Thursday, June 12, 2003
True Multimedia Convergence?
Posted by Jason Dunn in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 03:00 PM
"The AV320 is one in a series of portable devices from Archos that just might revolutionize what entertainment you carry with you every day. The first model in the 300 series, the AV320 has a 2.5-inch, 20 GB hard drive inside. The device itself measures 4.4 by 3.2 by 1.2 inches and weighs 12.5 ounces. It’s a lot bigger than an iPod, or your favorite MP3 player, but once you know what’s inside you’ll understand why.
The AV320 has a backlit, 3.8-inch LCD screen, capable of handling 320 by 240 pixels. Inside, Lithium-ion batteries should give you four hours of on-screen video watching or 10 hours of listening to music (with the display turned off) before needing to be recharged by the AC adapter/brick that comes with the device."
Columnist Gary Krakow seems to really like this device! Check out the video on that page if you'd like to see the device in action.
It's funny - I've always been very interested in devices like this, yet I've never purchased one. This device comes much closer to what I'm looking for, but for me the software is just as important as the hardware. A device like this would only be useful to me if if were able to synchronize all my digital media in an intelligent manner. For instance, all my digital audio is in 192 to 256 Kbps VBR MP3 or WMA format - high quality, large files. I'd be happy enough with files in 96 or 128 Kbps WMA format. My video files wouldn't need to be in the 720 x 480 resolution - they should be transcoded to the screen size of the device. Ditto for photos - I don't want to carry a 2 MB image around with me.
I would want to connect the device, and have it monitor My Pictures, My Videos, and My Music, and sync over anything that was missing from the portable device. Does something like this exist? Point me at it, and I'll buy today. :mrgreen:
