.
But sheesh. If you've experienced a player with capacity measured in gigs, then it's hard to seriously consider devices that are measured in (albiet high) megabytes.
256 megs? I couldn't fit more than 3 albums and a few big audiobooks on that. Which is still a lot, I guess... But still not nearly as wonderfully flexible as my 15 gig iPod.
Helluva lot cheaper though!
Re:I'll take a look when... (Score:2)
Thats what I thought....
Re:I'll take a look when... (Score:3, Informative)
I've never heard my ipod skip or had a problem with it.
I've dropped it twice on the treadmill while jogging (non-consecutively) before i bought a case for working out. Must be that huge [caller2.com] 32meg buffer. The new ones are very light as well, though not near as light as the Gateway. I happen to wear mine around my bicep with an arm band (just un-velcro the cover) [marware.com] that leaves it easily accessible to switching tracks, virewing the name of a song, etc. No p
skip protection (Score:2)
Re:I'll take a look when... (Score:2)
The iPod precaches 20+ minutes of music in RAM - effectively making it a solid state player.
Re:I'll take a look when... (Score:2)
A lot of people, including myself, use this during fitness training. A 10GB iPod weighs 158g, these units weigh around 35g. 158g is a lot of weight to have in your pocket if your are running several miles.
Re:I'll take a look when... (Score:2)
Re:I'll take a look when... (Score:2)
Actually though, to stay on-topic, my iPod works great while skiing... But then ski gear and bulky coats and junk aren't light, so what's a few more ounces?
In the end though, I prefer to listen to the snow and the wind and the slopes - when I am skiing. My iPod is to drown out the crap I am exposed to at *work*. My desk can hold the weight of the iPod, as long as I keep the Mt.Dew cans down to a
Re:I'll take a look when... (Score:2)
The only trick is securing it adequately.
Re:I'll take a look when... (Score:2)
If you want something that small that is like an Ipod then wait for fricking forever.
and Ipod is a delicate LARGE mp3 player.... let me take your beloved ipod and beat it against a railing while it's playing... oops, it's now hosed. I cant take one of the memory units and if I dont crack open the case..... it still works perfectly.
They are two differen
Re:I'll take a look when... (Score:2)
I've seen the iPod survive numerous falls - one of my coworkers is notorious for dropping everything of his, and I've dropped my iPod twice. No issues. No skips, no problems.
Learn before you speak.
128 meg vs 5 gig? (Score:3, Insightful)
Compare this to the original iPod with 5 Gig of storage.
Seems like it's only good for short trips to the gym but not much else.
Plenty of these... (Score:5, Informative)
RipFlash http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00
Irock 520
http://hardwarecentral.dealtime.com/dealtime
Sony NW MS9
http://sudhian.dealtime.com/xPR-Sony_NW_MS9
The list goes on and on...
Just search google... Like I did....
I've got then MS9 (Score:2)
Re:I've got then MS9 (Score:2)
Re:Plenty of these... (Score:2)
Just in time! (Score:5, Funny)
-a
Re:Just in time! (Score:2)
Re:Just in time! (Score:2)
Re:Just in time! (Score:2)
With this (and the Creative MuVo), you plug it to the USB port (no cables) and and it shows up as a drive letter. No software bullshit. Huge difference. What they don't say on the box is that this will work on MacOS and Linux just as easily.
Don't act like this isn't a big improvement from the previ
Anybody have a MuVo? (Score:2)
Anybody who has this care to comment?
Capcity, Weight are minuses (Score:2, Insightful)
Ok, we get it the IPOD is a great player BUT (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Ok, we get it the IPOD is a great player BUT (Score:2)
Re:Ok, we get it the IPOD is a great player BUT (Score:2)
Er, isn't recommended by whom? Apple's iPod FAQ [apple.com] (warning: low signal to hype ratio) says running is fine, and by my experience with mine, I'm inclined to agree.
I do agree that a solid state player is preferable under some circumstances, but the iPod and other hard disk players I've seen do pretty well with running/exercise. I think the main difference in my mind is that it's much more difficult to build a small durable hard disk player than it is to build a small durable
Re:Ok, we get it the IPOD is a great player BUT (Score:2, Informative)
Last week, I broke down and bought one of them fancy fanny packs designed for the pod. Running with that is a dream, you could forget the ipod is there if not for the headphones (and this is where you really appreciate the wir
Gruvstick (Score:2, Interesting)
The Gruvstick is a great MP3 player, for what it is worth (replace the headphones that come with it though).
Wow! (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:AM support (Score:2)
DRM (Score:2)
"Incredibly easy to use, this audio player requires no special software - just drag and drop music and data files directly onto the device."
Looks like it works like the Archos, just like an external USB harddrive. There's no software required, thus, DRM is likely absent.
-R
Apples and Kumquats (Score:3, Insightful)
Personally, I prefer my car deck that plays mp3s from CDr's, because I don't need to listen to music when walking from my car to my home or office (yes, I know, I should jog/bike/walk more, sue me). But I can't compare it's price or features to any other type of player.
Gateway 2000 (Score:2)
iPod... the second-sexiest thing you can hold in the palm of your hand (I shamelessly ripped that off from a sig somewhere along the way)
RP
Lots of posts have mentioned Apple but not this (Score:2)
Wrong shape/size (Score:3, Interesting)
$679.95 per GB of storage????? (Score:2)
Hmmm, seems like an easy decision to me.
One question... (Score:2)
Re:say different (Score:2)
Re:say what? (Score:2)
Now, with that quasi-offtopic yammering out of the way...
Gateway. MP3 player. Front page of Slashdot. Hm. Does someone around here
Re:say what? (Score:2)
Re:say what? (Score:2)
Re:I still hate Gateway (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How about MP3 player with CompactFlash slot? (Score:2)
Re:How about MP3 player with CompactFlash slot? (Score:2)
Here's one. [sysbeat.com] I'm sure there are more.
Re:How about MP3 player with CompactFlash slot? (Score:2)
Re:Gateway Plasma supposed to be OK... (Score:2)