Don, I'm afraid you are a little bit late on this one. As of July 1, 2004, e.Digital discontinued support of their consumer products including the Odyssey 1000. They say they wanted to concentrate on servicing the OEM market. They did thank all of their customers for their understanding though. I'm very glad I didn't buy one of their players.
Gary King mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Don Ball" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "PC audio discussion list. " <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2004 8:59 PM Subject: New MP3 Player Ready to Rival IPod > I hope this player is accessable. > We need voice recognition in an hd player. I hope the drive acts as another > hard drive and doesn't run on some unusable software. > New MP3 Player Ready to Rival IPod > Odyssey 1000 offers deluxe features, including voice recognition, USB 2.0 > connectivity, and 20GB of storage, and a lower price tag. > > Tom Mainelli, PCWorld.com > > LAS VEGAS-- A small company named E.Digital hopes to challenge Apple's IPod > for the title of World's Slickest MP3 Player with its new voice-activated, > hard-drive-based > Odyssey 1000. > > The company announced the $349 player this week at the > Consumer Electronics Show > and plans to begin shipping the unit on February 5. Among its many features > are 20GB of storage, USB 2.0 connectivity, and voice-recognition technology > that lets you navigate menus by speaking. > > In addition to playing MP3 and WMA audio files, the Odyssey also has an FM > tuner, a digital voice recorder with built-in microphone, and the technology > to act as an add-on hard drive to your PC. > > Just Say It > > Chief among the Odyssey's capabilities is its VoiceNav technology, says > Wendy Ravenel, director of product management and communications at > E.Digital. By > using the included Music Explorer software to transfer albums from your PC > to the unit you can then verbally request music by artist or track title. > > Best of all, the Odyssey doesn't require voice training: It works out of the > box, she says. > > "It's just regular American English; there's no need to recite the alphabet > or read the Gettysburg Address first," she says. > > Users who prefer to access their music by hand can scroll through their > collection using the scroll wheel and the backlight blue-green LCD. > > The unit is relatively compact and light at 2.9 inches wide, 4.3 inches tall > and 0.9 inches thick and 8.2 ounces. > > Service, Too > > An Odyssey will also come with a variety of music files from E.Digital's > WeDigMusic.com > Internet music site. The site contains more than 3000 royalty-free tracks > from independent artists, says Bryan Jones, vice president of broadband > entertainment. > > Right now, anyone can access the site for free, but in the future it will > likely become a pay-for-play service, he says. Odyssey owners will receive a > free > subscription, he says. > > The site's content runs the gamut from jazz to country to classical, Jones > adds. Once the site begins charging, the musicians can receive a cut, he > says. > In the meantime, it's all about people hearing their music. "Artists should > be everywhere they can be to get exposure," he comments. > > Taking on the Big Boys > > Despite E.Digital's small size (the company has just 30 employees), Ravenel > says she's confident its technology and burgeoning music site will help it > compete > with more established vendors like Apple and Creative Labs, which recently > launched the > Nomad Zen. > > Ravenel acknowledges the > IPod's strengths > and admits that Apple's extensive research and development resulted in a > sharp product. However, she says, the 1000 "does Windows better." Add to > that its > voice navigation and lower price and savvy buyers should be willing to give > the Odyssey a chance, she says. > > The Odyssey is just the latest MP3 player from the company, which launched > its first player, the Treo 15, in 2001--just prior to the iPod's launch, > Ravenel > says. Today the company offers three Smart Media-based players, one that > uses a CompactFlash card or microdrive, and two with built-in hard drives. > > > _______________________________________________ > PC-Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... > http://www.pc-audio.org > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ PC-Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... http://www.pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
