Sanho HyperDrive Mini 30GB MP3 player with card reader
By Marc Perton 
posted Dec 9th 2005 11:30AM
posted Dec 9th 2005 11:30AM
Sanho's HyperDrives are low-priced, AA-powered hard drives with memory card readers,
designed for photogs who want to back up images on the road and on the cheap. With its new HyperDrive Mini, the company
has added MP3/WMA-player capabilities, along with its standard hard drive (30GB) and built-in support for 8 different
kinds of memory cards. Specs and pricing haven't been announced yet, so we don't know how "mini" or affordable this
really is, but given that it lacks most of the features of current audio players (and like the original HyperDrives
lacks a color display to preview pics), it had better be both small and cheap.
Well, I suppose you could always guess how mini it is based on the picture you've got right there. It looks to only be about half again the width of a CF card, which isn't too bad. Of course, if all the slots for the various car types are on the same side, I imagine the thing is fairly thick.
It looks nice, quite like the iPod. Too bad the screen isn't in colors and that it requires AA batteries.
My own estimates based on a CF microdrive I had handy suggest this thing will be about the size of an ipod, although probably a bit bigger.
Its not fair to mention the iPod with this device, seeing that it's primary function is mobile storage management, not playing media...
Not everything needs to be judged/compared to the "all mighty" iPod..
(rolls eyes)
AA Batteries! Yay! I HATE stuff that uses internal batteries! I got a brand new iPod, gotta charge it every day all night, yet my old MP3/CD player will last two weeks on a 2 year old pair of NiMH rechargeables that charge in only 6 hours! Plus you can bring extra batteries for those long trips. I mean, how the hell would an iPod last a 10 hour drive???
["lacks a color display to preview pics"]
Newsflash: it's an MP3 player, not a picture viewer. If you want a multimedia device, get a PDA and sacrifice some storage space.
it sounds like a portable 30g hard drive...unless of course it turns out to be a cool mp3, wma players...
but we'll have to see about it when it hits the market which is by the way, very tough to break in; especially for new devices...
has anyone heard of sanho before, or tried there other drive HD80 (www.sanho.com). I have been looking for a good portable HD with an SD card reader for a while. I just want to store my 2gigs of pics from my SD card, so I can shoot more without needing a PC.
The size: 116 x 65 x 19 mm and weight 170g with hard disk and battery. It uses a Nokia cell battery that's users replaceable. It will download a 1GB CF in less than 2 minutes, it takes my Gmini 120, 12 minutes. One charge is good for 30 GB of downloads.
Link for press release:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1023&message=16196637
That is one FUGLY screen! Giant Pixels!!! AHHHHH!
btw, Urza9814, you plug your iPod into the car and don't use the battery at all, duh! You're so funny!
'Newsflash: it's an MP3 player, not a picture viewer. If you want a multimedia device, get a PDA and sacrifice some storage space.'
Go read the first paragraph instead of just looking at the pretty pictures. ^_^
Sanho is known for their storage devices. They are merging their current technology with popular technology making it a storage device that can be used to play audio - aimed at photographers on the go that want to "back up pics on the cheap." (Many photographers have been buying iPods and the card reader attachments for this purpose.)
This device will probably serve it's primary purpose very well. The fact that it can serve multiple purposes is pretty cool. Although AA batteries will require this thing to be thick, it's better than lugging a power cord and looking for an outlet when you're out shooting 1000's of photos in remote parts of the world. Nice thought.
The best picture viewers on-the-go are PDAs. Especially the Dell Axim x50 and x50v with CF and SD card slots.
The best audio (and now video) player is the iPod (as much as I hate to admit it on here). Although the iPod can be used as a storage device I was warned that I should not buy one if that is the primary purpose.
An interesting point is that they sell the current devices with various size disks or just the case alone (which can use any 2.5" notebook/mobile IDE Hard Disk). This suggests that it is feasible to perform an at home upgrade. It already has a USB 2.0 interface for connecting directly to your computer when required. See http://hyperdrive.com/shop/index.php
You know.. if this is cheaper than an iPod, and I was in the market for a mp3 player, i'd say sign me up. Especially if it does drag-n-drop for the mp3 player, and the mp3 player can play stuff off of the cards.
My laptop has a digital media reader (7 types) and the slot is les than half an inch think and about 1.5 inches long, so this thing could be tiny.
Another good thing bout batteries, you can charge as many of them as you want at a time (granted you have enough chargers), you can only charge something with an internal battey once at a time.