A Sneak P-Review of a NEW Portable MP3 Player

"The metallic silver housing for this portable MP3 player gives it a sleek and professional look."

 

Worldwide interest in Internet-distributed digital music took off in 1997 with the introduction of the MP3 file format, developed by the German research institute, Fraunhofer IIS. The file format uses advanced perceptual audio coding to achieve file compression ratios of up to 1:12 with little or no perceived loss in fidelity, offering near CD-quality audio content in a filesize that is easily distributed over the Internet.

Early adopters and enthusiasts who initially used the MP3 format to distribute copyright-protected songs over the Internet provided the impetus that has driven MP3s into the limelight. Today, legal sites on the Web like MP3.com use MP3s to showcase new and undiscovered music talent, offering these artistes oppotunities which never existed until the advent of the MP3 file format.

 

 With the foresight that MP3s will eventually be made popular among the general public, Diamond Multimedia was the first company to launch their Rio PMP300, a portable MP3 player. Released in the beginning of this year, after a long debate over the copyright issue with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Rio PMP300 marked off the start of the development of MP3 playback hardware.

Today, with other companies hopping on to the bandwagon, different versions of portable MP3 players are gradually emerging into the market. The jazPiper developed by RFC Distribution, a Singapore-based computer manufacturing and distribution company known for its Digitek line of high-tech desktop and mobile computers, recently contacted Singapore Hardware Zone to allow us the honour to preview the sample copy of their version of a portable MP3 player.

 

Pretty much similar to the Diamond's Rio PMP300, the jazPiper is smaller than a regular audio cassette and contains no moving parts, offering true skip-free performance. Weighing just 74g (without batteries) the jazPiper comes installed with 32MB of flash memory (expandable to 64MB), matching the offerings if pioneers Diamond and Creative, with an option to upgrade it by an additional 16MBor 32MB via slotted-in SmartMedia cards.

Where the jazPiper stands apart from its competitors is its ability to store up to a maximum of 4 hours of voice recordings (with 64MB memory) through its built-in microphone, giving it dual functionality as both a respectable personal recording device as well as a digital audio playback device.

Also unique to the jazPiper is an integrated digital phone book, which again adds to the "personal" functionalities of the device.

After a quick test of the product, I must admit that the jazPiper will definitely prove to be a strong competitor to both the Rio or the Nomad. Packaged with a pair of Leemax earphones, the bass seems to be much more powerful than the Rio player. With the oval shaped LCD display, complement with the metallic silver housing, the jazPiper looks sleek and cool; something yuppies would definitely like to be identified with.

Sales of the jazPiper will only start next weekend at selected retail stalls in Sim Lim Square. However, if you badly want to have a feel of this new locally designed MP3 player, you could make a trip down to Suntec City this Saturday from 2pm-9pm (outside Carrefour Supermarket), and try out the jazPiper yourself at our booth. Look out for more details regarding the exhibition this weekend on our frontpage.

-Preview by Jereme Wong-

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Copyright © 1998, Singapore Hardware Zone. All rights reserved.
Last updated December 05, 1998.

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