21. I think the RWC Podcast Device it is an excellent idea. I would define myself as a target customer.

==> I do a podcast.
==> I listen to many podcasts.
==> I do not want another radio.
==> I only want podsafe music (because of DRM).
==> I listen to some podcasts on my cellular phone.

I do not have an IPod or Zune because they do not provide what I want. I have an Creative MP3 player that I only use to listen to podcasts. It takes some effort to get the podcasts to the MP3 player. I would want to use the device to record, especially to do voice response to podcasts.

It all sounds cool to me. Count me in.

Posted at 8:01PM on Dec 4th 2006 by Les

22. I put some more notes up on my blog on this topic:

I did a tiny bit of research on the hardware this afternoon, and just as I suspected ? this is the least sticky issue. Here is a link to the entire category of mp3/video players on http://www.alibaba.com: http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?IndexArea=offer_en&SearchText=mp3. This is the first one that I thought was the most feature laden and extensible ? I like the idea of a built in USB port: http://bitland.en.alibaba.com/product/50139966/51203583/MP3_Players/Flash_MP3_Player.html

I think that a case and package (green, no plastic) design contest in partnership with http://www.core77.com and custom skins from the guys at htt://www.ifrogz.com or http://www.macskinz.com (who also do laser etching) would be yet another way to get the community involved.

From a marketing perspective, once a website is up, I would make an affiliate marketing widget for a 10% discount to pre-pay for a device and get every podcaster out there to put it on their sidebar. Not to confuse the RSS issue, but a direct subscribe badge that would add a lot of credibility immediately. I?d also put up a store in SecondLife and sell signed and numbered digital copies of the player so copybot wouldn?t be an issue. I?d even consider in-game kiosks to manage feeds ? which would really be nothing more than a hosted OPML list.

I really like Michael Gartenberg?s suggestion that you don?t sell cheap add-on accessories like headphones. I?d sell add-on packs or a deluxe version if people really wanted them, but they?d have to be worth putting into another package and getting another SKU. One more way to save money is that I wouldn?t print a manual (it should be intuitively easy to operate) or bundle a driver CD that becomes outdated the minute it?s shipped. Instead I would create a wiki or user forum on the site and print that on the box.

Posted at 9:00PM on Dec 4th 2006 by Marc Nathan

23. Hey guys, great idea. Just make sure part of your strategy keeps you from getting sued out of existence. I have a lot of ideas on a wiki at http://www.suggestions4ipodanditunes.com/

Posted at 12:23AM on Dec 5th 2006 by Nick Dynice

24. Here's another device to learn from/play with - this is a kit for building an mp3 player that plays SD cards, but doesn't have wifi. (From the guys at make):

http://www.teuthis.com/html/daisy_mp3.html

Posted at 1:13AM on Dec 5th 2006 by Adam Loving

25. great stuff, alas a couple of things worth complaining about:

1. don't do it in stereo anymore, it's annoying, especially if you listen to it with your mp3 player, so you get jason on one earplug and the other two guys on the other, what adds up to this, is that they are not leveled out.

2. tell Dave to behave and not to interrupt all the time, teach him to listen, we'd be willing to pay him a personal coach for an hour to learn how to play one's part in a discussion.

Posted at 4:29AM on Dec 5th 2006 by Franz

26. i can help u with the Transcribing part Jason...... ping me on iamanil@aol.com

Posted at 4:34AM on Dec 5th 2006 by Neil

27. Jason, please next time don't mix different voices on different audio channels. Every voice must be near the center.

Posted at 11:22AM on Dec 5th 2006 by Dmitry Chestnykh

28. Not to get too far off topic, but I would also like to see one of those LED signs that can display RSS feed headlines and text of the post, it plugs into a router and you log into it like a router and upload an OPML, and also a digital picture frame that will show flickr pics by tag, pool, contacts, groups, etc.

Posted at 12:21PM on Dec 5th 2006 by Nick Dynice

29. Jason et. al,

This idea is a great one! I would gladly pay $500 for a unit of this type. We can not retrieve time and I can not tell you how much time I spend massaging my Podcasts to get them right and on my device. Thus a better device is very intriguing and I would pay this up front to help fund it.

Specifics I would like to see:
1) Make it run on batteries (AA or AAA). This way, when you are using it and it dies, you pop in more batteries and keep rolling. Plus it is in keeping with a theme that was to keep the device un-tethered.

2) Must include wireless.

3) Should be at least 4GB. I like the idea of flash, but Dave is right, it does not really matter whether hard disk based.

4) Dave is right, you must be able to read the display. I like what I will call the landscape form factor, like the small Iriver devices. If you took a Nano, turned it sideways and made the display much of the device, it would be great. It is nice to be able to read the whole name of the show.

5) Device must be able to bookmark. If I listen to podcast A and do not finish, but then start podcast B, I want to be able to return to the place I left off in podcast A. I want to be able to do this across 1 to N podcasts.

6) On device podcast management.
User should be able to delete a podcast on the fly on the device. Once deleted, the player should be able to know that I have deleted this podcast. Then it should know that if a feed comes through with this same podcast, the device will not accept it, or it could prompt.
AND/OR, the device should allow for auto deletion of podcasts once they are listened to completely.
AND/OR, perhaps we should do a TIVO treatment. Podcasts remain on the device and flagged as listened to as long as there is space. We use a FIFO queue to manage space.

All of this is in keeping with the ?get out of managing the podcasts? business and on to the enjoyment of the content.

7) I love the idea of multiple sources (feeds). I could see the device being managed solely via a WEB site and receiving feeds from that site. Think of Odeo and the way that you could manage podcasts/subscriptions there. You could also set up the feeds for other sources via this management site. So, you keep the complexity of text entry on the device to a minimum. Then when the device sync?s, for lack of a better term, it receives its feed from the WEB based source(s). Then, you don?t even need your own PC to manage it. You can use any computer with a browser.

It could then have feeds sent to it via Wireless from a PC (your personal machine). This would provide the opportunity to put non-DRM music on the device.

It could also beam back and forth with other devices. In this case, the podcast should come with information on the RSS feed or other sources so that you could quickly and easily subscribe to that feed.

8) As far as I can tell, there is not a standard mechanism to get subscriber based Podcasts. Let me give an example. The Phil Hendrie Show had a podcast stream, but you needed their podcatcher, specifically for his show, to authenticate and get the mp3 files. The files had no DRM, rather they were just password protected. This is not a device issue, but while we are thinking of solving issues, it would be nice to develop a standard to allow the device to access these types of files via password protection and aggregate them also. This seems to be common with many of the talk show hosts ? Limbaugh, Laura, etc.

9) It would be nice if it would work with Audible. That is the land of DRM, but their content is VERY good and having a single device would be nice.

10) Jason, you had great ideas on the marketing of this and ways to subsidize it. Marketing is a black art, but I did not hear any of your ideas, stickers on the device, commercials, etc. that caused me any concern.

11) I love Dave?s thought for the device to be open and for one to be able to develop scripts/apps for it. That is good.

Overall, I believe there is a direction here for something that transcends the current landscape. Once you apply the rules above to also consider video, this device begins to look very intriguing.

In any event, these are my thoughts. I am happy to brainstorm more. Thanks to all three of you for all of your efforts. I have enjoyed hearing you in various venues and shows.

Thanks
Wes Spears

Posted at 3:46PM on Dec 5th 2006 by Wes Spears

30. Instead of a dedicated device, why don't we use the iPAQ or other Windows Mobile cellphone as a podcatcher? It has WiFi, a microphone, software customizability, and can also use the cell network if needed and out of WiFi range. It has a speaker or can use the earplugs.

You can add memory, has a large customizable display, and you can even use some of the buttons for custom functions like play/pause, rewind, etc.

Maybe that open source software you mentioned would run on one of these devices? Then when we travel we only have one thing in our shirt pocket and one charger to carry around. Isn't this really the best idea, an all-in-one device that does it all well? Heck, you can even take movies with the thing and upload them as podcasts.

Posted at 7:27PM on Dec 5th 2006 by Paul Douglas Boyer

31. you really need to make you podcasts in mono, it's virtually unlistenable on a player in it's current state. It's almost annoying, and the audio really needs adjusting. I know it's a beta cast right now and it was interesting but, it has to sound good too.

Posted at 7:47PM on Dec 5th 2006 by Ben Gold

32. Listened to the podcast - not quite as good as the first few betas but an interesting discussion once you got going (though like others above I'd suggest mono in the future or at least balancing the channels - gigavox media has some useful tools that might help)

re the player, I have to disagree with a few things Dave said.

1. Programability is NOT something most people need. If you really must make a programable device, go for it, but it will be a niche item. I'd suggest a simple, inexpensive, mass appealing podcast player - bundled with a great suite of software (for pcs, macs and linux). Possibly with an upgrade/pro version which would add recording capabilities and possibly the reprogramability.

2. The screen is MUCH less important than most people think. Perhaps I'm unusual but my primary player is an iPod shuffle - the lack of a screen is most of the time a FEATURE for me - I program my device and then play my own day's worth of entertainment. Yes, a screen if you have wifi and other capabilities could be nice, but don't dismiss the value of a really small, really simple and reliable device - with great battery life and as few controls as possible.

Posted at 8:00PM on Dec 5th 2006 by Shannon Clark

33. Hey Jason,
Why the change in attitude about show notes/transcripts? (just for interest sakes)

Molly

Posted at 8:42PM on Dec 6th 2006 by Phillip Molly Malone

34. The best device that I use is still an iRiver IFP series. Easy to use, records to mp3, allows me to delete a file after I've listened to it. I'm basically pleased with my Sansa e260 since I don't use hard-locked devices (read iPod) and I like the storage options, but since I can't delete, I only use it for music. I've been watching RockBox for Sansa because I expect that on a Sansa, it will replace the iRiver as my prime podcast player. Another new device that is in this space is the Best Buy house brand Insignia. Your concept does sound like the overall winner. Sign me up for the pro-80,000 list.

Posted at 7:41AM on Dec 7th 2006 by Bruce

35. Jason,

Having you in one year and the interviwees in the other is a BAD THING.

I had to turn the voluem way up since at any given time ambient noise (on the London Underground) was flooding into one ear.

Also, because of sample rate (see comment #13) intelligibility was low -- not to be confused with intelligence which was high!

Keep it up Beta-Man.

Posted at 9:11AM on Dec 7th 2006 by Rodrigo Dauster

36. What would be cool is a way for a wi-fi spot to serve up a file using the embedded podctacher that would be some sort of informative audio about the location. Lets say I am traveling around, and I have my device set up too look for these service, I can listen to some audio about that location. It could be a restaurant, museum, point of interest, historic landmark, trade show, whatever. It could replace those devices that play recordings that serve as a "tour guide on tape" you might have at a museum. But this could have far more applications.

Posted at 3:06PM on Dec 7th 2006 by Nick Dynice

37. Great ideas for a new player. I'd be interested. I like my iPod, but hacks to update wirelessly, synchronize from more than one computer, etc. would be great.

You may want to check out Slim Devices on how they developed the Squeezebox. They openly developed the software and hardware through volunteer audiophiles. I'm sure you could do the same. The whole story is in the Dec/Jan 2007 Fast Company.

And, one more vote to fix the audio levels on your podcast. Everybody needs to talk directly into their mic.

Posted at 7:55AM on Dec 8th 2006 by David Kluskiewicz

38. Jason,

For transcribing our podcasts (http://www.uie.com/brainsparks), we've been using Casting Words (http://www.castingwords.com) which I discovered through Jon Udell. It costs $.42 per minute, which means a 30 minute cast comes to about $13 bucks. They use Amazon's Mechanical Turk to do the transcription and I've found the quality to be really amazing.

Jared

Posted at 9:31AM on Dec 8th 2006 by Jared Spool

39. HI Jason
Interesting content and compelling podcast.
I'd not pan things so hard left/ right. Naturally, sound is never ever hard left/right. It adds to the cognitive load having one voice in each ear. I can see your point in trying it, but I'd go with all voices across the stereo image, maybe one a bit to the side, but not all the way.
Waytogo

Posted at 11:07PM on Dec 9th 2006 by jeffbart

40. Re your podcast player. When configuring the requirments for features, don't forget you'll need an interface simple enough for punters to operate, but comprehensive enough to handle all the features you want for e.g. the record functionality. Once you get into that side, you'll start loading it up with control functionality, and you'll end up with something like the current recorders. Drop recording, and you won't need half the control/interface/complexity.

Posted at 11:07PM on Dec 9th 2006 by jeffbart