Off-Grid Media Players
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 03.13.08
David Pogue starts off with the typical New York Times attempt at green humor :"Yeah, yeah, O.K., so the glaciers are melting, polar bears are becoming extinct and oceanfront property will soon open up in Philadelphia. But c’mon, people, try to look at the bright side." and then reviews two off-the-grid music players. One, the Media Street eMotion, runs for nine hours after 12 to 15 hours of charging; in direct sunlight it can play all day.
The Eco-Player cranks out 40 minutes of playing after one minute of cranking. However they are no iPods in the design department- "All right, let’s just admit it: next to the highly refined software and hardware design of the iPod and the Zune, these players look positively Neanderthal. The menus are crude and claustrophobic; on both players, messages appear in the Courier-ish font of an I.B.M. Selectric; and there’s no scroll wheel or touch pad for navigation. You walk through lists by pressing up/down arrow buttons." ::New York Times
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So what if it's not sleek IPOD looking. I love the idea of using muscle power to keep it going and of course the beautiful Sun... You've inspired me to do more research and I'm going to review it on my eco-blog: http://www.planetpinkngreen.com. I absolutely love Treehugger! Keep up the great work. Cheryl Janis from Planetpinkngreen.com
Media Street eMotion - is it red and at left on the picture? And is it really can play all day in direct sunlight?
I just wanted to point out that jog dials and other special buttons wear off very quickly. Simple rugged up down arrows are much better in this discipline.