Neuros Audio will reportedly shift two products to Linux, and launch a third based on open source software. Existing Neuros products being transitioned to Linux include a portable media player (PMP) and a media recorder, while the new product is a music server, Neuros has revealed.

Previously, Neuros announced plans to switch its 442 PMP to Linux, and to an open hardware design developed in committee with interested open source developers and consumers. The 442, a PMP with a 40GB or 100GB harddrive, is the product Neuros is best known for. The Linux-based 442v2 will have a 3.6-inch screen, and be able to record DVD-quality video. It is expected in Q3.

The Recorder II (Click to enlarge)

Another Neuros product due for a Linux upgrade is the “Recorder” (the currently shipping Recorder II model is pictured at right), a very small media adapter aimed at capturing video content for transfer onto mobile devices — such as Neuros PMPs. The Linux-based Recorder III will have a new hardware design, and is also expected to ship as soon as Q3, 2006, preceded by another non-Linux version, the “Recorder MPEG-4,” which in addition to support for new codecs will offer a 40GB or 100GB harddrive.

The Linux-based Recorder III will be “a new step-up model,” CEO Joe Born told LinuxDevices. It is expected in 2006.

Additionally, the Linux-based Recorder III's new hardware design will be repurposed in a Neuros III “Digital Audio Computer” (DAC) music server product, also to be based on open source software. The DAC will be positioned as a stereo enthusiast's music player, priced 10-15 percent higher than an iPod, and is expected in 2007.

Both the DAC and the Recorder III, along with the 442v2, will be based on a Texas Instruments (TI) DM320, which integrates a 200MHz ARM926 application processor with a C54x DSP (digital signal processor). The 442v2 design, and possibly the others as well, will have a 24-bit, 96kHz DAC (digital audio converter) from Burr-Brown, a high-end audio component chipmaker recently acquired by TI.

Neuros says its fundamental strategy is to target geeks, early adopters, and other informed consumers responsible for influencing others. Its tactics include sharing source code, development kits, and even hardware design details with the open source community.

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