[slay]

so what are the chances of the 7100t ever being able to download mp3's and play them from my gnump3d site?

I have a web site that streams all my own mp3's. It would be cool to be able to stream them to my blackberry and use the headphone port or something to listen. The speakerphone would be awful but the headphone might be ok.

??

[bfrye]

slim, very slim I'd say...

[TMPhoneBerry]

Originally Posted by slay

so what are the chances of the 7100t ever being able to download mp3's and play them from my gnump3d site?

I have a web site that streams all my own mp3's. It would be cool to be able to stream them to my blackberry and use the headphone port or something to listen. The speakerphone would be awful but the headphone might be ok.

??

There are no mp3 players developed for BBs as of today

[bfrye]

I wouldn't think it would be a problem of developing the player (though the audio hardware might not be up to par), but space limitations. On a 16Mb device, I have about 4-5Mb free after everything is loaded just for work. Not including texas holdem, verichat, idokorro, etc...

4-5Mb might hold 2-3 MP3's... If you have a 32Mb device (which I don't see a lot of companies investing in because of the bluetooth security vulnerabilities), you might be able to store 5-7 songs before running out of memory.

[slay]

I know about the space limitations. It would not work in that case.

I was wondering about using the browser and streaming. I run my own streaming server.

Do you think the network bandwidth would be able to handle streaming? How fast can a BB download?.

--

[bfrye]

Originally Posted by slay

I know about the space limitations. It would not work in that case.

I was wondering about using the browser and streaming. I run my own streaming server.

Do you think the network bandwidth would be able to handle streaming? How fast can a BB download?.

--

Again another issue. Seems that GPRS networks are about as fast as a snail on a good day. Best speeds equal that of your average dialup modem.

[headtailgrep]

GPRS can easily stream mp3/ogg provided the bitrate is very low -- transmission of low quality audio streams (such as radio) IS possible over GPRS modems.. i have done it and i know people that do it all the time on their laptops.

the problem is: is the blackberry fast enough to decode streams like this in real time?

[slay]

good question.

how fast the processor in the BB.

where can you get hardware specs on the BB?

--

[anhloc]

A GPRS BB theoretically can download at ~110Kbits/second, real world average around 40-50Kbits. Unless you're encoding at 32Kbps or 48Kbps, don't bother.

Get an iPod.

[Lee]

There is a lot going on in this space that you guys might want to keep up on. With the development of aacPlus (mp4) format the wireless industry is doing backflips. The reason is they can now provide Near CD quality at 32k and certainly FM quality at much lower bandwidth.

If you look at the recent reports put out by Arbron and others, wireless internet stream is coming into its own and the audience numbers are projected to dwarf both XM and traditional radio combined.

While I did not buy my BB as a multimedia device I have to say that in my opinion this is one of those "killer applications" and if BB doesn't support ability in the future it would be the only reason I have seen so far to move away from my BB.

Don't forget that the wireless industry is not interested in phones, they are interested in selling razorblades. So they could careless if it's a BB or a Nokia. It's all about services. The devices that support the services that generate revenue is what gets supported on their network.

Lee

[NJBlackBerry]

And none of this really increases the very slim chance of every having an MP3 player on a BlackBerry. Just what the corporate and government customers want.

[Lee]

NJ its not about having an mp3 player on the blackberry. I think you might be missing the point.

Streaming audio is just another data type. I never suggested that users store mp3 files on their BB. I saying that the value of the BB is its communications ability. Being able to provide audio content to your employees is/will become simply a more effective tool for distributing information.

It doesn't matter whether its voice mail, corporate meetings or music, the ability to delivery multimedia to mobile users will become a requirement regardless of whether Rim supports it or not.

[NJBlackBerry]

No, I got the point. Stick to the knitting. Superb e-mail. That's what has won the race so far. Everything else is extraneous to the 800 people we support... Sorry. Just my opinion.

[bfrye]

I'm with NJ on this one. I have yet to have any of our users ask about how to get any time of multimedia data to or from the device.

[DoomBringer]

You'd have to make the MP3 streaming app yourself.

[Lee]

Come on you guys are either goofing on me or you are looking at your shoes, you need to lift your head up and try not to be so tactical. This is starting to sound like the first person someone tried to explain the telephone to and they said "why would anyone want that".

Ten years ago (or even less) people weren't even asking for email and now it is a requirement and it also has to be mobile. Try to remember that people don't ask for or care about technology. What they need and want are solutions to solving problems.

If you step back and look at how our industry and society has changed you will realize that how content is presented has become just as important as the raw information itself. We have gone from green tubes of text to flat panel integrated multimedia content displays. If we follow some of the logic being expressed then why do we need color Blackberry's ? It's just email right ?

For example just look at the problem I am having conveying the meaning of my post using only text. With all due respect the last 3 responses were focused on implementation and I am taking about strategic directions and industry trends.

I am trying to convey a trend in our industry that WILL happen and this has nothing to do with whether you are asking for it or not. I am not telling you that you will be forced to use it and this is not about my needs or my desire to write a streaming app.

Fact:
Mobile users want the same kind of access to the same kind of data they are use to getting on their desktop. Of course there are compromises in bandwidth, displays etc. But those variables are changing everyday.

Support for mobile multiple media types (including audio/video) will become a requirement in the future. You can agree or disagree but that doesn't change the fact that this is already starting to happen.

There is no doubt in my mind that RIM is already working on this technology. They are not stupid and besides if they don't they will go the way of a 1000 other companies who became irrelevant.

Lee

[corey@12mile]

Maybe a 7270 would have the bandwidth to stream...

Let's all keep in mind that it's not personal users, not small companies with a few hundred handhelds that RIM caters to... It's people like the US Gov't, CN Rail, etc who have thousands of users that RIM caters to...

The Blackberry is a *business* device. Other than using one as an MP3 voice recorder/playback there is no reason whatsoever for a business user to need to listen to music...

Would your work buy you an mp3 player as a business need?

cd.

[Dawg]

I am with the nay sayers on this. I dont want or need a mp3 player on my BB. It is a business tool that I just happen to get personal email on. As far as anything else goes its just fluff. So I am sorry I dont see it coming.

[Lee]

Wow I feel like I am in a twilight zone episode.

It's people like the US Gov't, CN Rail, etc who have thousands of users that RIM caters to...

Oh really. So the US intelligent services, Marshalls, FBI, DEA have no need to share any thing other than text ?

Your generalization of the needs of the US Gov. is very narrow. We hold a number large government contracts and our clients can be extremely demanding. Also they watch the commercial sector very closely and are constantly looking to stay on par with the solutions being provided to main stream businesses.

I dont want or need a mp3 player on my BB. It is a business tool that I just happen to get personal email on.

Has anyone actually read my comments ? I never said the the BB should become a mp3 player. What I tried to convey was the BB is a communications device and AUDIO WILL be just another data type that will be supported.

The delivery of highly compressed aacPlus encoded audio to mobile devices is a fact. This codec is beginning to become embedded in every mobile device on the planet. I predict in the next two years you will not be able to buy a phone, PDA or BB that doesn't support audio data format.

How mobile audio is used is a completely different topic and you guys are making a category mistake. Yes the delivery of mobile audio can be used for entertainment BUT it also has Pure Business applications as well.

I say this with as much sincerty I can convey via text. I genuinely respect the expertise and experience of everyone who as commented but the problem with the perspectives being shared is they are a snapshot in time. When some ones says "I don't need audio on my BB" that makes the assumption that the world is flat. In effect what you are implying is this is the way world is today and therefore it will always be that way.

What I am trying to get you guys to do is broaden your perspective a little bit and look at what is going on around you in the wireless industry. The fact is this where the industry is headed. RIM is not an island even though the comments being made are trying to make it appear that they are.

Lee
aka on hand clapping :D

[iluxa]

Check out http://www.javazoom.net/javalayer/javalayer.html
It has java library for MP3 decoder, and seems like there is J2ME version of it.
Should be fairly easy to hook that to some streaming client lib and put some simple
UI on top of that to put together reasonable player