Get a rush playing your favorite tunes as MP3 files<\/p>\n
By Vishnu K. Mahmud<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): There was a crowd of people at Gatot's desk and
\nthat could only mean one of two things: there were either free
\ngoodies to eat or Gatot had just bought a new toy. Unfortunately
\nfor my hungry stomach, his Philips Rush MP3 player was not
\nedible.<\/p>\n
MP3 players have come a long way since they were first
\nintroduced in 1998. When the Diamond Rio PMP300 player was
\nlaunched, few people apart from the techies and geeks even knew
\nwhat a Motion Picture Expert Group, Audio Layer 3 (MP3) was. Two
\nyears, one Napster and a few dozen lawsuits later, everyone knows
\nthat MP3 is a standard to compress audio files into near CD-
\nquality sound for ease of transfer over the Internet.<\/p>\n
I chose the Minidisc over MP3 players back then. Although the
\nRio was priced at US$199 at the time, the built-in 32 megabytes
\nof memory were enough for only 11 songs (roughly 38 minutes of
\nmusic). Memory module prices were quite high and you needed a
\ncomputer to add or delete music. Compare that to Minidisc
\ncartridges at $2 a pop for 74 minutes of music, thus allowing the
\nuser to swap music as easy as loading a Walkman.<\/p>\n
The Phillips Rush, on the other hand, may change my mind about
\nMP3 players. At 8cm by 8cm by 1.8 cm, the Rush is the smallest
\nmusic gadget I have ever seen. It also weighs a minute 50 grams,
\nmaking it perfect to fit in your shirt pocket. Since MP3 players
\nhave no moving parts (CD and Minidisc players do), it provides
\nuninterrupted music playback -- useful for those bone-jarring
\npotholes in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The Rush uses SmartMedia memory modules that are smaller and
\nlighter compared to the pricier Compact Flash cards. It comes
\nwith a 64 megabyte SmartMedia card that can be used immediately
\nas the Rush does not have any built-in memory. You can transfer
\nmusic using either a USB or parallel port as both transfer data
\nfaster then the antiquated serial port.<\/p>\n
Using the bundled RealJukeBox software from RealNetworks, we
\neasily ripped a few songs off my favorite Vengaboys CD, converted
\nthem to an MP3 file and loaded them on the Rush. Using the
\nparallel port cable, we managed to upload 10 songs in less than
\nthree minutes. File transfer using the USB cable should be even
\nfaster.<\/p>\n
The Rush's sound is near CD-quality but it again depends on
\nyour source. If you upload a song that was encoded\/recorded at 96
\nbits (instead of the regular 128 bits), do not expect stereo
\nsurround sound. The Rush can accept songs encoded at up to 512
\nbits, which is the closest quality to a CD as you can get. It
\nalso takes much more memory.<\/p>\n
My only beef about the Rush is the power source. It uses
\nregular AA batteries instead of rechargeable ones. Although it
\ndoes offer 12 hours of nonstop music, I prefer to utilize a
\nreusable source of energy instead of going to the warung for
\nanother set of batteries. In addition, there is no remote control
\nattached to the earphone cord for easy access to your music. You
\nwould have to use the buttons on the unit if you wish to bookmark
\na song or skip to the next title.<\/p>\n
Sugeng Rijanto, Philips Audio Product Manager, said the Rush
\nwas also prepared to handle Secure Digital Music Initiative
\n(SDMI) technology when that standard is implemented. SDMI was
\ncreated by record labels in response to the large number of MP3
\nfiles exchanged freely -- with no fee to copyright holders --
\nover the Internet. This new specification essentially blocks
\nportable MP3 players from accepting illegally created music
\nfiles. However, SDMI is still a long way from being widely
\naccepted and there has recently been some concerns on how hacker-
\nproof the initiative really is.<\/p>\n
The Rush retails for about Rp 2.5 million and is available at
\nAudio Plaza and Agis Electronic Superstores scattered around
\nJakarta. As for the music, you can easily convert your CD (or
\ntape) collection to MP3s. You can also obtain music from MP3.com
\nor Napster (while the site is still legally up). With it's
\ndiminutive size, shockproof music and cool shape, the Philips
\nRush can easily be an ideal stocking stuffer for Christmas. Now
\nif only I could get Santa to get me one.<\/p>\n
You can check out www.rush.philips.com for more information.
\n(vmahmud@yahoo.com)<\/p>",
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