What happened to inline remotes for MP3 players?

[sonambulo]

Yes, I'm fully aware of the remote available with the newer apple players.

However, I was thinking something in the vein of the old Minidisc players. You basically got a nice little clip on remote with a screen and actual buttons to navigate your library. Man I loved that thing even though it was connected to a clonky Minidisc player. I couldn't help but reminisce a little after reading about how SONY is discontinuing the Minidisc format how much I loved those little remotes.

The only thing I can seem to find these days are either super tiny MP3 players that almost fit the same form factor or wonky bluetooth setups. Even SONY's flagship Japan only Walkmen need a clunky bluetooth adapter to work with the wireless remotes. Not what I was hoping for, really. So what happened to these little guys? Is there anything close to them on the market now?

 

[gorcorps]

Nope. But I do remember having an iriver h-120 that came with an AWESOME in line remote. The thing had its own screen and everything.

Greatest mp3 player I've ever owned. That thing was beat to hell and back, and to this day it still works. The 20gig hdd is the original it had when I bought it. Can't remember how long ago that was, but it had to be 8 years back or more.

 

[NaOH]

Nope. But I do remember having an iriver h-120 that came with an AWESOME in line remote. The thing had its own screen and everything.

Greatest mp3 player I've ever owned. That thing was beat to hell and back, and to this day it still works. The 20gig hdd is the original it had when I bought it. Can't remember how long ago that was, but it had to be 8 years back or more.

I remember having the newer one of this with the color screen and using the H120 remote since it worked. Pretty sweet deal. The only thing I hated about the thing was it's wack job shuffle algorithm (based off of what song you started playing with) and completely manual song database. Although after spending several days reorganizing my music, I guess it taught me good habits.

 

[gorcorps]

I remember having the newer one of this with the color screen and using the H120 remote since it worked. Pretty sweet deal. The only thing I hated about the thing was it's wack job shuffle algorithm (based off of what song you started playing with) and completely manual song database. Although after spending several days reorganizing my music, I guess it taught me good habits.

Yeah I remember that part with the shuffle... if you started with the same song then it'd be the same "shuffle" every time unless you added or removed tracks. But I never used shuffle so I didn't really notice.

Not sure what you mean by the manual database. I had everything properly tagged and in folders at all times though so I might not have ran into it.

 

[poofyhairguy]

So what happened to these little guys?

iPods and cell phones killed the higher-end portable music device industry which was the exclusive domain of inline remotes.

The cheap mp3 players that still exist in the market can't afford such luxuries and compete.

 

[NaOH]

Yeah I remember that part with the shuffle... if you started with the same song then it'd be the same "shuffle" every time unless you added or removed tracks. But I never used shuffle so I didn't really notice.

Not sure what you mean by the manual database. I had everything properly tagged and in folders at all times though so I might not have ran into it.

Yeah, I used to have all my songs just sitting in one folder until I got the iRiver. I went through all my songs and built a folder structure for them so it'd be organized on my iRiver.

 

[sjwaste]

If you get the current iPod Shuffle, it has a touch screen and is very small. It's basically an in-line remote that also stores the mp3's. Try that out. It's really nice.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

the x5 was a bad ass player, my college roommate had one...would have gotten one myself if i wasn't so broke

the m3 was pretty good too.

 

[sonambulo]

iPods and cell phones killed the higher-end portable music device industry which was the exclusive domain of inline remotes.

The cheap mp3 players that still exist in the market can't afford such luxuries and compete.

Sigh. Such a shame that I abhor i-devices so much.

If you get the current iPod Shuffle, it has a touch screen and is very small. It's basically an in-line remote that also stores the mp3's. Try that out. It's really nice.

Thanks, but no thanks. An Apple man I am not. I currently have an iPod touch 1g (given to me for free) and am less than thrilled with it. I had a Minidisc player during high school and then had nothing at all until someone gave me the iPod. I want something that emulates the Minidisc playback experience as closely as possible and it seems there's nothing quite like it on the market. I would probably pick up another MD player if it wasn't for the whole physical media thing.

The closest thing I found to a solution is the SONY NW-E040. It's tiny, has great battery life and it's even got it's own screen. If it wasn't for the necessity of Sonic Stage it would be pretty much perfect for me. I really, really, really want drag and drop and can't seem to find a way around it. I'm on the fence.

The NW-A857 is super nice (tried out a friend's 855) but I'd have to add a bluetooth adapter and even then the remote I could pair it with wouldn't have a screen. Ho hum.

 

[Oyeve]

iPods and cell phones killed the higher-end portable music device industry which was the exclusive domain of inline remotes.

The cheap mp3 players that still exist in the market can't afford such luxuries and compete.

Up until the 4th gen ipod they had an awesome inline remote. I still have some but they are useless. I used them on my 10gb 3rd gen and my 40gb 3rd or 4th gen. Its a shame they dont have these anymore as I would love the funtionality but not be limited to not being able to use whatever headphones I want.

 

[sonambulo]

Really? Show me? Please?

edit: Ah, the rectangular remote for the regular ipods and ipod videos? Yeah, those were pretty good. No screen tho

 

[Munky]

The latest Cowon players have Bluetooth built in, so you can use a BT headset with controls. I've been using a Jabra BT3030 for listening to music on my smartphone, and never looked back at using wired headphones. Not surprisingly, the iSheep crowd continues waltzing around with white wires hanging all over.

 

[zerocool84]

Sansa Clip+ is small and has a small little OLED screen on it plus a clip like the iPod Shuffle. The sound quality is much better, cheaper, and you can add more memory. The largest size though is only 8GB but like I said, you can add more memory.

 

[MotF Bane]

Sansa Clip+ is small and has a small little OLED screen on it plus a clip like the iPod Shuffle. The sound quality is much better, cheaper, and you can add more memory. The largest size though is only 8GB but like I said, you can add more memory.

Great little player.

t

 

[gorcorps]

The latest Cowon players have Bluetooth built in, so you can use a BT headset with controls. I've been using a Jabra BT3030 for listening to music on my smartphone, and never looked back at using wired headphones. Not surprisingly, the iSheep crowd continues waltzing around with white wires hanging all over.

Nice, what player do you currently have? I'm using the J3 now and it's great. Not using bluetooth headphones though as I have some really nice Phonak PFEs, but I'm pickier than most.

 

[Munky]

Nice, what player do you currently have? I'm using the J3 now and it's great. Not using bluetooth headphones though as I have some really nice Phonak PFEs, but I'm pickier than most.

I play mp3's on my Nokia N8 these days. But looking at the Cowon website, I see some BT-enabled players.

 

[sonambulo]

The latest Cowon players have Bluetooth built in, so you can use a BT headset with controls. I've been using a Jabra BT3030 for listening to music on my smartphone, and never looked back at using wired headphones. Not surprisingly, the iSheep crowd continues waltzing around with white wires hanging all over.

I've thought about going down this road. Do any of the bluetooth remotes have a screen on them though? That thing is the kicker.

Sansa Clip+ is small and has a small little OLED screen on it plus a clip like the iPod Shuffle. The sound quality is much better, cheaper, and you can add more memory. The largest size though is only 8GB but like I said, you can add more memory.

I read up a lot of reviews on it. Seems like it has durability issues? It would pretty much fit the bill otherwise. I work a fairly physical job and if the player can't take a beating it won't last too long.

 

[Anubis]

the x5 was a bad ass player, my college roommate had one...would have gotten one myself if i wasn't so broke


.

i had an X5L Still do and it still works 60gb model . IMO hands down the best traditional MP3 player ever made