Audioplayer Apacer Audio Steno AU822

Evgenie Rudometov

authors@rudometov.com

Company Apacer has released the next model multifunctional MP3 audioplayer AudioSteno AU822 with possibility of playback of video on the built in Zhk-display

Company Apacer well-known in the domestic market qualitative computer components. Among them various units operative and the flash-memory, maps-readers, USB-disk drives. Expanding the business, the last years the company has added the products with compact audioplayers of Audio Steno set differing both design and dimensions, and functionality.

Model Apacer Audio Steno AU822 is one of the newest developments of the given company. The player conveniently is located in a hand or a pocket, can be hung up on a neck. It is controlled by means of miniature keys and built in is liquid-crystalline display. Concerning big for miniature players provides evident and fast access to all realised functions. The player, as well as its many colleagues, provides both playback, and writing: realises functions of a dictophone and operation with FM radio. But still he allows to play back video, to view photos and to read texts. This player possesses considerable size of the built in memory and supports interface USB.

Package AU822

Fig. 1. A package of audioplayer ApacerAudio Steno AU822

Into package structure enter: a packing box; audioplayer Apacer Audio Steno AU822, one steam of ear-phones, a cable for audioplayer hooking up to computer port USB, the brochure (User Manual) with the audioplayer description, CD-ROM with drivers and with the documentation in several languages, including a pdf-file with the short text in Russian and complete in English.

Key parametres AU822

Appearance of model Apacer Audio Steno AU822 is resulted in a Fig. 2, and their main parametres are resulted in Table 1.

Fig. 2. Digital audioplayer Apacer Audio Steno AU822

Table 1. Key parametres Apacer Audio Steno AU822

Model	Apacer Audio Steno AU822
The interface	USB 2.0 Full Speed
The built in memory	256 Mb / 512 Mb / 1 Gbyte
The display	Is liquid-crystalline display 1,5 ”, 64 K colours, CSTN
Formats of playback of music	MP3, bit rate	8-320 Kbps
	WMA, bit rate	5-384 Kbps
Modes EQ	Normal, Jazz, Classic, Pop, Rock, Natural, DBB
Output on phones	(Left) 10 mvt + (Right) 10 mvt, 32 Ohm
Writing parametres	Frequency semplirovanija	8 KGts
	Types of files and modes	WAV (32Kbps) / ACT (8Kbps) Continuous / Dynamic voice
FM radio	Bands	76 – 96 MHz (Japan) 87 – 108 MHz (Europas/amerika)
	Programmed channels	20+20
	Signal / noise	45 db
The secondary generator	Built in, 230 ma, Li-Polymer
Operating time from the battery	Till 5 o'clock music playback
The sizes	(Length) 90 h (Width) 40 h (Thickness) of 8,7 mm
Weight	43,7 g
Temperature range	5 – 35 WITH
Humidity	10 – 75 %
File system AU822	Only FAT
Operating systems	Windows 98 (SE) / ME / 2000 / XP, Mac OS 10

Audioplayer Apacer Audio Steno AU822 imet small dimensions and weight. Its design is very effective. However from the polished metal it is necessary to pay off for the polished plastic of the external panel and the bottom of tank with fast foreign matter of brilliant surfaces by prints of fingers.

Energopitanie the given arrangement it is carried out from the secondary generator built in lithium-polymeric in size 230 mach. Its charge is enlarged by means of USB-port of the desktop or transportable computer, or from a separate power supply unit delivered for the above board.

Certainly, the built in miniature lithium-polymeric the secondary generator has allowed to lower essentially weight and arrangement dimensions that is positive in design of a considered audioplayer. However in durable separation from the computer working capacity maintenance can become a problem. Will not rescue also presence of a special power supply unit in absence of access lasting many days to the electrical female connector, for example, on rest in wood. Certainly, it essentially limits mobility level, but it is necessary to understand, that it is the card for attractive design and compactness.

Handle of audioplayer Apacer Audio Steno AU822 is carried out by means of several miniature keys. One of them, fulfilling turning the power on and off functions (complete obestochivanija circuits), is in a tank end face near to the miniature plug of port USB. Other keys are allocated on an arrangement front panel. These keys provide all necessary control functions by an audioplayer, being, as a matter of fact, with the multifunctional arrangement.

Apacer Audio Steno AU822 though is named as an audioplayer, supports considerably bolshee quantity of functions. It both dictophone functions, and operation with FM a radio receiver. Considering presence in a construction of the Zhk-matrix with the permission 128х128, designers have provided possibility of review of photos and even reading of texts.

But, perhaps, the most interesting in Apacer Audio Steno AU822 is a possibility of review of video, of course, within the accessible permission of the display. However the built in video player provides support only type video files amv — *.amv.

For preconditioning of such files in a package ON on CD is available special utilities — AMVConverter and AMVPlayer, installed on the desktop computer and-or a notebook. The given special programs provide conversion of files of widespread video formats in files amv with following permissions: 96х64, 96х96, 128х96, 128х128.

Certainly, to look video films even with as much as possible accessible permission on polutoradjujmovom the display — pleasure doubtful. However this function can interest fans of videoclips, and also the users who are studying foreign languages.

Played back files are allocated in the built in flash-memory. For given sempla an audioplayer the given size makes 1 Gbyte. Certainly, the information capacity depends both on formats of audiofiles, and from a mode of their compression. For example, for files MP3 with a stream the 128Kbit/bit of size of the built in memory is enough for storage of one and a half-two tens traditional audio-CDs.

As to occupancy of the built in flash-memory of audio, video, a photo and the text information this operation is carried out through traditional interface USB. Thus occupancy time, of course, depends on speed of data exchange. The estimation of high-speed parametres can be fulfilled in the course of performance of specialised tests.

Testing AU822

In case of usage on the desktop computer or a notebook of the widespread operating system (OS) of Windows XP, according to the implementators, any additional driver is not required. And it is real, at hooking up of audioplayer Apacer Audio Steno AU822 to the computer in a window there is an icon additional replaceable (Removable) a disk. With this disk it is possible to work, as with the usual arrangement of an information storage, copying and/or erasing files.

It is necessary to mark, that the audioplayer can successfully use and for storage of computer files, that is as widespread USB-disk drives. The built in flash-memory of the arrangement as its considerable size allows to write a lot of information (a Fig. 3) for this purpose uses.

Fig. 3. Parametres of the built in flash-memory

The estimation of speed of an exchange with the flash-memory of the specified audioplayer can be carried out by means of traditional test routines.

Considering mobility and compactness Apacer Audio Steno AU822 testing is expedient for leading with the transportable computer. So as test system for an estimation of high-speed parametres of an audioplayer the compact notebook Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook 7010 which weight makes only 1,3 kg has been used.

Into its structure enter:

·         Motherboard FUJITSU FJNB189 (the processor bus of 400 MHz, Intel chip set 855GME with the built in graphics subsystem and ICH4-M),

·         Intel of Pentium M ULV 733 (1.10 GHz, 2048 Kbytes of cache memory L2, clock rate of the processor bus of 100 MHz that provides data transfer with frequency of 400 MHz),

·         the Disk drive on hard 2,5-inch magnetic disks HDD FUJITSU MHT2060AT in size of 60 Gbytes,

·         Units of dynamic storage DDR333 SDRAM of 512 Mb,

·         the Videoadapter presented by resources of the built in drawing of a chip set of Intel 855GME,

·         Optical drive MATSHITA UJDA755 DVD/CDRW,

·         the Operating system of Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.

As standard disk drives the transportable disk drives created on the basis of hard disks and the flash-memory have been used.

In Table 2 and in a Fig. 4 results of an estimation of a transfer rate (more – better) for audioplayer Apacer Audio Steno AU822 (Apacer AU822) and disk drive Transcend FlashDisk 64 Mb (the flash-memory, USB 1.1, 64 Mb) are presented  .

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Table 2. The Transfer rate

Arrangements	Tests
	Disk Transfer Rate: Beginning (1000 bytes per second)	Disk Transfer Rate: End (1000 bytes per second)
Apacer AU822	1010	1020
FlashDisk 64Mb	911	820

Fig. 4. Results of performance of tests Winbench 99 Disk Transfer Rate

In Table 3 estimations of speed of access (less – better) are resulted.

Table 3. Access time

Arrangements	Results of testing
Apacer AU822	6.54 msec
FlashDisk 64Mb	68 msec

Apparently from the presented results, for audioplayer Apacer Audio Steno AU822 it is impossible to name speed of data exchange very high. Probably, someone will fool parametre USB resulted in the description 2.0 Full Speed. However it is necessary to remind, in specification USB 2.0 provides usage of three speeds of operation of arrangements USB 2.0: Low Speed  — to 1500 Kbit/with for interactive arrangements (the keyboard, the mouse, joysticks, etc .) Full Speed  — to 12 Mbit/with for audio-and videounits, Hi Speed  — to 480 Mbit/with for videounits and information disk drives. According to it the estimations received at testing completely correspond to speed USB 2.0 Full Speed. Resulted high-speed parametres Apacer Audio Steno AU822 not strongly differ from arrangements with interface USB1.1, for example, such as FlashDisk 64Mb. For this reason in Table 2 results of testing Apacer Audio Steno AU822 and the given flesh-disk drive are specified. Throughout these data in Table 3 access time estimations are resulted.

By the way, high-speed parametres Apacer Audio Steno AU822 considerably concedes to some other models of the same manufacturer. So, for example, for Apacer Audio Steno AU524 appropriate metrics make 6830 Mb per second (Beginning) and 6270 Mb per second (End).

Nevertheless, even existing USB 2.0 Full Speed it is quite enough for audio and video content Apacer Audio Steno AU822 upgrade though it is quite possible, that someone will be disappointed by accessible speed of data exchange.

In summary it is necessary to mark, that the specified model does not settle company Apacer audioplayers. Their number, especially taking into account different variants of delivered packages, is great enough and step-by-step increases.

Digital audioplayer Apacer Audio Steno AU822 has been given by the European representation of company Apacer Technology Inc.