Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 66

SoundsGood vs. Minijam

I was just wondering what you guys think of those two mp3 players. I am also warning you I might put up another VS thread.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

I can only use the minijam (as a mac user), but even aside from that, I think it is the better mp3 player because it's expandable. Given current trends, I think music files have gotten larger than ever and memory is getting cheaper. IOW, I doubt you'll be able to fit more songs on the soundsgood in a couple of years, but the minijam will (at extra cost). Loading times rather suck, though.

To be honest, I was going to buy the soundsgood when deciding because of form-factor, loading speed, and the fact that Innogear didn't make it. They seem to have gotten their **** together.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: North Calolina
Posts: 92

Well I dont know if there is a choice any longer - since Good got out of the module business it seems there are no Soundsgoods left??? Unless you buy a used one, but then there is no support.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 23

well, i'd call it a tie between two dead horses.

soundsgood is no longer in production.

minijam is still in production... but owing to the minijam's proprietary technologies, which innogear will not document or otherwise disclose, you are completely dependent upon innogear for all minijam software and add-ons. and innogear's support and development track record is dismal -- and that's a charitable description. you can't even get a decent minijam user guide from innogear.

add to the mix the fact that innogear tech support recently disclosed that they are not pursuing software support for either of the "new" major modern host operating systems (windows xp and macintosh os x), and i think that nails the coffin.

Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Federal Way, WA
Posts: 19

Re: SoundsGood vs. Minijam

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Originally posted by Alslayer
I was just wondering what you guys think of those two mp3 players. I am also warning you I might put up another VS thread.

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 347

quote:

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Originally posted by gayguy
...you are completely dependent upon innogear for all minijam software and add-ons. and innogear's support and development track record is dismal -- and that's a charitable description. you can't even get a decent minijam user guide from innogear.

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 23

quote:

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Originally posted by creole

What sort of software would you need? The software required to run the player is already pre-installed and runs perfectly (on my unit). Are you expecting them to release updates every week or something?

As for the users guide, how hard is it to use the unit? I mean really, it's pretty self-explanatory.

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Last edited by gayguy on 10-23-2001 at 09:26 PM

Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 347

quote:

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Originally posted by gayguy i was hoping that the software would be more functional and play well with others.

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What others?

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song transfers over usb should be (much) faster -- like any other usb-connected mp3 player.

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I agree, but it's not that bad with the Speedloader

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as for the need for a user guide... tell me again those tiny little silver "bump" buttons on the top of the unit do?

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For sure they could have done it better, but I'm not complaining.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 23

this reply is directed to creole's last post, and is rather lengthy. i considered making it a private email but decided that there may be value in a public post.

creole -- and i assume most readers here -- are using the minijam with a windows 9x pc. i used it with a macintosh, and it was a decidedly different experience; i've also used it briefly with the windows version of the software, so i've seen both sides of the fence: the windows minijam experience is *much* better.

that said, you must remember that innogear specifically markets the minijam as windows AND macintosh -compatible. what this means is that they have a hybrid software cd with both macintosh and windows -specific software; it's been a while since i've used it, so i could be making mistakes here, but the software is some "read me" files, a .pdf user manual, a copy of adobe acrobat reader, a mp3 song sampler, and a copy of musicmatch -- all of this is identical for both windows and mac. the difference is: the windows musicmatch program is fully-functional and can download mp3 files to the minijam; the macintosh musicmatch is NOT capable of downloading mp3 files to the minijam, so innogear also includes a "miniloader" standalone program that lets the mac "see" the minijam as a type of mass-storage device to which you can copy .mp3 files from your hard disk. in the macintosh "read me" innogear refers to the miniloader software as a temporary measure until the macintosh version of musicmatch is updated to be "minijam-aware". it never became "minijam-aware". so, already, we have a different definition of "-compatible" depending on which host os you have.

you also should know that macintosh owners are generally quite fanatical about well-designed software, good packaging, and so forth. heck, macintosh users are just spoiled! apple gives away itunes for free, there's also audion, and the venerable (and missed) soundjam mp... so with excellent macintosh digital audio software like (among others) that to choose from, what does innogear do? they give us the mac version of musicmatch -- a well-designed and capable *windows* program -- but the mac version sucks. SUCKS HUGELY. it's just garbage... i remember reading a review that started with "why did they even bother..." -- and it went rapidly downhill from there.

anyway, so now you have the idea: bad macintosh software that doesn't have the full functionality promised nor is it comparable to the windows version. what mac users expect is a software plug-in that would allow the minijam to plug-and-play connect to *good* mac software like audion or soundjam or itunes the way other mac-compatible mp3 players do... in other words, to be "mac-like", to use the macintosh user interface paradigm. innogear refuses to develop such software itself and it refuses to provide the technical documentation to allow other developers to attempt it, citing the fact that musicmatch had been unable to develop such a mac plug-in for their own jukebox software (as if the fact that musicmatch is just embarassingly lousy at mac programming is indicative of whether such a plug-in is technically possible).

yes, there is the speedloader. an extra-cost, windows-only add-in which innogear has the audacity to *sell* in order to overcome a basic flaw in their original design -- slow file transfer speeds (which seems due to their proprietary storage technology).

to switch gears now, my question about the hardware buttons was (slyly) mainly targeted to the "mystery" button on the lowerright corner, closest to the FF button: what's that one do??? it's not in the documentation, is it?

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

quote:

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Originally posted by gayguy
to switch gears now, my question about the hardware buttons was (slyly) mainly targeted to the "mystery" button on the lowerright corner, closest to the FF button: what's that one do??? it's not in the documentation, is it?

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__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Nov 2000
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 201

quote:

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Originally posted by gayguy
that said, you must remember that innogear specifically markets the minijam as windows AND macintosh -compatible. what this means is that they have a hybrid software cd with both macintosh and windows -specific software; it's been a while since i've used it, so i could be making mistakes here, but the software is some "read me" files, a .pdf user manual, a copy of adobe acrobat reader, a mp3 song sampler, and a copy of musicmatch -- all of this is identical for both windows and mac. the difference is: the windows musicmatch program is fully-functional and can download mp3 files to the minijam; the macintosh musicmatch is NOT capable of downloading mp3 files to the minijam, so innogear also includes a "miniloader" standalone program that lets the mac "see" the minijam as a type of mass-storage device to which you can copy .mp3 files from your hard disk. in the macintosh "read me" innogear refers to the miniloader software as a temporary measure until the macintosh version of musicmatch is updated to be "minijam-aware". it never became "minijam-aware". so, already, we have a different definition of "-compatible" depending on which host os you have.

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What do you think, Sirs?

Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 66

ok we know the mac version of minijam really sucks. It also seems that the soundsgood is a great device but it is no longer supported or sold.

But what do you windows users think of minijam? Out of 10

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Alive and well on VisorCentral.com
Posts: 861

I used it once, then promptly deleted it. Fortunately I can use the USB speedloader..

I do feel for all the Mac MiniJam users, and I would also say the people who have issues (both mac and windows folks) are well justified in their complaints. Aren't we coming up on the 1 year anniversary of the last MiniJam update? (I forget, haven't looked in a while), The last update was to allow the minijam to be compatible with the Prism..

Also, the speedloader software isn't a prize either.. it also has bugs.. I mailed them to Innogear but I don't think they ever did anything about them.. One bug is if your mp3 file names are too long.. oooppsss crash..

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 347

I read about the difficulties with the MusicMatch softwar ebefore I even bought my MJ. I never even tried it, instead going straight for the MiniLoader and then the Speedloader software.

out of 10? I'd say a 8.5

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Jackson, Mississippi
Posts: 51

I got a Soundsgood a couple of weeks ago from Amazon and have been blown away by the ease of use and high quality sounds. Amazon may have some left.

Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 66

My girlfriend has informed me that she will buy me my first Handspring visor platinum. So obvisouly the first thing I want to do is buy a mp3 player. After reading my thread I realize that I am still confused.

1. Can you use the sg or mj to store more than just mp3? Like extra programs

2. I think 64 mb is enough for me. I was thinking of looking for a soundsgood on ebay, is this a good choice?

So I was thinking if I can't use the mj for storage then I will buy a soundsgood.

Registered: Sep 2001
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 229

1. SoundsGood - Only audiofiles
MiniJam - audiofiles, e-books, and images (has built-in software for this)

2. SoundsGood is a great choice b/c of it's size and it's large amounts of positive reviews. Although you'll have a litttle bit of trouble bidding for one in your price range (especialy new b/c it's rare now) But if you can find one go for it.

I personaly started off shopping for a SoundsGood Module, I had a heck of a time finding it b/c it wasn't in stock anywhere. I found it on e-Bay but I'm 16 so no credit card to bid with. From what I saw, alot of other peopel were bidding for the module, new and used. I ran into a member that was getting rid of their MiniJam for a realy good price so I got the MiniJam off of him. No regrets either. It's slow transfering songs to the module but i dont mind that. 128mb of space is enough for me for going on runs and such.

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Don't Worry It's Human Nature To Point Out The Obvious

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 12

Soundsgood all the way

An mp3 module was on tops on my VDX module want list. I have the 8 Mb flash, the backup, the Magellan GPS, and the Soundsgood MP3 modules. Hands down, I use the SG module the most followed by the backup module. Unfortunately, I never use the GPS module (because I wish it had better software). Anyway, I did lot's of research and waited for the price to come down before buying. I purchased both the module and the energy clip (used) on Ebay for $167.50 which is a great deal considering retail for both items was well over $200.00. For me, the energy clip was the deal breaker because I wanted to be able to use my MP3 player without jeopardizing my VDX. As a matter of fact, I usually only install the module in my VDX to change the MP3 files. First and foremost, the files transfer very fast . . . like four minutes for 64 Mb of music. This provides 1.5 hours of music at 96 kbps. As an aside, I read this months article on MP3 players in PC World which stated that MP3 files significantly degrade the quality of music below a sampling rate of 128 kbps. I haven't noticed this problem, but that could be because I fly jets for a living and my ears are degraded. At any rate, at 128 kbps you can store an hour's worth of music. But, I rip all my CDs at 96 kpbs so I use less space on my PC's harddrive and can store more music on my SG module, since I can't discern a difference in the quality of music. I know a major argument is the lack of memory expansion for the SG, but 90 minutes of music is good enough for me. I workout 3-4 times a week for about an hour, so only go through my 90 minutes of music 2-3 times. The Musicmatch software that comes with the module is great. Once you've ripped the music to your harddrive, it takes less than ten minutes to load your module with new tunes. Use Musicmatch's "Auto DJ" function to choose 90 minutes worth of music from your MP3 collection categorized by artist, title, or genre. Then, zap the playlist to the Soundsgood desktop software and transfter the playlist to the module in about four minutes. It's really quite easy for people with all levels of know-how. This MP3 module is also the smallest music device I've ever used even when installed in the energy clip. I run with it and it doesn't skip. The only draw back is that the battery life could be longer. I can listen to the module through the energy clip for about 3-4 hours on a single AA NiMH battery, so I basically have to replace the battery 1-2 times a week. I can't speak for the drain on my VDX battery since I haven't listened to the module installed in the VDX for an appreciable length of time. The only other drawback to the Soundsgood is the lack of tech support, but I haven't had a problem requiring support. And, from what I've read it seems as though Innogear's tech support stinks, so you're not really losing much. But, I'm not here to rip Innogear's Minijam since I've never owned one. The only other problem that I've seen is that the headphone jack on the module is prone to damage if you apply lateral pressure to the jack while plugged into the module. At the end of the day, you need to do some research and decide what purpose your MP3 player will serve and prioritize the features and costs. Then, choose the player which best meets your needs. And, you may decide a standalone player is a better choice than either of the VDX modules. I personally have been thrilled with the Soundgood MP3 module. Hope this helps!

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

Its my understanding that that 96kbps will limit the frequency levels you get, meaning some of the high highs and low lows will be loss or simply not as high or low. For mose people this isn't a problem since you don't have subwoofer or anything when using headphones anyway. If you were pumping the music through a real sound system then maybe you'd want to consider going even above 128, but for headphones? 96 is fine.

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Petersburg, AK
Posts: 131

You can use the Soundsgood like a zip drive too. Just change the name of the file too big for your floppy to "insertyournamehere".mp3 and transfer. You can't play the file but you can then upload it. I don't know if the minijam can do this though. I like it because I have a zip drive at work but don't have a reader at home. I have a cd burner at home but not at work. So when I wanted to bring that big Powerpoint, Flash, or Access file home to work on all I could do was try and email it. Ugh! That never worked out well. My Soundsgood solved that problem. I'm very unhappy that Good has discontinued the support for this module.