MP3 DEVICE PLAYS, RECORDS AND TUNES IN

The typical hand-held MP3 player is just that, a player. MP3 files are usually downloaded from the Internet and then transferred into the portable MP3 player so you can enjoy the tunes wherever you go. But if you want to make your own recordings, the process becomes a lot more complex.

You first have to use some type of device to record the music, speech or whatever you want to record. From there, you have to transfer that recording into your computer so that it can be converted into a compressed MP3 file. That means you must play back the recording in real time to be recorded into your PC. So if you have an hour of recordings for example, it will taken an hour to upload. It's easy to see how much time can be wasted with this process, and it's still not quite over. Once you've made the conversion, you then have to upload the file back into your portable MP3 player and then you're all set. OR, you can get an Archos Jukebox FM Recorder 20 and do it all in one quick, easy step.

The Archos Jukebox FM Recorder 20 is billed as the first product to combine an MP3 player, recorder and FM radio that contains a 20 gigabyte hard disk. The Jukebox is packaged in a slick 4.5 inch long by 3.1 inch wide by 1.2 inch thick metallic casing. It sports a graphic backlit LCD screen along with several carefully laid out control buttons, and audio input and output jacks. This baby can record an amazing 300 hours of CD-quality MP3 music or up to 700 hours of voice recording. Any sound can be recorded via the Jukebox's built-in microphone or plug in an external mike into the unit's input jack. All of the MP3 encoding is done in real time meaning that you never have to waste time converting your audio sound files into MP3 files.

In addition, the Jukebox is also basically a 20 gigabyte hard drive which means you can use it to store just about any computer data. For example, if you are on the road and need to take along several of your Word documents and PowerPoint presentation files, just connect the Jukebox to your computer and access it as you would any other hard drive. An icon of the drive will appear when you connect it to your PC or Macintosh.

The Jukebox also has a built-in FM tuner so that you can listen to any station in the area. If you like something you hear, the Jukebox will let you record the FM sounds directly and instantly convert it into an audio MP3 file. A really cool and useful feature of the FM recording is its 30 second Pre-Recording buffer. That means that if you hear a song and decide you'd like to record it, you have 30 seconds to hit the record button. Doing so will actually capture the entire song, even if you hit the record button up to 30 seconds after it began playing.

Connecting the Jukebox to your computer is a snap via its high-speed USB 2.0 connection which is also downward compatible with the slower USB 1.1 standard. At up to 480 Mbps, you can transfer an hour-long recording in a few moments.

If you're tired of having to record your meetings using those outdated mini-cassettes or some other antiquated device, you should take a serious look into the Archos Jukebox FM Recorder 20 as it has the ability to record files that can be directly downloaded, edited and played on the unit itself, or easily transferred to a computer without going through the tedious conversion process. The Jukebox FM Recorder 20 includes a USB 2.0 cable, an AC adapter / recharger which can be used in the highly unlikely event that the included rechargeable batteries' 12 hours of continuous playback time isn't long enough, stereo headphones and a carrying pouch.