Registered: Jun 2001
Location: UT
Posts: 25

MemPlug + MP3 playback = Killer module?

I know someone else must have thought of this. Now that Portable Innovations has conquered the memory expansion market (SM, CF and I believe they have promised an SD MemPlug), maybe they should start looking to expand their product line further. I for one would love an MP3 Springboard with a CF card expansion slot (as CF is currently the cheapest, highest capacity memory expansion available; 256 Megs for $114, 512 Megs for $375) and all the power of the current MemPlugs. How about it PI? Go after the market that InnoGear threw away! You would have me lined up to buy one!

Fare thee well,
Swiftshadow

P.S. I am very satisfied user of MemPlug CF.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 1571

This would be good

SUch a module would be a hit. But I am not sure if it is feasible.

I am very happy with my InnoPocket Flash Plus.

Registered: Jun 2001
Location: UT
Posts: 25

Re: This would be good

quote:

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Originally posted by yardie
SUch a module would be a hit. But I am not sure if it is feasible.

I am very happy with my InnoPocket Flash Plus.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Plant City, FL
Posts: 385

Re: MemPlug + MP3 playback = Killer module?

quote:

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Originally posted by Swiftshadow
Now that Portable Innovations has conquered the memory expansion market (SM, CF and I believe they have promised an SD MemPlug), maybe they should start looking to expand their product line further.

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That's odd ... I don't feel conquered Nope, I just checked and Kopsis is still alive and well with thousands of satisfied customers

__________________
<ul><li>Dave Kessler<br>President - Kopsis, Inc.</li></ul>

Registered: Jun 2001
Location: UT
Posts: 25

Re: Re: MemPlug + MP3 playback = Killer module?

quote:

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Originally posted by dkessler


That's odd ... I don't feel conquered Nope, I just checked and Kopsis is still alive and well with thousands of satisfied customers

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Bad choice of words. I know there are many satisfied customers of Kopsis' software. Both MemPlug and FlashPlus are great products. I guess I should rephrase and throw out the challenge to a wider audience. I would love to see any company come out an MP3 player Springboard that uses external storage cards (my preference would be CF) and also doubles as memory expansion. Feel up to it Dave?

Fare thee well,
Swiftshadow

Registered: May 2001
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Posts: 90

Re: Re: Re: MemPlug + MP3 playback = Killer module?

quote:

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Originally posted by Swiftshadow
I would love to see any company come out an MP3 player Springboard that uses external storage cards (my preference would be CF) and also doubles as memory expansion.

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Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Pembroke,MA
Posts: 307

Ok. Let's say we add the processor that the MP3 player would need, because the 33mhz processor onboard cannot handle the playback of mp3's natively. Then, we add software on the flash memory of the card for the player program. Next, we add the earphone jack, control buttons for volume, FF, rewind, play, and pause. AND make it be able to use expansion cards. That would be a killer module!


...wait.. I already have a minijam...


.. The ONLY thing that the MJ doesn't do (that nothing else can do either - or yet, I should say) is the ability to store other things on the card, and access them. The once promised update by Innogear never showed up. I'd love for them to come up with something, but I stopped holding my breath a llloooong time ago.

However, if I wanted a pda that I would leave my module in all the time, so I could listen to music and also use the memory card for programs as well, and didn't need it for anything else, I'd be a sony customer.

Registered: May 2001
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Posts: 90

quote:

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Originally posted by LarryN
.. The ONLY thing that the MJ doesn't do (that nothing else can do either - or yet, I should say) is the ability to store other things on the card, and access them.

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Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Pembroke,MA
Posts: 307

Hi Uncle Roger! (I actually have an uncle Roger)

My point was that there isn't anything yet (or maybe ever) that plays mp3's and stores other data on the those same cards. The MiniJam has 2mb of flash memory that you can use for storage, but that's not on the card...

I have a MemPlugSM that does the things that you mentioned as well (Dictionary, Mapopolis, Books...), but nothing as a combined solution. I tend to fill up all 3 of my 64mb mmc's up with music though, so I don't think I would want to use up that space with prc's/pdb's. For me, it would be much easier to manage what's on which memory card, by simply plugging in my memplug, if I want to access those programs.

Can you give me a link to the time machine module though? I haven't bought a springboard in a couple of months. Gotta scratch the itch.

Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Plant City, FL
Posts: 385

Re: Re: Re: MemPlug + MP3 playback = Killer module?

quote:

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Originally posted by Swiftshadow

I would love to see any company come out an MP3 player Springboard that uses external storage cards (my preference would be CF) and also doubles as memory expansion. Feel up to it Dave?

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I think you'll find that what's scaring developers away from this kind of project is that we don't know what Handspring has planned. We all have heard the speculation that Handspring is working on a new high-end model (or models) and what's to say that they won't go the Sony route and add multi-media capabilites to the base device?

It's tough to justify investing in the development of an expensive Springboard module when there's a very real concern that Handspring will make it obsolete before it ever sees the light of day. Yes, there will still be a few owners of existing Visors that would purchase a storage/multi-media module, but as the price of the module goes up, so do the odds of them jumping to a newer device that has the capabilities they want built in (plus a host of new features) - especially if there is a delay (and there would be) between the time Handspring releases their next Visor and the time it takes to get a storage/multi-media module into production. Just my $0.02

__________________
<ul><li>Dave Kessler<br>President - Kopsis, Inc.</li></ul>