(ARA) - School logo sweatshirts and khaki pants aside, there’s a new “must-have” piece of apparel on college campuses this fall -- and it’s music!
Dubbed “e-wear” by Panasonic, miniaturized audio players are hits this summer among students -- and other music listeners -- because they deliver high-quality sound in a tiny package that’s virtually part of a wardrobe.
“This generation of players is geared for the on-the-go lifestyle of today’s students,” said Dan Hodgson, vice president for business development at Crutchfield Corporation, the leading Internet and catalog retailer of consumer electronics.
“Students are downloading music from their PCs to their portable players, and enjoying them while they’re relaxing, exercising, or just strolling to class,” Hodgson said. “With these players, they can create personalized playlists that are easy to edit at any time.”
The tiny players -- some are barely larger than a book of matches -- are equipped to handle a variety of audio formats, including the popular MP3 file format. When choosing a player, pay attention to the amount of memory that's included -- the basic rule of thumb is “one megabyte holds one minute.”
That means that for every megabyte of memory, you can store about a minute of compressed music at near-CD quality. For some players, you can purchase optional, additional memory.
Portable players can be worn around the neck or on the arm, and typically come with earbud-style headphones. Best of all, they won’t skip because they have no moving parts.
Among the products available from Crutchfield:
* Panasonic’s SV-SD85 “e-wear” ($249.99) packs four hours of audio in a bite-sized 1.34-ounce package. It comes with a neck strap or an arm band, so users can wear it wherever it’s most comfortable. Music management software is included for easy transfer of MP3, WMA, or AAC files from a PC.
* The amazing Sony Network Walkman NW-MS70D ($299.99) weighs just two ounces, yet holds about 11 hours of music in its embedded 256MB memory. Playback time is up to 33 hours with a built-in rechargeable battery. It comes with music management software and provides easy transfer of MP3, WMA, ATRAC3, and WAV files from a PC via a USB cable.
* For more versatility, consider a MiniDisc player. Offered by Sony, portable MiniDisc players and recorders ($129.99 and up) use durable, inexpensive blank MiniDiscs to make crystal-clear recordings from virtually any audio source. And, Sony’s NetMD line offers the same kind of PC flexibility you get from MP3 players.
Some recorders have a powered microphone input -- add a compatible mike and record class lectures! MiniDisc players are slightly larger than MP3 players -- about 4 inches wide and 4 ounces -- but an optional armband case will still keep them in the category of “music you can wear.”
Crutchfield offers portable players in its national catalog and online at www.crutchfield.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content
