Portable Media Center Gets Slammed by ExtremeTech Reviewer
By Alexander Grundner |
July 16th, 2004
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ExtemeTech posts a scathing review of the Creative and Samsung Portable Media Center players set to hit the shelves either this month or next. If you decide to read the article, get ready for so much added (and useless) commentary that Gizmodo would be ashamed to publish it.
The article points out three shortcomings:
- The 3.8” screen is too small for the reviewer’s taste
- Ease-of-use in regards to transferring video to the device could greatly be improved
- The battery life seems to last half as long as the time claimed by the manufactures
However, the reviewer’s solution/alternative to PMC devices is laughable and contradictory. He points out that the PMC’s $500 price tag is twice what a comparable hard drive based music player would sell for, but the total price of his two alternative product solution would exceed the $500 PMC price. He goes on to write:
Looking for video on the go? Forget the PMC. I’ve got a better idea. For the same amount of money you can buy a portable 7″ DVD player and a VCR-like DVD recorder. Record directly from your SAT and Cable box to your DVD recorder, pop the disk into your portable player, and off you go. No PC required. Alternately, you can pass on the portable hardware altogether and just play the DVD on your notebook!
News Link: Jim Louderback, “Another Dumb Idea from Microsoft,” ExtremeTech, July 15, 2004.
Related:
Portable Media Centers, Part II [Mavromatic -- Good read]
Betty Vanderbeek – 16 hours 35 minutes ago