Video, 64GB flash and fast memory - anything?

[boxleitnerb]

I have a Cowon J3 and I want something new because I need H.264 support (Quicksync only encodes in this format), more space and I'm sick and tired of waiting forever when transfering data (7MB/s is pathetic in 2013).

Is there anything available or on the horizon that fits my needs?

[CrowdAds]

[The DarkSide]

Sorry, but the only thing I know of w/64gb internal is either an iPod touch or an imported Sony from Japan. I've owned both, and both have their merits. Both sound fantastic. And a refurb iPod touch 4G 64gb can be had from Apple's website for $229.99. Excellent deal IMO. Here's the link: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD...uch-64gb-white

As for transfer speeds, I have a device or two that actually utilize the new USB 3.0 standard, and one is a fuze+ (Rockboxed,...and I'll admit it's not bad Rockboxed). Most devices aren't on board with this yet.

[boxleitnerb]

Hm, I don't like Apple because of their proprietary software. I'm contemplating getting a smartphone this year anyway - is the sound quality on these phones on par with dedicated video/audio players? That way I could have only one device instead of two, would make things easier.

[The DarkSide]

You don't need to use iTunes, and it hasn't been a requirement for a few years now. MediaMonkey, Foobar2000, J.River, WinAmp, etc. all of these work.

As for cell phones, I use my Nokia Lumia 920 more than my MP3 players nowadays. I only use a dedicated player on downtime or before I knock off for the nite. No shame in getting a phone,...but a clip+ or clipzip should at least be on hand for times when you really want to conserve battery power.

What I'd suggest you do is find a cell phone you like, go to GSMArena.com, and read the review. They do a loaded & unloaded audio test of phones. And they usually are pretty darn accurate with their reviews. And some of us can also help selecting a cellphone. We're a diverse crowd,...we're here to help!!!

[boxleitnerb]

Winamp works? I thought the newer firmwares of the iPod Touch and the iPhone are incompatible with the ml_ipod plugin?

I had my eye on the Samsung Galaxy S3 i9300, but I'm quite put off by the quality issues that are reported by thousands of owners.

[The DarkSide]

Ill check the WinAmp compatibility for you with an iPod touch 4G later tonight. I'm @work ATM,...

[IDvsEGO]

what about a samsung galaxy player with a 64gb card? sony and apple don't have expansion slots so using the external memory card to reach your capacity is the same. I use my galaxy S3 for everything now. 16gb on board, 64gb card. sound quality is good and several free player apps have EQ features now.

[boxleitnerb]

As I said, Samsung seems very bad quality wise. I won't pay hundreds of Euros to get a broken player/phone with bad or no support.

If Apple indeed works without iTunes comfortably, I might give them a try, albeit unwillingly.

[IDvsEGO]

there are thousands of people that say apple quality sucks. that's what happens when you sell millions of units.

I have one, my cousin and his fiancee have one. My uncle and his wife have one. 5 coworkers have them. No complaints from any of them. Galaxy player is also one of the most recommended players around here.

[boxleitnerb]

I know, it's a difficult assessment. How proprietary is the Galaxy S3 phone in terms of connectivity and management (through Winamp etc.)?

[IDvsEGO]

at 40 million units sold, any number in the thousands is minimal. Even at 999,999 faulty units (the max before crossing the line from thousands to millions) it would be right about 2.5% failure rate. I would be willing to bet its actually higher than that but I used the numbers to illustrate just how many happy owners are running around out there. And I don't even know if the 41 million sold int hat article includes the galaxy players or just the smartphones.

S3 connects as a media device. You can drag and drop using windows explorer or use synch features in a media app like windows media player, winamp, mediamonkey, foobar, etc. the only thing I dont like about the connectivity is you cant force it to be used as mass storage device so it cant get a drive letter. Most people wont car about that but I had a specific way of synching my files that I cant do anymore. not a big deal, just an annoyance.

[boxleitnerb]

Good to know, thank you! I'll take the S3 into consideration.

[FreeZ5]

We got a Galaxy S3 on Black Friday, but I'm not using it as a media player. There are some songs on it that I got there using drag & drop, and they play just fine. It uses a micro USB cable for data & charging.

When people here at ABi say Galaxy player, they are not talking about a phone, they are talking about a dedicated media player. There are differences.
http://www.samsung.com/ca/consumer/t.../media-players

Steve

[IDvsEGO]

true point. I equate it to the ipod touch/iphone relationship.

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by IDvsEGO

true point. I equate it to the ipod touch/iphone relationship.

Well put, I'll have to remember that analogy next time this comes up.

Steve

[boxleitnerb]

I'd rather get one device. Having two and two cables/power adapters is a bit of an unnecessary hassle for me. Is the S3 phone much different from the Galaxy player in terms of audio/video playback and manageability?

Btw thanks for all the advice so far

[IDvsEGO]

I have been told that they are both good. I have the phone and am happy with it. Haven't personally used the galaxy player but other trusted members have been complimentary. The SG3 isn't a perfect device but its the first one that fit enough of my needs to drop down to a single primary device. I wish battery life were better but that's a blanket statement to all smart phones.

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by boxleitnerb

I'd rather get one device. Having two and two cables/power adapters is a bit of an unnecessary hassle for me. Is the S3 phone much different from the Galaxy player in terms of audio/video playback and manageability?

Btw thanks for all the advice so far

As I said already the S3 phone uses a micro USB cable. Finding out what a Galaxy Player uses was extremely painful, but finally found a post here on abi saying that it also uses the micro USB cable. So two devices, one cable. [Our house has two phones, one Clip Zip, and one Sony eReader all using the same micro USB cable].

Watching movies and listening to music on the phone will run down the battery and may make the phone unavailable when you want to use it. Of course, you can get spare batteries for the S3. Make sure that the batteries are nfc compatible (something about the antenna) in case that becomes important to you.

Steve

[BruceBanner]

Originally Posted by IDvsEGO

I wish battery life were better but that's a blanket statement to all smart phones.

Is it possible with the s3 to get a larger batter/back cover to replace the existing one instead of swopping batteries constantly (which no one really wants to do).
I own an S2 and really like it, i have one more year on my contract and will then be on the lookout for something new. But a bit of ebay browsing and i saw that there were plentiful suppliers of larger batteries (that come with a different back cover to accomodate the larger battery), does the s3 have these avaialble to them also? Might be better than swopping batteries constantly. Course it will make for a heavier, chunkier device, but if u can watch vids, listen to music without fear, and carry/worry about just one device then the payoff is prolly worth it.

My opinion is this, I have been repeatedly impressed with the S2 from a PMP perspective. With the Google Play Store you are spoilt for choice for various video and audio playback options. My two favorite apps are PowerAmp for music (i got close to sq to rival the clip+) and MX Player for Video (was taking 720p mkv's with ease etc). Video quality was also better than any dedicated PMP i have owned in the past. Put it this way, smartphone's are better than PMP's of days gone by, easily.
They're drawback is battery life, so if you can get around that by looking for larger batteries, regular charge pattens, buying extra chargers for office etc then I would definitely recommend getting that 'all in one' device.
The S3 can take a 64gb card, has apt-x bluetooth as well (i think), lots of other nice frills, not surprised IDvsEGO loves it and has become his main player.

I think the need for a seperate DAP to yer phone is smart (pun intended) tho, for those times u want to exercise or not carry around a very expensive phone in places where u might damage it easily etc.

Edit: A quick google and i found this. If yer in the market for a smartphone i would get this (or summin like it) and turn yer phone into a proper beast media player without worrying about battery life etc. I'm sure the galaxy player is v.good, but i'm not sure what market its aimed at now with the abundance of smartphones available (same with itouch).

[IDvsEGO]

problem with those batteries is that they make the back hump bigger so you cant use a case with them. so no otterbox or the like. I would rather plug my phone in all the time than run around with it naked.