9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Probably the best deal for the money
Date of Review: Jul 7, 2006
The Bottom Line: Best bang for your buck.
This is my first MP3 player. I bought it after a bit of research, and mostly chose this one due to the 6 GB capacity, plus a mini-SD expansion. I've been a little leery about the failure rates of the hard drives in most other models. I also wanted a player that allowed me to drag-and-drop files to it w/out using some 3rd party software to convert them to a supported format, or otherwise(like iTunes...guh). It's also nice because I can use it as a portable drive to transfer files between computers.
My complaints are minor, but noticeable...
Firstly, the buttons are not very finger friendly; the volume control & "enter" button very are easy to use, but probably the least used...you spend more time navigating than pressing enter or adjusting volume, and the navigation buttons are sometimes hard to reach.
The extra features it has are a little silly...I can't imagine why you would want to store pictures or video on an mp3 player...other than a portable porn library, maybe? This is compounded by the fact that any (porn) pictures or videos you want to load on the player have to be converted using the provided software. The FM radio is kind of neat, and the reception is decent, but I don't see myself using this much at all. I'm also not sure the point of the built-in mic or FM tuner recorder.
While I love being able to drag-and-drop audio files, I've found that you have to be sure to have your ID3 tags updated, or it will have problems identifying artists/albums. It's a little too "smart" for its own good in this sense; I would much prefer it to rely on the folder organization, and not on the ID3 tags.
The sound quality has been pretty good, but I've noticed that the volume is considerably lower than most other devices, even at full-volume. I imagine this is a power-saving mechanism, and if so, I can accept it. Unfortunately I haven't had enough experience with other MP3 players to make a comparative judgement on this.
I love the feel of the device; it's a perfect size and weight, feels sturdy, and the buttons have a good feel when you press them. I only wish that there was a case available to protect the SCREEN. I'm sure that in time, the screen will be full of scratches (not unlike the plastic face of my watch).
All in all, I'm happy with what I got for $225. I got it from newegg.com whom I can't say enough good things about...and they didn't even charge me tax!
