Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Cambridge, England, UK
Posts: 44

I'm trying to decide at the moment whether to buy a SoundsGood MP3 module now or wait for the new Clie to come out in the UK (summer, So Sony tell me).

The SoundsGood is cheaper and available immediately.

The Clie would give me a high-res screen, colour and expandable memory for the MP3s.

Any suggestions?

Also, does anyone know what the cheapest place to get a SoundsGood in the UK/EU is? I could order from the States but customs duties/tax would wipe out any savings.

Kev.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Them Twin Cities
Posts: 1758

I guess that depends on whether or not you need the other features that the Clie has to offer... what visor do you have and what, besides mp3, isn't it doing for you?

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

Since I still haven't seen the new Cli�, I'll have to risk sounding partisan and say that if you have a Prism, get the SoundsGood module. I recommend staying within the Visor fold, for now, for practical reasons. You can use all your accessories for the Visor: keyboards, modems, etc.; there are far more accessories available for the Visor family; but most important, your expansion options are far greater. The Cli� uses the Memory Stick, while the Visor's Springboard slot accomodates adapters for CF and SM cards, and possibly even Memory Sticks in the near future, if InnoGear is to be believed. And I'm more than a little skeptical about I/O modules being released in the MS' small form factor. Prototypes were displayed at PC Expo a year ago, and not one of them has been announced as even being close to market.

Only you can decide whether the design, increased resolution and integrated audio support are decisive factors, but for me, Springboards and accessories tip the balance toward the Prism + SoundsGood.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 1571

Not to mention

Not to mention that Handsprign might come out with a new color unit by the time you get the CLie in the UK.

Registered: Jun 2000
Location:
Posts: 594

I gotta 2nd GameBoy70's vote, for the same reasons.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 380

Clie - It is just better.

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Cambridge, England, UK
Posts: 44

quote:

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Originally posted by dietrichbohn
I guess that depends on whether or not you need the other features that the Clie has to offer... what visor do you have and what, besides mp3, isn't it doing for you?

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Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 19

Just so you know, the Clie doesn't play Mp3s, it uses Sony's ATRAC3 file format. Your Mp3s will be converted to ATRAC3 when you put them on the machine. It doesn't support WMA files, either. ATRAC3 is being used because it supports copyright protection. When you transfer a file, it is tagged and you can only transer it 3 times after that. Also, if you want to play music on the machine you must buy a MagicGate memory stick, because this type of memory stick supports copy protection. A 64MB Magicgate stick retails for 139.95, I believe. The memory stick that is included with the machine is not Magicgate and will not support Mp3s (it's only an 8MB stick, so it wouldn't be useful anyway). IMO, this is the main downfall of the CLIE- you're stuck using Sony Memory sticks.

I have a Soundsgood MP3 player, I'm quite pleased with it overall. The only things about it I don't like are:

- It's not expandable. You're stuck with the 64MB on the card.
-It doesn't support WMA files. I read that they were supposed to release an upgrade for it that supported WMA, but I haven't seen anything about it yet.
-This is a small point, but the software doesn't convert the bitrate when you load it on the machine, like other Mp3 players do.

Overall I'd say the Soundsgood is a really nice module- it's small, has excellent sound quality, and the battery life is excellent.

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

quote:

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Originally posted by yuso
Just so you know, the Clie doesn't play Mp3s, it uses Sony's ATRAC3 file format. Your Mp3s will be converted to ATRAC3 when you put them on the machine. It doesn't support WMA files, either. ATRAC3 is being used because it supports copyright protection. When you transfer a file, it is tagged and you can only transer it 3 times after that. Also, if you want to play music on the machine you must buy a MagicGate memory stick, because this type of memory stick supports copy protection. A 64MB Magicgate stick retails for 139.95, I believe. The memory stick that is included with the machine is not Magicgate and will not support Mp3s (it's only an 8MB stick, so it wouldn't be useful anyway). IMO, this is the main downfall of the CLIE- you're stuck using Sony Memory sticks.

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Inglewood, CA, USA
Posts: 390

$150 vs. $500 (USD)

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 1571

Beat

quote:

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Originally posted by kevin_i_orourke


I would be overjoyed if Handspring brought out a hi-res, colour Visor but I doubt it's going to happen this year. I like the Visor and Springboard stuff but they've just not been innovating much, the Edge isn't much of an advance over the original Visor.

Kev.

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Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

But how much more $ will this Clie killer cost? $550? $600?

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: Jun 2000
Location:
Posts: 594

Re: Beat

quote:

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Originally posted by yardie
I am willing to bet that handspring will come out with at least one PDA that beat out the Clie this year....

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Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 19

Matthew Nichols,

You'd better email ZDnet and tell them that, then

"To transfer music to the CLIE, you have to launch the Audio Player, enter Transfer mode so your PC will recognize the device's Memory Stick storage, and check-out files from one of the jukebox programs. In the process, they are converted to ATRAC3. The alternative is to drag and drop MP3s onto the organizer using Windows Explorer, but the Audio Player will only recognize them if you insert them in a series of nested folders (Palm/Programs/MSAudio) we had to create on the Memory Stick--much like the My Documents folder on CompactFlash cards for Pocket PCs.

The CLIE includes am 8MB Memory Stick, which won't give you enough space for working with digital audio or video. In addition, this type of Memory Stick won't work with ATRAC3; for that you'll need a MagicGate Memory Stick that supports copyright protection. Our test unit included a 64MB MagicGate Memory Stick that'll run you an additional $139.95. You should add this to the price of the CLI�, since it's really the minimum we'd recommend for a portable digital audio player."

http://www.zdnet.com/supercenter/st...,479387,00.html

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 19

This article also says the machine doesn't support mp3. Is it wrong?

"Although the PEG-N700C doesn't support mp3 audio it does support Sony's Atrac3 for audio playback via the memory stick."

http://www.palmblvd.com/articles/20...w-CLIE-PEG.html

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

quote:

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Originally posted by yuso
Matthew Nichols,
You'd better email ZDnet and tell them that, then [/url]

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You can do that for me

quote:

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From C-Net
Sony learned from the mistakes it made with previous digital music players and relaxed its formerly draconian copy-protection schemes. You can load MP3 files directly onto the CLIE without converting them into Sony's copy-protected ATRAC3 format first.

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Not to mention the NUMEROUS posts in the All Handhelds portion of this message board which also confirm its ability to play MP3s & which are merely dragged & dropped onto the memory stick, no special jukebox crap. And like I said, Sony even includes a short MP3 on the 8mb stick included with the box.

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

Arg, you didn't even read the ZDNet article did you?!

quote:

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From ZDNet
The PDA comes with two versions of the Audio Player and two jukebox programs for your PC (Sony's own OpenMG and Real Jukebox)--one of each for the default ATRAC3 format and MP3...To transfer music to the CLIE, you have to launch the Audio Player, enter Transfer mode so your PC will recognize the device's Memory Stick storage, and check-out files from one of the jukebox programs. In the process, they are converted to ATRAC3. The alternative is to drag and drop MP3s onto the organizer using Windows Explorer, but the Audio Player will only recognize them if you insert them in a series of nested folders (Palm/Programs/MSAudio) we had to create on the Memory Stick--much like the My Documents folder on CompactFlash cards for Pocket PCs.

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 19

I stand corrected, then. I won't trust ZDnet's reviews anymore. I did some more checking and I read somewhere that the Japanese version does not support mp3s, but they changed it for the US. I suppose ZDnet reviewed a Japanese machine and didn't say so. I haven't read any of the posts about the Clie in the all handhelds section either, sorry. I was just going from what the reviews said, which I assumed were correct.

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

quote:

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Originally posted by yuso
I stand corrected, then. I won't trust ZDnet's reviews anymore.

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 19

I assumed that by dropping the mp3s into the folder it would convert them to ATRAC3. Since I had read earlier that the machine supported ATRAC3 I thought that's what it would do. I apologize about misreading the article, I did not intend to mislead anyone.