Do you use Headphones and/or speakers ???

[tianli]

My TX arrives today or tomorrow and I have yet to test it but another TX owner reports an audible hiss (and I plan to give them some reply). I have a range of headphones that include canal (Sennheiser, deep in ear, expensive, hate using them and don't) , in ear (nothing special), on ear (KOSS PORtapro, my favourite) and a set of iTech bluetooth (blueant a2DP) stereo headphones. The A2DP is a recent feature of most cell phones and is the means to transport a stereo signal to a bluetooth device. I have been using mine with a Motorola V3x and putting my chinese audio onto micro-SD. Not having cables at my desk and in stereo is a big deal to me so I am pretty keen to get them working on the TX.
Unlike the Treos (not sure if it is all of them), Palm PDAs do not have A2DP capacity but it can be added as a software utility from http://www.softick.com/bluetooth-audio/ for US$20 There is a download link that does not ask for the $20 and I have already dloaded it but suspect there will be some kind of restriction. ....Will return to this topic after the TX arrives.

For speaker support I think that I am going to need a cradle but suspect there is a socket on the charge/sync cable. I have got a set of 5.1 Logitechs that I will also be keen to have going ...sometime I find and especially if I am tired. that a belting of loud music :shock: while I am studying gives a few more miles.

I doubt it but hope there is a Fast Forward function in the player so that I can whizz through an .mp3 ...otherwise I will have to edit my mp3 into smaller files so that I am not re-listening to the beginings when all I want is the end.

 

[ipsi]

In order to play audio, you'll need to install the Pocket Tunes software that comes with your TX, otherwise nothing will happen. And there is a fastforward option for the MP3 player. Possibly not one you can access from outside P-Tunes, but there is one. And a visual progress bar. .

 

[Aunty]

OK, this might not suit you but after trying all the whizzy bangy things I've gone very down market low tech with my TX audio which I use constantly for playing podcast lessons.

Headphones:
They don't last for me. I think the wires weaken from overuse and I get only one ear. I worked out it doesn't matter much how expensive they are, so I go to one of those $2 junk shops, where I can get a nice slim light weight standard style set of headphones for $2 or $3. I buy several at once. Throw them on the floor or in the backpack with the books, oops, doesn't mater, plenty more. And the damn things last and last! Recently I've been forking out $8 at the same shop to get the new deluxe model, with thick padded ear things, and a longer cable with a woven type cover. Very nice for listening in comfort or in noisy places where carrying size is not an issue. I have headphones hanging ready at my desk at work and at home, and a spare set in each handbag. All for the price of an expensive set that I'd disintegrate within a couple of days. But that might not match your own priorities.

Speakers: -

Internal:
You know, like most Palms the TX has a little built in speaker. It sounds exactly as you would expect that type of speaker to sound, but there's lots of times when it's really handy, like when you forgot your headphones or want to find something quickly.

External:
Grab any set of small PC speakers, again look for $3 sets at your local $2 shop, and just plug them in to the TX and play your stuff. You want really good quality? Hahaha, then you'll play more than $3 and have less convenience. Go for it. Just make sure they have that standard small plug, and you can use anything. You don't need the ones with batteries in them, either, because you can boost it from the PDA.

Car:
Well I tried all those fancy gadgets that play through the FM radio. Yeah, they work, but consider what you have to do every morning to set the thing up before your drive to work. Too much trouble. So I got another set of PC speakers, the smallest I could find (another whopping $3, but I got the same thing for $1 at a garage sale), and put them on a non-slip mat on my dash board, they just sit there at the bottom of the windscreen. So now it's jump in the car, one hand grabs the keys and the other grabs the PDA, keys in ignition, speaker plug in the PDA, and we're off! Remember, we're not listening to a Chopin recital for a special occasion, it's recorded speech playing several times per day, and really, this is all you need. Boost up those decibels on the PDA to drown out traffic noise. Try it and decide.

Bathroom/laundry:
Yes I listen to my lessons in the shower and when washing clothes. In each place I have a cheap small set of speakers on a shelf, and a safe place to put the PDA and cover it with a small cloth to ward off humidity. So you can see how I can go through the day just plugging in whereever I am, using the speakers or headphones that live at that location. Almost forgot, bedside speakers, a bit fancier for luxury late night lessons and PDA wakeup calls. For novel locations, there's always the built in speaker, which can serve a bit like a headphone when pressed to the ear e.g. in a train, or on the pillow.

Don't make life more complicated than it has to be until you've at least tried the simple cheap ways. Constant companions shouldn't be too precious to use.

 

[tianli]

Aunty ....when I win Lotto, I am going to buy you a big & nasty stereo ....maybe even a native speaker so that you can talk to him in the shower. ....I love the sound of your place.

(said in a high pitched Southern accent ...apologies if you have a high pitched Southern accent) "......what you need girl, is some funk'n beats Girl, you hear what I'm sayin" "...you Go Girl"

 

[tianli]

pocket tunes (supplied with TX) has a skin that is ideal for language study with additional buttons for + / - presets ...is called High Fidelity Jump and can be found at http://www.pocket-tunes.com/skins/index.php?id=65 ...cannot imagine anyone not finding it useful for the likes of Chinese pod or any audio lessons.

The bluetooth headphones (iTech Blueant Bluetooth Headphones) I found on ebay, give a stunning sound ...even better than my wired versions of assorted headphones. I did not expect that wireless could be better than cable but there you go. Because there is no cable, I can sit at my desk without tangle and even play background music while running Pleco. The headphones go around the back of the head rather than over the top, are light and can be worn for hours without discomfort.

Not sure how Aunty would go with them in the shower ...maybe I could test out some hats

 

[Aunty]

Haha, perhaps not right under the shower, but you've given me another idea. If I could replace all those little plug-in speakers in each room with bluetooth speakers, then the sound would follow me around the house!

Thanks for the info about the skin. I've never looked at skins, thinking they were purely decorative and not functional.

These days I play all my mp3s and movies using TCPMP. It lets me skip back (or forwards) by 5 seconds (configurable) which is just right for repeating something you didn't quite catch, or for transcribing. It works like that when you have only one file selected to play. Unfortunately when there's more, the same button (left on the five-way button) takes you back to the start of the file and then to the previous one and so on.