---

There is a lot of confusion about who actually "invented" the HD-based MP3 player, and who copied who.

Here is a time line of when major players were introduced.

October 26, 1999 - Compaq Personal Jukebox

The Personal Jukebox, or PJB, was the first commercially available HD-based MP3 player. It was created as a prototype personal audio appliance by Compaq's Systems Research Center (SRC) and Palo Alto Advanced Development group (PAAD). The PJB project started in May 1998, and the PJB-100 product shipped in November 1999.

The PJB-100 was manufactured by HanGo Electronics and sold by Remote Solutions. (press release)

CPU/DSP: Motorola 56309 DSP
Display: 128x64 b/w lcd
Disk: 6.5 GByte, 2.5"
Ram: 12 MByte
Size: 150x80x26 mm, 280 gram
Interface: USB 1.1

January 5, 2000 - Creative Nomad Jukebox

(press release)

CPU/DSP: ?
Display: 132x64 b/w lcd
Disk: 6 GByte, 2.5"
Ram: 8 MByte
Size: 127x127x38 mm, 397 gram
Interface: USB 1.1

June 29, 2000 - Archos Jukebox 6000

(press release)

CPU/DSP: Hitachi SH-7034, Micronas MAS 3507D
Display: 11x2 b/w character lcd
Disk: 6 GByte, 2.5"
Ram: 2 MByte
Size: 115x83x34 mm, 340 gram
Interface: USB 1.1

---

After this, many more HD-based players were released that I don't mention here. I only list the following players since they brought something new to the market:

March 26, 2001 - Archos Jukebox Recorder

First player with MP3 recording capability. (press release)

Specifications:
CPU/DSP: Hitachi SH-7034, Micronas MAS 3587F
Display: 112x64 b/w lcd
Disk: 6 GByte, 2.5"
Ram: 2 MByte
Size: 115x83x34 mm, 340 gram
Interface: USB 1.1 (later USB 2.0)

October 23, 2001 - Apple iPod

First player with 1.8-inch harddisk. (press release)

Specifications:
CPU/DSP: Portalplayer (Dual ARM7 SMP)
Display: 160x128 b/w lcd
Disk: 5 GByte, 1.8"
Ram: 32 MByte
Size: 102x62x20 mm, 184 gram
Interface: Firewire

November 12, 2001 - Archos Jukebox Multimedia

First player with video playback and recording. (press release)

Specifications:
CPU/DSP: Texas Instruments TMS320DSC21, Micronas MAS 3587F
Display: 237x234 colour lcd
Disk: 10 GByte, 2.5"
Ram: 16 MByte
Size: 110x78x28 mm, 290 gram
Interface: USB 1.1 (USB 2.0 & Firewire optional)

January 9, 2003 - iriver iHP-100 / iHP-120

Introduced at CES 2003. Player with optical S/PDIF input and output.

Specifications:
CPU: Motorola SCF5249 Coldfire at 120 MHz
Display: 160x128 LCD with 4 shades of gray
Disk: 10 or 20 GByte, 1.8"
Ram: 16 or 32 MByte
Size: 105x60x19 mm, 160 gram
Interface: USB 2.0

---

CategoryFrontpage: Time Line of Major HD Players [Misc]