Audio, video and images are now combined in the portable media player. The common audio format used is the MP3 audio format. Audio format such as WAV, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) and the Windows Media Audio may also be supported by the media player. LCD or OLED screen is used normally to display images. Images are usually displayed using the JPEG format although some may also support other file formats like PNG, GIF and TIFF to view images. MPEG-4 video format is supported by most of the portable media players. Windows Media Video (WMV) and AVI formats may also be supported, in addition, by the players. Video transfer besides audio transfer between the computer and player is possible using USB cables in most of the portable media players as well as portable digital assistants (PDAs).
Data storage is carried out with the use of microdrive and flash memory besides the hard drive. The capacity to store data is lesser with flash memory based devices as compared to the others. The maximum storage is limited up to a 32GB. It is the hard drive portable devices that offer highest data storage with the maximum being 320 GB. External devices such as memory CompactFlash Secure Digital card and Sticks can be used to increase the storage capacity. Many players as well as PDAs come with this facility. The screen has a size of up to 7 inches while the resolutions are a comfortable WVGA. The depth of the color normally is between 16-bit to 24-bit. Touchscreen technology is increasingly being integrated into these portable devices.
Digital audio players, digital video recorders, portable video players and personal digital assistants are now offered by many companies. The important portable media players in the market are Philips’ Philips Gogear SA6185 8GB, Apple’s iPod series, Scandisk’s Sansa Fuze and Sansa view, Sony’s Walkman series, Creative Labs with their Zen series and Samsung’s Samsung T10 and Samsung P2.