MP3onChannel Review

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Today on DevHardware we're taking a look at MP3onChannel, a device to allow you to play MP3s from your USB key storage in your car through something they almost all have in common, FM Radio. Is this a cheap way to add huge playlists to your car? Let's find out.

Back in the day of cassette decks, it was stupidly easy to be your own DJ. I have mountains of tapes compiled from various other tapes, radio, and CDs. I even figured out how to pull a the audio from a movie onto a tape. Quality usually wasn't all that fantastic, but neither were the speakers in my vehicle. Besides, my singing was louder than the soundtrack.

But then came the CD player in the car. Suddenly, quality was available. The problem? Back then, no one had burners. Or if you did, it was like my 2X one that took forever to accomplish anything, and half the time turned out a coaster for your effort. So the tape deck in cars wasn't immediately replaced. That, and I'm cheap. I wasn't about to pay to put a CD deck into my trash transportation. Instead, I got an adapter for my Sony Discman that allowed me to pipe those discs into the tape deck I already had. Genius!

After university, I got a new set of wheels. My Mazda3 though, didn't have a tape deck, it has a straight single shot CD. Which is great... except for the fact that I have been using my iPAQ for a few years now, with that connected to the same old tape adapter. I've grown accustomed to having playlists that go on for hours, without having to swap discs while traveling the highways.

A potential solution? Replace the iPAQ and its Compact Flash card with a USB key, and hook that into an FM transceiver. That's the genius coming out again in someone, make use of an available tool to use another format. "Great," I thought, "I'll just transfer all my music to that bad boy, and do my 8 hour trip without having to take my eyes off the road once to change CDs."

Next: How does it work? >>
 

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