Entertainment on the move has always been popular with consumers. From the first Walkman and Gameboy to portable CD players and Minidisc players, taking your personal entertainment on the go is a luxury that helps pass boring bus journeys or torturous gym workouts.
These days, you are no longer limited to taking just your CDs or games with you. Video on the move, games on your mobile phone, thousands of songs in your pocket — all are now within reach of the ordinary consumer.
There are new devices coming on to the market that should keep even the most demanding consumer happy. The market is witnessing moves by large manufacturers into areas that previously haven’t been their main source of revenue. Nokia is planning to make a move into the handheld gaming market with the launch of its combined mobile phone; and Apple has entered the music market.
Pockets are about to get lighter too: Archos has developed a device that offers several entertainment options in one, from digital video to FM radio. It replaces several of the devices you may already have, and with a few handy add-ons, it can replace your digital camera and video recorder.
Three must-have mobile companions:
1. Apple iPod
Stylish, sleek and slim, the iPod is a necessary gadget for anyone who prefers their music digital and portable. The device is Apple’s answer to the digital music revolution; users can rip tracks from their own CDs and put the MP3 files on their iPod.
The device gives you a greater degree of freedom with your musical preferences. Users can create their own play lists or choose their music by artist.
Once the exclusive domain of Apple Macintosh users, the iPod is now available in a Windows-compatible version. The only requirement is that users have a FireWire (IEEE 1394) port on their notebook or PC. The iPod uses FireWire technology to transfer the music files at high speed between your computer and the iPod device.
The iPod recently had a change of image. It was re-launched as a slimmer, lighter device, with some fancy touch sensitive controls thrown in to boot. The wheel that once graced the front of the iPod and helped users navigate their way through play lists and music files has now been replaced by an integrated touch-sensitive control. It may take a few minutes to get used to, but once you do, it is easy to handle. Controls to cover moving forward, backwards and playing tracks have also been made touch sensitive. The LCD screen has a backlight, as do the buttons. The result? A device that looks good and is easy to control.
The iPod is available in three capacities: 10Gbyte, 15Gbyte and 30Gbyte. Obviously, the higher the capacity, the more expensive the iPod. At its highest capacity, the device can store up to 7,500 songs — a phenomenal amount of music for anyone to get through. If you get bored with listening to music, there are a few games — such as Solitaire — included with the iPod. The device is also able to manage some of your personal information, with contacts, calendar and to-do lists available.
The audio quality of music on the iPod is excellent. The device supports popular audio formats such as MP3 (up to 320Kbit/s), MP3 Variable Bit Rate (VBR) and WAV. Exclusively for Mac users, the iPod also supports AAC format, which gives users CD-quality audio in smaller file sizes than MP3.
Apple has also recently launched an online music service, although it is currently only available in the US. But with this new development, is it really so difficult to imagine a scenario where music lovers buy the latest tracks from a music download service such as the new Apple venture?
www.applestore.ie — Compustore: +353 (0)1-4506255
2. Nokia N-Gage
The Nokia N-Gage device represents a serious move by the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturer into the mobile gaming market. The idea is that instead of whiling away the time waiting for the bus playing Snake, mobile users can battle as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. The N-Gage device is essentially a gaming deck with a mobile phone built in.
The games come on cartridges that slot into the back of the device. Nokia has already signed up several games developers to produce games for the N-Gage, with Eidos and Activision already on board, among others. Games making their debut on the platform include Sega Rally, Rayman 3 and Tony Hawks Pro Skater.
The device also allows for multiplayer gaming, through Bluetooth technology so no wires are necessary.
However, the appeal of the N-Gage device has yet to be properly tested on the public. In a time when less is definitely more when it comes to the size of mobile pones, Nokia has to persuade consumers that the larger than average N-Gage device is worth investing in as a mobile phone and a games device.
Not to mention that it is going to be essentially competing with the king of mobile games platforms — Nintendo’s Gameboy. This is a well-established platform in the gaming business; the N-Gage may have a tough battle ahead of it to win over the hearts and minds of gamers.
It’s higher price tag may be a hindrance — the new Gameboy Advance SP sells for EUR140; the N-Gage device didn’t have a finalised price at the time of going to press, but Nokia has said that it would be under EUR500. How much under remains to be seen.
3. Archos AV 320
The ultimate in multimedia entertainment, Archos’s new AV 320 is a video player, MP3 player and recorder, digital photo wallet, and data storage device all in one device.
With a 3.8-inch LCD screen, the AV 320 can holds up to 50 movies that you can watch on the go. MPEG4 video (a new compressed format) can be played back on the device, with MP3 sound, so you can take your favourite films on the go no matter where you are heading. The device comes with a 20Gbyte hard disk and can be attached to your PC to give it more hard disk space.
The AV320 can be used as a digital photo wallet, with the capacity for storing up to 400,000 digital images to show your family and friends.
With the help of some optional extras, the device can be turned into a digital video recorder and a digital camera. Up to 80 hours of video can be recorded on to the device. To record digital video, you will need the optional Digital Video Recorder 100.
The optional camera attachment, the AVcam 300, turns the device into a 3.3-megapixel digital camera. The same module also allows you to create your MPEG4 videos in QVGA (VHS quality).
The device can also be hooked up to a television to display your video and images on a larger screen for the whole family to see. Adding a wire remote control gives the device FM radio capabilities. The handy thing about this is that it also has full MP3 recording capabilities. If you hear a song on the radio that you want to record, you can hit the record button and keep it for later. It doesn’t even matter if you miss the start of the song — the device has a retro-recording system that allows you to save the entire sing from the start.
This is a handy little device, with numerous options to keep even consumers with short attention spans busy for hours.
www.archos.com — CMS Peripherals: +353 (0)94-74000
22/09/2003
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