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Technology Stocks : e.Digital Corporation(EDIG) - Embedded Digital Technology -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Savant who wrote (1269)	9/19/1998 3:12:00 PM
From: Burt Roger	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18366

Building a better mousetrap: In looking more closely at Diamond's entry into digital music for portables the following should be noted: Diamond's PMP is the first generation flash music player. It apparently has 32 mg. of embedded flash and add-on flash cards @ approx. $50 to 100.oo ea. of 16 & 32mb respectively. This means that to get 1 hour of listening time the price increases from $199 to 299.00 to have 64mb. in place. This tells us we're now seeing retail flash going at $3.00/mb.. There is approximately 1mb=1 minute of playing time in this product and what is promoted as output is DIGITAL QUALITY sound. Until one listens to the device or they release the specs of their sampling rate one would know little about how this actually sounds. They've taken the MP3 standard with 12:1 compression and factored in a sampling rate (unannounced) which determines how much data they're recording in a data space. The sampling rate and compression then delivers sound to the human ear for human interpretation of what is heard. Individuals possess wide variances in what is received and brain processed. For many individuals they will not be able to discern differences. For professionals and music lovers there may be great differences. I predict that astute buyers and professionals will learn about specs before product purchase just as resolution specs for digital cameras are now reviewed. Currently there are DSP's available which can deliver much higher sound compression than 12:1 and preserve high sampling rates, which in combination will deliver CD QUALITY not DIGITAL QUALITY. I am very certain that these high compression DSP's are not in Diamond's product. What customers will also desire is a way to hear this player over a car radio or home stereo with and without wires. Without wires this product fails and their connection for output indicates only headphones, which may mean no available output to one's home sound system. Should IBM's microdrive meet all of its touted tolerances and be able to be retailed for $1.50 to $2.00 per mgb., next generation music for portables may well use this storage medium unless flash prices fall to similar or competing levels. NCI may find a way to allow either or possibly even both to be simultaneously used. That simultaneously option is probably too big a stretch but perhaps a worthy goal. Can and will NCI be able to build a better mousetrap? Their OS allows this to be done and they've demonstrated that world-class companies recognize this ability. How many will beat a path to their door remains to be seen. IMO, I predict they will deliver in both a timely and unique form. Best to all: