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Cellular radio, dating on the way

There are two types of progress in today’s technological world. There are your giant leaps forward, like 64-bit processors, smaller high density hard drives, wireless technology, digital cameras and flat screens.

There are two types of progress in today’s technological world. There are your giant leaps forward, like 64-bit processors, smaller high density hard drives, wireless technology, digital cameras and flat screens. There are also your giant leaps sideways with the creation of new products that take the fullest advantage of the latest technologies, expanding the capability of software and products without reinventing the wheel.

The cell phone industry announced two sideways leaps this week with two new capabilities – one for playing singles, the other for meeting singles.

The first technology, announced by Sony, is a personalized radio service that users can tailor to broadcast to their own musical tastes.

Some cell phones can already play streaming music, but Sony’s user-programmed system is a first for the industry.

The service will kick off in Europe around June with a library of 50,000 songs for a subscription fee that is yet to be announced. The number of available songs is expected to increase as Sony’s online European music service gains ground.

There’s currently no name for the service, but Sony has already demonstrated how the service will work. It’s a little complicated but basically customers will be able create customized channels by storing a list of their favourite songs in personal playlists. A browsing tool will then scan playlists from dozens of different streaming services in advance, and choose the next songs based on your preferences. You can also listen to preset streaming services if you choose.

Once the system is released, the next step will see your playlist analyzed so the system can make recommendations.

The other cell phone service announced this week is a new twist on subscription dating services that makes chance meetings possible. Subscribers program their own specifications and preferences into their phone, and are alerted whenever another subscriber with matching specifications and preferences is in the immediate area. The two people will presumably seek each other out, if they’re interested (and presentable), and can see where it goes from there.

The technology is being called Serendipity, and it was created by a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – so you can expect to meet a lot of tech nerds at first as the service goes live.

The service is not yet available through any cell phone networks, but Serendipity’s creators say it’s just a matter of time.

iPod’s challengers

In the world of digital music players, the Apple iPod is still the king with up to 40 GB of hard drive space, low carrying weight, fast uploads and downloads, dozens of accessories and iTunes support software. Prices start at around $300 for the smaller iTunes Mini’s and go up to around $700 for the souped-up models.

Word to shoppers out there, iPod is no longer the only game in town.

PC World recently ranked the top digital music players on the market, and while Apple remains top of the heap with 4.5 out of five stars, high marks were given to other players as well.

Second on the list was the Rio Karma (www.digitalnetworksna.com) with four out of five stars. The Karma has 20GB of storage, is one-tenth of an ounce lighter than the iPod, more compact, and comes with its own software. The entry model is slightly more expensive than an iPod at $350 US, but comes with more accessories, like the docking station, that make it cheaper than Apple’s version. You can also use the Rio Karma to load songs off your computer or home audio system.

The Archos Gmini 220 is the next player on the list, although it fared better than the Rio player with 4.5 stars. The 20GB unit is priced similarly to the Rio, although it’s slightly smaller in dimensions and half an ounce heavier. Archos actually specializes in external storage and viewing devices for digital camcorders and cameras, and the Gmini 220 reflects that with its MP3 and WMA player. It has a grey scale screen that can show flash card images, as well as use flash cards for music storage.

It’s as fast as the Rio or Apple when it comes to transferring music, and you don’t need any special software (although MusicMatch Plus is bundled with it). It won’t win any beauty awards, but the screen does make it easy to organize music folders, you can load music from either your computer or home stereo, there’s an optional external microphone, and an optional FM remote lets you listen to and record broadcasts.

Number four on the list is the Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra (www.creative.com), which offers 60GB of storage for just $400 US. It’s more than two ounces heavier than the featherweight iPod or Rio units, but still a fraction of what those old portable tape players weigh. It also provides a lot more control over your audio settings as well as one of the best playlist interfaces available.

Unlike the other systems it uses a replaceable and rechargeable lithium ion battery which provides long life, but doesn’t require any special plugs to keep it charged up.

Although it only got four stars out of five, the only real drawbacks that PC World found were the difficult to use jog dial and a carrying case that makes it impossible to see the screen.

Last but not least is the IRiver IHP-120 (www.iriver.com) which has roughly the same capacity, price, size and weight as the Rio player. No software is required, however, and it comes with a remote and an optical port you can plug into your stereo.

It plays almost every compressed music file type out there, with the exception of the AAC format used by Apple. You can download songs from your stereo system or use the IRiver with a microphone through the line input jack. Add in an FRM tuner and a replaceable rechargeable battery and it’s a good deal. The one flaw that PC World found was the fact that all of the capability of the system made it harder to learn with more buttons and switches than other portables.

There are lots of variables to consider when buying a portable player, including the price, capacity, compatibility, warranty, sound quality, battery type, support software, durability, input and output ports, accessories, earphones and more. Choose wisely.