Pocket Tunes for Tungsten T released

Posted By: Ryan Monday, December 9, 2002 10:18:11 AM

While many still await the ability to listen to mp3's on their Tungsten T's; another audio program that supports the open source Ogg/Vorbis format, has been released. Pocket Tunes 1.1, from NormSoft, supports ARM-Native Ogg Vorbis decoding, customizable skins, playlists, wav files and more.

Pocket TunesOgg/Vorbis is a new open source audio format. It is comparible to other audio formats such as the popular mp3, but is completely free, open source and unpatented. Ogg Vorbis has been designed to completely replace all proprietary, patented audio formats. It claims better quality sound than mp3 at smaller file sizes.

PocketTunes, can decode Ogg Vorbis and wav files in real time without any skips or delays and has a high resolution skinnable interface. The display can be shut off to conserve battery power and the player can be controlled using the Tungsten T’s five-way navigator.

PocketTunes can be purchased now for $5.00 (until the end of the 2002; regular price $14.95), you will get a free upgrade to the next major version (when available) and free technical support for one year. It requires a Palm Tungsten T and a memory expansion card to store audio files.

Thanks to Mike Cane for the link

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ardee @ 12/9/2002 10:50:26 AM #
http://www.vorbis.com/faq.psp#what


Garth Brooks?

Fly-By-Night @ 12/9/2002 10:57:53 AM #
Anyone listening to Garth Brooks shouldn't be allowed a T|T.


FBN
RE: Garth Brooks?
johnwin @ 12/9/2002 11:37:04 AM #
I suggest a programme of confiscation and redistribution to more deserving owners!!! (if it's unclear this means ME) Any TT owner who wants to 'fess up can pm me and I will willingly pay all postage costs.

http://johnspalm.blogspot.com/
RE: Garth Brooks?
Fly-By-Night @ 12/9/2002 12:25:57 PM #
Absolutely. The RIAA should come down on these b@ast@rds hard.


FBN
RE: Garth Brooks?
TinMan @ 12/9/2002 2:00:43 PM #
Hey, country music has its place!

You know, like at NASCAR events, The Do Drop Inn, just about anywhere in Alabama (home of duct tape, a/k/a "Alabama Chrome), etc.

No need to get offensive about it!

^_^


I sync, therefore I am.

RE: Garth Brooks?
DarthRepublican @ 12/9/2002 8:26:49 PM #
Please keep me in mind if such a confiscation is ever enacted. I promise to only play the finest classic rock and alternative music on my TT, including the entire Living Colour oeuvre.

RE: Garth Brooks?
Fat_Man @ 12/10/2002 8:21:28 AM #
>>home of duct tape, a/k/a "Alabama Chrome"

AH-HA!! That's a good one!!

KAY

RE: Garth Brooks?
Lucky Dragon @ 12/10/2002 11:10:51 PM #
Hey, everyone has different tastes. You folks need to stop acting like a bunch of narrow-minded bigots.
RE: Garth Brooks?
Fly-By-Night @ 12/11/2002 6:33:08 AM #
Don't most narrow minded bigots listen to Garth Brooks (squeal like a pig boy! Yee-haw!).


FBN
RE: Garth Brooks?
TinMan @ 12/11/2002 12:18:25 PM #
<< Hey, everyone has different tastes. You folks need to stop acting like a bunch of narrow-minded bigots. >>

We're just having a little fun, that's all.

Now git back in that thar pickup and crank up the 'ol 8-track...

Now it's time to say goodbye to all of Garth's friends. We would like to thank them all for kindly droppin' in. Yer all invited back next week to this localiteee; to have a heapn' helpn' of our hospitaliteee. Y'all come back now, ya heaah?!

(Queue banjos...)

^_^

I sync, therefore I am.

Garth Brooks -- a classy, down to Earth guy!!!
palmstory @ 12/12/2002 1:54:30 AM #
As a musician, I've worked with Garth. He is impressed me as being a VERY modest, humble, charming guy. Ironically, when I was hanging with him backstage, I showed a particular Memo on my IIIx. He liked the content of it, and at some point asked me "How do you scroll down on this thing?":) So I should him.

I am not a not Country musician, far from it(I don't own even a single Country recording), BUT Garth WAS a really nice guy. I run into a bunch of celebrities often enough to tell you that Garth handles his fame VERY well. He can definitely sing. We all have our tastes in music, which is fine, but on a personal level, I found him to be a classy, down to Earth guy -- REALLY!!!

If he did Palm commercials on TV, we'd all be less worried about Pocket PC. BTW, I wonder why Palm doesn't use celebreties, als Apple Computer, to promote its products? Just a thought.

Also, I love this site! I love my Palm PDA, even though I am about 90% down on my PALM stock! I try to preach the "Gospel of Palm" to the rest of the world. Once Palm OS breaks out of its 15 Categories Limit, I'll dance with joy!

Happy New Year to all of you!!!

RE: Garth Brooks -- a classy, down to Earth guy!!!
palmstory @ 12/12/2002 2:13:11 AM #
Hey folks, it's me again:)

Sorry about all the typos in my previous post. I am past my bed time:) Below is the corrected version.

As a musician, I've worked with Garth. He impressed me as being a VERY modest, humble, charming guy. Ironically, when I was hanging with him backstage, I showed him a particular Memo on my IIIx. He liked the content of it, and at some point asked me "How do you scroll down on this thing?":) So I showed him.

I am not a not Country musician, far from it(I don't own even a single Country recording), BUT Garth WAS a really nice guy, at least on that gig. I run into a bunch of celebrities often enough to tell you that Garth handles his fame VERY well. He can definitely sing. We all have our tastes in music, which is fine, but on a personal level, I found him to be a classy, down to Earth guy -- REALLY!!!

If he did Palm commercials on TV, we'd all be less worried about Pocket PC. BTW, I wonder why Palm doesn't use celebrities, ala Apple Computer, to promote its products? They probably can't afford buying ads. I am sure that among those celebrities there are folks who wouldn't charge Palm for their services. Buying airtime is another story. Just a thought.

Also, I love this site! I love my Palm PDA, even though I am about 90% down on my PALM stock! I try to preach the "Gospel of Palm" to the rest of the world every time I get a chance. Once Palm OS breaks out of its 15 Categories Limit, I'll dance with joy!

Happy New Year to all of you!!!

RE: Garth Brooks?
T&Tman @ 12/17/2002 12:36:11 PM #
Being a lifelong native of Alabama, I find great humor in the typical jokes that most yankees like to throw around regarding the deep south. Alas, the only state we can pick on is Mississippi:)
On a more serious note; I can take the humor. As a matter of fact, I hope everyone keeps on thinking that Alabama is a terrible place to live. Better yet, the entire Southeastern US is just awful. You guys certainly don't want to live here!
Now I will remove tongue from cheek... Where is that Garth Brooks CD anyway?;)

OGG, Palm's format of choice

Fammy @ 12/9/2002 11:05:55 AM #
Given all the audio players startingn to appear that ONLY support the OGG Vorbix format (intiailly, at least), is the Palm community leaning towards this format? I guess time will tell.

_____
Fammy
RE: OGG, Palm's format of choice
Admin @ 12/9/2002 11:57:56 AM #
This is just a guess, but I think the reason is because Ogg is open source and decoding mp3's might require some sort of license?
RE: OGG, Palm's format of choice
PFloyd @ 12/9/2002 12:04:27 PM #
I understand there's a new 75 cents per player licensing fee for MP3's from Thompson.

I don't think so
Roberto_tores @ 12/10/2002 8:59:52 AM #
TT owners where anxiously waiting for Real Player for Palm OS (and MP3 player). This .ogg player just went out first and actually it is the only audio player available for the TT actually. I don't consider this has anithing to do with the palm community audio format of choice. Once Real Player is out must people will continue to use the popular and standard MP3 format.

RE: OGG, Palm's format of choice
johnwin @ 12/11/2002 4:27:55 AM #
Relax - it's some fun - that's all. I have some seriously dodgy musical taste - it's no problem

http://johnspalm.blogspot.com/

MP3 Converter Available?

savvy @ 12/9/2002 11:27:24 AM #
Is there an MP3 to OGG converter available?

RE: MP3 Converter Available?
Ben S @ 12/9/2002 12:03:37 PM #
You don't want to do that. Converting one lossy format (mp3) to another (ogg) will result in very, very poor quality files. Use the original source material to create your OGGs from scratch.

RE: MP3 Converter Available?
ganoe @ 12/9/2002 12:04:27 PM #
Wasn't this discussed last week?
http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=4700

RE: MP3 Converter Available?
PDA Stephen @ 12/9/2002 12:36:03 PM #
http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/index.php?pg=main

--
PDA Stephen Ô¿Ô¬

Any Mac support?

Manicorp @ 12/9/2002 12:24:30 PM #
Are these programs mac compatible?
If anyone knows please post mac supported program for ripping from CD to Ogg.
Thanks...
Sam

RE: Any Mac support?
ardee @ 12/9/2002 1:58:32 PM #
Try this:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=macintosh+%22ogg+vorbis%22

A shorter URL for the same page:

http://tinyurl.com/3dgc


RE: Any Mac support?
fireproof @ 12/9/2002 8:33:00 PM #
Even better: an Ogg Vorbis plug-in for iTunes (as seen on MacOS X Hints)

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20021103065300430

RE: Any Mac support?
Manicorp @ 12/12/2002 9:55:32 AM #
Thanks for useful info! :)
Sam

Low pass filter

sandbuck @ 12/9/2002 12:49:22 PM #
Does anyone have new news about Palm's plan to fix the 4Mhz low pass filter issue? It was brought up last week in a a related thread.

RE: Low pass filter
Ce @ 12/9/2002 1:30:52 PM #
Until this fix is released every soundplayer, no matter how nicely programmed, is useless when it comes to soundquality.

RE: Low pass filter
John B @ 12/9/2002 4:15:47 PM #
The 4 kHz low pass filter is in place since the TT records voice memo's at a sample rate of 8 kHz. If the 4 kHz filter was not there, unwanted byproducts due to aliasing would we heard. I have studied the IMAP chip doc and can not find a hardware filter (which would not make sense anyway) so it must be a DSP filter. This means that a proper application will alter the LP filtering when a broader audio band is wanted. The chip can handle any sample frequency up to 48 kHz and has an optimizes core for encoding and decoding of MP3, MPEG4 and JPEG. Since at present there is no way to change the sample rate for the user, there is no telling whether there is a design error causing the 4 kHz bandwidth limit.

RE: Low pass filter
jackpipe @ 12/9/2002 6:10:39 PM #
Does anyone have any info on the specs of the audio hardware itself ? ie if/when the low-pass filter issue is solved, will the device be hifi quality, or still be poor ? How will it stack up for audiophiles, etc ?

I'm hoping to be suprised, but the current tungsten audio 'issues' just leave me sighing, yet again. - palm don't seem to take audio too seriously (6 years to move from a buzzer to a speaker) - a big, big mistake I think.

RE: Low pass filter
JWBLUE @ 12/9/2002 9:44:44 PM #
i think this problem will be addressed when the Real player for the palm is released. palm did not give out complete details on how to do this to other developers and wanted to save it for their partner who makes RealPlayer

RE: Low pass filter
jackpipe @ 12/10/2002 4:59:43 AM #
I'll wait for the player release before deciding on a TT purchase then.
Given real audio is the one big additional feature of the TT over previous devices, I'm praying it's been done right at long last.

NX compatablility

markgm @ 12/9/2002 2:36:10 PM #
In case anyone was wondering, it won't play on the Clie. (Not that it doesn't clearly say for the TT.) It does everything but actually play a file, when it gets to that point, it locks up. (I'm sure there are a few who were curious like me!)

RE: NX compatablility
CKMOOSE @ 12/9/2002 3:20:18 PM #
FYI...I wrote to Tim Norman asking if he'd consider porting Pocke Tunes to the Clie, I know several people who'd like some of the functionality his player offers. He wrote back:

Paul,

Thanks for your email. I hadn't considered porting to the CLIE because I thought that users would be happy to use the free player that Sony provides. Judging from your email, though, there might be enough interest there to warrant a look. I'll see what I find.

Take care,
Tim

Time flies like an arrow...
Fruit Flies like a banana.

RE: NX compatablility
Bartman007 @ 12/10/2002 3:27:56 AM #
In case anyone was wondering, it won't play on the Clie =(

Not that I own either an NX or a T|T but....

OS 5 is turning the Palm community into the WinCE community. MIPS vs. ARM vs.... *shudder*

Hopefully companies get their acts together and decided on a standard API (I may be talking out of my a$$ here, cause I haven't followed the OS 5 dev world) I guess I assumed that between the HAL and other technology OS 5 would allow the SAME program to run on many handhelds...

Oh Well.... It doesn't matter to me anyway, I just bought a car, so no ARM's for me =P

Peace,
-Bartman007

Poorly thought player...

Ces @ 12/9/2002 6:49:01 PM #
This player's only function is draining all the battery out of the Tungsten T...It doesn't have an option for shutting down the TT's screen when playing songs!!!!!!!...The Aero Player (http://www.aerodromesoftware.com/)is much simpler and better!

RE: Poorly thought player...
Ces @ 12/9/2002 7:04:34 PM #
I take back what I said...version 1.1 does this... (version 1.0 didn't)

RE: Poorly thought player...
Massman82 @ 12/9/2002 7:05:12 PM #
All it takes is an email to the developer to solve this problem. I am sure that it is not a hard fix for a developer to apply!

Roman Pedan
Palm V/Vx
Will get a Palm OS 5 handheld
RE: Poorly thought player...
Ben S @ 12/9/2002 7:06:12 PM #
I believe a new version is available that *can* shut down the screen.

We don't need a new adio format what we need is an MP3 playe

Roberto_tores @ 12/10/2002 8:44:46 AM #
First converting a whole colection of CDs or MP3 to .ogg is tedious when you already have the MP3 files.

Second, closed source or inferior MP3 has become the internet standard for music. It is like trying to compete with the MS office file format, they are a standard. If you get music from the internet it will be in .mp3.

Aditionally I don't see much problem with MP3. It may be closed source but there are free players and rippers based on MP3 like the popular Winamp and Music Match Jukebox.

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