mp4, anyone?

Move over, iPod, the new face of portable audio/video players has arrived.

Yet to be available in the market, the new mp4 player has a wide range of features partnered with a very affordable price.

So what exactly is an mp4 player? Is it any different than a regular mp3 player? Yes, the mp4 player is very much different than a regular mp3 player. It supports a wide range of file formats and has a plethora of features - definitely much more than your regular mp3 player. How come?

An mp4 (MPEG-4), I borrow the definition from wikipedia, is a file format owned by the Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) which allows multiplexing of multiple video and audio streams in one file, variable frame and bit rates, subtitles and still images. Although not as widely used as mp3s (MPEG Audio Layer 3), mp4s are of higher quality and can store media types defined by MPEG and other media types as well. Simply put, compared to an mp3 file, which is only an audio file, an mp4 file can be a video file with subtitles, an audio file, or a picture file. It is like adding another layer to the mp3 file - that layer, being the so-called "video layer". Therefore, to have an mp4 file is to have a DVD quality movie compressed to fit in a CD-R or a CD quality song streamed into your mobile phone while traveling. Sounds too good to be true? Well, kinda.

That's why we now have the mp4 player. To revolutionize the media playing industry. Who says you can't watch a DVD movie while waiting in line for enrollment?

Not bigger than your palm, the mp4 player has a full color LCD where you can watch your videos, select your music files, view your pictures, or read your Harry Potter 6 eBook. Put side by side to an iPod shuffle which does not have an LCD, plays only audio files, and costs about Php6,000 (512Mb), hey, the mp4 player which only costs Php4,000 for a 512 is definitely a better buy, if not the best. The mp4 player also has a touch screen to navigate easily and pleasantly through the menu and through your files. It has an FM radio player, a voice recorder, and a phonebook; it comes in silver, black, blue and red and with capacities of 128Mb, 256Mb, 512Mb, and 1G – all with dual audio output. It can be connected to your PC through a USB cable connector for file transfer and for charging; and it also comes with an adaptor (also for charging), earphones, a CD containing software which may be used to convert files to .mp4, and a user manual just in case you get lost in playing your files.

Very small and lightweight, who would've guessed it can do so much?