Hey Mister DJ
So many tunes, so many players,
so much money to spend … Here's a rundown of what's hot to
look at and listen to in the world of digital music players without
being bogged down by the technical mish mash, and judging purely
on appearance.
iPods are spreading like something that spreads,
and fast. The original silver monster jukebox has the capacity to
hold up to 10,000 songs, and it's also a handy shiny surface in
which to check your reflection. Let Apple.com show you how your
life could be with an iPod.
“Imagine: you could fly from New York to
Paris and still have hours of listening time left over as you stroll
the Champs Elysées,” (hmm, yes, be happy that this
is now possible!) “You'll never guess what's coming up next…”
(perhaps a stick of bread?) “…so you're always surprised
by startling juxtapositions.”
How much do we love Apple's copywriters? iPod
minis come in a more compact size and a more interesting “trendsetting”
colour palette. They hold 1,000 songs, good for those that feel
okay leaving the house minus their 9,000 other favourite songs.
Next up is the iPod shuffle. “Meet your
new ride. More roadster than Rolls, iPod shuffle rejects routine
by serving up your favorite songs in a different order every time.”
Goodness! It's smaller than a pack of gum, and much more musical,
holding up to 240 songs. “iPod shuffle weighs as little as
a car key and makes a tuneful fashion statement.” Yes, it's
that cool. www.apple.com
The JetAudio iAudio U2 is an up and coming hit,
mainly for it's style. “iAUDIO U2 colors are reached on maximum
of sparkling light like Cool feeling of Ocean Blue, Passion of Ruby
Red and Luxury of Platinum Black and perfect harmony with metallic
feeling
of navigation button. Through all these you will become a fashion
leader.”
With a little grammar help, and a hand from NEC
and Fujitsu, the JetAudio people are well on their way. They have
a lot of features including voice recording and radio and a choice
of memory sizes. Next up for JetAudio is the new iAudio G3, available
in sky white, and pearl white. White white is still on the drawing
board. http://eng.iaudio.com
The iRiver kids have many wares on display including
the techno jewel N10, styled as necklace with built in headphones
and a tiny pendant design, you can wear your MP3 player without
looking like a fool. Apparently in the world of technology, looking
like a nerd is quite common.
The H10 player shows photos and texts with a vibrant
color display while playing music and comes in four “stylish”
colours, red, blue, silver and gray — those crazy kids! It's
worth checking out the iRiver website, as they have portable audio
in cd, flash, and hdd types as well as other nifty stuff like portable
video and accessories.
www.iriver.com
Creative have a couple of lovely long lasting
players, great for long trips and you don't have to carry the power
adaptor with you. On a single charge the 20GB Zen Touch player can
last up to 24 hours. The focus here is on longevity, not on how
it looks. On the other hand, the 5GB Zen Micro holds up to 2,500
songs, and stylistically speaking, it has a “mesmerising”
blue LED backlight, and comes in 10 “attractive” colours.
Not amazing, but, attractive. Which is nice. www.creative.com
There are a lot of choices out there, so do your
homework kids. Though after poking around, you'll probably notice
almost every company see the iPod as it's main competition, the
one to beat, which may just be an indication that the iPod is the
one to get.
Text: Jared Olthof
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