Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Cheap digital audio players

I have a Dyne Digital recorder and player. The model and version (DN7128) I have cost me Rs. 5,000 in Singapore. It has 128MB space, can record audio in three modes (8kbps, 64 kbps, 128 kbps) all in proprietary formats (TVF, TCV). However the 64, 128 kbps recordings (TCV) are MP3 compatible - so any audio editing program that understands MP3 can load the audio file for you to edit and play around. The software tools that come along with the recorder allows conversion of TVF (mono) into formats like WAV but do not depend on that. The quality of conversion is fairly awful.

Dyne is a Korean company.

Besides recording audio, it plays all its own formats as well as MP3, WMA format audio. It has a built-in FM radio tuner and allows one to record any FM channel that one is currently playing. The recording quality is quite good! However it eats AAA batteries like a hungry wolf, while recording. It has a USB interface so that it also effectively works as a flash memory for your laptop!

Now, that is all great. However does anyone know of available products which are
  • capable of playing MP3, WMA
  • no need to have recording capability
  • USB connectivity
  • at least 64 MP capacity, but the more the better
  • costing less than or equal to INR. 1,000?

Next question: Would it be possible for anyone to mass produce something like this in India, with the cost to the end user no more than Rs. 500?

Or, now that import duties on a bunch of products are going off (while counter vailing duties come in?), would it be possible to import in large quantities but still the cost to the end user should be no more than Rs. 500?

I believe a product like this can make a significant impact in India and help in education, entertainment and generally turning out well informed citizens.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousWed Mar 02, 02:00:00 PM GMT+5:30

    Please change the layout and make the font size small for your tamil blog.

    Please use the same template as used here in the tamil blog too...

    ReplyDelete
  2. KapsTue Mar 08, 01:41:00 PM GMT+5:30

    Hi Badri,

    Did you buy it in Sim Lim Square?
    I have a Creative zen Touch 20GB and it is really awesome.

    The cheapest MP3 players around (usually from China, Taiwan and Korea) start from S$ 100 or so. This works out to Rs. 2500

    ReplyDelete
  3. Badri SeshadriWed Mar 09, 09:35:00 AM GMT+5:30

    Yes, I bought it at Sim Lim. When I bought it, my only interest was in getting hold of something that will do a decent recording of speeches. But I am discovering new uses.

    I am glad that the prices are falling. But importing them to India may still involve some duties. The ideal solution for India is for some integrator to buy the components and assemble them in bulk in India.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousWed Mar 23, 12:00:00 AM GMT+5:30

    badri

    for "voice" recording (either speech or dictation) one of the better devices is the olympus ds-330.. It is in the 150 USD range (so over 5000 Rs)

    Its not for music but can record hours of voice on batteries that last a while

    ReplyDelete

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