Samsung's shrunken K5 delivers outstanding performance

As of now I have owned the 4GB model of the Samsung K3 for around 2 or 3 months. I was debating between the K3 and K5 (the one with the fold out speaker) for sometime but decided to go with the K3 obviously. And trust me, unless you absolutlely know that you will need the fold out speaker, get the K3. This one gorgeous piece of electronic gadgetry.

Physcially, I don't think its possible to create a more beautiful mp3 player. Apple lovers and scream about their nano all they want but the all black look of the K3 and its smooth, no buttion surface is just perfect. I thought I would hate it at first when I got it but it grew on to me so fast. When I opened the package and looked at my new best friend my head almost exploded. Its so gorgeous and so sleek. However the design is not without its problems. The back of the device has been very prone to scratches for me. Now I didn't buy a case and I'm not always the most careful person (i.e. I've carried a bunch of change and/or pens and stuff in the same pocket as my mp3 player causing it to scratch). But personally I don't mind it, if it bothers you then buy a case or don't be stupid like me. Second thing is sometimes you can press the wrong button especially if you have big fingers like me. Because like I said before, this device is tiny. I don't know the exact dimensions but its small enough to the point where you won't have to worry about cramming it in those tight jeans.

The other aspects of the K3 which make it my favorite mp3 player is the interface. In the "main menu" there are little blue beads that form headphones for music, a wrench for settings, and so on. In the settings you can look at how many songs you have and your free space and also turn off the annoying "beep" that happens every time you press a button. You can also set your player to resume to the current song after you turn your player off and on again. Other than the music theres an FM tuner (with up to 30 presets I believe) which is useful but I don't find myself using it to often because I rarely listen to the radio as it is. Theres also a photo viewer but the screen is hardly 2 inches and the photo quality is kinda weak on the OLED screen, beautiful screen but not great for pictures. But you can look at pictures while listening to music and you can even use a picture as a screen saver, but my screen turns off in 15 seconds so I don't see it anyway.

As far as music goes it has everything you'd expect. You can sort your music on your K3 by Artist, Album, Playlist, or just look through every track. The touch buttons make it fairly easy to scroll through a lot music and the interface with the blue ball highlighting what your on keeps it all sleek and together. The audio play back is top notch and the 5 equalizer settings (more with the new Korean firmware update) all work like a charm. The bass boost is excellent, even with earbuds. Theres also 3D sound, concert hall, voice, and normal mode. In each of these modes a different animation displays unless the graphic equalizer is on and then a, well, graphic equalizer displays all the time (thats what I use). The volume actually goes pretty high which is one of the things I like about the player, and the quality remains very good. Oh and before I forget, on the side of the device is the hold/power switch and on the buttom is the proprietary USB connection and headphone jack. One touch of the player and all the touch-sensative buttons and screen will light up unless the device is on hold. And since keeping the device on hold keeps the screen locked then the battery life will also last longer. But I've already gotten about 25 hours on one use and I charge around once or twice a week.

I think that pretty much covers the K3 itself but what else comes with it? Well also in its cute little package are a quick start guide, installation disc, charger/USB cable, and ear buds. I am confident that I can honestly say that the included ear buds are the best I've seen than with any other device. Not only do they sound great but they fit comfortably and don't get tangled up to easily. The USB cable is also the charger (so you need to keep the device plugged in to the computer to charge which takes about 3-4 hours from a completely dead battery state). You can't use just any cable cause the USB cable is a proprietary one. And the installation disc comes with the software you use to put music or photos or playlists on your device. I believe you can use WMP as well but I just use the included software. Now it is a little slow to start up and the transfer speeds aren't that great but the software does its job. I wouldn't recommend it neccesarily but I wouldn't discourage it. I mean I had a Sony mp3 player so in my opinion this is a huge step up from Sonicstage, which I guess isn't saying much. But don't let the crappy software keep you from this wonderful player. If your in the market for a flash player this one could be right up your alley don't skip over it. Its very small and very sexy and has a wonderful interface that anyone can get attached to. The OLED screen and touch-sensative buttons give the device the perfect feel to make it seem like one sexy slice of "digital delight." And for those of you who like variations theres the black model in 2 and 4GBs and a Lime and Red model in 2GBs.