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I propose an mp3 player with no memory, but a USB port (like the type on computers, not the type on devices) that I can plug a USB flash drive into. It would be very small, since it would be using the memory from my USB drive. It would have drivers for most major USB drive brands. When you plug the USB
drive in, the mp3 player searches for audio files on the drive, and creates an index. The power for the drive is supplied by the battery in the mp3 player.
I know that there are USB drives with mp3 players built in, but this would be different. I could show other people my music by simply plugging your USB drive into someone else's music player. The players shouldn't be very expensive, because they don't have memory.
Pretty Much Baked
http://www.lexar.com/mp3/jg_mp3.html
Lexar JumpGear MP3 (uses Lexar JumpDrive Thumb drives) [Jawzx, May 20 2005]
Illustration
http://img215.echo....bmp3pendrive3ty.gif
The thing on the end is the mp3 player. [-----, May 21 2005]
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[jawsx] Read the idea carefully. I talked about that. |
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They do this with SD and Compact Flash cards in devices. |
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I know they use CompactFlash and SD cards, I mean a USB drive. USB drives are different, because they don't need a reader. Note that this idea is called a _USB_ drive mp3 player, not a CF or SD card player. |
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There are lots of USB memory/MP3
player combinations about, but I have
yet to see one that follows the design
detailed here. |
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It may be that nobody has thought of it
or it could be that the combination
solution is easier to implement or
provides a superior solution. |
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The problems that spring to my mind
are these:
Power — USB interfaces have specified
line voltages which will, no doubt be
higher that driving memory directly.
You will therefore have a shorter battery
life by using the USB interface between
your player and its memory.
Charging — Since the battery is in the
player and not the stick, you miss out
on the ability to charge your mp3 player
while you're transferring music to it;
somthing that has made the iPod
shuffle and similar devices
very popular.
Shape — Assuming that this device is to
work with any USB memory drive, you
can make no assumptions about the
shape of the memory drive that you're
going to attach. You're therefore going
to end up with what might be a very
ugly device and one that might pull
apart quite easily since you can't add a
latch without losing the ability to add
*any* memory stick. |
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Thanks for pointing out the title. I don't know how I missed that. [-] |
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I've got a car stereo that allows me to plug in my usb flash drive ($129 from Best Buy) and it plays the mp3s on the drive. I would love to be able to get out of the car and use another device to play the rest of the mp3s. I frequently listen to podcasts during my commute and being able to easily rotate files on a thumb drive is essential to podcast listening. |
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