2 years ago I wrote an article explaining some basic differences between various video (and screen) resolutions that were common back then. In just two years, we have seen a massive increase in what is considered “normal” resolution for a mobile device, as well as a decrease in screen size. We’ve gone from 800×480 4.8″ media players to 960×640 3.5″ devices at half the price, and the resolution war is just beginning. The question we have to ask though is whether there’s really any point to it.
Over the last couple of years we’ve posted a lot of feature articles that aim to explain all the individual aspects of having an MP3 player. From choosing a player, charging it, tagging files, finding music, transferring music and so on. It’s a lot of individual articles spread across the site, and unfortunately a blog system isn’t suited for easy access to timeless articles. This post will serve as a hub for all the feature articles on the site in order for you, the readers, to find them more easily. Some topics haven’t been covered (yet!), so feel free to leave a comment with requests for future articles.
Transferring music to your player can be a pain in the rear bumper sometimes, especially if you require special software to do so. There are currently three methods used by various companies to transfer content, and a lot of people are unaware of the differences between them and what the pros and cons of each are. The MTP vs MSC debate is pretty heated in the forums where most here prefer MSC for its simplicity, but there are still legitimate reasons to use MTP or software. This article explains the different methods of transferring media and the features of each protocol.
MP3 players are utterly useless without power, so naturally this is a very important aspect of any player. There’s a lot of confusion going around both with regards to charging the batteries, preserving their maximum capacity and maximizing the play time per charge. Read on for a guide.
Whenever you get a new device of any kind there’s a lot of stuff to learn to make the most of it, and not all of it is self-explanatory. For MP3 players there are many things to learn if you want to use the player fully, and one of these is definitely playlist creation. Sure you can see there’s a playlist option in the menus, but that list is empty! Read on to learn what to do to fill this magic list.
This is a question that a lot of people ask. While it might seem like a dumb question to a lot of advanced users, not everyone is familiar with how the digital audio technology works, and to fuel that fire the resellers and manufacturers often list an approximate number of songs for various players- with very small footnotes clarifying the specs of the files used. While technically accurate, it’s still a fair bit misleading as the people who would ask for the number of songs instead of capacity in the first place are those that won’t know what bitrate or any of that stuff is. Read on to get a quick introduction to MP3 player capacity.
Want to show off your ABi>>-ness at all times? Hit the jump for a variety of ABi>> branded, original wallpapers. Most of them are 1920×1080 so they should fit even high res monitors. Right click the images and select “save as” to download the full image.
It’s that time of year when we lay out our top picks for the year. 2009 was the year of the touch player- consumers demanded them and manufactures responded. If you notice that this year’s list resembles last years and that’s because many of the manufacture’s this year made some awesome incremental improvements in their current line of players. Without spoiling anything else, read on for this year’s top 5 list.
USB has been the standard for charging pretty much any small electronic gadget for years now but there is still some confusion about both what USB charging means in regards to compatibility and how you can charge USB equipment without a computer. Read on for a breakdown on USB charging.
Interconnects, IC for short, are the cables that go between your player and another device with an input jack – a car stereo, home stereo, or a portable headphone amp. The problem with the latter of those setups is that the amp is often directly under the player and so you really only need 2cm of cable to make the connection, but they don’t make cables that short. As a result, a lot of people drag around long cables that are just inthe way. There’s no need to. Read on for a guide on how to make your own tiny bridge-interconnect.
The Clip+ has a fantastic little form factor; somewhat cheap in build quality but very rugged. The interface is simple and relatively straightforward. The features on the Clip are more or less average, however it supports the alternative Rockbox firmware which provides tons of additional options (gapless playback, Replaygain, playlists, Last.fm scrobbling, etc). Read the full review or go ahead and buy it.
The J3 is a fantastic PMP with a very nice AMOLED screen and tons of features. It sports Cowon's trademark BBE sound enhancements, and offers a customizable user interface with strong support by our user community. You can usually find it at Amazon for the best price - and don't forget to check out our review.
Sure, many of us are not big fans of the walled garden, but there are a lot of great things going on with the Zune: sturdy hardware, ultra easy to use user interface, and a media player that is worthy of Editor’s Choice. You can check out our Zune HD review or stop by our Zune forums for the latest info and gossip.
Phonak Audéo PFE offer outstanding clarity and precision; natural, dynamic mids and treble, and decent bass for a single armature in-ear phone. They handle dense, complex music very well. The PFE work well with most acoustic and some electronic music genres, but bassheads might have to look at other alternatives. They're great for sports as well, since they fit very securely. Check out our review.
The Hippo VB (Variable Bass) offers a serious subwoofer for on the go, right in your head. They don’t just deliver generous quantities of punchy, textured bass, but good audio quality over the whole frequency range with decent clarity and exceptional soundstage. Exchangeable bass ports let you customize their sound to your liking. Read our in-depth Hippo VB review.
The Soundmagic E10 and E30 are basically right in the middle between the Phonak PFE and Hippo VB - not too analytical sounding, not too bass heavy. The E10 provide a bit more bass, the E30 a bit more clarity. Both come with a very fair price tag considering the sound quality they deliver - a great choice for the audio aficionado on a budget. Read our E10 and E30 reviews for more info.
