Using Your Handheld as an MP3 Player
Palm OS Windows Mobile
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Palm OS
Many handhelds (Palm OS 5 or higher) can be used as an MP3 player to listen to music or other digital audio files. To do this you need an SD card and MP3 player software.
The free RealPlayer® for Mobile Devices can be downloaded here (Palm, PPC). This is also included on the CD that comes with many handhelds.
After you've downloaded and installed this, you just need to install some MP3 files to your SD card. There are two ways to do this:
1. Install the file directly to the SD card through the sync process. This doesn't require any additional equipment, but is rather slow. If you are downloading a lot of MP3 files, see #2 below.
To install the files directly to your card on a Windows desktop:
- Launch the Palm Quick Install program.
- Drag MP3 files into the bottom half of the screen (where it says “Drag files here for installation to expansion card.”).
- Put your SD card in your handheld.
- Sync.
To install the files directly to your card on a Macintosh desktop:
- Drag MP3 files to the Send to Handheld droplet program.
- Put your SD card in your handheld.
- Sync.
2. Use a card reader. Installing files using a card reader is a much faster method than syncing. In addition, a card reader is useful for backing up your SD cards. If you have an SD card reader, it will mount much like a USB drive or hard drive. Just put MP3 files in an AUDIO folder on your SD card, so they will be recognized by the MP3 player software. Make sure you eject the card before pulling the card out of the reader. (To do this on Windows, open “My Computer.” Right-click the reader icon, and choose Eject. To do this on a Mac, just drag the card reader icon to the trash.)
To listen to your music, just go to the RealOne program on your handheld. (Make sure the SD card with the MP3 files is in.) You can connect headphones or speakers to your handheld if you like. This will result in better sound quality.
Here are some places you can download free MP3 files (To save to your desktop, you may need to right-click the link and choose Save Target As...):
To get more information on how to create MP3 files from a CD, visit this page.
If you already have wav files and you would like them converted into MP3 files, here is a free converter.
Windows Mobile
All Windows Mobile handhelds can be used as MP3 players to listen to music or other digital audio files. These handhelds come pre-installed with Windows Media Player Mobile, so all you have to do is transfer your music files (MP3, WMA, or MMV).
To do this, connect your handheld with ActiveSync. Go to My Computer and open your Mobile Device. Then just copy the music files from your desktop to the My Music folder on your device.
After your files have been transferred, go to the Windows Media Player Mobile program to play the files. You can also use the File Explorer to launch media files.
If you want to get more sophisticated, you can also use Windows Media Player 10 on the desktop to sync your playlists to your handheld automatically. Click here for more information.
Here are some places you can download free MP3 files (To save to your desktop, you may need to right-click the link and choose Save Target As...):
To get more information on how to create MP3 files from a CD, visit this page.
If you already have wav files and you would like them converted into MP3 files, here is a free converter.
