iAudio U2 1 GB Digital Music Player Review

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(More customer reviews)This review describes the complete thought/research cycle for deciding a digital player. It includes hdd based, flash based, different flash based capacities, features, battery life etc. The features etc for any player are already available on the detail pages and else where so I'm not including those, instead doing the comparison exercise. I've also written this review for other flash players which I considered in the comparison.

I've been using iRiver SlimX iMP-CD350 CD/MP3 player for quite a while now and decided that its time to move to a smaller player which is more versatile and portable. I'm just not a CD person, and as soon as I buy a CD, I rip it and get the files all over my computers/laptops.

There are lot of smaller digital music players available in the market. My first decision point was to decide between HDD (hard disk drive) or Flash memory based players. HDD based are available from 4GB to 60 GB and since it has a mechanical drive, it's not suited well for my activities (gym/running etc). While flash based don't suffer with this draw back, they come only in 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB and 2GB.I wasn't buying a player to make it a permanent repository of all my music and having up to 1GB of music (16 hours of CD quality, 32+ hours otherwise) was good enough for me. For this reason, I decided to go with Flash based player. Plus, most flash based players have direct USB connectivity and some of those can also be used as a regular flash disk for document transfer and storage.

Next step was to decide the capacity. I was inclined for a 2GB player since it'll store even more songs, but found some warning in iAudio (Jet Audio) site where a 2gb version can store only up to 450 (files + folders) and the player cannot address the last 260MB memory of the player. I had also used a flash based 2gb usb storage device which had similar storage problems. So, I went with 1GB version and decided to give more time for 2GB+ technology.

Next was feature sets and brands. I had following things in mind in terms of features: formats capable, battery life, firmware upgradability, and FM player. I considered Creative (MuVO Micro N200), iRiver (iFP 799),Apple (iShuffle 1GB), and JetAudio (iAudio 5, G3, U2).

iRiverhad drawbacks were not being able to work as USB storage device, limitation on Ogg audio and MP3 VBR files. Apple was not just my thing since it lacked a display, FM tuner etc and accessories like FM player are added cost/size/weight too. Creative was also limited only on WMA amd MP3. It seemed like most of the players butiAudio/Jet Audio have format limitations.
Jet Audio (iAudio) had most of the formats available (MP3, WMA, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, ASF etc), firware upgradable, trendy size, good reviews, USB storage deviceand good choices. And, I was totally bought on iAudio.

The last step was to decide on the model. I considered iAudio i5, G3, and U2 version. The main differences are that I5 is based on 'AAA' batter and lasts only 15-20 hours, G3 is slightly wider but less longer model with 'AA' battery and supports up to 45-50 hours on one cell, and U2 was similar to '5' but had internal Lithium Polymer battery and the same 15-20 hours playback time. U2 model also lacked Ogg Vorbis format capability.
If I was travelling long distance and not able to charge LiPolymer battery, it's a waste. And, 15-20 hours just doesn't turn not ecnomical with 'AAA' battery, so I ended up with iAudio G3 1GB player and I'm very satisfied with the player itself.

Click Here to see more reviews about: iAudio U2 1 GB Digital Music Player

Product Description:
iAUDIO U2 is a ultra-compact 1 GB digital music player with FM Radio, Voice Recorder and Direct MP3 Encoder. Enjoy the highest-quality sound powered by BBE, 4 lines wide graphic LCD and 20 hrs of continuous playback with a built-in rechargeable battery.

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Coby MP-C886 MP3 Player with 1 GB Flash Memory, FM Radio & USB Drive Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this as a cheap MP3 player for my daughter's birthday.I figured she'd lose it anyway.She was excited when she opened it, but two hours later, I'd seen enough.Turns on, then off repeatedly when connected to the computer through the USB connection, so computer can never fully sync with the device.Our other MP3 players work fine.
COBY "customer support" is horrendous.First, "Damien" tells me that I must charge the unit for 4 hours.I argue with him that this thing takes a AAA battery, what's to charge!He gets back to me, agrees that it is defective.Then tells me they want a $6 MONEY ORDER to process a return.Returning to Amazon.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Coby MP-C886 MP3 Player with 1 GB Flash Memory, FM Radio and USB Drive

Product Description:
Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand but loaded with features, the Coby MP-C886 MP3 player lets you listen to your favorite tunes on the bus, at the park, and just about anywhere else. The device measures a mere 3.58 by 1.1 by 0.75 inches (W x H x D), with a removable end cap that reveals a direct USB plug for connecting to a computer (no cable required). More significantly, the MP-C886 offers 1 GB of integrated flash memory, so you can store roughly 16 hours of MP3 music or 32 hours of WMA music--more than enough for a marathon training run or a cross-country flight. And for those occasions when you need to transport data rather than music, the MP- C886 can handle that, too, with the ability to store JPEG photos, text documents, and more. The mobile storage function is ideal for transporting business documents across the country or serving as an overflow backup for your digital camera's memory card.
It's easy to navigate through the audio player's contents thanks to the high-contrast LCD display, which displays the song title and artist information. And as with the best MP3 players, the MP-C886 offers a number of handy extras, such as easy-to-use thumb navigation, a built-in digital FM tuner with a recording option, support for Windows Media DRM-10 online subscription services, an integrated microphone for digital voice recording, ID3 and LRC support for song and synchronized lyric information display, and a high-speed USB 2.0 interface (up to 40x faster than USB 1.0). The MP-C886, which runs on a single AAA battery (included), works with Windows 98 SE, Me, 2000, and XP and Mac OS X operating systems and carries a 90-day warranty.
What's in the Box
MP-C886 MP3 player, professional stereo earphones, USB extension cable, installation CD, AAA battery, user's manual.

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Centon 2GB moVox MP4 Player - 2GBMP4-001 Review

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(More customer reviews)This is definitely not a MP4 player. It only accepts AMV, which is a Chinese version of video files. It takes approximately 20 min to convert a AVI file to AMV format. Plus, the resolution for the display screen is 190x120 maximum. After 15 minutes looking at that screen, you are guaranteed to have watery eyes. My player even have another problem, I must tilt the screen to be able to to see the correct picture (20 degrees tilt). The control is not easy to figure out and cause a bit of inconvenient because buttons are too small and on the wrong side for a right-handed person. This is a cheap MP3 player, so DON'T expect much from it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Centon 2GB moVox MP4 Player - 2GBMP4-001

Product Description:
Centon 2GB moVox MP4 (Black)

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Samsung YP-T7JZ 1 GB Digital Audio Player with FM Tuner & Recorder Review

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(More customer reviews)Great sound.Sensible menu structure.You can use Windows Media Player or drag and drop files and folders.Has line in.Has built in microphone or you can use line in.FM radio actually works fairly well.You can record from FM too.Compression rate is selectable from unit as opposed to PC.Very small but still able to push buttons with old, beat up fingers.Screen very readable, unlike my Erickson/Sony cell phone.Battery life is reasonable.Customer support has been great.I had one problem that required help from the "next level" and he explained how to fix PC related problem.

Draw backs. Requires USB port to charge (or separate USB charger that you buy).Supplied ear buds are terrible.If you want to listen to music you will have to buy something better.Does not work with Mac OS X.You cannot drag and drop from Mac.Player is not recognized at all by Mac.Technical support says if you put more than 9 folders on player, it may (or may not) erase something already there.They are working on upgrade to firmware to address this issue.

Overall I am very pleased with player and use almost all the features.I highly recommend it.iPod comes up short on features by comparison.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung YP-T7JZ 1 GB Digital Audio Player with FM Tuner and Recorder

Product Description:
Listen to the music you want when you want with feather-light, multi-function Samsung YP-T7 flash memory digital audio player. Weighing just 1.3 ounces, the 1 GB YP-T7JZ plays both MP3 and WMA files, displays your favorite JPEG still images, and includes an integrated FM tuner and voice recorder (via built-in microphone). The built-in lithium-polymer battery recharges through the USB connection to your PC and offers up to 10 hours of playback. It's compatible with PCs running Windows XP SP1/SP2 systems with Windows Media Player 10 software, and it connects via USB 2.0 (which is built into the player).
It supports MP3, WMA, Audio ASF and OGG playback. The 1 GB memory will hold approximately 16 hours of CD-quality MP3 tracks (encoded at 128 kps) or 32 hours of WMA tracks (at 64 kbps). The FM radio enables you to record FM programming to the device's memory. Use the clock to program your player to record FM radio at specific times. This unit also features a 7-band user customizable EQ as well as eight EQ presets (including rock, classical, jazz, house, and ballad).
The YP-T7 also has offers USB host support, enabling you to connect external devices such as digital cameras or other MP3 players directly to the unit for easy transfer of music, images and other data files without the need for a PC. Other features include a 1.2-inch color TFT LCD screen, playlist playback, and a line-in jack for direct recording capability (to MP3).
What's in the Box
Samsung YP-T7 digital audio player (1 GB), earbuds, cable/charger, installation CD-ROM, and printed operating instructions
Choose your music. Choose your device. Know it's going to work.
Look for the PlaysForSure logo if you're shopping for a portable music or video device and you want to make sure the digital music and video you purchase will play back on it every time. Match the PlaysForSure logo on a large selection of leading devices and online music stores. If you see the logo, you'll know your digital music will play for sure.
The PlaysForSure logo makes it easy to find digital media stores and devices that work together. Choose from a large number of digital music and video stores, including MTV's Urge, Rhapsody, Yahoo!, MSN Music, MusicMatch, MusicNow, Napster, Wal-Mart Music Downloads, and many more.
Look for the PlaysForSure logo on a wide variety of devices including portable music devices, portable video devices, digital audio receivers, Pocket PC's and Smartphones.

The checkmarks indicate if the device is capable of playing back audio and/or video that's been downloaded from an online store. Additionally some devices will be able to play back media that has been purchase through an online store that offers subscription or rentals.

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Coby MP-C582 Clip MP3 Player 1 GB - Silver Review

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(More customer reviews)I wanted a little MP3 player to wear around the house while I was cleaning.This fits the bill, and I love the clip on feature.I would've given this 5 stars except for the fact that the volume doesn't get terribly loud.Also, I don't like ear pods because they tend to fall out of my ears.I thought I'd just swap a pair of regular, "walkman" style headphones, but they won't fit.Too big.Come to find out these are 2.5mm headphones.It does come with some sort of adapter, but I think that's for even larger headphones, so it didn't work with what I had.All in all, it's a nice little player for $25.I suppose it's probably better that the volume doesn't get so loud (better for your hearing), but I still like my music kinda loud.Now I'm on the hunt for a pair of 2.5mm headphones that fit over your head and have a volume control on the cord.Not a bad deal overall.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Coby MP-C582 Clip MP3 Player 1 GB - Silver

Product Description:
The Coby MP-C582 1 GB Clip MP3 Player is a convenient, and ultimately portable solution for taking your digital music with you wherever you go. The MP-C582 has 1 GB internal flash drive that will allow you to store up to 300 of your favorite songs at 128 kbps in either MP3 format, or as WMA digital music files. Not only does this digital music player store your music, but has a mobile data storage function that lets you transport important files as well. The MP-C582 utilizes USB 2.0 for ultra-fast file transfers between your computer and player, and has a built-in, spring-loaded back that allows you to clip it to you, wherever is most convenient and accessible. This Coby MP-C582 1 GB Clip MP3 player comes in silver, and includes a pair of professional stereo headphones to help ensure a quality sound experience, as well as a USB adapter and a 2.5-millimeter to 3.5-millimeter headphone adapter for versatility.
What's in the Box
Coby MP-C582 1 GB MP3 player, 1 x pair stereo headphones, USB adapter, 2.5-millimeter to 3.5-millimeter headphone adapter, user's guide and warranty information.

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Coby MP-C888 1GB MP3 Player w/FM Radio & USB Drive Review

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(More customer reviews)I got my player through a promotion.I already had an MP3 player in my Motorola phone, so I let this player sit for some time.Then I saw how many songs it held and switched players.Right now I have over 120 songs and still have room for a few more.

This player is quite easy to set up; no software is involved.I plug it into a USB port with the included extender cable.My computer picks it up as an external drive.I can then go into it and delete or "drag and drop" songs.I like the fact that it can read WMA's and not just MP3's and it's not picky about the bitrate.Sometimes I let Windows Media Player syncronize with my favorite songs.

The reasons I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 are: 1)The way it organizes music into folders (by artist, then album, then song - all of these folders have to be opened to delete a song) and 2)It takes a little while to learn the two controls.But other than those everything has been great.The sound is good and it requires only one battery.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Coby MP-C888 1GB MP3 Player w/FM Radio and USB Drive

Product Description:
Portable MP3 Digital Player with 1G MB Built In Flash Memory, FM Radio & USB Drive

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RCA Pearl 2 GB MP3 Player with FM Radio and Direct USB (Blue) Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't like proprietary stuff. I don't like proprietary software (iTunes, WMP), cables (the iPod dock connector) or nonreplaceable li-ions that have to be kept topped off on the charger between sporadic uses and stop holding their charge within 12 months (see also: Apple).

In other words, I am really only interested in MP3 players that are plug-and-play for file transfers with no particular software or OS required, that can run off of normal alkalines, and that use a standard USB cable of some kind or, better yet, have the USB connection facility right on the unit.

In the last few years I've bought several MP3 players - an old PNY player, couple of Sandisk m2x0 series players and a Creative MuVo v200 -which fit the aforementioned bill but had varying and sometimes serious shortcomings that have kept me looking for the ultimate in practical MP3 players. The Pearl TH1602 seems to be a new contender meeting my two big requirements, and at an even better price than the aforementioned cheapies. But, naturally, sadly, there are still some problems.

A prior reviewer mentions some frustration with ID3 tags on his Pearl not consistently working. I have found that some uploads to the player get corrupted somehow, with the tags to break partially or completely; they will appear with "Unknown Artist," "Unknown Album," etc., and many tracks in such batches will not be accessible at all. (The tags are still intact on the files themselves, as can be seen viewing the player's contents from a file-browser window - the player just seems unable or unwilling to read them.)

Once the player has broken the tags for itself like this, no amount of straight-up deletion and re-copying of those files will fix the broken tags. What *will* fix them - at least with the latest firmware, 1.2.1.0 - is 1) deleting the files from the player, then 2) renaming both the folder they're in (if applicable) and ALL of the files themselves. It doesn't have to be much - omitting or adding a hyphen somewhere in the filename will do it. You can use a mass tagging program to do this in two seconds.

I assume the player caches the actual filenames in its database on the first start after an upload, and then assumes that any filename it's seen before doesn't need looking at a second time. To be fair, I've had many similar problems with one of my Sansa flash-based players; the Pearl actually seems more willing than my Sansa to see the errors of its ways if you just rename the files and/or folder.

Commas in the artist or title tags seem to particularly befuddle the player and can help break the tags on their way to the player.

It seems RCA could fix this pretty easily in one of three ways. They could figure out what's causing tag corruption or misreads into the database, they could provide a "wipe database" option on the player that would force a new read of all files, or they could simply do what Rockbox firmware does (and what ALL mp3 players should be able to do)-- enable selection and ordered playback by folder and filename as opposed to ID3s.

I have also had some problems with the player just getting confused and weird in album or artist listings, which is usually cured with a restart.

News is good elsewhere. Sound quality is pretty decent. The player seems to be very well built and scratch resistant. The interface makes perfect sense and the radio works pretty well. The player is not gapless playback capable, but it's better / less hesitant between tracks than many. I do wish the voice recorder made its recordings at a higher sample rate, but that's par for the course on these players.

I don't know why some people are complaining that the th1602 won't play an album in order or it won't allow you to sort things in any way - I think this is user error or tag corruption. I've had no problems with organization or sensible playback order, once I've gotten it to recognize all my tags. If you go through Music --> Albums to make a selection, it has no problem playing a chosen album in correct order, and the albums themselves are shown in alpha order.

The thing is, this is considered a bottom-of-the-line device and I doubt it will see anywhere near as much attention from RCA's software team as it deserves. They will work this thing just to the point to reduce return rates and no further. But I'm actually pretty serious about my gear, and I look expressly for features that the MP3 player manufacturers consider "low end." If someone *would* bring out an AAA-powered device with a flip out USB connnection, just like this but with 16 or 32gb on it, along with firmware that really works... well, I'd certainly pay quite dearly for it. Get on it, and get on that firmware, RCA!

Click Here to see more reviews about: RCA Pearl 2 GB MP3 Player with FM Radio and Direct USB (Blue)

Product Description:
Sleek, slender, and absolutely stunning--exactly what you'd expect from a Pearl, one of RCA's Gem line of digital audio players. Not only can you easily download and listen to your favorite songs, but you also can enjoy the ability to listen and record FM radio directly onto your Pearl.

No Cords Required
The Pearl's direct USB connector design means you can quickly download your favorite open MP3, open WMA, and unprotected AAC tracks from any computer. This multifunction device will double as your MP3 player and a USB data storage device.
Connect directly to your computer with the built-in USB for fast file transfers. Expandable
Want more room? Not a problem. Add expandable memory in the MicroSD card slot and load it up with music. This option gives you the flexibility you need to store additional songs, audio books, and other large files.
Crystal Clear View
The Pearl's 0.8-inch OLED screen provides a vibrant viewing experience. A quick glance is all you need to see your navigation or information about the current track.
Tune in While You're Out
Better than a simple FM receiver, the Pearl allows you to record while listening to an FM station. The player will store the MP3 file until you're ready to listen again or download it to your computer.
What's in the Box
RCA Pearl 2 GB MP3 Player with FM Radio and Direct USB (Black), one AAA battery, earphones

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