World´s First Portable MP3Pro player: Evergreen EG-MSD

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via Tech Japan

MP3Pro players have always been on the drawing board, but Evergreen will be the first to take the plunge into unchartered territories. Evergreen have released 3 models of the “EG-MSD” MP3/WMA player in 1GB, 512MB, and 256MB flavors. Prices on  Japan’s Shanghai Donya online store are:
• 1GB “EG-MSD310W” at $180 
• 512MB “EG-MSD305K” at $130
• 256MB “EG-MSD302L” is going for $99.

The MP3Pro format is compatible with .MP3, but compresses the audio even more: up to twice the compression. A number of audio players can be upgraded to MP3Pro and if you buy a new one, you might want to check for an upgradable one.

This line of MP3Pro players also have an SD card slot for future expansion. It supports the Windows operating systems from Windows ME onwards. You can tell how much internal memory each player has by virtue of its color – the 1GB big brother comes in classy white, while the 512MB is draped in sleek black and its smallest sibling, the 256MB model shouts with electric blue.

File formats supported are MP3, MP3Pro, WMA, and WAV. A special feature was thrown in – the player can play songs from either its internal memory of SD card without any interruption in playback. The frequency response is from 20Hz to 20kHz, and the Signal to Noise ratio over 90dB. A built-in 6 mode equalizer offers Normal, Classic, Pop, Rock, Jazz, and Bass modes. The LCD display is capable of displaying Japanese and ID3 tags.

Unfortunately, the interface used is USB 1.1, and this pretty much slows down the data transfer rate. Still, that takes abit of shine off an otherwise above average product. Standard features include an FM tuner and microphone, and it can record from both of these in ADPCM WAV format. Powered with a single AAA battery, alkaline batteries are recommended for optimum performance, providing playback time of about 12 hours on a single battery. It measures 40 x 77 x 19mm (W x D x T), and weighs around 36g.