I’m on a quest for a gadget. What started me on this quest was my recent exposure to Audio-Books, where I discovered that my current MP3 player (which I got for $14.99 from geeks.com, I think) does not support WMP-DRM/Audio-Books. What I really like about this el-cheapo mp3 player is that it does A LOT of things higher end player either don’t do, or do poorly. a) it uses and plays from the SD-card b) you can create folders on the SD card and it will play just from that folder, or from all folders c) it will play sequentially or shuffled. The SD card option is AWESOME since it means I have virtually unlimited song storage – it also means I can organize my SD cards by genre so I’m not jolted by “The FIrst Noel” in the middle of a thrashing Rammstein set.
So at first I was just looking for a new MP3 player, but after playing around with a few of these, the video possibilities started seeming cool – so I thought I might get into a video player as well. Of course from there it wasn’t such a big jump to a fully featured PDA. And then I found PDA’s with integrated GPS! Woot! And for just a few dollars more I’d be into a full featured laptop! But that’s too big to be an MP3 player! LOL!
So now I’m not sure what I want. A couple products have captured my eye, but that’s all they’ve done. I’m not sure I can justify a fully functional PDA/handheld PC if all I’m really going to be using it for is audio playback. And I’ve always wanted GPS for when I’m travelling, but I might be better served with a stand-alone device. So far the toys that have intrigued me the most have been:
- The ASUS MyPal A639 (PDA/GPS)
- The ASUS MyPal A626(PDA)
- The Pharos 535+(PDA/GPS)
- HP 211 iPAQ Enterprise (PDA)
- Asus Eee PC 900 (Mini-Laptop)
And of course the new Asus P560 coming out in June may totally monkey-wrench my desires… Anyways, I’m all over the map here. I know I need a new MP3 player that supports WMP DRM encryption in order to play “overdrive” audio books from the library. “Nice to haves” would be GPS navigation and Wi-Fi Web cruising – including ability to play youtube videos – and maybe blog in a pinch. So a good size screen would be greatly appreciated for video enjoyment as well as easy GPS navigation. Support for a keyboard of some kind might be nice as well. I don’t really need cellular, but it would be nice to bluetooth to a data-enabled cell phone as a modem where wi-fi isn’t available.
Just as an interesting aside – compare the Pepper Pad to my “Perfect Gadget” How’s that for prognasticating!? It’s on the way, probably sooner than I thought it would be! Yay!
Enjoy!