It is a sad day for Gateway – all their retail stores are closing. Even the one right here.
Too bad for them = good for me!
I moseyd up there at lunch today (and if you’ve never seen me mosey, the you, my friend, are missin’ out) and rooted around their table ‘o’ floor models.ong the crap I found a bargain!
The Lyra 1080b 128MB MP3 Player is now mine!
I paid $40 for it, and it retails for $119. I lucky or what? Yeah, well you can be too. I know they have quite a few good deals still, like the Gateway Connected DVD player for $89 (that’s the one PVR blog talks about being so h@ckable – and thanks to them for the tip about the clearance sale). I passed on the DVD, even though they had several left. I don’t have $89 not a wireless network so kinda useless to me (drat). In 2 years I will regret that decision.
I think the coolest thing about it is that it has an SD card/Media card slot, so I can expand the capacity to as much space as I can afford!
OK, to be honest, I was sweating it a bit. I mean, I’d never even thought about getting a stand-alone MP3 Player. I usually use my Pocket PC, or when I mow the lawn, I use my portable MP3 CD-R player. But this dinky thing? I’d not even considered it.
Turns out, going by the e-pinions reviews (andazon), that it is a pretty decent player.
The downside of course, it is a floor model. So, no headphones, no lanyard, no shoulder-strap or belt clip. No software or manual (though I did find a PDF for it).
BRB, gonna tinker with it….
OK, back.
Here are my thoughts so far:
* Good news is it works and there is at least one firmware update for it that supports MP3 Pro (which I know nothing about, but it is supposed to make files smaller and sound better).
*When you plug it in via USB it shows up like a hard drive, so it’s just drag-n-drop, baby. Thank goodness I don’t have to use Music Match for it. I detest that software!
*Much like all digital storage, the full capacity is not what is available. Only 120 MB is user available. Feh, so what.
* I decided to baptize my Lyra with Solonor’s Big RIver MP3. The first MP3 I transferred and listened to is his tune, and what a great tune it is! Thanks Sol!
*Found a community online of Lyra ownser – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rca-lyra-mp3
* Man, this think is super tiny. Like 2.5″x2″ and goes right in the pocket. Still, wish I had all the extra clips that came with.
OK, that’s all for now. I just had to tell someone about my new gadget. This is gonna be fun!
