T610 MP3 Player

LFCFan · 01-12-2003 1:20pm #1

I just bought the MP3 player for the T610. £21 Sterling from mobilefun.co.uk. It's excellent. Great sound. Comes with a 32MB MMC card but just ordered a 256MB card. Well worth the money. The phone itself is the MP3 player. The accessory is just to give access to the Memory card. Definitly recommend!

jesus_thats_gre · 01-12-2003 2:10pm

Looks pretty impressive. Does it come with head phones and how loud does it go?

LFCFan · 01-12-2003 2:21pm

Originally posted by JesusThatsGreat
Looks pretty impressive. Does it come with head phones and how loud does it go?

There is a card reader and handsfree earphones too. It's loud enough.

The card reader is pretty primative in that it's connected with a Parallel connection and the power comes from connecting to the Keyboard port. All good 6 in 1 card readers should read MMC cards though. The actually attachment is tiny and hardly any weight is added to the phone. Let's just say that at £21 Sterling you are getting one hell of a bargain.

jesus_thats_gre · 01-12-2003 2:28pm

Originally posted by LFCFan
There is a card reader and handsfree earphones too. It's loud enough.

The card reader is pretty primative in that it's connected with a Parallel connection and the power comes from connecting to the Keyboard port. All good 6 in 1 card readers should read MMC cards though. The actually attachment is tiny and hardly any weight is added to the phone. Let's just say that at £21 Sterling you are getting one hell of a bargain.

Woop, will be buying one of those so... What are that shower like to order from?

LFCFan · 01-12-2003 2:35pm

Originally posted by JesusThatsGreat
Woop, will be buying one of those so... What are that shower like to order from?

Excellent. £4 Sterling and had it 2 working days later by registered post.

Faltermyer · 01-12-2003 3:37pm

Hi, Im considering getting this, given the price,size and that Im very happy with my T610 that I only about 10days!

1. The Headphones - is the plug on them a normal 3.5mm jack or a custom one?
i.e. Would i be able to use any other headphones?

2. What sort of file formats does it support?

3. Is the sound "tin"-ee, i.e. lacking in Bass as many MP3 players are?

4. The supplied reader is a Parralell connected one - is it slow?

Thanks.

LFCFan · 01-12-2003 3:54pm

Originally posted by Faltermyer
1. The Headphones - is the plug on them a normal 3.5mm jack or a custom one?
i.e. Would i be able to use any other headphones?

non standard unfortunatly but the headphones you get are pretty good quality. Also it is a handsfree headphone kit with mic.

2. What sort of file formats does it support?

MP3 only from what I can see. Haven't tried any other type but I'm 99% sure it's only MP3.

3. Is the sound "tin"-ee, i.e. lacking in Bass as many MP3 players are?

You can adjust the Bass and Treble in the menu on the phone. The sound is excellent for something so simple.

4. The supplied reader is a Parralell connected one - is it slow?

Very slow and can be a bit finicky. I have a 6 in 1 reader though which works out a lot better. You can get them cheap on the net. Around €25.

Faltermyer · 01-12-2003 3:57pm

Much obliged.

May I ask where you ordered your 256mb MMC from?

LFCFan · 01-12-2003 4:02pm

Originally posted by Faltermyer
Much obliged.

May I ask where you ordered your 256mb MMC from?

http://www.shop4memory.co.uk/ - €86.

Not surprising, the 128MB card is €99 in Dixons :rolleyes:

Just listening to November Rain as I write this and the Bass is excellent. I'm actually stunned at the quality of the player for only £21.

[nicK] · 01-12-2003 4:12pm

impressive... ordering as we speak..

Amnesiac_ie · 02-12-2003 5:25pm

Wow! GBP£21 for an MP3 player? I really cannae belive it! This phone jsut gets better and better. Ordering that staright away!

flywheel · 02-12-2003 8:07pm

had one with the T68i and it was great - definately need to get a USB MMC card reader/writer though - just leave the one that comes in the box, in the box

- it's more a reminder when the item was first released and USB ports wern't supported very well (if anyone remembers that far back

)

some things i noticed with it was sometimes if you just select all and drag/drop then it can be shuffled up out of order when playing back on the handset

there was a post on esato.com a while back saying that if you got your group of MP3s together (and i'm going from memory...), click the (top) first track and shift + click the (bottom) last track so the group is highlighted, then ctrl + click the top one (so the copy symbol appears) and then drag them to the card and that keeps the track order

the way SE accessories work is to snap together to attach and twist to the side to detatch - so it can sometimes twist and disconnect if in a tight pocket - found a top jacket pocket was the best place for it - alternatively some people on esato.com were able to cut out some card to make the connection a bit stiffer wedging it in - never tried that though - but it was expalined in their discussion forum

there were also some posts about some 3rd party cards not working / offering the full capacity - so make sure to check that a the manufacturer / capacity works on the likes of esato.com - i got a hitachi (branded kodak) 128MB MMC card for it and it worked grand

a great little accessory - and given the cost of their Bluetooth MP3 headset at the moment - a real bargan - just remember to factor in an MMC reader/writer and larger MMC card into the total cost if you don't already have one - the 32MB one won't get you far and the supplied reader/writer isn't great and won't work on some systems - one of the few peripherials that caused XP to totally freak out on me...

BrianG

Faltermyer · 03-12-2003 1:17am

Thanks Brian. Some helpful practical info there.

I dont have enough use for the likes of an I-POD or any high quality(i.e. expensive) MP3 Player as majority of the time I want music im either at a computer or driving, but this along with a 256mb card would suit me perfect given the amount of use it would get and how cheap and compact it is(I hate carrying extra stuff if walking somewhere!).

Its definitely added to my Christmas list!

LFCFan · 03-12-2003 9:58am

New MMC card arrived today from shop4memory (have to pick it up at lunchtime). I'll let yis know the make and whether gives full capacity or not.

LFCFan · 03-12-2003 2:50pm

Originally posted by LFCFan
New MMC card arrived today from shop4memory (have to pick it up at lunchtime). I'll let yis know the make and whether gives full capacity or not.

So far so good. Don't have enough MP3's with me right now to test the full capacity but it works fine. The Multimeda Card Association on it. It's the one I got from www.shop4memory.com. They're based in Kildare. Free recorded delivery.

flywheel · 03-12-2003 4:27pm

cool sounds promising - that would really be great - the 128 MB was almost enough to get me around if heading out and about - a 256 MB would have been perfect - the 32 MB was more like torture beig stuck with only a cople of tracks out for the day! definatley worth investing in a larger card...

www.shop4memory.com is really good - order various types of RAM from them and found they were always really fast with great pricing

BrianG

Amnesiac_ie · 03-12-2003 4:31pm

How much will the 32KB card store? About ten?

Faltermyer · 03-12-2003 5:27pm

32mb!

That depends on what quality you record, and how long the songs are.

At the average 128kb/s , average song is ~4mb. so id call it 8songs.... which could become repetitive!

Im definitely going for a 256mb card, especially as I always rip, and try to download at 160 or 192kb/s due to how crap it can sound when you turn it up if its any lower quality.

flywheel · 03-12-2003 5:29pm

depends on what bit rate you encoed the MP3s at - lower bit rate will have a smaller file size but with less quality - higher bit rate had better quality but bigger files

and how long the tracks are... normal 3.5 minute pop music you could fit a few e.g. about 8 tracks from a Coldplay album encoded at 96kbits should fit on a 32 MB card

majority of the stuff i listen to actually sounded grand to me at 96kbit on it (but that was an absolute min. - a handful of tracks didn't turn out too good) - headphones aren't exactally hi-fi anyway - but everyone has their own preference - i've been to a few too many lound gigs in my time so might don't find it easy to tell subtle diferences between some sample rates

BrianG

Faltermyer · 03-12-2003 5:32pm

Just had a search around and I cant seem to find may places other than Mobile Fun selling it, and the few that are, are more expensive.

Anyone have any other recommendations of where to buy or should I just go with MobileFun?

flywheel · 03-12-2003 5:36pm

i've seen it quoted twice on expansys.com as being 'the very last time it will be available' - but then every few months a lump of stock seems to appear and then disappear when the stock goes - i expect they don't make it anymore? - what with their Bluetooth MP3 device out that works with their Bluetooth handsets

ordering from expansys.com you'd get hit with a courier charge (if they have stock) - so MobileFun looks like an excellent deal

BrianG

Faltermyer · 03-12-2003 5:37pm

And is this Card Reader any good?

http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/2010.htm

Works out cheaper than the one on shop4memory.com (http://www.shop4memory.com/products/flash-card-reader.asp) at only £13stg + s&h.

Total of it and the MP3 player would be: £39.40stg or €56.28 (XE.com) including shipping.

The USB 1.1 card reader on shop4memory is €27+ s&h...

RicardoSmith · 03-12-2003 5:54pm

Can someone post a link to this player. I can't seem to find the one your talking about.

Faltermyer · 03-12-2003 5:59pm

http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/1021.htm

Enjoy...Im teetering on the verge of ordering at the moment...trying to think of a good reason not to! Everyone Ive told about it agrees its a great deal. Not the most amazing MP3 player around, but excellent value for money wise, especially when taking into account the above comments.

Between it and the USB card reader also on MobileFun and the 256mb card off shop4memory.com, it totals at about €142 (deoending on exchange rate), which is a pretty good deal all round imho.

EDIT: Just noticed that the USB Card Reader/Writer on MobileFun only works for MMCs and SDs, whereas the one on Shop4Memory does nearly all cards. Worth the extra €8 I think!.

LFCFan · 04-12-2003 10:40am

I bought the USB 2.0 card reader from shop4memory along with the 256MB card. USB 2.0 is sooooo much better speedwise. Copying 60+ MP3's with USB 1.1 is a pain in the nether regions. Listening to the MP3 player now. I love it. Still can't believe the quality for such a low price. Thing is though, it's probably wrong to say you are buying an MP3 player. You're realy buying a memory card recepticle to allow you to use the built in MP3 player on the phone. Whatver you'd call it though, it's excellent.

As for what you'd fit on the 32MB card. In real world terms (ie. not every track will be 4MB), I could get about 6 on it which is only good enough to test the player, not really use it if you know what I mean. The 256MB card, I've gotten 68 song on it. This is encoding at 128

Faltermyer · 04-12-2003 11:37am

Originally posted by LFCFan
I bought the USB 2.0 card reader from shop4memory along with the 256MB card. USB 2.0 is sooooo much better speedwise.

If your computer has USB2 that is! Or if you go and buy and USB 2 PCMCIA card aswell.

The USB2 reader/writer is only an extra €6 though I suppose...

Anyway, ordered the MP3 "Recepticle"

off MobileFun.co.uk yesterday evening.
Going to wait until it arrives before ordereing the 256mb card & USB Card reader/writer off shop4memory.com ... just incase id end up with memory and a reader but no MP3 player!

Ebonyks · 04-12-2003 1:58pm

Well done lads!!

I'm officially broke yet again.

Got the shop4memory.com 256MB MMC card and the MP3 dongle and USB MMC reader from mobilefun.co.uk

See you all again next paycheck....

Ebonyks · 04-12-2003 5:50pm

Just of interest, how much will this take off the battery life fully charged??

Faltermyer · 04-12-2003 6:28pm

That crossed my mind earlier.
MP3 players are not usually that draining on batteries.

I would guess that if you listened to it for maybe 2hours/day, that instead of getting nearly 3days out of it(which is what im getting at the moment with usage of everything) you might get 2? Though hopefully maybe not that much of a drain??

LFCFan · 04-12-2003 7:38pm

well so far it doesn't seem to be too draining on the battery.

Faltermyer · 08-12-2003 3:10pm

Just got mine this morning and Im well impressed.

Stupidly light, and phone is still quite neat with it attached.

Great sound for something so cheap, and the songs Im listening to at the moment are only 128kb/s I think, possibly 160kb/s, didnt check!

Only faults -

1. The capacity of the included card(32MB) is a joke(7songs!), have ordered the 256mb card and reader from shop4memory.com .
2. You cant use any other feature in the phone when using the MP3 player. To be able to text, use WAP and play games when its on would be good.

Other than that Im happy with my purchase.

flywheel · 08-12-2003 3:43pm

Originally posted by Faltermyer

2. You cant use any other feature in the phone when using the MP3 player. To be able to text, use WAP and play games when its on would be good.

you used to be able to hold the joystick up and press the no button for a few seconds, and press the joystick in on the T68i and you'd be back in the main menu - you could then use the phone (although there was an idle timeout that would being you back to the MP3 player) - was really handy for wap/email while listening to music - for some reason they removed this "feature" in later firmware revisions though

so wouldn't be too hopeful it would work on the T610...

BrianG

Faltermyer · 08-12-2003 3:58pm

Nope! Just tried it.

Just brings you out of everything to the main screen and stops the player.

Prob doesnt help that I only got my Firmware updated this morning!

Thanks anyway

flywheel · 08-12-2003 4:54pm

yup - don't know why they removed the feature on the T68i - drove everyone nuts!

was probably never available on the T610... don't worry about having your firmware upgraded

BrianG

Faltermyer · 10-12-2003 9:37pm

I got my 256mb card and the USB reader/writer from Shop4memory.com this morning.

But when I put the 256mb card into the MP3 player, it says "Memory Card Not supported" ??

I put the MP3s on it by dragging and dropping from the hard drive to the MMC drive of the reader/writer.

The card doesnt have a name on it though, just a picture of a Butterfly on it??

@LFCFan - was this the same one you got?? Did you have any problems??

I have Win2K pro on my computer, and have used a pre stored driver for the Reader/Writer.

The Flasher part of the software with the Drive is only for Win 98 - is that the problem maybe? Does the card need to be flashed??
Ive tried formatting it in the usual Windows method as FAT and FAT32 but still no difference(didnt format before using first time- just drag/dropped the files on and tried to use.)

Faltermyer · 10-12-2003 11:34pm

Just to update this:

The paralell port operated Reader/Writer than comes with the MP3 player/card recepticle, also reads and writes to the MMC card fine. But It simply displays "Music Card Not supported" and then "Insert Music Card" ...

Huh??

I like to think I know a little about computers, and also some about phones but im a bit confused here-why would it be compatible with the supplied reader/writer but not the recepticle?

Does anyone know if shop4memory.com operate any returns/exchange service?

LFCFan · 11-12-2003 9:12am

Originally posted by Faltermyer
The card doesnt have a name on it though, just a picture of a Butterfly on it??

@LFCFan - was this the same one you got?? Did you have any problems??

The one I got is Red, yellow and Blue and says Multimedia Association on it. Work perfectly. Dunno about the reader the MP3 player comes with though. It's such an old piece of sh!t that maybe it can't read anything above 32MB.

Faltermyer · 11-12-2003 12:01pm

No, The 256mb card works fine in the supplied Reader/Writer - i.e. the Ericsson Paralell Port operated one.

It just doesnt work in the MP3 Player.

It is the phone that displays those error messages.

T610 MP3 Player

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