From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (August 2007)

Apple iPod nano (third-generation), a best-selling flash-based player

An embedded hard drive-based player (Creative ZEN Vision:M)

An MP3 CD player (Philips Expanium)

This introduction does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

More commonly referred to as an MP3 player, a digital audio player ("DAP") is a portable handheld electronic device that stores, organizes and plays audio files. Some DAPs are also referred as portable media players as they have image-viewing and/or video-playing support. Most DAPs are powered by rechargeable batteries, some of which are not user replaceable. Listening to music stored on DAPs is typically through earphones connected with a 3.5 mm jack. Internal speakers and docking stations are also available.

Digital audio players are generally categorized by storage media:

• Flash-based Players – These are non mechanical solid state devices that hold digital audio files on internal flash memory or removable flash media called memory cards. Due to technological advancements in flash memory, these originally low-storage devices are now available commercially ranging up to 16 GB. Because they are solid state and do not have moving parts they require less battery power and may be more resilient to hazards such as dropping or fragmentation than hard disk-based players. Basic MP3 player functions are commonly integrated into USB flash drives.

• Hard drive-based Players or Digital Jukeboxes – Devices that read digital audio files from a hard disk drive (HDD). These players have higher capacities currently ranging up to 160 GB. At typical encoding rates, this means that thousands of songs – perhaps an entire music collection – can be stored on one player. Because of the storage capacity, devices that also display video and pictures are often hard disk drive based. Such multi-media devices are usually called portable media players (PMPs).

• MP3 CD Players – Portable CD players that can decode and play MP3 audio files stored on CDs.

The predecessors to digital audio players are portable CD and MiniDisc players, which are commonly known as "Portable Audio Devices". Although the data is digitally stored on discs, neither one is able to support digital file formats.

The first mass-produced DAP was created in 1997 by SaeHan Information Systems, which domestically sold its “MPMan” player in the middle of 1998.^[1] The South Korean company then licensed the players to Eiger Labs which distributed them - now branded as Eiger Labs MPMan F10 - to the North American market during the summer of 1998.^[2] The flash-based players were available in 32 MB storage capacity.

The Rio PMP300 from Diamond Multimedia was introduced in September 1998, a few months after the MPMan. It was a success during the holiday season, with sales exceeding expectations.^[3] Interest and investment in digital music were subsequently spurred from it.^[4] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) soon filed a lawsuit,^[5] alleging that the device encouraged copying music illegally, but Diamond won a legal victory on the shoulders of the Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios case and DAPs were legally ruled as electronic devices.^[6] Because of the player's notoriety as the target of a major lawsuit, the Rio is erroneously assumed to be the first DAP.^[7]

In 1998, Compaq made the first hard drive based DAP using a 2.5" laptop drive. It was licensed to HanGo Electronics (now known as Remote Solution), which first sold the PJB-100 (Personal Jukebox) in 1999. The player had an initial capacity of 4.8 GB, which was advertised to be able to hold 1200 songs.^[8]

In October 2001, Apple Computer (now known as Apple Inc.) unveiled the first generation iPod, the 5 GB hard drive based DAP with a 1.8" Toshiba laptop drive. Having focused on developing an intuitive user interface, the smaller form factor and industrial design made the player notable within users of the Macintosh community. In July 2002, Apple introduced the second generation update to the iPod. It was compatible with Windows computers through Musicmatch Jukebox (now known as Y!Music Musicmatch Jukebox). The iPod series, which grew to include microdrive and flash-based players, has become the market leader in DAPs.

In 2002, Archos released the first official PMP, the Archos Jukebox Multimedia.^[9] Manufacturers have since implemented abilities to view images and play videos into their devices.

Although online music services such as RealNetworks’ Rhapsody offered legal downloads through a subscription plan, the launch of the iTunes Store in 2003 established the model of selling individual songs for purchase.

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

As digital audio players have spread, new uses have been found for them. This includes podcasting, in which radio-like programs, or even TV-like video feeds, are automatically uploaded to the device to be played at the user's convenience. Most DAPs are included built-in FM tuners and/or microphones.

Some modern digital audio players are technically portable media players, as they support video playback.

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

All commercially available digital audio players can play music that has been ripped from Compact Discs via computer. In addition to ripped CD tracks, many digital audio players can accept downloaded music from online music stores. However, such stores often use proprietary formats and DRM, which means that the tracks can only be played on suitably licensed and restricted devices. For example, songs you purchase from iTunes might not work on any digital audio player other than an iPod.

There are also music online communities such as GarageBand.com where music is available at no cost under Creative Commons licenses.

Another way of getting audio files is to rip the songs from radio broadcasts. Many players have the ability to record songs played on the built-in FM tuner. Recently, a Swedish company called PopCatcher has developed a technology to save songs from Internet radio and can distinguish between songs, DJ talks, and commercials for convenience.

MP3 is the dominant format, and is nearly universally supported.^[10] The main alternative formats are AAC, supported on players from Apple, ATRAC, on players from Sony, and WMA, on players from Microsoft and partners. Unlike MP3, these formats support DRM restrictions, which are often added to files from paid download services. Open source formats which are completely patent-free are available but less widely supported – examples include Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Speex, and Module file formats.

Further information: iTunes Store, and Digital Rights Management

While not controversial in and of themselves, issues related to digital audio players, including but not limited to content distribution and content protection (DRM), are matters of continuing controversy and litigation.

• Comparison of portable media players
• Internet radio device
• Podcast
• Portable media player
• Media Transfer Protocol
• USB mass storage device class

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Digital audio players

• Collecting MP3 Portables – Part I, Part II and Part III - Richard Menta's three-part article covers the first digital audio players on the market with pictures of each player.