Apparently, I'm a hard person for my husband to shop for at Christmas time. I guess I throw so many hints about things I want and need throughout the year, it's hard to determine what I truly want and need by Christmas! I said I wanted an iPod, but in a last minute crunch, my husband found me a Coby MP3 Player in our local F.Y.E. So far, I'm loving the little gadget with minimal complaints.
::: The Product :::
I honestly hadn't heard about this brand until I received my MP3 player for Christmas. I immediately checked out the site to see what I could find out about the brand and their products. My mother had heard about them, and CNET.com had decent reviews, so I figured it wasn't a horrible product. Good for a starter MP3 player, if you will.
The Coby MP-C883 player comes in at least red and black. I only know this because mine is red, and the website shows a black one. The MP3 player comes in a sealed blister package with headphones included. It measures about 3.5" long, and 1.25" wide, and has a cap to cover the USB plug-in. The player takes one AAA battery, and has a little plug-in "port" for headphones or a mini speaker. According to the Coby website, the MP-C883 has the following features and specs:
Features:
** Plays MP3 and WMA Digital Music Files
** Mobile Data Storage Function
** Convenient Integrated USB Plug (no cables required)
** USB 2.0 for Ultra-Fast File Transfers (up to 40x faster than USB 1.0)
Specs:
** Media Support: Integrated Flash
** Format Support: Audio: MP3, WMA
** OS Support: Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP or newer, Macintosh OS X or newer
** Audio Output: 3.5mm Headphone** PC Interface: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (MSC)
** Power: 1 x "AAA" battery (included)
** Unit Dimension (WHD): 3.58" x 1.1" x 0.75"
::: My Experience :::
So far this little gadget is working just fine for me. My biggest complaint is how the website says you can install/sync music onto it from Windows Media Player 11. Yeah, it doesn't work that way! I tried for about an hour to get the MP3 player to sync with WM11 to no avail. I actually ended up using iTunes to convert everything into MP3 format and then transferred over from WM11. Supposedly you can use WM11 to convert them while adding them to the MP3 player. Once Microsoft truly has that info right, then maybe I'll try it, but for now, I'll keep using iTunes.
So, that aside! Once I got everything onto the MP3 player, it worked like a charm! I have tiny ears, so the earphones do NOT want to stay in my ears. I can't blame that on Coby though. I love the fact I can turn the music up or down. If I really want to, I can put in the earphones and crank the music loud or listen to it ever so softly. Or, I can even leave the earphones around my neck with the volume up loud and still hear it. However, as my husband purchased the speaker accessory, I can just use that. Generally, I use this while at work, and I just plug it right into a USB port, and listen to it from Windows Media. The sound quality isn't bad no matter how I use it. I have had two instances where I hooked up the speaker, and I had a lot of static. Alas, that might be attributed to the room at the hospital I was listening to it in. I can't be positive, as I said, it's only happened twice and both times I was in the same location.
Now, one other complaint I have is the fact that you cannot fast-forward or rewind a song while listening to the MP3 player without it being connected to the PC. To boot, you can't shuffle the music either. On the flipside, it picks up where you left off when you do listen to it again. So, as a whole, you're probably going to get the most convenience as far as features when you're listening to it through the PC.
Another tiny complaint... There isn't a belt clip! So, there's no real way to carry the MP3 player around without sticking it in your pocket. I've been able to stick it into a beltloop, which has worked well for me.
I have a total of about 5 full CDs on my Coby MP-C883, and still have quite a bit of space leftover. So, I'm not sure how much 1GB is when you get down to full CDs, but you might be able to fit about 7-8 full CDs on the player. Obviously it'll depend on the CDs length to begin with. I know I have about 10 hours worth of music on it though... At least!
::: Purchasing & Pricing Information :::
Honestly, my husband got me the MP3 player and a speaker attachment for about $40 total. Retails prices online show it ranges anywhere from $18 - $35 without any accessories. Mine was purchased at F.Y.E., so I'm sure it can be purchased there at least. The Coby website also lists at least 30 stores you can purchase their products from (http://cobyusa.com/?p=store).
::: Recommendation :::
Overall, this is a good starter MP3 player or an inexpensive alternative to the iPod. Perfect for someone who doesn't ask for a lot of features from their gadgets, or even for a pre-teen. So, I'd say I recommend it to someone on a budget or who doesn't want the "whole she-bang" out of a product. But for a die-hard gadget lover, maybe not so much.
