What is all this about MP3 USB Keys ?

Hello,

I am new to MP3 players.
You might aswell read my 2 small posts before reading this post to understand it :

1.
"Recommend me your best" - where I ask for people's advice to choose me a gadget (because I don't know what gadget is suitable for my needs) and it mentions what functions I am looking for in that gadget.

2.
"Some-thing strange about MP3 Players/Recorders !!!" - where I ask some basic questions about MP3 Players.


I am going to ask the website these questions but usually it takes 7 days for a website to get back and I can't afford to wait that long as I need to buy one immediately and so I need your brilliant helps.

Anyway, after checking a lot of brands and models I have come across many technical words that I don't understand. I have listed them in BOLD below so please try to explain them to me as much as you can.
I am not expecting anyone to explain every single technical words which I have listed but if anyone does volunteer to do so then GREAT !!!
I am not just simply listing the technical words because if I do that then maybe you too won't understand as some-times different websites list different words (which you have never heard or read before) explaining the same thing. And that is why I have listed the "context" aswell as the links so you can check the "technical information" of each MP3 Player/Recorder on the links yourself to check-out the full contexts of each products's technical descriptions.
Please note that I am not spamming the links because I don't own them and I am not affiliated with them either otherwise I would have listed my referral links.
Please look-out for the BOLD text for those are the words which I do not understand and need help to understand them and look-out for underlined text because those are my questions.
Try to answer as much as you can.

Thank You

MP3 USB KEY

1.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/808...o-tx-512mb.html

CREATIVE USB MP3 MuVo TX 512MB

Functions : Data support
LCD panel : Reversible LCD screen for left/right hand use
Other information : 5 band customized equalizer and 4 preselections (Jazz, Rock, Pop, Classical)

What does data support mean here ? What kind of support ?


2.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/954...256-mb-mp3.html

MEMUP Music Drive I 256 MB MP3 USB 2.0 key

Functions : MP3/WMA player, USB key, dictaphone

dictaphone ? Is this the built-in microphone that I speak into to record my voice ? I wonder upto how far these can record !


3.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/578...-fm-512-us.html

CREATIVE USB MP3 MuVo TX FM 512 USB2 key

Record Function : FM/ vocal recording

Other: Audio anti-shock system

What is "vocal" ? Sorry ! Didn't understand anything about "vocal" from :

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=e...nG=Search&meta=




4.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/699...-black-key.html

INOVIX MP3 USB 256 Mb black key

LCD panel : Backlit LCD screen

What is this "back-lit" ?



5.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/524...-key-256mb.html

CREATIVE MuVo TX FM USB key - 256MB

Functions : Dictaphone, Data support, FM radio and recorder

LCD panel : Reversible LCD screen for right/left handed operations
Compatible with ID3 Tag

What is this ID3 thingy ?



6.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/811...p-10-512mb.html

INOVIX USB key / MP3 iMP-10 - 512MB

Other information : 9 folders, with 99 files in each

What are these 9 folders usually named ? And, I guess the 99 names are 99 music files ?



7.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/595...3-fm-radio.html

INOVIX USB 2.0 key Mp3 FM radio iMP-64 512MB

LCD panel :
LCD 128 x 32 points Dot-Matrix
Type LED backlit (Blue)
ID3 Tag version 2 display: Album, Artist, Title

Display: Audio format, playmode, trach Nr,
battery status, volume control, equalizer, recording status,
lock, USB connection, track remaining time

Other information :
Decoder : 65 MIPS DSP
6-mode equalizer
Recording from FM radio.
Firmware upgradbale via user
Dictaphone.
Compatible with Win Me/XP/2K & Mac OS X
Built in radio

"Lock" ? Lock what ? And "Equalizer" ? Equalize what ?



8.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/855...key-128-mb.html

MSI USB Key MP3 128Mb

Supported formats : MP3 et WMA

WHat is this "et" ?



9.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/412...olution-12.html

TYPHOON USB key MP3 Revolution 128 Mb

Functions :
Lecteur MP3
FM Radio
Dictaphone
Storage Support
Direct Encoding from any audio source

What is this "lecteur MP3" and what is it meant by "directly ENCODING" ?



10.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/806...-ilyn-512m.html

NEONUMERIC USB key MP3 Neo-Ilyn 512MB

Record Function : FM radio encoder, direct encoder, dictaphone



11.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/396...-key-256mo.html

ISM TECHNOLOGIE I-Bead Ice USB key 256Mo + Charger

Functions : MP3 player/USB key/Memory support/ Encodable FM tuner/Dictating machine function



12.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/808...ic-mpm-s11.html

TWINMOS USB Mobile Music MPM S11 256MB

Other information : Auto-reply, 5 mode equalizer



13.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/491...-256mb-key.html

LIVE MUSIC USB MP3 256Mb key

Included accessories :
PC softwares
Carrycase
Silver round the neck strap
USB extension
Encoding cable
Stereo earphones
AAA alcaline battery
Manual in french



14.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/441....html?itag=3906

IRIVER Player MP3 iFP-180T

Record Function :
Yes
Radio and dictaphone encoding

Does this mean the MP3 Player can also record music played in it's internal radio ?



MP3 WITH INTERNAL MEMORY

15.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/850...safa-lcd-5.html

NEONUMERIC MP3 Player Neo Safa LCD 512 Mb

Record Function : Direct recording (FM, audio source, microphone)

Multimedia Functions : FM radio (20 presets) E-book, PC net PC, data storage, memo functions, digital image album, games

Advanced Functions : variable EQ, 3D stereo sound, slow and fast play, CD-Sync and VOR

What has "ebook" got to do with any of this ?



16.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/924...mp3-player.html

SAMSUNG YP-T6X 512 MB MP3 Player

Record Function : Dictaphone and MP3 converter

Multimedia Functions : 7 curve equaliser, adjustable with SRS WOW External hard drive



17.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/776...-100-black.html

OREGON MP3 Player MP 100 black

Removable Memory : No

InterFace : USB 2.0 for rapid file transfer (USB Flash Drive)

I thought that all I have to do to download music files from my pc to my MP3 Player or upload music from my MP3 Player to my PC is to hook-up them both with a USB cable so what does a remove-able medi "flash card" got to do with any of this ?



18.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/102...b-fm-mp3-p.html

MEMUP KoolSteel 256 MB FM MP3 player

Multimedia Functions :
Direct encryption from external sources
Use as infrared remote control
Spectrum anlysis
Playlist navigation
Games
ID3 tag display

Other :
Retractable USB connecter
DRM 100 compatible
Lithium-Ion Polymer battery: 30 hour battery life



19.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/595...4mb-player.html

INOVIX MP3 IMP-33B 1024Mb player

Other :
Firmware upgradable via the user, 6-mode equalizer, playmodes (Normal, Repeat one, Repeat all, Shuffle, Repeat S),
decoder : 75 MIPS DSP STMP3501
Recording : Vocal ADPCM recording format, encoding in MP3 format (FM recording), recording via integrated

recording via integrated ? Don't understand this atall.

Man, that's a big post...

Okay, let's see if I can illuminate you a little.

Organic EL screen - EL means "Electro Luminescent... this term is generally reduced to OLE, it refers to a type of display... OLEs are gaining in popularity because they are cheaper to make and generally brighter than traditional LCD displays, as well as providing a wider field of view for the user.

Data support - Simply means that you can store data on this player so you can trnaport it between machines. Think of it as .mp3 player/thumb drive.

5 band customized equalizer and 4 preselections (Jazz, Rock, Pop, Classical) This particular unit has a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) that switches between different sound profiles (Rock, for instance, intensifies the bass output of the audio).

dictaphone you can record your voice (dictate) for playback later.

FM/ vocal recording This unit can record both the FM radio and it will take dictation.

Audio anti-shock system no idea why they make this statement... with only 512Mb onboard, I'm thinking this is a solid-state device and therefore no shock-prone.

Backlit LCD screen - this means that you will be able to see the display in nearly any light condition, including total darkness. If you are looking for this as a feature, you would be better off if you can selectively turn the backlight of when not necessary so as to conserve battery life.

Compatible with ID3 Tag it will read the ID3 tags associated with your mp3... additional information about the song, artist, etc. that may have been added when it was ripped.

9 folders I would hope that you would be able to name these as you wish.

Dot-Matrix Type LED backlit (Blue) The characters displayed are made up of little dots and the display is blue

lock prevents you from changing modes or anything through casual touching of the unit-- if you are jogging or hnadle the unit a lot while listening, then the lock will disable the buttons (except the lock switch itself, of course) so you won't accidentally skip to the next song or hit shuffle or whatever.

MP3 et WMA "et" means "and" in either Spanish or French... I'm too lazy to babelfish the exact language at the moment.

Lecteur MP3 this is French for mp3 playback.

Direct Encoding from any audio source this unit will record from anything-- I would hope this means that you can plug it into the headphone jack of another device and record the music or whatever out of it... no need for computer.

FM radio encoder, direct encoder it can record the FM radio or plug into another audio device-- see above

E-book the display is good enough to read regular text off of, so you could save a book or two in electronic format and do some reading. If you could listen to music and read at the same time, that would be teh coolness. This thing is more like a PDA than a mp3 player... do you need all this functionality?

USB 2.0 for rapid file transfer (USB Flash Drive) this item plugs into the computer and downloads the files just like a flash drive does... no drivers or additional software required to be loaded onto the computer.

recording via integrated I think this is another way of saying direct recording... not 100% certain, though.

Now don't go knocking removable media...while it is nice to have a good chunk of internal memory, the devices you cited here range from 128-512Mb and you can get removable media up to 1Gb, which is twice what any of these players will carry onboard.

Additionally, you can load up a couple removable memory cards with different kinds/styles of music and be able to switch without needing to go back to the computer and download again... and with 512Mb memory cards you're almost at the storage level of a CD.

I would examine the needs that you have and determine the priorities of each. you may have to compromise between utility and price.

I recommend getting a device that can handle wma format because you can get nearly twice the music into a device that way.

If price is not a problem, then you might want to look into some of the nicer PDA's that have audio functionalities... it's all dependant on what you want/need out of this device.