#229068 - 31/07/2004 16:51
Chroma & Forge
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pooh-bah
Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
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GizmodoColor and Coax digital out? Matthew
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#229069 - 31/07/2004 18:20
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: matthew_k]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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<OZ voice>
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...
</OZ voice>
_________________________
Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs
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#229070 - 02/08/2004 05:58
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: matthew_k]
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addict
Registered: 23/12/2002
Posts: 652
Loc: Winston Salem, NC
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Aside from the fact that we're talking speculatively, why would someone want a hard drive based player when the flash based player holds the same amount of songs? Just curious.
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#229071 - 02/08/2004 07:42
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: Cybjorg]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
why would someone want a hard drive based player when the flash based player holds the same amount of songs? Just curious.
Assuming that you're talking same amount of storage (a flash based player can hold plenty of songs... if you encode them at a really low bit rate...  ), at the moment the price-per-megabyte for flash is more expensive than the price-per-megabyte for hard disk storage.
I agree that solid state storage media is better. If only it weren't so expensive, still. Maybe one day the balance will shift and we'll start seeing some kind of solid state storage that is cheaper than winchester technology.
And regarding the 10,000 song capacity for a flash player quoted in that article... well, keep in mind that you're looking at a rumor site posting second hand information based on what was allegedly a work-in-progress web page that was not anything close to official and wasn't meant to be seen by public eyes. It could have simply been a typo on the original web page, or they could be lying.
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#229072 - 02/08/2004 09:03
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: matthew_k]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 21/05/1999
Posts: 5335
Loc: Cambridge UK
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90% of that article is bollocks. Data taken from hidden placeholders can hardly be considered reliable!
We have, however, officially announced the Rio Forge (128/256/512MB flash players) and Rio Carbon (5GB micro HDD) today. Details on the web page, more details to follow, shipping later in the summer.
IMHO the Carbon is the sweetest player we have ever made - should be a very strong iPod Mini competitor.
Rob
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#229073 - 02/08/2004 09:14
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: rob]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
Rio Carbon (5GB micro HDD) today. Details on the web page
"With it’s built-in voice memo recorder"
Possessive its has no apostrophe.
_________________________
-- roger
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#229074 - 02/08/2004 10:19
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: rob]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1914
Loc: London
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Quote:
IMHO the Carbon is the sweetest player we have ever made
I like it, shame it's still got an edge located scroll wheel though (just broken the one on my Karma)
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#229075 - 02/08/2004 10:20
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: Roger]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1914
Loc: London
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Quote:
Possessive its has no apostrophe.
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#229076 - 02/08/2004 10:30
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: rob]
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addict
Registered: 23/12/2002
Posts: 652
Loc: Winston Salem, NC
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Looks like the Forge is just a beefed up Cali. In fact, aside from the new look, the 128MB and 256MB versions seem identical. So why the new name?
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#229077 - 02/08/2004 10:33
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: Roger]
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addict
Registered: 23/12/2002
Posts: 652
Loc: Winston Salem, NC
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Quote:
The ultra slim design goes anywhere, and its superb battery life of up to 20 hours continues long after mini-powered players have died.
Shouldn't it be "long after other mini-powered player have died."?
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#229078 - 02/08/2004 10:40
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: Cybjorg]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
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Quote:
Looks like the Forge is just a beefed up Cali. In fact, aside from the new look, the 128MB and 256MB versions seem identical. So why the new name?
Well, from a technology point of view, even the Cali was just a beefed-up S-series. Flash player product cycles are driven by fashion, not technology.
Forge players are USB mass-storage (i.e. they appear as a drive letter in Windows, and as mountable USB drives in Linux/MacOS), but then so are some recent Calis.
Peter
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#229079 - 02/08/2004 10:43
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
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Quote:
regarding the 10,000 song capacity for a flash player quoted in that article
I guess the article got rewritten a bit -- currently it calls the Forge a flash-player (and says nothing about how many songs) and quotes 10,000 songs for the Chroma (and says nothing about its storage technology).
Peter
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#229080 - 02/08/2004 11:09
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: Cybjorg]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 21/05/1999
Posts: 5335
Loc: Cambridge UK
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Quote:
Looks like the Forge is just a beefed up Cali. In fact, aside from the new look, the 128MB and 256MB versions seem identical. So why the new name?
The new product pages are not very complete yet. New features include:
- USB 2.0
- Tuner record
- Soup views
- Audible
- Mass storage class (including database which is built on the device)
- D-Pad control (replaces the joystick)
- Backlit button legends
There are lots of minor software tweaks as well. Of course earlier players may well get quite a bit of the software stuff via updates.
Rob
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#229081 - 02/08/2004 13:20
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: rob]
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enthusiast
Registered: 18/02/2002
Posts: 335
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The carbon looks really cool, can you comment on the physical specs or is it basically a nitrus with 5 gb drive?
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#229082 - 02/08/2004 15:38
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: rob]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 3411
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Yeah, the carbon looks sweet. It's a shame that you have to see it as a competitor to the iPod Mini though as the Nitrus hit the market first. I guess that 1.5GB wasn't enough to win the market over. 
_________________________
Mk2a 60GB Blue. Serial 030102962
sig.mp3: File Format not Valid.
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#229084 - 02/08/2004 16:17
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: genixia]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 21/05/1999
Posts: 5335
Loc: Cambridge UK
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Quote:
Yeah, the carbon looks sweet. It's a shame that you have to see it as a competitor to the iPod Mini though as the Nitrus hit the market first. I guess that 1.5GB wasn't enough to win the market over.
Nitrus is doing very well, but predated the mini and with just 1.5GB is selling for extremely low prices right now. Carbon is more of a direct competitor.
Rob
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#229085 - 02/08/2004 16:18
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: drakino]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 21/05/1999
Posts: 5335
Loc: Cambridge UK
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Quote:
Carbon looks thinner to me based on those pictures, using the USB plug as a size guide.
Indeed it is.
Rob
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#229086 - 02/08/2004 16:37
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: rob]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/09/2000
Posts: 2303
Loc: Richmond, VA
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Congrats you guys ... That player really does look sweet.
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#229087 - 02/08/2004 17:55
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: rob]
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stranger
Registered: 02/01/2002
Posts: 44
Loc: Houston ,TX
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Wow that looks awesome! I can't wait to get my grubby hands on it... good work guys!
Not sure if this was answered previously, but will the Carbon also be classified as an "USB mass-storage" device?
Keep up the great work!
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#229088 - 02/08/2004 21:09
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: dngovy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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Quote:
but will the Carbon also be classified as an "USB mass-storage" device?
From what I remember seeing from one of the empeg guys at Riovolution, yes. The interesting side effect of this is iTunes will talk to it, on the Mac at least. This is from the old days where the early Rio portables were supported by iTunes by what I understand.
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#229089 - 02/08/2004 23:47
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: rob]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 3411
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What version of USB does the Carbon have?
_________________________
Mk2a 60GB Blue. Serial 030102962
sig.mp3: File Format not Valid.
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#229090 - 02/08/2004 23:55
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: genixia]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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I'd say it is nearly certain that it's USB2 as the Nitrius and Karma both have USB2.
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#229091 - 03/08/2004 00:16
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: tman]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 3411
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Ok, I didn't realise that the Nitrus has USB2. 
_________________________
Mk2a 60GB Blue. Serial 030102962
sig.mp3: File Format not Valid.
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#229092 - 03/08/2004 05:31
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: genixia]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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The Fuse is also USB2, so getting random songs onto one of them will go pretty quick.
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#229093 - 03/08/2004 08:12
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: drakino]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
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Quote:
From what I remember seeing from one of the empeg guys at Riovolution, yes. The interesting side effect of this is iTunes will talk to it, on the Mac at least. This is from the old days where the early Rio portables were supported by iTunes by what I understand.
I think the Itunes support is independent of the mass-storage-class thing. There's a MacOS Itunes plug-in that you have to install. The mass-storage-class support means you can put music on with Finder. (I don't think Carbon works with Windows Itunes).
Peter
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#229094 - 03/08/2004 13:05
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: peter]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/09/2000
Posts: 2303
Loc: Richmond, VA
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Quote:
There's a MacOS Itunes plug-in that you have to install.
This is correct ... iTunes requires a device plugin for it to appear on the left side as an option, so MSC isn't enough.
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#229095 - 03/08/2004 16:18
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: mschrag]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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Quote:
There's a MacOS Itunes plug-in that you have to install
Ahh, ok. I thought it was just using the same old Rio protocal that has been in there for ages, kinda suprised Apple is still allowing new plugins.
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#229096 - 04/08/2004 11:58
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: drakino]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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Metro UK Newspaper today, 3rd Aug;
iPOD GLITCHES OPEN DOOR TO MP3 RIVAL RIO
A new mini music player is threatening sales of Apple's mini ipod as it struggles to meet demand. The Rio Carbon could be available in days but the ipod has sold out nationwide since it went on sale last month. It may not be available for another six weeks. Both players cost £175, but the Rio has 20% more memory with capacity for about 1,250 tunes, and offers up to 12 hours more playback time. The ipod delay was caused when Apple ran out of a Toshiba component used in the player's hard drive. Rio use rival manufcturer Seagate".
_________________________
Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#229097 - 05/08/2004 05:46
Re: Chroma & Forge
[Re: boxer]
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new poster
Registered: 20/08/2003
Posts: 9
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Carbon looks quite nice. If that somehow hits $200 in the next few months I just might get one myself.
Anyway, learned about this from Riovolution and IGN Gear. Hoping for any clarification whatsoever, since I seem to remember people here knowing more about what's going on.
Four words: Chroma release next spring.
Wiley is saying he talked to Rio last week and though not 100% positive, is "pretty sure" about that. I personally think it would be a very bad move for Rio to introduce the Karma's successor over half a year after the 4G iPod.
Thoughts? Anyone care to shed some light?
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