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New RoadStor Portable Media Player Allows Viewing and Sharing of Digital Photos, Audio and Video, With or Without a Computer - Press Release
Recently Micro Solutions announced a portable
DVD Player with a built-in CD-R unit that could both read most
digital camera memory cards and make CD-R backups allowing you
to reuse your memory card, but it can also play back the images
as well as DVDs on a TV. The Roadstar is also very portable as
it can operate on a battery, and it can connect to a PC or Mac
via a USB 2.0 connection. On the positive side the Roadstar has
the DVD and CD-R playback, however it cannot apparantly at this
time read Memory Stick Pro cards which the new Alera (see story
below can) and yet neither can read the x-Card directly (they
both may be able to do so using a CF card adapter. For more details
see the RoadStor press release, or see the review
at Imaging Resource.
Is First to Combine Digital Photo Viewer, CD Burner, DVD and
MP3 Players All In One Portable, Easy-To-Use Device
DEKALB, Ill., Oct. 21 - Micro Solutions,
Inc. today introduced its new RoadStor portable media player,
a compact yet powerful product for viewing, copying, toting and
sharing digital photos, audio and video almost anywhere with
or without a computer. It is the first product on the market
to combine a digital photo viewer, CD burner, DVD player and
MP3 player all in one package.
With its own snap-on rechargeable Lithium Ion battery that delivers
two hours of continuous play time, and at about the size of a
small hardback book, RoadStor travels easily. Simple to operate,
it connects directly to a TV and works as a stand-alone device
or as a PC or Mac accessory.
"RoadStor is like a Swiss Army knife for the digital media era and can be used in many fun and practical ways," said Pat Barron, vice president of sales at Micro Solutions. "Whether you want to share vacation videos and pictures among family and friends, keep the kids entertained during a road trip, burn CDs, listen to an MP3 song or make an important business presentation, RoadStor lets you do it all."
Powerful Features Yet Simple To Use
RoadStor incorporates many powerful features, but it's simple to use. Built-in video and S-Video output jacks and a stereo audio output jack allow it to easily connect directly to a TV for viewing digital photos and DVDs. Plus, its CD burner lets users quickly and easily make digital photo CDs from flash memory cards. With one touch of a button, this innovative product can take anything stored on a flash memory card and record it to a CD-R or CD-RW.
RoadStor's six-in-one flash memory card reader works with six different types of memory cards -- including SecureDigital (SD) cards, SmartMedia (SM) cards, MultiMedia Cards (MMC), Memory Stick, Compact Flash (CF) type I and type II cards, and MicroDrives. These cards are forms of removable memory that work with many digital cameras, PDAs, cell phones and computers; consumers commonly use these cards to store their digital photos, MP3 files or other data. RoadStor will work with all of those items that are stored on these cards; it can play MP3 digital audio files, show JPEG digital photo files and play MPEG digital video files.
RoadStor also can be used for making music or data CDs for backup or storage. It reads CD-RW, CD-R and regular CD-ROMs, plays regular music CDs and reads DVD movie discs, DVD plus and dash (DVD +/-) videos and DVD data discs. A remote control is included with the product, as well.
If a user wants to connect RoadStor to an Intel-based PC or Mac, the built-in USB 2.0 port will come in handy. The unit also is backward-compatible with the USB 1.1 ports found on many older computers.
Software bundled with RoadStor includes Micro Solutions SpeedyCD for creating and editing CD-R and CD-RW discs and CyberLink PowerDVD for playing DVDs.
Wide Variety of Uses
Thanks to its versatility and portability, RoadStor can be
used in a wide
variety of ways, for both leisure and business. For example:
-- A family can use RoadStor as its primary DVD player at
home, or take
RoadStor for on-the-road entertainment, if the vehicle
is equipped
with a TV screen for back-seat viewing;
-- Family and friends can use RoadStor to view a "slideshow"
of vacation
photos while still away from home, and burn CDs of the
photos for
everyone on the trip;
-- A leisure or business traveler can use RoadStor to watch
a DVD movie
or play favorite music in a hotel room;
-- A businessperson can use RoadStor to show a PowerPoint
presentation
stored on a flash memory card, CD or DVD, and then make
a copy of the
presentation on a CD-R to give to a client or colleague;
-- A real estate agent can use RoadStor to show pictures
of homes for
sale to potential buyers, and then create custom CDs
for them with
pictures of their most-eligible homes; and
-- Musicians can use RoadStor to make CDs of their best
songs to give to
prospective music publishers and pursue that "big
break."
System Requirements
RoadStor does not need a computer; however, when connected to a computer, it requires Microsoft Windows 98, Me, 2000 SP3, or XP, or Mac OS 10.1.3 or above; USB 2.0 capability (for DVD video playback on a computer); IBM- compatible Pentium II or faster (for DVD video playback on a computer); 8MB or more of video RAM (recommended for DVD playback on a computer); and 16MB minimum and preferably 32MB of regular RAM. Audio/video input jacks and/or an S-Video input jack are needed for DVD video playback on a TV.
Pricing, Availability and Warranty
RoadStor (model number is 401010) has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $249 and will be available in late October through Micro Solutions Direct (accessible at www.micro-solutions.com ), in the United States at CDW, Ingram, Insight, Office Depot and Tech Data, and in Canada at Best Buy, Future Shop and Staples. It comes with a one-year warranty. For more information, call Micro Solutions at 800-890-7227 or 815-756-3411, ext. 200, or visit the company's Web site at www.micro-solutions.com .
About Micro Solutions
Founded in 1980, Micro Solutions, Inc. pioneered parallel-port-attach mass storage technology. Its award-winning products are distributed worldwide at major retail outlets, through mail-order catalogs and Web sites, and through distribution. The privately held company is headquartered in DeKalb, Ill.
Companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
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Source: Micro Solutions, Inc.
