zire 31 and mp3s

[clumzy]

Hi there, I apoligize for the stupid question. I've tried to search for this but I can't seem to find anything relevant.

I just picked up a Zire 31 with the colour screen and supposedly an mp3 player. In all the documentation it talks about needing an "mp3 expansion unit". Is it just talking about any old SD card to hold the mp3s? there's not some special "mp3" card is there?

[jjesusfreak01]

I just looked it up, and the Zire 31 only requires an expansion (SD) card, and the RealOne media player available for free from here (http://www.realnetworks.com/industries/mobile/operators/products/player/palm/).

[clumzy]

hey jjesusfreak01, thx for the quick reply, awesome news! BTW, must I use RealOne player? Are there other popular players out there? I see from another thread someone recommends "mmplayer"?

[jjesusfreak01]

The realplayer is free, and it only works on Palm handhelds. It can play mp3 and realaudio files. MMPlayer's newest version is a media player for all types of files. Since the Zire 31 has a 200mhz processor, and a lowres screen, I could imagine it would be able to play most video files formatted for that screen size. This player is more useful on highres powerful handhelds like the TC, the T3, or the T5. If you want a full featured audio player, Pocket Tunes lets you organize tunes into categories, and albums, and provides an equalizer to alter the output. If you buy the deluxe version, you can also play WMA files. Of all these, the Real player is the only one which you can use for free.

Edit: MP3 and WMA players usually have a hefty price, as the codecs must be licensed for use. I believe Palm has an agreement with Real to do this, and you might notice that only Palm brand handhelds can use the Real player. The Sony Clie line of handhelds has a built-in MP3 player, and so i'm not searching for something else. I would try out the free app first, and if you are not satisfied, and you just want a no-nonsense mp3 player, look into pockettunes. If you want a multimedia player, look into MMPlayer, though your handheld is not optimal for this purpose.

If you have just bought your handheld, you will probably run into internal limitations for memory pretty quick. You will probably notice that card apps can only be in the card folder, but there are freeware apps that let you fix this problem. If this is not enough personalization for your handheld, I would recommend a launcher program, such as ZLauncher (http://www.zztechs.com). They let you organize your apps into categories in many different ways, and also let you change the look and feel of the user interface. ZLauncher, in particular, lets you set shortcuts of your apps, to have them in multiple categories, and also lets you make shortcuts of apps on the expansion card, so that they can be launched from anywhere on the card.

[clumzy]

Thx again for the information, can't wait to get it working :)