Simple Technology Inc has thrown its weight behind the people’s internet audio standard by announcing the availability of its 16MB and 32MB SmartMedia cards for Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc’s Rio PMP300. The Rio is a portable player that lets users listen to music downloaded from the internet in the new MP3 audio compression format at near-CD quality. The recording industry has opposed MP3 and the Rio precisely because they make it so easy to store, record and hence pirate high-quality music, but Diamond has forged ahead with the Rio in spite of the opposition. The device comes with 32MB memory as standard. The 16MB card from Simple Technology adds a further 30 minutes of digital recording time, while the 32MB card, scheduled to ship later this quarter, adds another 60 minutes. For voice quality recording, the cards provide 4 hours and 8 hours respectively. These are among the first peripherals to be made available for the Rio, and should help to cement MP3 as an audio format.
