It's awesome-- unless you live in a place where the wind blows.

I swore of mp3 players for about a month last year. A good friend and I went to Best Buy and just turned our backs on our digital audio players and vowed to return to portable CD players. Well, let's just say that I ran back to mp3 players with flowers, candy, and a diamond ring after a month using this product.

This review is in four parts, each worth 25%.

Design
The design of this player is one of its better aspects. Any player where I can see the disc spinning is always a plus, as I can see if anything is going wrong. The buttons are laid out in a nice way, and they require a bit of a push, meaning that they won't go nuts in your pocket or purse. The screen is of a nice, average size. The screen allows for .mp3 file name reading/folder name reading, which is very handy in comparison to the "Folder 1/T1" setup many MP3/CD players have. Unfortunately, there is no backlight on this player, making the screen utterly useless at night.

18%

Functionality
This player eats standard batteries like nobody's business. Spending the each buck on lithium-ion batteries will be worth your while. In other words, those batteries designed for portable media players you see in music stores-- they are worth it. I've gotten by on a few days without having to replace the batteries, but beware that when that little battery indicator pops up, you better have any extra battery lying around, as it is one of the few players where that meter doesn't lie. Another issue I had with this player is the loading time. It took my player over a minute to load an mp3/CD upon purchase, something that's gotten even worse over time. Loading audio CDs was a breeze however, with a normal six to ten second waiting time.

5%

Performance
So, once you get the player up and running, how does it perform? To put it nicely, this player is terrible at performing during every day use. This player works fine...when you have it on a flat surface at home or school. Be prepared that if you plan on carrying this player around, it will skip. And no, it won't just skip, it will stop playing for close to thirty to forty seconds. Wind makes matters worse. This player is just a circular brick in the winter. This goes for mp3 CDs or retail/audio ones.

0%

Sound quality
The sound quality, and this is where it kills me, is great. For a portable CD player (a budget one at that), this player has great sound quality. There was no background hiss or lack of feeling in the music. I've tested this player with everything from Madonna to Alanis Morissette, and each time, the player sounds spectacular. Now, if we could only get it to work, this player would be fantastic.

25%

Overall score: 48% F

I think the score speaks for itself.