An excellent alternative to an iPod
Pros:
excellent sound/video playback; quality headphones; dedicated volume toggle
Cons:
hard to find in stores, slightly more expensive than some other 8GB players
The Bottom Line:
If you're looking for a flash mp3 player, you can't go wrong with the Sony A818
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
There's very little not to like about the A818. I've only owned mine for a short time, but already I am greatly impressed by the audio quality. Sometimes I feel as though I'm hearing my music for the first time, the sound is such an improvement over my old player.
Of course, a lot of this has to do with the relatively high-quality headphones that come with the A818. Unlike most other mp3 players out there, the Sony comes with a nice set of sound insulating ear buds. Many users complain about the short cord, but it's probably just the right length if you are putting your player in an armband. There is also an optional extension cord that would easily allow you to put the A818 in your pocket. In my opinion, the irritating asymmetrical design is a much bigger flaw than the short cord. However, all of these things can be excused because of the excellent sound.
Navigation in the A818 is a breeze. The menus are easy to operate intuitively and allow for some customization. In addition, the controls are all well-located (although some people complain about the hold switch being on the back). This model also includes a dedicated volume toggle, which is one of the reasons why I chose the Sony.
In addition to having excellent audio playback quality, I am quite impressed with the video playback as well. Files usually need to be converted to the correct format, but there are plenty of free programs that do a good job converting if you don't want to pay for Sony's software. Once loaded onto the A818, playback is smooth and looks very nice (or at least as nice as possible on a 2" screen). My only complaint about video playback is that you need to rotate the video 90 degrees to fill the screen. This requires you to hold the player in a similar fashion which, while itself if not an issue, makes the volume toggle work in the opposite direct (i.e. "vol " becomes "vol -"). A minor complaint, but a little niggle nonetheless.
Overall, I'd say the Sony A818 is an excellent alternative to Apple's iPod. The price is similar, but the sound quality is reported to be better (I've never tested this myself). I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this player to anyone looking for an 8GB flash mp3 player.
