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The Personal Jukebox from HanGo ($799), when compared with the Rio, is an ugly, awkward stepsister. But this product is all about brains, not beauty: Inside that clunky box is a whopping 81 hours of crystal-clear music. How do they do it? Well, the product is built around an actual 4.86 gigabyte hard drive, designed by Compaq, rather than Flash Memory. Boot the device up and you can feel the hard drive whirring inside; unlike devices using Flash Memory, the Jukebox will occasionally skip if you jostle it too hard.

Using the included software and your USB port, you "rip" your CDs straight into the Jukebox (most other MP3 players require that you store the music on your hard drive before uploading it to the portable player). Once your CDs and MP3s are downloaded into the player -- a simple process with the included software -- you can organize the music into "sets" or listen to one CD at a time, using an intuitive group of scroll keys and an LED display. You can also plug this device straight into your stereo or car radio.

Unfortunately, the Personal Jukebox didn't work with my Compaq due to an incompatibility problem, according to a Hango customer service rep -- but it worked just fine on the second computer I attempted. Still, I would die to own one of these things ... if only it were a little more affordable.

Wireless wonder

The X-10 MP3 Anywhere ($69.99) is a kind of cobbled-together product, based on this company's extensive home-environment control system, which lets you broadcast MP3s straight to your stereo. It doesn't look like much, but it works astoundingly well: Merely plug a wireless "sender" -- a small black plastic box with two antennae -- into your PC's sound card, and attach a "receiver" to the back of any typical stereo. The "sender" is controlled by some rudimentary software that you'll have to download from the X-10 Web site. With this program running, all you have to do is start playing your favorite music or streaming Internet radio stations using any popular MP3 software program, and -- magic! -- the sound will come out of your stereo. (You can also play Real and other digital music formats).

The system works by sending the tunes from your computer via a wireless receiver; the sound quality is terrific as long as you keep the sender and receiver relatively close to each other, and it only takes three minutes to set up. Unfortunately, the MP3 Anywhere kit comes with no instructions whatsoever -- the only way I could figure out how to set the system up was to call the kindly folks at X-10 and let them walk me through it.

Remote radio

The Sonicbox ($50), due for release next month, is built around the same concept as the MP3 Anywhere, but boasts fancier gizmos and gadgetry, including a nifty portable "tuner" that lets you control the music from anywhere in your house. A hockey puck-sized base unit connects to your PC, and sends music via an FM radio transmitter to an unused frequency on your stereo. Then, by turning the knobs on the included imBand Tuner -- a purple plastic remote control, the size of a small keyboard -- you can "dial" up one of more than 800 Internet radio stations.

Sonicbox itself has selected those 800 radio stations, programming the device with Web broadcasts of terrestrial radio stations across the country and also Internet-only radio stations such as NetRadio.com. But you can also program your own radio station, by uploading your MP3 playlists into the Sonicbox software or pointing the software to any streaming Net radio station you like (say, your favorite polka station on Shoutcast).

The product is cheap and limited in its usage, and its flaws are also evident: You'll need a broadband connection, unless you're tolerant of low sound quality and glitchy connections; and you need to be online to listen to the radio. But if you long to listen to hundreds of new radio stations over your pristine stereo speakers, this is a notable choice.

Auto-matic

The main purpose of the eGo ($219-$699), according to the materials that come with it, is to pump those MP3 tunes into your car stereo using a traditional CD-cassette adapter. Since several other devices also allow this, it seems silly to pick up an eGo just for this purpose (though the device does include a handy car power adapter, so you don't have to rely on batteries). On the other hand, the eGo has other functions that make it stand out a bit from other MP3 hardware.

Although this device is clunky compared to the Rio -- it resembles an oversized translucent pager -- it also offers more flash memory storage: You can choose versions that store up to 680 MB of music (that extra flash memory, of course, will cost you extra money). You can also download your e-mail from your desktop into the eGo via your USB port, and the device will "read" it to you in a digital voice while you drive; by hitting the "i" button you can dictate responses, which the eGo software will translate into text when you return to your computer.

Unfortunately, I couldn't test out this last feature, due to an annoying series of events that involved faulty USB drivers and glitchy CD-ROMs. In fact, almost every one of these MP3 products was riddled with technical glitches or incompatibilities with my PC -- the driver wouldn't load, the software couldn't read my CD-ROM drive or the device came with the wrong plugs. Spending a few weeks with these devices was like a Zen lesson in learning to master my anger and frustration. (To be fair, it's not entirely the fault of the manufacturers that their products don't work smoothly: Most are trying to add new functionality to somebody else's old technology.)

In fact, as I gazed at the cardboard-and-plastic Tower of Babel on my desktop -- empty boxes, tangles of wires, discarded shrink-wrap and abandoned CD-ROMs -- I realized that each of these products was serving as an interim solution until some smart company comes up with one device that does everything. Someday, we won't need five different MP3 gizmos to service different digital music purposes. Instead, we'll have one MP3 player the size of the Rio, with the memory capacity of the Personal Jukebox, the wireless streaming capabilities of the MP3 Anywhere and a remote tuner like that of the Sonicbox, plus the voice capabilities of the eGo.

That would be a product worth waiting in line for. I just hope someone invents it soon.
salon.com | Dec. 14, 1999

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