(February 28, 2003) — Imagine playing wirelessly the songs from your MP3 player through any stereo or hearing a new song on the radio and your MP3 player displaying the artist and song title of the unknown song. These are some of the next-generation features coming to the MP3 market in the near future. One revolutionary product is the Neuros audio player from Digital Innovations, LLC. The product features FM transmitting/receiving, MP3 encoding, and hardware upgrading capabilities. The FM unit allows the player to play FM radio, record FM radio, and supplies the MiFi™ and HiSi™ features. MiFi™ scans the FM band to find an open frequency and transmits your music over that empty spot. This means you simply have to tune your stereo to that frequency to listen to your music without wires. The HiSi™ feature records a 30-second portion of a song from FM radio, which is identified once the unit is connected to a computer. HiSi™ makes it easy to learn about the latest songs from the radio whenever you hear something you like. The Neuros allows for MP3 encoding through FM radio transmissions, a line-in jack and a built-in microphone–all incased in a smooth polycarbonate shell. This allows the player to record songs from other devices such as CD players. Microphones and encoding cannot be found on all MP3 players and are nice additions to the device. The Neuros is the first unit capable of switching between different memory mediums through its backpack design. The player is connected to either a flash memory or hard drive accessory, which allows for reducing size and upgrades. Instead of buying an entirely new player, larger hard drives and other hardware will be available for purchase to storage space. This hardware upgrade allows the Neuros to potentially outlast other products. The FM transmitting feature will be seen in other products in the near future. A concept Samsung Yepp model allows the user to choose the frequency to broadcast over, and accessories for Apple’s iPod are available to add FM functionality. One accessory, available in spring, is the iTrip by Griffin Technology, which powers itself through the iPod’s Firewire port. No batteries required, designed to match the player and a low price will please the many iPod owners. MP3 players have evolved much and are quickly becoming more than simple music devices. Capable of storing gigabytes of data, recording voice and identifying songs, MP3 players can already do much more than other audio devices. Watch for hardware upgrades and wireless technology in the near future.