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PhatNoise: Home
A high-capacity portable hard drive, the PhatBox now plugs into your home stereo
April 5, 2004
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PhatNoise Home Digital Media Player
Plays MP3s from the PhatNoise cartridge |
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A music player for cars, the PhatNoise PhatBox has been around for a couple of years. At the core of the PhatNoise system is a removable cartridge that contains a 10GB to 60GB hard drive. (The 20GB, 40GB and 60GB cartridges available at phatnoise.com range in price from $179 to $349.) Hook the cartridge into your PC (more on that later) to quickly transfer your songs; the PhatBox handles MP3s and WMAs as well as full-resolution WAV tracks ripped from CDs.
This spring, the company launched the Home Digital Media Player ($349), a new product that lets you bring the cartridge into your living room. An entertainment-center component, it's got both an analog stereo output — for those red and white RCA plugs — and a digital audio output, like a DVD player.
While the unit itself has a text display, the key to the home player is the on-screen interface. Like a TiVo with Home Media Option or Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition, you can sort through playlists, albums and artists using a remote. Unlike PhatNoise's automotive systems, a cartridge is not included with the home version — the company assumes you've already got one in your car.
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