II.

Types of Personal Media Players

A.

MP3 Players

MP3 players are designed primarily for listening to recorded music or audio material such as podcasts, usually downloaded as files created or stored on a personal computer. Some players can also show video on a display screen. They are lightweight devices that can be held in a single hand. Many can be carried easily in a shirt pocket or strapped to an arm. Earbuds or headphones allow for private listening. MP3 players can also be plugged into speakers or other audio equipment for full sound playback. Additional capabilities include off-air radio and viewing photographs or lists of e-mail addresses or notes. Accessories such as microphones can allow MP3 players to make voice recordings.

The development of the MP3 format allowed music to be recorded in compressed digital form, requiring much less memory to store or bandwidth to download than a musical track from a CD in regular uncompressed form. The first use of MP3 format was on personal computers, allowing music and other audio files to be easily sent and downloaded over the Internet. The invention of the portable MP3 player in 1998 meant large numbers of music tracks could be stored on a small, lightweight device. MP3 players were much less bulky than portable cassette-tape players or portable CD players and did not require transporting tapes or CDs. MP3 players that used a small hard drive to store files could hold hundreds of hours of music. Music was typically downloaded to the player using a personal computer.

Apple Inc. introduced the iPod in 2001. The iPod had a hard drive and could hold thousands of songs or, in later models, display thousands of digital photographs. A user accessed the menu by touching parts of a click wheel rather than by using a keypad or switches. The iPod’s capacity, convenience, and simple design made it a major success with consumers. Later designs included a larger display screen to allow video files to be viewed and more compact iPods (iPod shuffle and iPod nano) that use flash memory instead of a hard drive. Microsoft introduced its own MP3 player called Zune in 2005.

B.

Portable Multimedia Players

Portable multimedia players (PMPs)—also called personal media players, portable video players, and video jukeboxes—are primarily designed for viewing video. They typically have a larger display screen than MP3 players and are held in two hands. Some models, however, are the size of MP3 players and have smaller screens. PMPs use hard drives or flash drives, and have LCD or OLED display screens. Features available include playing recorded audio and video in a number of formats, game playing, photo storage, e-book readers, off-air TV and radio broadcasts, Wi-Fi Internet connection, and video and radio recording capabilities. The first PMP was introduced in 2002 by the French company Archos.

C.

Multimedia Cell Phones

Handheld mobile cellular telephones have gained enormous popularity since their introduction in the 1980s. Models have become smaller and lighter as more features have been added. Camera phones were introduced in the late 1990s, allowing users to take and send photos and later video. Computer components such as hard drives or flash drives have allowed cell phones to play and receive many types of multimedia, and perform some computer functions.

Apple Inc. introduced the iPhone in 2007 as a device that combined a mobile phone with the multimedia features of an iPod and access to the Internet. Similar handheld, all-in-one electronic devices that combine features of personal computers, media players, gaming devices, and mobile phones are likely to become much more common in the future.

D.

Portable Gaming Devices

Handheld, portable gaming consoles are primarily designed for electronic games and can be interactive, permitting multiple players to participate while linked through separate devices. Gaming devices typically are held in two hands, with buttons or touch keys on each side. With many models, the display screen allows additional multimedia capabilities similar to PMPs, including wireless Internet access, playing video, or viewing photographs. Sound and music come through built-in speakers or can be listened to with earbuds or headphones.

Inexpensive handheld electronic games were first developed in the late 1970s and remained popular into the early 1990s. More sophisticated dedicated gaming devices were introduced in the late 1980s. Combination devices that offer multimedia or Internet features began to appear in the early 2000s. Such extras are now available on many models and brands.

E.

Personal Digital Assistants

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are handheld computers that were originally designed to help with such tasks as taking notes, scheduling appointments, and sending faxes and electronic mail. Many now have multimedia capabilities including radio, MP3, and video/audio recording, as well as e-book display. Some PDAs also have a global positioning system (GPS) link.

F.

Digital Cameras

The large display screen on some digital cameras can be used to watch movies and videos. Movies or video can be downloaded from a personal computer to the cameras, which can also play sound. Some digital cameras can also be plugged into television sets to show movies, video, or photos stored on the camera.