You're young, you're
hip, you're next week's news. So why are you still listening
to CDs? For god's sake, any coed worth her cyber-NaCl is swapping,
downloading and pirating tunes with a fervor previously reserved
for e-mailing pornified Disney song lyrics. Of course, that
webbed world of music ain't so great if you've gotta be chained
to your PC. Get with it and get mobile.
1. RCA LYRA
$199 at Good Guys, various locations
A Gameboy for grown-ups, the RCA Lyra has a tiny black-and-white
screen that tracks your playlists. Weighing in at 5 ounces,
the Lyra comes with 32 megs of RAM and can support a 32-meg
flash memory card as well. Standard headphones and batteries
are included, as is software that will help you transfer
your CD collection into MP3 files. This toy is compatible
only with PCs.
Rock Steady.
2. I-JAM PLAYER
$219.95, online at www.ijamworld.com;
look for $40 instant-rebate days
The I-JAM, by far the coolest-looking portable, comes in
five fruity colors, including Chi-Town Blue, Lemon Drop
and Razz Jazz Red. Surprisingly, the player is not made
by the flirty revolutionaries at Apple, despite similarities
in name and design. It's produced by Illinois company I-JAM
Multimedia LLC, which supports a handy Web site; an extensive
FAQ addresses downloading and converting concerns, and there's
a link to several MP3 music and software sources. At only
2.5 ounces, this is the most compact device around, thanks
to a new (read: unproven) technology used in the removable
memory cards. There's also a USB interface, which means
it will connect easily to iMacs, iBooks and PCs. I-JAM comes
with headphones, a 16-inch neck strap, a carrying case,
belt clip and a built-in FM stereo--for those nostalgic
moments when you long to hear a throaty DJ ruin the beginning
of your favorite rock anthem.
Best-Looking.
3. CREATIVE LABS NOMAD, NOMAD II
$249 at Comp USA, 1778 N Jantzen Beach Center, 240-4900,
or 10385 SW Cascade Road, Tigard, 684-1662; and Fry's Electronics,
29400 SW Town Center Loop, Wilsonville, 570-6000; or order
from Creative Labs at 1-800-998-5227
Smaller than a deck of cards, the Nomad is one of the most
compact MP3 players on the market. Yet somehow, the makers
managed to fit in an FM radio, plus enough memory to give
you about an hour's worth of music (in geek speak: It has
32 megs of RAM on board and 32 megs of RAM on a flash card).
If you're plagued by deep thoughts that demand preservation,
you'll dig the voice-recording mechanism. And if you happen
to forget what music you just spent three hours searching
for on ineffective search engines (and another hour downloading
on your temperamental modem), the Nomad has an LCD display
that shows the artist and song title of each selection.
Compatible with PCs only.
Brainiest.
4. DIAMOND RIO PLAYER 500
$269 at Fry's and Comp USA; PMP300 with 32 megs of
RAM is $169.95 and
comes with a $50 rebate
This portable invokes techno-drool from the most linear
of thinkers--computer engineers. The newest available MP3
player comes loaded with 64 megs of memory and a flash card
lends an extra 32 megs of recall. For those keeping track
at home, that gives you two Chemical Brothers albums and
side one of The Wall. This model, unlike its predecessor,
the PMP300, has a USB connection (the port that replaces
serial ports, allowing users to "stack" plug-in appliances,
such as Palm Pilots and MP3 players, to their computers),
so it can be used with PC or Apple computers.
Most Likely to Succeed.
5. NULLSOFT MPMAN
$149 at Fry's
The MPMan was the first of its kind, a portable powerhouse
of electronic tunes for consumers on the cutting edge of
music technology. But that was back in 1998, which might
as well be the Dark Ages when you're talking tech. Those
fickle fanatics are now leaving Nullsoft's product behind,
saying "Thanks for the memory, but I want mine expandable."
You see, the other MP3 players support flash memory cards
that easily increase the amount of information they can
read. The sorry MPMan is stuck with a solid, nonadjustable
32 megs. It does come with rechargeable batteries and a
docking station for easy computer-to-player song loading,
but it only works with PCs.
Most Likely to Be Deported.
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Willamette Week | originally
published December 1,
1999
|
