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View Full Version : New (prototype) multimedia device...


legohead
05-20-2003, 10:53 PM
I just finished filling out this survey which described and showed a new device being developed by various companies. It is supposed to be Windows powered (that's the Microsoft part of it)This is what it said:

We would now like you to review a new product that is currently being developed by Microsoft and several leading consumer electronics companies.

This digital media device plays MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) files, can store 1,000 CD-quality songs, and has a 2" x 2" color screen capable of displaying both text and pictures, with menus that you navigate using buttons on the device. The device can connect to your PC, using either a single cable (for both file transfer and power source) or via a bluetooth wireless connection for transferring files without cables. The bluetooth capability also allows for the use of wireless headphones, in addition to the standard wired headphones.

In addition to transfer of files and playlists, the device also has the ability to sync with the Contacts and Calendar you have stored on your PC, which you can then view on the device. The device can store not only music files, but also digital video, digital photos, Microsoft Office documents, Web pages, etc.. When you approach another PC you can transfer files from the portable digital media device to that PC.
You can also connect the portable digital media device to a car or home stereo system, allowing music stored on the device to be played back through the speaker system of a car or home stereo. Similarly, you can connect the device to a TV to view digital pictures and play video clips, such as home movies, that are stored on the portable digital media device. The digital media device also connects to a digital camera, and automatically transfers digital pictures from the camera to the device and stores them for transferring to a PC later.
5. Given the description you just read, and considering the ways in which you would use such a device, how appealing do you find this portable digital media device overall?
6. Based on this description of the device, please tell us the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the following statements:
7. Considering the description of the portable digital media device that you just read, how likely would you be to purchase this device if it cost $299?
11. Imagine that the manufacturer of this device is Toshiba. Based on the above description and using the scale below, where 1 means "not at all appropriate" and 9 means "very appropriate", please rate how appropriate it would be for this product to be called Toshiba Mobilphile MEG50 Pocket Media Center. . .
Based on what you have just read and using the scale below, where 1 means "not at all appropriate" and 9 means "very appropriate", please rate how appropriate it would be for this set of technologies to be called ...

legohead
05-20-2003, 11:07 PM
I'm trying to post the picture they provided, but for some reason it doesn't show when i submit the post. what do i do?

...anyways, i'm not quite sure i like the picture as much as the specs. it looks fine, but the since the survey didn't specifically say the size (it only said the LCD size- 2x2 in), i'm not quite sure from the picture how big it is. It looks kinda like a gameboy advance shape with some curves.

UZI4U182
05-20-2003, 11:09 PM
nice picture he he

legohead
05-22-2003, 12:40 AM
The picture finally showed up. So what do you people think about this. This seriously was the topic of a email survey from Surveysite.com. It's supposed to be powered by some new Windows OS. They were asking if it should be called:
Windows Powered Pocket Media Center
Windows Powered Mobile Mediamate

...among other names. Whatever.

aaronchow
05-22-2003, 03:16 AM
But this looks like another GameBoy device to me... What do you think?

Enceladus
05-22-2003, 03:52 AM
The pic does a good job of hiding it's thickness. I wonder how pocketable it would be.

abosco
05-22-2003, 04:13 PM
IMO it looks pretty gross. The specs sound really cool and I'd be thrilled to try out something like this, but they have to work on the design of this thing. It looks uglier than the prototype HandEra 500.

legohead
05-22-2003, 05:22 PM
Enceladus The pic does a good job of hiding it's thickness. I wonder how pocketable it would be.
But this looks like another GameBoy device to me... What do you think?

...That's exactly what I was thinking. And all I got was an entry into some contest for doing the survey. I guess $299 (what they suggested) wouldn't be so bad for those specs, but i still don't see myself paying that much for a PDA- maybe in a few years when all the minitiarized features become as good as the real thing (digital camera, radio, MP3 player...) and when the software bugs get fixed. Oh, and how about one of those "projection keyboards" that are 'projected' onto the table. that would be cool!

Jake K
05-22-2003, 07:15 PM
That thing is way too big. It looks like theres more than an inch of space between the screen and the edge of the unit. If it isn't pocketable, it isn't worth having.

elf
05-22-2003, 07:53 PM
Originally posted by abosco
It looks uglier than the prototype HandEra 500.

Do you have a url that has a picture of this prototype (google wasn't any help). Handera always has interesting (i.e. not mainstream) products.

exiii
05-22-2003, 08:00 PM
Does this look familiar: http://www.sonicblue.com/shop/_templates/item_main.asp?model=139&cat=6 ?

___
05-22-2003, 09:47 PM
legohead, the picture definitely shows that the screen is not 2X2 as it is a rectangle...

OcellNuri
05-22-2003, 10:01 PM
Originally posted by exiii
Does this look familiar: http://www.sonicblue.com/shop/_templates/item_main.asp?model=139&cat=6 ?


You beat me to it. Should I be embarrassed that it took us "technophiles" here at cliesource this many posts to identify the "prototype" as a doctored Rio Riot? :D

legohead
05-22-2003, 10:27 PM
You beat me to it. Should I be embarrassed that it took us "technophiles" here at cliesource this many posts to identify the "prototype" as a doctored Rio Riot?

legohead, the picture definitely shows that the screen is not 2X2 as it is a rectangle...

Wow... that's interesting. This seriously was the picture provided in an email survey from Surveysite.com which was sent to me. I posted most of the contents of the survey earlier. No joke! Well maybe they were looking for more approval on the specs, name, and price than the actual unit. Who knows.

If you guys got the survey, it would have been funny to type in all the fields, "Ripped from Rio..."

If you type "Pocket Media Center" (in quotes) in Google, the first result is a site that lists a bunch of Microsoft codenames for future products. One of these codenames is "Media2Go" which is supposedly Win CE for Pocket Media Center.

n2ifp
05-22-2003, 11:43 PM
It must have been the Sony Employee at work again :D!