An Introduction to iPods & Portable Media (MP3) Players

The face of mobile entertainment has undergone drastic changes since the advent of portable media players such as iPods and other MP3 players. Technology has certainly advanced well beyond portable CD players, walkmans and pocket radios. Portable media devices such as MP3 players today do much more than just play music. Were you aware that your iPod could serve as a second hard drive to back up your desktop? Did you know it could display video, audio and digital images?

An MP3 player is a moniker synonymous with digital media players. Depending on the make and model, most will play not only MP3 or WAV audio files, but some will record sound, and record video footage. Some have built-in digital cameras and as such will record and display image files.

What to Consider Before Buying an MP3 Player

The main concern with digital media players is with battery life, removal, and replacement. These devices consume battery power with a vengeance and as is the case with iPods, contain internal batteries, which can only be professionally removed and replaced. For this reason, one should consider a Pocket PC because they usually do everything a digital media player can do while giving users even more options beyond music, images and movies and the battery situation is usually much better. Before paying $400.00-$800.00 on a portable media player, you may also want to consider a portable game console like the Sony PSP which plays movies and MP3s or a Pocket PC, which also plays digital files, and offers you all the features of a home PC on a tiny screen.

Technology to Combat Illegal Downloading

Portable media players have advantages, disadvantages and have been taken advantage of, by unscrupulous downloaders. The next generation of entertainment is sure to bring about a whole new era of problems. Thankfully, there’s time to adjust. DRM (Digital Rights Management), technology used to enforce policies for controlling access to digital data, affords such time while the MPAA (Motion Picture Association Of America) and the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) who are looking into ways to stop illegal MP3 and MPEG downloads through file sharing.