iAudio X5 20 GB Portable Multimedia Player with FM Tuner & Voice Recorder (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Cowon? You may not have heard of them (yet) but they make the best audio (iAudio U2) and audio/video (iAudio X5) players on the market. Their products put them in the same league as Sony and Apple.

Positives:
The first thing you notice about the iAudio X5 is the high-quality feel of its aluminum shell and how everything fits together perfectly, with solid controls.

The size is about the same as an Ipod Photo, but with the addition of a video display. The TFT type LCD is not the best you can get on a portable player, only 1.8 inches and 160x128 pixels, but the screen is bright and clear. Video playback at 15fps is good considering the display size.

Navigation is from a 5-way joystick, which is as good as Ipod and more comfortable than just about everything else.
FM reception and audio quality is excellent, close to gapless MP3 playback. Charges over both USB or AC adapter is a plus.

Negatives:
Does not support ID3-tag database.
Cannot view photos and hear music at the same time.
No video recording
No external volume controls
No video output!

Conclusion:
At its current price, the iAudio X5 has no direct competition.
I can only think of two reasons NOT to buy it:
1 - you want a TINY mp3 player (get a JetAudio iAudio U2)
2 - you want to output videos to a tv (still waiting)

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Product Description:
Sturdy, versatile, and remarkably compact, given its voluminous storage capacity, iAudio's X5 portable multimedia deviceis sure to be a hit. The 20 GB audio/video player and recorder can store about 5,000 songs (4 minutes each, 128 kbps) i n a nearly unparalleled choice of formats, from MP3 and WMA to linear (uncompressed, CD-quality) WAV files, Ogg Vorbis f iles (which sound a bit better than MP3 for files of comparable size), as well as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec, compr essed but designed for 1:1 encode/decode). The X5 can recognize up to 2,000 folders and 10,000 individual files, and itssuper power-saving circuit provides up to 14 hours continuous playback on a full charge.
Coolest of all? You can import photos taken from most digital cameras and view them on the player's 160 x 128-pixel, 260 ,000-color TFT LCD thanks to OTG ("on the go"), the player's USB host feature. (Certain digital cameras are not supporte d; see www.iaudio.com for compatibility.) Create your own logo or download logos from the iAudio web site. You can also set a picture of your choosing as wallpaper.


Click here to view a detailed list of parts.
The player also offers FM radio listening and recording (with one-touch tuning presets), audio recording through either a built-in microphone or analog line-in input terminals, and the ability to read text as well as images--you can even vi ew text, though not images, while listening to music.
Use the included JetAudio software to convert various video files to MPEG-4 (up to 15 fps), then enjoy the transcoded vi deo files on the X5. Another program, JetShell, performs CD ripping and file conversion and facilitates music playback.< P>The X5 provides direct encoding, too, by which you can capture the output of an external audio device. This means you co nnect the output terminal of an external audio device to the recording (input) terminal of the X5 using a bidirectional stereo cable (supplied), letting you load material from components like a DVD player, a cassette deck, a minidisc player , a turntable, or a TV.
And, with the unit's built-in, high-fidelity microphone, the X5 can record speech with the quality of dedicated voice re corders--perfect for important meetings, lectures, and notes to self.
Onboard sound processing includes BBE Sound enhancement, BBE Mach3Bass, MP Enhance (designed to compensate for sound los t in MP3 compression), a 5-band adjustable equalizer, and 3D Surround (3-dimensional sound that gives the sound a wide s ense of space).
What's in the Box
iAudio player, stereo earphones, a subpack, an installation CD (JetShell and JetAudio), a USB 2.0 cable, a line-in recor ding cable, a USB host adapter, an AC power adapter, a user's manual, and warranty information.

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ZVUE 250 2 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I got 2 of these. One for my husbad that travels and another for the home. I can convert a whole DVD in 2 steps (mpeg2 then dvix) the final file is around 89-129MB depending on the length of the movie. Watch the width size or file may not play. 160-144 pixles is great. 15 fps gets the size smaller. Dr Divx is an older program but works awsome.

Picture clarity on screen great, sound good, battery life up to 2 movies. So far on a 2 gig card ( I got $18.00 new egg) I stored 8 movies , variety of music , and about 120 pictures. Be sure and reduce to size of pictures or it could take up to five seconds for the zvue to adjust it for you to fit. The pictures can play in a slidshow mode. Great settings.

Customer support Awsome. They answer right away at night WOW. Had trouble updating firmware and player froze (my fault). I paniced cause I wanted to give it at Christmas Day, which was 2 days away, and support one day aired me a 128MB card that had the new firmware upgrade and problemed solved. I was able to wrap and give ready with movies working.

My only complaint is their Zapp software doesn't convert the files small enough. A movie with their soft ware is 500-600MB. So Be advised you'll have to use 3rd party software and again watch the pixle width so it will play properly. Drag and drop your converted files via USB into the formated card in it's proper file. I only use Zapp software to format the SD card. If you use their software to transfer files it will want to reconvert it and then size is increaded. If you are not tech savey then software will work fine just be sure to get a 4Gig card.

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Product Description:
The ZVUE 250 is a sleek, thin, full-featured personal media player featuring a brilliant 2.5-inch screen. Enjoy your favorite music, videos, and photos on the go in a pocket-sized package.


Enjoy your favorite music, videos and photos anywhere. Click to enlarge.
Ultra-slim at just half an inch thick. Click to enlarge.
Easy, intuitive controls. Click to enlarge.
MMC/SD Card Storage
The ZVUE 250 uses MMC/SD cards to store your files, which means you can keep different content on different cards and swap them out quickly and easily.
Brilliant LCD Display
The ZVUE 250 boasts a 2.5-inch, active matrix TFT LCD. With 16.8 million colors, LED backlighting, and a 160 x 234 resolution, it's great for navigating your player's features, reading track info, enjoying videos and photos, and more.
Video Playback
Enjoy your favorite videos in AVI, ASF, Xvid, MPEG4, and WMV formats. Download your favorite videos, movies, and TV shows for enjoyment on the go.
Music Playback
Play your MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, or MP2 music files, with complete ID3 tag support for displaying artist and track info for each tune.
Image Viewing
Take some of your JPG/BMP images with you to share with friends. Files up to 10 megapixels in size can be viewed.
Dual Headphone Ports
Perfect for sharing the music with a friend, the ZVUE 250 features dual headphone ports.
What's in the Box
ZVUE Model 250 personal media player, Earphones, Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, AC Adapter, ZVUE Media Manager software, USB cable, Quick Start Guide, 128 MB SD-Card (preloaded with videos, cartoons, music and more)

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Sansa Fuze 4GB MP3 Player - MXR14R004G Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Having the previous version of this MP3 player, I have to say this is THE BEST MP3 player around on the market.

This MP3 player looks a little bit like the new Ipod Nano, which unlike the Nano it has a FM tuner, a Micro-SD slot to increase the memory by 2 gigs, and everything else the Nano has (and than some).

It does have video compatibility (I don't really watch videos or shows on this device; I mainly use it for music but there are videos on it once you buy it and the videos look amazing).

The sound is better on this one than on the earlier generation, though you still have the two second time gap when it goes to the next song, but I got used to it so it doesn't bother me at all.

So it you are looking for an alternative product to the Ipod, look no further than this product right here.

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Disney Mix Max High School Musical Personal Media Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Great concept, and our daughter loves it - when it works. Would be interesting to see the percentage of Mix Maxes that are functioning properly after 6 months of use.

Mix Max #1 had problems after 3 weeks - screen froze and the clock stopped at 5:33am. We were able to return it for an even exchange.

Mix Max #2 worked for 2 1/2 months, then it started having inermittent blank screens, the Disney card movies would not play ("file not supported" messages appeared) and the time locked at 5:33am. The centerplay button is not working properly - when pressed it does not always play until you find a "sweet spot" that it accepts.

Daughter was so attached to it that against better judgement we bought Mix Max #3. The 5:33 "feature" is still there. When you reset the time it appears correctly, but the first time you cycle the power - you are back to 5:33. After 3 1/2 months the intermittent blank screens started. 3 sides of the "mickey ears" used for navigation stopped working after about 4 months (1 hour in to a 7 hour airline flight), so now our daughter can only get music or a movie by reinserting a card and IF the autoplay decides to work. Disappointing since this was our third Mix Max and we bought accesories and all the movie/music cards with purchase #1.

We tried calling repeatedly for support for the issues with all 3 - were told each time that they "looking into" the problems, but have no fix and because we were outside the 90 days from initial purchase were out of luck as far as a replacement or exchange.

Great idea, cool features - if you get one that lasts longer than 3 months. Next time we will spend a more for a stable player from a company that supports their products. Only buy this if you do not mind having it break or have intermittent errors, and if you do not need reliable support or customer service.

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Product Description:
Disney Mix Max Personal Media Player - High School Musical Orange.Everything you need to play music, movies, TV shows, music videos and digital photos on the go! 2.2" TFT Color Display.512 MB memory, SD/MMC card slot expands memory up to 2 GB.Full featured MP3 player supports MP3, WMA audio files, WMV/MP4 video.

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SanDisk Sansa View 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought the Sansa View on sale for $129.99, and I am very pleased with it. As a first-time buyer of an mp3 player, I was reluctant to pluck down a lot more money for an IPod, which at this point seem overpriced and overrated, given the other choices that are now out there.

The sound quality is quite good. I'd forgo the built-in EQ settings, which sound uninspired, and opt for the custom EQ that allows you to tailor the frequency response to your own tastes. I agree with some other criticisms that I've read online both in customer and professional reviews that lower bass response is a bit lacking.But I've found that a combination of tweaking the custom EQ settings, plus buying a better pair of earbuds that the ones provided, make up for this mild inadequacy. I bought V-Moda Bass Freq earbuds, which really help to round out the sound of the Sansa by providing plenty of lower bass response. My listening tastes range across classical, jazz, rock, blues, popular, and electronica, and the sound quality the Sansa provides is very good across all these genres.

The Sansa View is a bit large for a flash-memory based player, but I think this is due to the generous size of the display. The video quality is bright, sharp, and with good color, for videos, photos, and album covers. One small complaint is that the wallpaper options are quite plain, and there doesn't seem to be a way to add your own wallpaper options (or at least I haven't discovered it yet). Menus are simple and easy to navigate.

One feature I really wanted which no IPods have is an FM tuner. The digital tuner works quite nicely, with good sound and reception and up to 20 presets.

I really like the control wheel. It works smoothly and the rubber gives it a supple feel. And the look of the Sansa View simple and elegant, with a shiny piano black finish, with the body having a sturdy, solid build quality to it.

I've found the 8gb built-in memory to be more than adequate for my CD library. I've loaded around 60 CDs (a little over 1100 songs), and I still have about 1.5gb left. Bear in mind that many of my CDs are classical symphonies, jazz compilations, or electronica, which average 60-70 minutes each and take up space more quickly than your average CD. And the expansion slot for a microSD card, which I haven't tried yet, would allow me to add an additional 8gb of storage.

Overall, I'd rate the Sansa View as "best in class" in terms of offering very good overall quality and a generous selection of features for a modest price, compared to other comparable mp3 players.

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