Good Player, with a few minor issues

I don't have a lot of experience with MP3 players, so I looked around and found a couple that met my needs. In the end, I decided that the c150 was the best fit for my purpose.

My primary use of the device will be while traveling where it may not be close to a computer/USB cable for weeks. It would also be subject to bouncing around and vibration. These needs limited my search to a flash memory device with either a really long rechargeable battery life or replaceable batteries. I ended up choosing the c150 over the Samsung YP-Z5 because the folks at the local big box electronics store told me they had been having problems with the longevity of the rechargeable battery and the cost of replacement...and I also wanted a radio.

Overall, the c150 is a little bigger than a pack of gum, small enough to fit in your pocket, although maybe not comfortably. I found that working with the unit was fairly straight forward and was able to use it without reference to the manual (which is good, because there isn't much of a manual). The unit is all plastic, but doesn't look as cheap as the m series and I prefer the tactile raised buttons on this unit. I would have preferred that the unit use a standard mini USB cable instead of a custom connector. The connector also has no cover, so debris may be an issue. The other connection is the standard 1/8" stereo plug. It has a built-in mic but no line in interface.

Navigation is simple, using the 4-way controller with the center select button but may be tedious if you have long lists of music to scroll thru. It supports grouping by Artist, Genre, Album, Playlists, Audible, and Recordings. Playlist support requires WMP 10 setup to automatically sync (tech support answered question) or you have one list that can be modified on the device. The only issue I had with the device is that if you have long file or album names, the interface takes a LONG time to scroll additional characters on screen. If you are in a menu, the menu will timeout after only 2 or 3 new characters are displayed (long album names with several volumes may be impossible to select via the menu). Hopefully, they will address the scroll speed in a firmware update.

Sound quality seems good but the supplied earbuds lack a little lower end response (still reasonable though). The unit doesn't get overly loud (neither did the YP-Z5 I tried), but then again, that would probably just drain the battery faster. The FM radio seems to get good reception, even for something so small with no external antenna. The unit supports MP3, WMA, WMA-VBR, and WMA-DRM file types.

The c150 has a color screen and supports still pictures with a slide show function. Of course, with a screen roughly the size of a large postage stamp, why you would view pictures on it is beyond me (it has no zoom functionality). The best use I could think of was to download custom wallpaper, but the unit doesn't support wallpaper. The screen does make for a nice interface, but I found it to be difficult to read in bright sunlight.

The device has two communications modes: MTP and MSC. In MTP mode, it connects as a Windows audio device and can download songs (including DRM protected) and playlists via WMP 10 and copy data to a "data" folder. In MSC mode, the device acts just like a flash based disk drive. I believe that this mode will work with older operating systems, but did not test that configuration. Songs copied over in MSC mode will be added to the database and can be played by the device. Files copied over in one mode, however, cannot be accessed via computer in the other mode (I assume to support DRM issues).

The biggest issue to me seems to be battery life. At the time of this writing, Sandisk claimed that it could last up to 15 hours on 1 AAA battery. I decided to test this out. Using a relatively new, just recharged 750mAh NiMH battery I set the unit up to continuously loop thru a list of 20 WMA-VBR encoded files at approximately 75% volume. I tried to periodically manipulate the controls to bring the screen alive, but this is by no means a scientific test. What I did find was that I got between 6 and 7 hours on three attempts before the unit shut down. I'm guessing that "real world" battery life using good alkaline batteries will probably be in the 10~12 hour range (but this is just a guess).

Overall, I like the unit. So, what would I change if I could? I'd change from an AAA to an AA battery, which would give the unit much longer battery life even if it would increase the form factor a little. If I couldn't find a higher contrast color screen, I'd consider changing to an OLED or similar display to reduce battery requirements and increase readability in sunlight. And I'd use a standard mini USB connector so when I am near a computer but don't have my cable, I can still transfer files if need be.

For me, with 2GB I was able to load 36 albums on it and still have more than enough room for a number of podcasts. It is small enough I can take it anywhere, and I don't need a USB connection to charge it. So, for now, I'll just take a pocket of batteries with me and be happy.