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Shaun
Just Posting
3 Posts |
 Posted - 05/13/2005 : 04:56:49 AM
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Hi All,
I'm not sure where to post this so here seems as good a place as any.
Here are my views on Neuros so far and the things I would like to see in the near future.
I have had my Neuros 1 and a 20Gig backpack in the UK for about 18 months now.
Firstly many thanks to those involved in the development of the firmware things are much improved now.
The FM band tuning in 0.1 steps was a great help here.
I use the unit mainly in the car with Neurocast and things are generally good but a clear channel is essential.
The Database navigation is great for picking out tracks by artist, album etc.
Navigation is straight forward once you get used to it but that applied to most systems.
I have been caught out a couple of times by having the charger plugged into the Neuros but not switched on at the wall, so although the unit indicated it was charging it was not, (I appreciate this is no longer an issue with USB2 Backpacks).
The main thing I would like to see as far a firmware goes is the ability to rebuild the database without using external software then files could be dropped onto the unit from wherever and then incorporated into the database, the file browser function is OK but doesn't allow the track queuing etc that is what a music computer is all about.
Speeding up navigation while playing would be good as well as improving the time taken to add a track to the que or a playlist.
I have noticed that since a firmware update a while ago,(possibly in the 1.xx range) my battery life took a dive from 6-7 hours on Neurocast to 5-6 hours.
If I shut down the unit while a track is playing when I come back to the unit the next day the battery may be flat, but if I Stop the track and leave the Neuros to auto shutdown there is no such problem.
Basically as a player anything that improves the responsiveness of the menus and data transfer rate, (I know, I am on the lookout for a USB2 backpack), would be great.
I haven't put the recording side of the unit to any real use so I cannot comment on those features.
On the navigation front my thoughts are:
FF button = click for the next page of data and double click for next character, jumping to #8216;The#8217; is not that useful to me.
Preset buttons possibly 1 = Start of data, 5= End of data and the other maybe a mathematical split of the centre section i.e. 2 = quarter in, 3 = half way, 4 = quarter from the end.
Enquing Albums or Artist would be good.
Games - possibly modular rather than built into the firmware and are incorporated into their own list, (rebuilt during a database rebuild). The only downside to this is that people possibly release destructive apps.
On the hardware side:
Since AA size NiMh cells are rapidly increasing in capacity, (last saw 2.5AH), due to the drive form the digicam market does anyone know if they could be used in place of the lithium cells, I know that the charging Cct would have to be disabled, but it would allow spare batteries to be carried, instead of building plug in battery packs.
Also since compact flash memories are racing up to 4Gig and beyond would an IDE to CF adapter work in the Backpack, (ejectable to allow blocks of music to be inserted, not while powered up I know) I think on the fly database building would be required. This may also increase battery life and reduce boot time.
Those are my thoughts and experiences and I'm sure you all have a different take on things but basically responsiveness and battery life are the main areas I would like improved.
On the whole I am a satisfied customer and the Neuros is evolving in a positive direction.
Shaun Black
Shaun Black (UK) |
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So Far So Good
