Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Re PocketTunes and Battery power on the T3 in General:

I find that my T3 runs down faster than I would expect, - For example with
PocketTunes playing I get just two and a half hours play from a full charge
with the headphones in and the volume on about half - This is with the
display on. - Is this what you would expect? - Does it last longer with the
screen off?

--
________________________________________________
James Goldman
07977 169030

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

A significant part of the T3's power usage (really, any PDA device) is in
the screen. You can expect your T3 to go about 5 hours playing P-Tunes if
you use the screen-off function.

Carmine Castiglia
http://www.infosystemspro.com
Home of Geo-Matic for the Palm and Decimal Equivalents, Drills & Tap Drills
for the Palm
More to come!



"James Goldman" <James.Goldman@Spamproof.bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:40ebb405$0$14058$afc38c87@news.easynet.co.uk...
> Re PocketTunes and Battery power on the T3 in General:
>
> I find that my T3 runs down faster than I would expect, - For example with
> PocketTunes playing I get just two and a half hours play from a full
charge
> with the headphones in and the volume on about half - This is with the
> display on. - Is this what you would expect? - Does it last longer with
the
> screen off?
>
> --
> ________________________________________________
> James Goldman
> 07977 169030
>
>
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Thanks, I've now had it on for an hour and a half and the battery still
says 100%!

"Carmine Castiglia" <ccastiglia@infosystemspro.com> wrote in message
news:7zOGc.65173$kz.12694274@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
> A significant part of the T3's power usage (really, any PDA device) is in
> the screen. You can expect your T3 to go about 5 hours playing P-Tunes if
> you use the screen-off function.
>
> Carmine Castiglia
> http://www.infosystemspro.com
> Home of Geo-Matic for the Palm and Decimal Equivalents, Drills & Tap
Drills
> for the Palm
> More to come!
>
>
>
> "James Goldman" <James.Goldman@Spamproof.bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> news:40ebb405$0$14058$afc38c87@news.easynet.co.uk...
> > Re PocketTunes and Battery power on the T3 in General:
> >
> > I find that my T3 runs down faster than I would expect, - For example
with
> > PocketTunes playing I get just two and a half hours play from a full
> charge
> > with the headphones in and the volume on about half - This is with the
> > display on. - Is this what you would expect? - Does it last longer with
> the
> > screen off?
> >
> > --
> > ________________________________________________
> > James Goldman
> > 07977 169030
> >
> >
> >
>
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Hello James.

I have never heard of PocketTunes, but then I never considered making
use of the audio capability of my T3. The voice memo application did
not impress me, thus I never looked into playing MP3s on my T3. If you
don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding Pocket Tunes
on the T3.

1. Why did you choose this particular MP3 player?
2. Have you had any problems getting your MP3 files into the T3 or
installed on the memory expansion card?
3. How large would an MP3 file for say a 3 or 4 minute song be?
4. Which CD ripper program would you suggest using with Pocket Tunes?

Thank you for your attention.

James Goldman wrote:

> Re PocketTunes and Battery power on the T3 in General:
>
> I find that my T3 runs down faster than I would expect, - For example with
> PocketTunes playing I get just two and a half hours play from a full charge
> with the headphones in and the volume on about half - This is with the
> display on. - Is this what you would expect? - Does it last longer with the
> screen off?
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

1) I chose it after studying some of the posts in this group

2) No problems yet...

3) Ripped at 128 kbps a 3 min track is 2.821 Mb

4)I have used many rippers in the past but I swear by Winamp 5. It takes a
bit of getyting used to but does everything you would want a player to do
very neatly.

PS - I got 5 hours play with battery charge only down to 50% with the screen
off!

James


"Canadian Cowboy" <canadian.cowboy_at_sasktel.net> wrote in message
news:10epkmcu774ddf@corp.supernews.com...
> Hello James.
>
> I have never heard of PocketTunes, but then I never considered making
> use of the audio capability of my T3. The voice memo application did
> not impress me, thus I never looked into playing MP3s on my T3. If you
> don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding Pocket Tunes
> on the T3.
>
> 1. Why did you choose this particular MP3 player?
> 2. Have you had any problems getting your MP3 files into the T3 or
> installed on the memory expansion card?
> 3. How large would an MP3 file for say a 3 or 4 minute song be?
> 4. Which CD ripper program would you suggest using with Pocket Tunes?
>
> Thank you for your attention.
>
> James Goldman wrote:
>
> > Re PocketTunes and Battery power on the T3 in General:
> >
> > I find that my T3 runs down faster than I would expect, - For example
with
> > PocketTunes playing I get just two and a half hours play from a full
charge
> > with the headphones in and the volume on about half - This is with the
> > display on. - Is this what you would expect? - Does it last longer with
the
> > screen off?
> >

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

PocketTunes is often rated the best of the best in this catagory and based
on my limited testing of "MP3" players for my T3, I would tend to agree.

Why did I put "MP3" in quotes, above? Because I suggest that if you do go
the PocketTunes route, you consider ripping your music into "OGG" or
Ogg-Vorbis files instead of MP3's. Ogg-Vorbis claims to produce
higher-quality listening with smaller file sizes than MP3 or other formats.
It seems that they accomplish this with a variable rate sampling technique -
a 128kbps MP3, for example, uses exactly 128kb of data for each and every
second of songplay, even for silent passages, wheras Ogg-Vorbis varies it's
sampling rate throughout the track, using higher rates when necessary and
lower rates where suitable.

From the Ogg-Vorbis website (http://www.vorbis.com) website:

--------------------------------------

For a given file size, Vorbis sounds better than MP3. This means:
a.. You can keep your music collection at about the same quality level,
but it'll take up less space
b.. or you can have your music collection take up about the same amount of
space, but have it sound better.
--------------------------------------

There are several CD-rippers capable of producing Ogg-Vorbis files, CDex
(http://www.cdex.n3.net) is the only one I have tested and it seems to work
well, if not a bit confusing to set up the first time. You must go to
Options > Settings and select the Ogg Vorbis encoder. Then set the
"Quality" setting to a desired value (Ogg uses this "Quality" setting in
lieu of the typical bitrate setting of other formats). For my T3, I used a
Quality setting of 1.0 which translates to a nominal 80kbps with a high of
96kbps and a low of 64kbps. Once these settings have been made, you would
choose Convert > Extract CD track(s) to a Compressed Audio File from the
CDex menu.

I currently have 180 OGG (Quality Level 1.0) tracks on a 512MB SD card with
room for about 60 more.

Regarding the T3's Voice Memo feature, I have to say that I wasn't very
impressed by it in the beginning either. I went back to it after a few
months when I really had a need and realized that I had been "trying too
hard" during my initial testing of the feature. I have now learned to a)
speak naturally and b) don't crowd the microphone or even try to speak into
the microphone; just hold the T3 a dozen or so inches from my mouth and
speak normally. Now that I have taken the time to figure out how to get
good results from the application, I use my T3's Voice Memo feature several
times throughout the workday. I have even recorded entire meetings by just
placing the T3 on the table in front of me. No one but I knew I was
recording (for testing purposes only!) and the playback was clear and
intelligible enough that I could easily have used it to settle a dispute or
to give to an administrative assistant for transcription to a written
report.

Carmine Castiglia
http://www.infosystemspro.com
Home of Geo-Matic for the Palm and Decimal Equivalents, Drills & Tap Drills
for the Palm
More to come!

"Canadian Cowboy" <canadian.cowboy_at_sasktel.net> wrote in message
news:10epkmcu774ddf@corp.supernews.com...
> Hello James.
>
> I have never heard of PocketTunes, but then I never considered making
> use of the audio capability of my T3. The voice memo application did
> not impress me, thus I never looked into playing MP3s on my T3. If you
> don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding Pocket Tunes
> on the T3.
>
> 1. Why did you choose this particular MP3 player?
> 2. Have you had any problems getting your MP3 files into the T3 or
> installed on the memory expansion card?
> 3. How large would an MP3 file for say a 3 or 4 minute song be?
> 4. Which CD ripper program would you suggest using with Pocket Tunes?
>
> Thank you for your attention.
>
> James Goldman wrote:
>
> > Re PocketTunes and Battery power on the T3 in General:
> >
> > I find that my T3 runs down faster than I would expect, - For example
with
> > PocketTunes playing I get just two and a half hours play from a full
charge
> > with the headphones in and the volume on about half - This is with the
> > display on. - Is this what you would expect? - Does it last longer with
the
> > screen off?
> >

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 22:51:25 -0600, Canadian Cowboy
<canadian.cowboy_at_sasktel.net> wrote:

>Hello James.
>
>I have never heard of PocketTunes, but then I never considered making
>use of the audio capability of my T3. The voice memo application did
>not impress me, thus I never looked into playing MP3s on my T3. If you
>don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding Pocket Tunes
>on the T3.
>
>1. Why did you choose this particular MP3 player?
>2. Have you had any problems getting your MP3 files into the T3 or
>installed on the memory expansion card?
>3. How large would an MP3 file for say a 3 or 4 minute song be?
>4. Which CD ripper program would you suggest using with Pocket Tunes?

1. a) Lots of positive comments on several different Palm news sites
and blogs. b) Tried it myself and liked it much better than the
RealOne player included with the T3. c) It can do Ogg files.

2. Nope. I use CardExport 2 to move my files directly to the /AUDIO
directory of my SD card, where PT automatically looks for them.

3. Depends on the bitrate. I usually use 192. A 4-minute song at 192
came out as a 5.5Mb file.

Someone else recommended Ogg Vorbis, and I'll echo that. The sound
quality is as good as, or better, than MP3, and the file sizes are
smaller. I have a 6-minute song on Ogg, and it's also about 5.5Mb. So,
same file size as my MP3 example, but 2 minutes longer.

4. I use FreeRip, available from <http://www.mgshareware.com/>. Easy
to use little program for ripping from CD to WAV, MP3, or Ogg.
Freeware, but it will install an IE MySearch toolbar. However, you can
easily tell it not to during installation. No other spyware in it that
I've found.

Cheers.

Larry

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

To Larry and James and Carmine:

Thank you all for responding to my questions. So far I have been using
RealOne Player to copy my CDs to my hard drive and then clip them to
port them over to my T3. The process works well, even if it is a bit
clunky.

I have a few additional questions, since you have all been so helpful.

1. Pocket Tunes looks cool, and frankly that is what caught my interest.
(Okay that and the Star Trek skins. Grin) From what I've seen in the
users guide Pocket Tunes can do much more with the audio output than
RealOne Player can. Is Pocket Tunes less of a drain on the T3's battery
than RealOne Player?

2. Will Poccket Tunes find my existing MP3 files (and use them) from the
RealOne Player directory on my T3's expansion card? I would think that
it should but it never hurts to ask. Or would it be better to move these
files to the /AUDIO directory?

3. Is the "Windows Media Integration" mentioned on the Pocket Tunes home
web page, similar to how RealOne Player finds my Palm when I have
RealOne Player running on my T3 while my T3 is in the hotsync cradle?
From what I've read in the User's guide for Pocket Tunes, that appears
to be the case.

4. Do the additional features of the Deluxe version make it worth the
extra money? I am tempted to get the Deluxe version if only for the WMA
support.

Cheers,
Canadian Cowboy.




Larry wrote:
> On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 22:51:25 -0600, Canadian Cowboy
> <canadian.cowboy_at_sasktel.net> wrote:
>
>
>>Hello James.
>>
>>I have never heard of PocketTunes, but then I never considered making
>>use of the audio capability of my T3. The voice memo application did
>>not impress me, thus I never looked into playing MP3s on my T3. If you
>>don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding Pocket Tunes
>>on the T3.
>>
>>1. Why did you choose this particular MP3 player?
>>2. Have you had any problems getting your MP3 files into the T3 or
>>installed on the memory expansion card?
>>3. How large would an MP3 file for say a 3 or 4 minute song be?
>>4. Which CD ripper program would you suggest using with Pocket Tunes?
>
>
> 1. a) Lots of positive comments on several different Palm news sites
> and blogs. b) Tried it myself and liked it much better than the
> RealOne player included with the T3. c) It can do Ogg files.
>
> 2. Nope. I use CardExport 2 to move my files directly to the /AUDIO
> directory of my SD card, where PT automatically looks for them.
>
> 3. Depends on the bitrate. I usually use 192. A 4-minute song at 192
> came out as a 5.5Mb file.
>
> Someone else recommended Ogg Vorbis, and I'll echo that. The sound
> quality is as good as, or better, than MP3, and the file sizes are
> smaller. I have a 6-minute song on Ogg, and it's also about 5.5Mb. So,
> same file size as my MP3 example, but 2 minutes longer.
>
> 4. I use FreeRip, available from <http://www.mgshareware.com/>. Easy
> to use little program for ripping from CD to WAV, MP3, or Ogg.
> Freeware, but it will install an IE MySearch toolbar. However, you can
> easily tell it not to during installation. No other spyware in it that
> I've found.
>
> Cheers.
>
> Larry

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 22:20:10 -0600, Canadian Cowboy
<canadian.cowboy_at_sasktel.net> wrote:

>To Larry and James and Carmine:
>
>Thank you all for responding to my questions. So far I have been using
>RealOne Player to copy my CDs to my hard drive and then clip them to
>port them over to my T3. The process works well, even if it is a bit
>clunky.
>
>I have a few additional questions, since you have all been so helpful.
>
>1. Pocket Tunes looks cool, and frankly that is what caught my interest.
> (Okay that and the Star Trek skins. Grin) From what I've seen in the
>users guide Pocket Tunes can do much more with the audio output than
>RealOne Player can. Is Pocket Tunes less of a drain on the T3's battery
>than RealOne Player?

Can't say, as I haven't done any benchmark testing against the two. As
long as RealOne can also play in the background with the screen off,
like PT can, then I expect their power usage to be about the same.

>2. Will Poccket Tunes find my existing MP3 files (and use them) from the
>RealOne Player directory on my T3's expansion card? I would think that
>it should but it never hurts to ask. Or would it be better to move these
>files to the /AUDIO directory?

It will if you point it at that directory. I believe that by default
PT looks for files in the /AUDIO directory, however you can tell it to
load files from any directory on the card. The next time it's run,
it'll start with the last list of files you specified. I always just
put my files in the /AUDIO directory.

>3. Is the "Windows Media Integration" mentioned on the Pocket Tunes home
>web page, similar to how RealOne Player finds my Palm when I have
>RealOne Player running on my T3 while my T3 is in the hotsync cradle?
> From what I've read in the User's guide for Pocket Tunes, that appears
>to be the case.

I can't help here. I didn't install the Windows Media Integration
component, as I don't use the Windows Media Player for anything if I
don't have to. I use CardExport to install files directly to my SD
card.

>4. Do the additional features of the Deluxe version make it worth the
>extra money? I am tempted to get the Deluxe version if only for the WMA
>support.

That's up to you. I bought the Deluxe version primarily to have the
bookmarking capabilities, and because at the time and place I bought
it, the Deluxe version was on sale. If I were buying now at full
price, I might go for the regular version myself.

PT has a good trial version. It's not crippled and it gives you 15
days to try out. Give it try and see what you think.

Enjoy.

Larry

>
>
>Larry wrote:
>> On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 22:51:25 -0600, Canadian Cowboy
>> <canadian.cowboy_at_sasktel.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Hello James.
>>>
>>>I have never heard of PocketTunes, but then I never considered making
>>>use of the audio capability of my T3. The voice memo application did
>>>not impress me, thus I never looked into playing MP3s on my T3. If you
>>>don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding Pocket Tunes
>>>on the T3.
>>>
>>>1. Why did you choose this particular MP3 player?
>>>2. Have you had any problems getting your MP3 files into the T3 or
>>>installed on the memory expansion card?
>>>3. How large would an MP3 file for say a 3 or 4 minute song be?
>>>4. Which CD ripper program would you suggest using with Pocket Tunes?
>>
>>
>> 1. a) Lots of positive comments on several different Palm news sites
>> and blogs. b) Tried it myself and liked it much better than the
>> RealOne player included with the T3. c) It can do Ogg files.
>>
>> 2. Nope. I use CardExport 2 to move my files directly to the /AUDIO
>> directory of my SD card, where PT automatically looks for them.
>>
>> 3. Depends on the bitrate. I usually use 192. A 4-minute song at 192
>> came out as a 5.5Mb file.
>>
>> Someone else recommended Ogg Vorbis, and I'll echo that. The sound
>> quality is as good as, or better, than MP3, and the file sizes are
>> smaller. I have a 6-minute song on Ogg, and it's also about 5.5Mb. So,
>> same file size as my MP3 example, but 2 minutes longer.
>>
>> 4. I use FreeRip, available from <http://www.mgshareware.com/>. Easy
>> to use little program for ripping from CD to WAV, MP3, or Ogg.
>> Freeware, but it will install an IE MySearch toolbar. However, you can
>> easily tell it not to during installation. No other spyware in it that
>> I've found.
>>
>> Cheers.
>>
>> Larry

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

"Canadian Cowboy" <canadian.cowboy_at_sasktel.net> wrote in message
news:10es77p68pm82e9@corp.supernews.com...
> To Larry and James and Carmine:
>
> Thank you all for responding to my questions. So far I have been using
> RealOne Player to copy my CDs to my hard drive and then clip them to
> port them over to my T3. The process works well, even if it is a bit
> clunky.
>
> I have a few additional questions, since you have all been so helpful.
>
> 1. Pocket Tunes looks cool, and frankly that is what caught my interest.
> (Okay that and the Star Trek skins. Grin) From what I've seen in the
> users guide Pocket Tunes can do much more with the audio output than
> RealOne Player can. Is Pocket Tunes less of a drain on the T3's battery
> than RealOne Player?
>
No idea so far -- my own Palm TT3 is brand new too... the only time I
noticed that the battery were drained out pretty quickly was when I was
showing a music clip with the Kinoma viewer, on widest view, with sound and
luminosity pushed at the max... so I guess it shouldn't surprise me. But
from what I've read here around, it seems that the battery it the weak spot
of the T3...

> 2. Will Poccket Tunes find my existing MP3 files (and use them) from the
> RealOne Player directory on my T3's expansion card? I would think that
> it should but it never hurts to ask. Or would it be better to move these
> files to the /AUDIO directory?
>
Don't have an expansion card yet so, can't state on that.

> 3. Is the "Windows Media Integration" mentioned on the Pocket Tunes home
> web page, similar to how RealOne Player finds my Palm when I have
> RealOne Player running on my T3 while my T3 is in the hotsync cradle?
> From what I've read in the User's guide for Pocket Tunes, that appears
> to be the case.
>
I have installed the Windows Media plug-in and indeed it works like a
breeze.
The only thing (that caught me a couple of times yet !) is that you *have*
to start/launch the PocketTunes app' on the Palm for the Windows Media
player (I use v9.0) to "see" the "Palm Handheld (Username)" device to
immediately appear in the "Copy to CD or Device" right pane's device
drop-down selection combo box.
Additionally, transfering music files through Win Media Player + PocketTunes
to the Palm is very fast ! Enjoy ;-)

> 4. Do the additional features of the Deluxe version make it worth the
> extra money? I am tempted to get the Deluxe version if only for the WMA
> support.
>
He, he, good you ask... I'm interested in the answers of folks around here
too !

> Cheers,
> Canadian Cowboy.
>
;-)
Arnie

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

"Canadian Cowboy" <canadian.cowboy_at_sasktel.net> wrote in message
news:10es77p68pm82e9@corp.supernews.com...
> To Larry and James and Carmine:
>
> Thank you all for responding to my questions. So far I have been using
> RealOne Player to copy my CDs to my hard drive and then clip them to
> port them over to my T3. The process works well, even if it is a bit
> clunky.
>
> I have a few additional questions, since you have all been so helpful.
>
> 1. Pocket Tunes looks cool, and frankly that is what caught my interest.
> (Okay that and the Star Trek skins. Grin) From what I've seen in the
> users guide Pocket Tunes can do much more with the audio output than
> RealOne Player can. Is Pocket Tunes less of a drain on the T3's battery
> than RealOne Player?

It's the screen that's the real drain. BTW, AeroPlayer is also a very good
MP3 player.

>
> 2. Will Poccket Tunes find my existing MP3 files (and use them) from the
> RealOne Player directory on my T3's expansion card?

Yes.

I would think that
> it should but it never hurts to ask. Or would it be better to move these
> files to the /AUDIO directory?
>
> 3. Is the "Windows Media Integration" mentioned on the Pocket Tunes home
> web page, similar to how RealOne Player finds my Palm when I have
> RealOne Player running on my T3 while my T3 is in the hotsync cradle?

Yes.

> From what I've read in the User's guide for Pocket Tunes, that appears
> to be the case.
>
> 4. Do the additional features of the Deluxe version make it worth the
> extra money? I am tempted to get the Deluxe version if only for the WMA
> support.
>

Keep in mind that it does not play compressed WMA files, so this feature is
not useful for off-line listening.

> Cheers,
> Canadian Cowboy.
>
>
>
>
> Larry wrote:
> > On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 22:51:25 -0600, Canadian Cowboy
> > <canadian.cowboy_at_sasktel.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Hello James.
> >>
> >>I have never heard of PocketTunes, but then I never considered making
> >>use of the audio capability of my T3. The voice memo application did
> >>not impress me, thus I never looked into playing MP3s on my T3. If you
> >>don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding Pocket Tunes
> >>on the T3.
> >>
> >>1. Why did you choose this particular MP3 player?
> >>2. Have you had any problems getting your MP3 files into the T3 or
> >>installed on the memory expansion card?
> >>3. How large would an MP3 file for say a 3 or 4 minute song be?
> >>4. Which CD ripper program would you suggest using with Pocket Tunes?
> >
> >
> > 1. a) Lots of positive comments on several different Palm news sites
> > and blogs. b) Tried it myself and liked it much better than the
> > RealOne player included with the T3. c) It can do Ogg files.
> >
> > 2. Nope. I use CardExport 2 to move my files directly to the /AUDIO
> > directory of my SD card, where PT automatically looks for them.
> >
> > 3. Depends on the bitrate. I usually use 192. A 4-minute song at 192
> > came out as a 5.5Mb file.
> >
> > Someone else recommended Ogg Vorbis, and I'll echo that. The sound
> > quality is as good as, or better, than MP3, and the file sizes are
> > smaller. I have a 6-minute song on Ogg, and it's also about 5.5Mb. So,
> > same file size as my MP3 example, but 2 minutes longer.
> >
> > 4. I use FreeRip, available from <http://www.mgshareware.com/>. Easy
> > to use little program for ripping from CD to WAV, MP3, or Ogg.
> > Freeware, but it will install an IE MySearch toolbar. However, you can
> > easily tell it not to during installation. No other spyware in it that
> > I've found.
> >
> > Cheers.
> >
> > Larry

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Alan wrote:

>> 4. Do the additional features of the Deluxe version make it worth the
>> extra money? I am tempted to get the Deluxe version if only for the WMA
>> support.

>Keep in mind that it does not play compressed WMA files, so this feature is
>not useful for off-line listening.

I don't understand. Is there more than one kind of WMA file? Can you not
play the WMA files that you have ripped using Windows Media Player? What do
you mean by off-line listening?

I have ripped lots of my albums to WMA using WMP. I was hoping not to have
to re-rip them as MP3s.

Regards,
James