Category: accessible Devices
Unless you think the Coby brand of electronics is nothing but cheap junk, you might want to check out their line of mp3 players, as hey avhe lots of them. I went to an FYE store earlier in the month and got a 512-meg stick mp3 player for all of 20 dollars and it's extremely easy to use since there are no menus to deal with. There's no voice recorder, FM radio, or any frills like equalizer presets, but it'll successfully play your mp3 or wma files. It doubles as a general file storage device so you can use it to transfer files from one computer to another if you like. This is the MP-C853. Their 1 gig version is the MP-C883, but you may ahve to search for that one. Also, I've just ordered a clip-style player. It's a 1 gig model and it's the MP-C582. This one comes in different colors. I got the black one, but it also comes in blue, red, pink, and perhaps one other color but I'm not sure. Seems to be similar to the player above far as features go, so it's a storage device and an mp3 and wma player. Comes with professional stereo headphones according to the description. The other litle player I talked about comes with ear buds, but they're not horrible ear buds. Both of these players seem to be plug and play, so once you plug them into your USB port, your computer should see it as a new drive. The players run on standard batteries. I know the MP-C853 takes 1 AAA battery, but not sure what the clip player takes.
cool! how_/where can u get them?
In this case, Google is your friend unless you are against shopping on-line. The brand makes so many things and is distributed so widely that putting a list of stores here wouldn't be practical. Start with a local F.Y.E. store, that's where I got mine. Check any drugstores and other stores that might sell small electronics, too.
I stumbled across this old thread while looking for information on the variou screenless players out there. Has this brand made any newer screenless players that can hold more music? If so, what are the models?
One of my first mp3 players was a Coby. It had a screen, but also buttons, so wasn't that hard to navigate. They have a fairly descriptive website that you could check out. Or, you could also try Tech republic it's at www.Cnet.com. It has excellent reviews and descriptions of mp3 players.
Excellent! I'd like a nice simple one without menus and the like. I like just plugging it into my computer, pasting the folders in and going.
I have a Sansa one that isn't that difficult to navigate. I just keep it on shuffle, and I primarily use that feature plus the FM radio. I haven't made any playlists yet. As far as I know, I don't think they make the MuVo any longer. But maybe you could check Creative's website. I noticed in another thread, you wanted to know how to change the battery in one. Could you just buy a new player? Sounds like that's what you're wanting to do anyway, from your previous post. I know Sansa used to make a couple screenless players, but I'm not sure if they still do. I'm gearing myself to buy an IPhone for my next cell upgrade. I'll still probably keep an mp3 player though.
Since I made the original post a few years ago, I'm not even sure Coby makes screenless players anymore, or if they make any that take a standard replaceable battery. Creative used to make the Zen Stone, which is also screenless and had wonderful battery life even though it's an internal rechargable one. It's been a few years though since it was discontinued.
I don't care if it's brand new, so long as it holds a minimum of 2gb (4gb would be even better), is simple and doesn't have any inaccessible features. The Zenstone really is wonderful as is the Muvo T100. I like interfaces like that.
Talking MP3 Playerscom (think it is www.talkingmp3players.com, or wwwtalkingmp3player.com", either way you can see ads from them through www.blindbargains.com.
These guys use RockBox to make Sansa mp3 players accessible, 4gb for $69, 8gb for $89.
You can get the Sansa for cheaper and attempt to install RockBox yourself, it is not that complicated.
It would need to be able to handle Greek for my purposes. Also, as I've said in the other thread, I need to be able to just copy/paste in my folders because many songs just have track numbers and some translated strangely so are jibberish. So a talking player could help me with some songs, the ones with English letters and actual titles, and of course, the Greek ones if it can handle the language, but not others.
You won't find an mp3 player that can handle multiple languages, things just do not work that way.
If you do, RockBox is your best chance, combined with eSpeak.
I doubt you can even find a computer that handles multi languages very well. If you want this degree of sophistication you need a Symbian phone with separate licenses of MobileSpeak for English and Greek (and you have to pay for them separately, the Greek license is likely to cost considerably more than the English one).
I doubt that anyone will bother porting eSpeak to a cheap mp3 player. I use English to read Icelandic titles and folders all the time, and it is no problem once you get used to it.
RockBox allows for drag and drop, copy and paste from Windows.
I'm not sure why you said that computers can't handle multi languages. I have NVDA set to Greek all the time and am always switching between that and English with ease. Icelandic probably uses the Latin alphabet, which Greek normally does not. So while it can read the titles written in Greeklish, it won't be able to read the full Greek ones. This is why I want a simple player, without menus etc., like the Zen Stone, the Muvo T100, or whatever else is similar..
The victor reader stream is soon to support Greek and English. However, this is not your normal mp3 player. I'm pretty sure you don't want one of these.
Me too. I'm sure it's quite expensive. Still, I'm truly glad that Greek will be supported soon.
Yes. I have put in a suggestion to humanware because you're always asking about Greek things and vocalizer has the capability to speak Greek, as demonstrated by the IOS devices. On that note, the IPod shuffle (I think) allows you to copy and paste files on to it. However, I'm going on my 2004 model, as well as something a friend told me. By the way, the 2004 one broke. I now use it as a strange-looking flash drive. However, I did get like three years out of it before the cheap device broke. It was very accessible, and apple has improved the design since six years ago. I now use a book sense, but this has no capability to speak Greek, in any way, shape, or form. Actually, I'll have to ask HIMS about that...
Generally there is a cost associated with installing a new language on a device like VR Stream, cost is up to $10000, depending on language, and this is even if the same family of TTS engines is already running on the device. This depends, of course, on the O.S. used and other factors, but asking for a language is no guarantee it will be installed, there are costs and there has to be either up front payment or potential market.
And I am lost as to see why RockBox with English reading Greek is less accessible than a player that reads nothing.
iPod Shuffle requires iTunes, unless you jailbreak it somehow or use other apps, which cost $30 or so, I've seen a few.
Sansa still your best option, 8gb for $80. RockBox might possibly be able to run eSpeak with different languages.
A synthesizer that is incapable of reading the Greek alphabet simply cannot read it as English. If I write like this: "geia sou. Ti kaneis?" It can. But if I write "γεια σου. Τι κάνεις;" it can't handle it. "Το όνομά μου είναι Ελένη." Let me know if it read that last as strange sounding English or as a bunch of question marks. I'm sure it did the latter. I suppose $80 for 8gb is okay but it is still more than I was intending on spending, just to hear my music.
Lots of question marks with JAWS, although it did pick up the mu character. I've actually linked some Greek letters into my dictionary for math and science, however. Alpha, beta, and gamma for radiation, theta for trigonometry, delta for general science, you get the drill.
Yes. But it probably couldn't read the words properly, just the letters, and with the wrong pronunciation no less. For example the Gree p would be said as pie, taf as tao. This is ancient and is very confusing.