RSSPhilips Readies 8cm eXpanium Beta
By Nate Mook | Published August 15, 2001, 2:59 PM
Further establishing its dominance as the MP3 hardware king, Philips has announced a new addition to the popular eXpanium lineup. The eXp401 is a smaller incarnation of the portable MP3-CD player, utilizing 8cm disks -- 40% smaller than standard CDs -- that hold 185MB of compressed audio. Philips is looking for 50 beta testers to try out the portable, which is expected to debut late this year.
The eXp401 supports AAC and MP3 audio, and sports a 100-second electronic skip protection. Philips claims 3-hour playback on one AA battery, matching the length of music that can be stored on the 8cm CD. All disk formats are supported, including CDR, CDRW and UDF. A large LCD additionally provides quick navigation through artists and albums.
Philips is banking on the player's low cost for promotion. The mini-CDs can be purchased at most computer stores for about $1 USD, making for a much cheaper alternative to the expensive memory sticks needed in competing pocket MP3 players.
The application period for the eXp401 beta begins today and will run until August 31. Selected testers will be notified via e-mail by September 7, and must use the player for 8 weeks and complete two online questionnaires.
For more information on Philips' eXp401, visit audio.philips.com, or apply now to join the beta test.
I will let anyone know if i get selected! (probably not going to be selected though) LOL
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|www.pricewatch.com
storage>media>mini.
they have sony mini discs thrown in there, don't know if thats the same format or not (never bothered with sony mini discs.)
i SOOO hope i get in on this beta. i've refrained from buying a full sized mp3 discman because of the larger size, and never thought about buying flashram based solutions simply because of the cost of the media. this thing would be PERFECT for me.
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|Looks heaps better then some of the other CD Mp3 players on the market. Not to mention, seeing that it comes from Philips, it bound to sound much better as well. Hope I get to test it out ;)
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|Wow, I've been waiting for an mp3 player like this one. It would be awesome to test this thing. Next on my list is one of those nice Neo35's for my car :)
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|I really want an MP3-CD player, but I'm turned off by their size. My Rio is 1/3 the size of my Philips CD player, and it's much more portable because of this. I only bring my CD player with me when I don't have to lug it around (ie on car trips). Maybe this mini-CD player will be just the right thing I need. But the cost per blank disc is still more than full size discs...but much less than flash memory.
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|It looks much cooler then the one freecom sells.
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|I received the e-mail today to 'beta test' the 8cm expandium. This is my 3rd invite from Phillips. 1st on the Expandium, next on the 'boombox' and finally on the 8cm. This badboy looks really cool even though the disks are CDR (I believe) and not easily obtainable. It would be easier to use flashram or something similar. If I get the gear I'll be happy nonetheless. I got a NADA unit for my son which has vid out and plays VCDs back in December! He loves it to death! I'd like to grab the Expandium for me this time...
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|Your local BestBuy or CompUSA should have the disks for sure. They might even be the same (haven't confirmed they will work) as the ones used by Sony in its new cameras. For $1 per 158 megs as oppossed to $160 dollars for the same size flash ram, I think the CD route was a pretty good move.
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|I received the email today as well. As for the 8cm cd's, you should be able to get them from any computer store.
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|I'm not doubting the cost factor/MB I have an Olympus Digital Camera that I use SmartMedia with. I was just stating it would make for a smaller form factor as well as having the ability to be re-writable. Generally I listen to the MP3s for a few days in the car/portable, get bored and use a rewrite or if I need to just burn another CD. Thanks!
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|Does it support Ogg Vorbis? That would definitely make it more tempting for me. (http://www.xiph.org/ogg/vorbis/index.html)
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|Nope, just MP3 and AAC. Not sure why they bother with AAC - useless format governed by hefty license restrictions. OGG would have been a much better choice.
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|We don't sell the 8mm CD-Rs at Best Buy (I work there) But I DID see em at Microcenter or CompUSA. You can usually get em in 50 CD Spindles
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|Wait....I take that back. We sell those Sony 8mm CD Cameras and usually we have 5 or 10 pack cased CDs. Obviously the advantage is ya get a case. The spindles don't have that and I dunno where they sell 8mm cases
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|I am still waiting on a email from them.
Did they fill all beta testers yet?
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