One such company is Archos. Although Archos was not that successful in satisfying its customers with the Archos Generation 5, it has suddenly popped up into the list of the top mp3 player producers when it has released the new Archos 5 Internet Tablet. It has vivified its media player by introducing more features and by making it look more stylish. The Archos 5 faces strong opposition from Apple’s iPod Nano and Microsoft’s Zune HD. But iPod Nano does not have GPS and the Zune HD had limited codec support; and the Archos 5 has both these features and also slightly cheaper than the other two. So, it will be a worthy attempt if you read the following review that explains its features as it will never cease to amaze you.

Design:

Chic and sleek:
The Archos 5 resembles a modern mobile phone or the Play Station Portable from Sony. It is very chic and also so sleek that it can easily be fitted into your pocket. It measures 5.5 inches wide, 3 inches high and an urbane thickness of 0.4 inches and 0.8 inches, for flash drive and hard drive types respectively. So, it is quite clearly very rectangular in shape. There is a stand at the back of it so that it can be placed on the table just like a photo frame. This stand is so seamlessly integrated inside the body of the player that you do not actually find it without keen observation. The only thing that might worry you is that the metallic finish retains fingerprints. So, the outer surface must be cleaned time and again. Otherwise, the design is absolutely luring.

Display:
This part of the player plays a cameo role. The 4.8” display awes you as you almost do not find such candid display in many others. The black levels are very good, second to only Apple iPhone. This is because the display is not OLED.  But no other mp3 player has such good black levels and contrast. But on the other hand, watching videos and photos is much easy and comfortable in the Archos when compared to the iPhone or the iPod. The screen resolution is 800 x 480 pixels and is of TFT resistive touchscreen type. This means that you need to press the screen a little harder than normal, for the screen is a bit harder and more resistive to touch. For scrolling, you need to press the screen a little longer and harder. But many mp3 players now are coming with a capacitive type touchscreens. Another drawback that is clearly seen here is that this player does not support multi touch. So the options like pinch and zoom are certainly absent here and if you are used to them, you will be disappointed. But, except this, the overall display is excellent.

Features:

Android OS:
Android is one of the very interesting operating systems. It looks more interesting on the Archos than on the mobile phones, on which it features more often than not. If you are already acquainted with this operating system, your work will be easier. But do not be so worried if you are not, because this is a very easy OS to get acquainted with and it is also simple to understand and use. This Android OS is a modification of Linux kernel. It was at first developed by Android but it was later purchased by Google. At present, Open Handset Alliance has all the copyrights of this operating system. Android has a few interesting features but the most important thing is that it looks cool and is easy to use.

Virtual Keyboard:
This is the feature that comes along with gadgets that have both touchscreen facility and a large display. Most smartphones and music players today are coming with this facility in order to look catchier. This Virtual Keyboard eliminates the presence of a separate keyboard that eats away more space and consequently, there is no sufficient space for the display. Here, the keys on the virtual keyboard are big enough for all and hence there are no problems with typing. Many other smartphones have smaller keys and hence there are chances that two keys are touched simultaneously. There is no such problem here. On the whole, it is very good.

HDTV Connection:
The HDTV Connection facility helps you in synchronising your Archos to a HD TV with the help of the HDMI cable and then transfer photos and videos between them. This is a cool facility. The Archos itself is a good player of HD movies. But if you want to watch the movies on the TV, then you can always connect the Archos to the TV and the watch your favourite movies and photos in HD quality and on a bigger screen.

Wireless Connectivity:
This has been one of the common features of Internet Tablets. But when you are talking about a music player, this is certainly an unprecedented feature. With wireless connection facility, you can connect your device to the internet and then browse the web. You can also search and download your favourite music and videos. The Archos 5 Internet Tablet MP3 Audio, Video Player comes with Wi-Fi facility so that it allows easy access to the internet. Also, you can keep in touch with your friends and family. You can share your pictures, videos and music with them and can also chat with them through Yahoo, Google talk or Facebook. So, this feature will prove to be one of the pluses for the Archos.

Mobile TV:
Digital TV, over the air, is supported all over Europe and the US, though there is no DVB broadcast for testing. Powered by Vtuner there is also the webTV, an application for web streaming that allows you to connect to various TV channels worldwide. You can choose the channel you would like to watch, but there are a lot of channels that are unimportant. The video quality each of these TV channels varies with the band width of that particular channel, but most of them are okay. Some of them may look hazy but that is the way it is. One option that makes this feature lively is the Archos Media Club. You can create an Archos Media Club account and then download videos of your own choice so that they can be viewed later. You may have to pay for the downloading process and the amount depends.

GPS:
Archos has provided the GPS option for the Archos 5 MP3 Player. You will see a map that is a photo satellite view version of the GPS. Each map is of 2 GB and the quality is pretty good. An important thing is that there are only maps of Europe and the maps of the US are absent. So, if you would like to take the Archos 5 outside of Europe, do not expect it to direct you to your destination. This may be another drawback in the player. Also, a fast moving 2D or 3D map is better than a slowly scrolling map because while you are driving, you need a better and a faster GPS system. This feature has a lot of options for you to customise it. A few of the options are; Map Appearance, Language, Routing Options, Traffic Options, System Options, Safety Options, General, and so on. So, you can personalise the GPS system in your own way.

Web:
Web browsing experience is pretty good at all times. The web pages are very candid and you often do not need to zoom or scroll into a page. Reading the news on the Archos 5 is fun and you will really enjoy browsing through the pages as the Archos 5 is perfectly suitable for it. Flash is otherwise supported by the device but there is no in-browser Flash support. This means that you cannot browse through YouTube or Hulu. This is definitely going to disappoint many because YouTube is very essential and everyone will miss the joy of watching videos from YouTube on the Archos. Although everything else is very good, we hope that the Flash option will be added in the near future and the web application will be complemented.
These are precisely the features that are sporting in the Archos 5. They show that this model has been developed a lot more when compared to its predecessors. All the above features are so exciting and they are also, most importantly, very useful.

Performance:

So far, you have seen the latest and the very prolific features of the Archos 5. But along with these interesting features, you also need a very good performance so that it makes your player a complete one. So, Archos has also concentrated its attention on this part of the Archos 5 and tried to improvise it. Let us see what the renovations are and how these new options fare.

Music:
Basically, since the Archos 5 is a music player, Archos has given it all the music features it possibly could. The mp3 playback is very good indeed. There are no problems at all during playing music. Over the uPNP devices like the HP Mediasmart Server, you can have your music being played without any problems. An important thing you need to notice here is that the music can be played on the background also, so you can resume to other works on the device even while listening to music.

Video:
The video, as expected, is absolutely top notch. With the magnificent 4.8” screen and excellent display that is already discussed, you can experience excellent video quality. Archos comes from a portable media world and hence you can always expect very good video quality. The Archos 5 Music Player can handle videos of 720p quality very well without any problems. So, it is recommended that you play 720p video files. Even the YouTube videos can be played well. To complement this video quality, it is recommended that you get a pair of earphones to experience the optimum sound experience. Although the speakers are very good and better than that of the Apple iPhone, it is better that you watch these videos with the earphones.

Images:
The images part of the player is also very good. The photos and pictures look awesome on the Archos 5. A simple wipe will take you to the next picture. The movement is a bit slower than normal and you would expect the pictures to just move in and out pretty smoothly. But this did not happen with the Archos 5. A bit more of GPU could have helped in rectifying the situation. Otherwise, the photos are very good on it.

App Store:
It is comparatively disappointing that the Archos 5 Flash MP3 & MP4 Player did not have a very good Application Store. The application takes a lot of time to load even simple and basic applications. Even the searches and updates are very slow and the reasons are unknown. But this is such an obvious problem and hope that it will be repaired soon. Besides being very slow, the applications are not sorted well enough to browse easily and also there are no top rated applications in the store as it is a new one. But things only get better from here since this is a starting point.

Email:
The Email facility is good and it is an easy process. You can easily configure Gmail or Yahoo mail, just like on an Android phone. All you need to do is enter the Email id and the password and then the device will configure the rest for you. There is a possibility for adding many accounts simultaneously. Again here too, the display is very good and it amplifies the Email experience. The only thing that is on the lower side is the Microsoft Exchange, which is not supported by the device, which is very surprising since the Android phone has it. But other than this, the rest of it fine.

So, on the whole, the performance part of it was very good. It is good to see the design and features, which are already pretty attractive, being well supported by an excellent performance.

Accessories:

When it comes to accessories, the Archos is very fecund. There are quite a number of them and especially, the dock is very adjuvant. You can also have a look at the Helmet Camcorder that is provided along with this tablet and also the video cables that support the Archos 5.

Battery:

The display size and the increased processor speed have accounted for the decrease in the battery life. The battery life of the Archos 5 is about 4 hours of video and 12 hours of music. This is comparatively low but the firmware update promises longer battery lives that give you 22 hours of music and 7 hours of video.  But this is only on paper and we will have to wait and see if Archos lives up to these expectations.

Warranty:

Archos provides parts and labour warranty for a period of one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is valid only in the country in which it is purchased.

Verdict:

It is a great job done by Android in providing a good Internet Tablet. The design is predominantly excellent. The features are very good and unique. Archos came up with a few options that make it look even more interesting. The overall performance is excellent, barring the App Store, which is too slow to be used. The wireless Internet facility is good it also works fine. The web experience is also very good but there is no in-browser flash option. There is a problem with the OS and many users have already complained on it. So, Archos, in view of fixing the problem, released another category of tablets with operating system as the Microsoft Windows 7. This action has resolved many issues concerning the OS.

So, the Archos 5 is an excellent Internet Tablet if it could rectify the minor errors. It will definitely lead to new revolutions in the music player market. All the successful music players in the market have had smaller screens and fewer options. But a bigger display of 4.8” only enhances the experience even though it may seem difficult to pocket it. But in total, the Archos 5 MP3 Video Player is an excellent partner for your needs of music and videos particularly when you are on the go. The cost is also pretty reasonable. While there are simple music players in the market that cost the same and do not have any extra features or options, Archos has in it many new features and options that enhance its performance and hence making it not only a great music player but also a great Internet Tablet.

Check other Archos MP3 Players, Latest MP3 Player Reviews, Specs in this website.

Archos 5 Internet Tablet MP3 Player - Technical Specification Table

The MuVo series of Creative:

Among the various models that Creative launched, the Creative MuVo emerged to be the most wanted for many obvious reasons. The various models in the MuVo series include the basic MuVo, MuVo NX, MuVo USB 2.0, MuVo TX, MuVo TX FM, MuVo V200, MuVo Sport C100, MuVo Slim, MuVo² XT, MuVo², MuVo² FM, MuVo Mix, MuVo Micro N200, MuVo Chameleon, MuVo Vidz, MuVo V100, MuVo S200, and the very latest MuVo T100. Most models in the MuVo series exploit the use of flash memory for data storage , the MuVo² and MuVo² FM models are exceptions however because they use micro drives.

This review will mainly focus on a particular model of the Creative MuVo series that is, the MuVo T100 MP3 player.

Sleek and Clever Design:

The Creative MuVo T100 2GB, 4GB MP3 Media Player is definitely one of the best integrated high impact music player and portable file storage devices the electronic world has seen. It is slim and lightweight build, the one-touch bass button, lets music lovers’ groove in to the pulsating beat when their music calls for it. The dimensions of the T100 being of 2.5 x 7.63 x 0.86 inches (W X H X D). It weighs just 0.71 ounces. The player is split into two parts of different sizes. The smaller part functions as the audio player housing all of the controls, inputs and outputs, internal microphone, and a male USB-A plug. The larger part has a female USB-A receptacle, and holds the battery.

It sports a thumb drive feature and allows data transfer without the need of separate cables, one for charging and one for data transfer. The Creative MuVo T100 player is designed for hang loose, but astir teenagers who enjoy both the functionalities as an MP3 player to play their favourite music and storage features both in a single device.

Attractive colour options to choose from:

The 2GB version of the Creative MuVo T100 comes in 5 colours: Black, White, Vibrant Pink, Red and Blue; and the 4GB version comes only in Black.

Ports, Buttons and Connectivity:

At the top side of the player, the MuVo T100 sports a 3.5 mm earphone jacket. At the front side of the player, what you get to see is a 5 way navigation pad, with the power/play button at the middle, previous/next track buttons on left and right sides, the volume up/volume down buttons up and below.
The slider on one side of the player lets one choose the play mode between shuffle, repeat all and an additional option to skip folders during playback. On the other side comes the Bass Boost button which is one of the unique features of the MuVo T100 (discussed later in the review).

User Interface:

The Navigation capabilities of the MuVo T100 is quite un-responsive and slow, but is not as difficult as it might seem on the very first look. The controls provided on the back of the T100 come handy when in need. There are problems with browsing too as it is sometimes extremely very difficult and tends to hang often, and occasionally needs to be switched off and restarted.

Compatibility:

Creative MuVo T100 has a lot of compatibility issues. The point which concerns us the most is that it is not compatible with Linux or Mac. But again, it has no compatibility issues with Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 for that matter.

It’s video play back and audio file compatibility is also questionable. When it comes to the traditional mp3 format, it has no problems. Still some scepticism remains on as to whether it can play WMA (non-DRM/DRM) error free.

Features:

Audio Player or Storage Device?
One unique feature of the MuVo is that it can also double as a mass-storage device, using a MSC transfer protocol. For what it is worth, the Creative T100 MuVo player can deal with almost every common file format, ranging from the normal MP3 and WMA audio formats to the Audible audio book formats, except for the compatibility issue that we had discussed earlier.

Folder Organization:
The option to organize music into folders is a great idea and comes handy when you want to search for your favourite music. But this is not a unique feature of the MuVo T100 and cannot be counted as an obvious advantage.

The Bass Boost:
This feature of the Creative MuVo T100 Portable MP3 audio player lets you enhance your music tracking by boosting its bass. The Bass Boost button is pressed repeatedly to switch between 2 levels of bass boosting. Level 1 provides a high bass level. On choosing this setting, the indicator beside the Bass Boost button is dimly lit. Level 2 provides a higher bass level compared to Level 1. On choosing this setting, the indicator beside the Bass Boost button is brightly lit.

Performance:

Sound Quality:
The Creative MuVo T100 is capable of very high decibel levels, and which is why it is not recommended for starters, unless and until they want to go tone deaf. The player works just fine with the high and low frequencies and provides a decent range. It is however the bass line where the player lacks in performance. Even with the Bass Boost feature activated, the player is not a performer when compared to its rivals.

Irritating Earphones:
The earphones that come with the player are quite noisy and irritating, and replacing them with quality earphones does not really solve the problem. This simply implies that the problem is not with the earphones, but with the sound output of the player as such.

Amazing Battery life:

The Creative MuVo T100 MP3 player’s battery life lasts for up to 10 hours during playtime. What is important is that it can be recharged either using a set of batteries and via the Universal Serial Bus, that is, the USB. This feature makes the MuVo T100 more practically useful than many of the players available now in the electronic market, which usually features only one of these options: either a USB or batteries.
There might be a little debate over the performance of the battery though, as battery life actually depends on the quality of your music and how loud you want it to be while listening.

Warranty:

The Creative MuVo T100 comes with a limited one year hardware warranty. Now, here is the catch - The warranty period will be extended by each whole day that the Product is out of your possession for repair under the warranty period.

Creative does also give a warranty for the repaired and replaced parts to be free from any material or workmanship defects. The warranty period begins from the date of repair or replacement for a period of 90 days or for the remainder of the product warranty period whichever is greater.

Verdict:

The advantages of the Creative MuVo T100 are numerous, which include simple design, amazing battery life, quick startup, affordable price and many more. The Cons of this USB MP3 player are very few compared to the pros. This might however not help in the decision making process, as one of the first things you would want to know about an MP3 player before buying it is the audio quality, and sadly for this model, the audio quality is just about average.

Unless you are a hardcore audiophile who is looking for a player with exceptional sound fidelity, the Creative MuVo T100 is just what the doctor prescribed, considering the decent sound quality and storage capacity.

Creative Muvo T200 MP3 Player is latest product in this series from creative.  Check other 2010 Latest MP3 Player Reviews in this website.

Creative MuVo T100 Music Player & USB Flash Drive - Technical Specification Details

Sony, is been known for its innovation and one cannot fail to fall in love with its constant introduction of technology products. They are popular for all range of products and particularly the concentration for the mid range and the high range products are impressive. Along with the desire to serve the customers best most of its models are worth its design, style and the functional abilities.

Model Overview: There have been quite many models that functions as plug and play interface, the usual handy models with the flash memory and the ones with the enchanting display. Standing apart is Sony W series NWZ-W202 Wearable MP3 Player that is a wearable MP3 player quite different from the usual. It does not require any special handling, just wear the headphones and enjoy music for hours. This cosmetic design is impressive and adds up the style of the user. It is an all-together light weight and comfortable player that comes under the walkman series as it is a total wire free player and can be used when on move or at the gym. Making it suitable for all age groups, it suits people with active and busy lifestyles.

Attractive Design: The finish is so neat and elegant that fits the ears neatly. The available colours are Black, Pink, Green, Purple and White. This wearable player weighs just 35 grams that is just the weight of a pen or the pouch, hence taking it along all the time is easy. The texture and the finish is attractive and glossy, one may not think that the wire connecting both the earphones are also the same colour. This is amazingly beautiful and modish. However, the question of display monitor is absence.

Features and Functions: This funky model offers great sound and clarity. It is a bundle of features that is been discussed here.

• Drag and drop – Sony W series NWZ-W202 USB MP3 Player has no restrictions and it functions on the open format. In this case the device does not bother what the music format is or where it is been stored. It can be easily transferred by dragging and dropping from the player. Will anyone deny it the one of the simplest form of transferring the files?
• Quick finder – Browsing through the files is simple with ZAPPIN song search technology. Even without any kind of display the device is been equipped with the quick search system. All you have to do is just play the song of the required artist and listen bas as Zappin. It plays a short sample of all the songs of the artist and you can choose the one, which you required to be played in full.
• Quick charge – Another great reason to grab this MP3 Player is the quick recharge that is for just 3 minutes. Imagine the times when you are out of charge and longing for some good music. This is not an issue here as you can charge up and keep going in just 180 seconds that gives a continuous playback for 3 hours. The full charge of this built in battery offer 12 hours of continuous playback.

Memory and playback:  It consists of a flash memory of 2GB that can store about 500 music tracks. The playback offered by this Player is the repeat model, shuffle mode and repeat again. It does not have any clock functions or the recording options.

Included accessories: Sony NWZ-W202 Flash MP3 Player comes along Headphones built in, Quick Start guide, Rechargeable battery, Stand and Plastic protective cover as the package contents.

Sony NWZ-W202 2GB Walkman MP3 Player - Technical Specifications

The current scenario of the digital entertainment products has widely spread across the globe. Among the many established names, this brand also takes its space in that category. Begin a company founded in Singapore during 1981, although does not sound old it has proved by crossing many milestones. Its launch of the sound blaster sound cards has seen a successful frontage.

Model: ZEN Mozaic EZ300 MP3 Player

What makes Creative ZEN Mozaic EZ300 TFT 1.8″ Display MP3 Player an exclusive product is the design in the up hand. It is been designed attractively with the mosaic pattern key pad that is unique and modish. As most other model its also comes with the audio playback together with other functional features. This MP3 Player is been discussed in detail with the complete insight.

Colour display: The display screen belongs to the TFT type that measures 1.8 inches diagonal. The images that are displayed comes with the clarity and brightness as the original. It is capable of displaying 64k colours and offers a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels.

Available tools: Creative ZEN Mozaic EZ300 2GB/4GB/8GB MP3 Player offers many functional tools like the display of the time, the alarm clock and the calendar. It can also store the contacts for the instant access. These tools serve a great purpose that helps to be an all time companion. Along with the key functions of playing music and displaying the image files these tools adds up to its utility.

Parts makeover:

Speaker - This Player comes with the built-in speaker that is capable of bringing the roof down with its loud and powerful audio.
Battery – Built-in is the Li-ion rechargeable battery that offers about 32 hours of continuous audio playback. This makes it suitable for the travel purpose. It can get charges by way of either adapter or the PC-USB.
Interface – Available in this model is the USB 2.0 high-speed connectivity. It helps in transfer of files from and to the other devices quickly and easily. This is a simple drag and drop of the media files from the computer to the player without any complications or special devices.
Memory – The memory available are either of 2GB/4GB/8GB. The storage capacity differs based on the memory slot chosen and it goes as 2GB: 1000 songs; 4GB: 2000 songs, 8GB: 4000 Songs in WMA format.

Supported file formats: This MP3 Player supports the various file formats for the audio function as MP3, WMA, WAV (IMA-ADPCM), Audible4 and for the picture display as JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF. This makes it to be known for its wide audio support and hence managing the media content is easy.

Other features: Making the user stay in touch with the current affairs is possible with its integrated FM radio function. It allows the user to choose from the 32 preset stations and play instantly. Voice recording is also available that creates and records the voice as desired. The user can store the proceeding or the dictates for the further use. In order to create the right mood for the playing audio it allows choosing from the eight EQ presets that are present along with the bass boost and the volume effect. Each time and every time a new feel to the audio can be obtained.

System requirement and Package Contents: Creative ZEN Mozaic EZ300 Black MP3 Player is compatible with the OS of Windows XP or Vista with the system space of 175MB free memory. The package contents of this product are the Player, Earphones, quick start leaflet and USB cable.

Warranty: Creative offers a 1-year limited warranty for the hardware.

Check other Creative MP3 Player Reviews, Memup MP3 Player Reviews in this website.

ZEN Mozaic EZ300 MP3 Audio Player - Technical Specification Details

Model:  MP160 MP3 Player

This model is a compact gadget that can be liked by anybody. ATMT MP160 MP3 Player being portable in size is a package of many features. The design and the appearance is another appealing factor. What goes unique is its interchangeable colour earphone covers. It is also seen that the player performs various functions like the MP3 player, FM radio, Line-in and the Voice recorder.

Physical characteristics: This product being designed with the curvy rectangular shape  gives a compact look offers a handling comfort. The dimension of 65 x 33 x 13 mm that relates to the height, width and the depth of the appliance can go into the pockets easily and can be carried around the neck with the provided accessories. In fact, the weight of the device is also light to handle which is just 25 grams. ATMT brings ATMT MP160 2-Colour OLED LCD MP3 Player with the 4 different colours that goes to the choice of the customer. The other interesting design feature is that the stereo earphone is been provided with 5 pair of colour covers.

Display Screen: Embedded in this MP160 Flash Media Player model has a display screen that is been made up of  2-Colour OLED LCD screen with blue backlight, the screen resolution is been stated to be 128 x 64 pixels. The contrast and the backlighting are the available screen settings.

Memory: This device comes with the in-built memory of type NAND flash. The various internal capacity available are 512MB, 1GB and 2GB. The approximate capacity is about 500 MP3 files or about 1000 WMA tracks. However, it does not allow to operate with the external memory slots.

Functions: Designed to offer various functions that are Audio player, FM radio, Line-in and  Voice recorder, the details of these are been discussed as follows.

• Audio Player – In this model the prime function is the audio playback, the files are been played with the interesting audio quality. The various Equaliser that are set to function are Normal, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic and Bass. It also allows ID3 tags and hence the lyrics of the song can be seen displayed.
• FM Radio/Recording – Playing and recording of the FM radio is possible. It allows up to 20 preset stations and the receiving frequency ranges from 87.5Mhz to 108Mhz.
• Voice Recording – Allows the voice to be recorded in the WAV format. In most cases, it serves the purpose for the students who wish to record the dictated notes and in case of the meetings, the discussing can be recorded.

Connectivity/Power: ATMT MP160 512MB, 1GB, 2GB MP3 Player comes with the USB 2.0 full speed connectivity. It also shows its compatibility to the USB 1.1. The various other connections are the earphone jack 3.5mm that is the standard type and the port for the USB. It is been powered up by the battery of type 1 x AAA that lasts about 10 hours approximately.

Other features: This MP3 Player supports the DRM, which is the protected music, downloads. The controls and the interface of it are user-friendly. It also offers many types of playback modes that include the shuffle system. With the support for the MTP model, it offers an easy synchronizing for the music library like the windows media player 11.

Package contents: MP3 player, Stereo earphone with 5 pair of colour covers, Neck  lanyard, user manual, Installation CD, USB cable, Line-in cable, Driver and Alkaline 1 x AAA battery are the contents of the package.

Check other ATMT MP3 Player Reviews, Sandisk MP3 Player Reviews in this website.

ATMT MP160 Flash MP3 Audio Player - Technical Specifications, Features

Overview:

Pros:

• Great sound quality
• Inexpensive
• Durable
• Nice form factor

Cons:

• Position of headphone jack
• Poor radio reception
• Absence of a micro SD card slot

Review:

SanDisk Corporation is an American multinational company worth USD 6.5 billion which designs and markets flash memory card products. Within a period of just 20 years, it has emerged as one of the leaders in providing data storage solutions.  The various products that SanDisk manufacture include Flash Drives for external storage, memory cards, Wi-Fi cards, and Audio and Video players.

In this review, we will be discussing about the various design aspects, pros, cons of their MP3 player- The SanDisk Sansa Clip 4GB  (SDMX11R-004GS-E70). We will be discussing the Sansa Clip as a whole and also about what has been changed with respect to its predecessors. We have also provided a verdict that will, we believe, help the reader come to a conclusion on as to whether the product is worth buying.

Affordable and Great Value:

Due to SanDisk’s heavy involvement in the Flash memory market, this Sandisk MP3 player comes in a very reasonable price, making it one of the cheapest portable MP3 players available in the market. Now, is that the only advantage? Definitely not! Among the various advantages that SanDisk Sansa Clip offers, a few of them worth mentioning are excellent audio quality, intuitive interface, convenient design, and most importantly a radio with reasonable reception.

Design:

Sansa Clip might not be the best looking music player available, but is definitely one among the best valued music players ever made. The exterior of the music player is made completely with plastic. The main housing is glossy and scratch-resistant with a slight metallic finish. The face of the player comes with the same finish beneath a plastic overlay which is scratch-resistant; the plastic overlay covers the screen and the signature blue glowing ring. The whole construction of the player is predictably light and toy-like, but button tolerances are tight, the power switch rattles a little though. Even though the player may feel very flexy and cheap, it is quite durable.

Issues with the headphone jack:

There is, however, a slight problem with regard to the placement of the headphone jack, the right angle headphone plugs prove to be a hindrance by getting in the way of the volume controls on the right end of the player. This is even more, when a heavier duty plug is used, lack of proper engineering one might call it. Switching the positions of the USB port and the headphone jack, or placing the headphone jack at the bottom of the player, would have solved the problem, or at least have provided a better option.

The Sansa Clip:

Ever wondered how amazing it would be to listen to your favourite music track while jogging or working out? With Sansa Clip, it is possible. SanDisk has come with a new addition, a removable clip-an improved version of what is available with Apple’s Shuffle.

Colours and Capacities:

The Sandisk Sansa clip is available in two capacities, 2GB and 4GB. In this review we have discussed about the $GB model and apart from the capacity, there is not much difference between both the models. The 2GB model is available in four bright colours like Red, Hot pink, Blue and Black and the 4GB version of the same is available only in Silver colour.

Display:

The bright two colour four line OLED screen performs well in almost any lighting condition but becomes unreadable in direct sunlight, just like any other non-trans reflective display will. The screen brightness is adjustable. Unfortunately, you cannot dim the signature blue wheel light.

User Interface:

The user interface employed is common to most of the members of the SanDisk Sansa family and it is just too easy to use. Although in the beginning, you might have a problem, there is slight learning curve to get over. There is no acceleration on scroll option; which implies that if you have a long list of songs, you might find it difficult to scroll though. Compared to the Sansa Express, the larger buttons are much easier and convenient to use, and have a better click to them.

The menu system unchanged:

SanDisk has managed to keep the main menu of the Sansa Clip simple: Music, Settings (for both the equaliser and backlight), FM radio and Voice. It is possible to drag and drop tracks and albums on to the Clip’s flash hard drive as well as to synchronise it with Windows Media Player. One other advantage of using this feature is that it remembers what you were listening to and lets you resume it from the start of that track or replay the whole album.

Features:

Transferring Media:
The Sandisk Sansa Clip 4GB MP3 Player is a Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) based device and it states clearly in all the packaging and literature that it is compatible only with Windows XP Service Pack 2 and above. However, it is also MTP/MSC OS operable, meaning that if the MTP protocol is not present when used with Linux or Mac based systems, it will automatically work in MSC mode which again is one among the many advantages of the SanDisk Sansa Clip.

FM Radio & Recording:
The FM reception quality is unbelievably awesome. Apart from that, it offers Radio Recording features as well. Recordings are straightforward and records in WAV format.

Voice Recording:
It works just like any other recording format, that is, WAV format. While recording, the Sansa Clip can also be paused. Like most MP3 players, the tactile buttons are audible, and micro phonic sounds will be picked just by normal handling of the device.

Sleep Timer:
Sleep timing intervals can be set at 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. This is a feature included for those who listen to music just so that they can sleep. This is a very thoughtful feature by Sandisk.

Browsing:
The SanDisk Sansa Clip 4GB Capacity MP3 Media Player (SDMX11R-004GS-E70) uses ID3 tag browsing just like its other Sansa siblings. But for those who prefer to organize their music themselves, this might not be how they want the browsing option to be like. In the next firmware update of the product, an addition of file folder browsing would be nice to have.

EQ-Equalizer:
The Equalizer is responsive, but what it does is, cut frequencies instead of boosting them. This is not a big deal unless you use more demanding headphones, that is, the ones that may decrease some necessary volume. The player has a five band custom Equalizer as well as many presets.

Performance:

Sound Quality:
According to press releases, the Clip is “one of the best sounding MP3 players in the market.” We can vouch for the authenticity of that statement, as it is pretty accurate.

Comparison with competitors:
We believe that the SanDisk Sansa Clip is anytime better than its competitors Creative Zen and Apple‘s Shuffle in almost every aspect like sound quality, radio feature, and cost.

A better display on the Sansa:
Clip also does have a sizeable screen on board. There is obviously no need for a comparison with Shuffle, because it has no screen at all. Zen Stone Plus does have a screen but it is not a patch on the Clip’s one inch screen which is larger, brighter, clearer and more colourful. You can also use it to browse the music on the player while you are listening too. Apart from that, the Zen Stone Plus has the irritating habit of playing any track automatically as you browse to it, making the screen pretty useless.

Better Features and Performance too:
The Clip packs other features in just as tightly as the Plus: there is an FM tuner, which you can record from. The battery lasts five-and-a-half hours longer than the Zen Stone Plus. The Clip’s d-pad is easier to use than the Shuffle’s and less fiddly than that of Zen Stone. You can even build playlists on the fly with Sansa Clip. Just press and hold the button at the centre of the thumb-friendly d-pad and the track is added to your playlist, as simple as that. Considering the fact that the expensive players completely miss this feature out, it is a very impressive inclusion.

Accessories:

The Clip comes with the basic four inch standard USB plug and ear buds. Not many aftermarket accessories are required for the Sansa Clip, but because of its small size, a key chain attachment or an armband would have been nice. The removable clip on the player, does work really well for active use though.

Warranty:

Sandisk offers its Sansa Clip 4GB MP3 player with one year standard manufacturer warranty.

Verdict:

The SanDisk Sansa Clip is a very affordable MP3 player; it has a solid, pocket-friendly design with dedicated volume controls and a built-in belt-clip. Moreover, it is easy to use and it offers a plethora of handy features. Despite being slightly weak on format support, it is feature-packed and feels even a little luxurious in other respects.

The SanDisk Sansa Clip 4GB Silver colour MP3 Player is a great little player that deserves to be as widely recognised as the shuffle or Zen Stone. It is miles better than its rivals, right from the clear onscreen display and easy to navigate menu, recording radio and external audio, the SanDisk Sansa Clip MP3 player is the best in its class. The SanDisk Sansa Clip is an excellent successor to the line, offering a fitness-friendly design with a built-in belt-clip, a simple interface, solid sound quality, and plenty of handy features, all for an ultralow price. It is an unbeatable value, so “Highly recommended”.

Check the SanDisk Sansa Clip 2GB MP3 Player Reviews, Latest MP3 Players in our website.

Sandisk Sansa Clip 4GB MP3 Player Silver - Technical Specification Table

In order to being in a multimedia revolution, the brand ‘Creative’ was established in Singapore during 1981. They are famous for Sound Blaster Sound Cards and bring in the multimedia products. With the right fusion of the form and function, each of its product is taken much care to make is perfect even with the smallest detail of the product. It also takes pride to state that it enjoys the best product award for the four consecutive years from 2003.

Model: MuVo T200 MP3 Player

It is been designed to offer a great music experience along with the storage of files in the memory of the device. The compact and sleek solution for all the music needs. Lets the user enjoy his own way by carrying it in the pockets or around the neck. Its interesting display is rather to keep you informed about the date and time as well.

Structural Characteristics: Creative MuVo T200 2GB/4GB MP3 Player comes with the small appearance with the option of the body colour of black, white and pink. The dimension of 77.7 x 25 x 11 mm relating to the height, width and depth is what the model looks. The weight of 20.6 grams makes an easy carry as it just feels like an additional pen in the pocket. It does have a display that features as CSTN Colour display with 65k colours. The resolution of this display screen is 128 x 32 pixels. Interesting to note that it is a great reference for the time and date for the user.

Memory Capacity: Typically, like most other models this product also comes with the colour choice and the memory capacity choice. The given choice by the manufacturer is either 2GB or 4GB memory. In case of the 2GB version, it can store up to 1000 songs approximately and in case of the 4GB version the storage extends up to 2000 songs. The memory belongs to the flash drive type and been noted that there are no option for the extended memory support.

Functions: MuVo T200 MP3 Media Player is an absolute model of the music lovers as all that they provide is the audio playback. It can store all the required files of even the image files but can play only music. Available in Creative MuVo T200 Black, White and Pink Colour MP3 Player is the built-in voice recorder that records the voice and helps to assists during the meetings and the lectures. They also offer playback equaliser for the user to go by their interest. The playing of music with this model is quick and easy as by just plugging into the USB port it copies and transfers the files and can be played instantly.

Power / System Requirement: Being powered up with the built-in battery power that can be recharged through the USB port. In a completely full recharge, it offers to plays a full 9 hours of music. This is great even when on travel and the charge seems to last long. The system requirement for Creative MuVo T200 CSTN Colour Display MP3 Player is MS windows XP, Vista.

Package contents: The manufacturer offers Creative this MP3 Player in a package that contents the Player, Earphones and the Quick start.

Warranty: Provided is the 1-year warranty period for this model.

Creative MuVo T200 MP3 Audio Player - Technical Specification Table

Petite in design: No wonder that small is smart suits best for Technika MP-309 Compact MP3 Player. It comes with an attractive blue colour body that is been made of high-grade plastic material. The combination of white for the back of the players adds to the style. This innovative look is been added up with its product dimension of 45 x 34.4 x 16.8 mm that represents its height, width and depth. As little as 25 grams is just the weight of the pen in the pockets. Very true, is that it can get into the pockets of any size. Although it does not come with the built-in speakers or the microphones, it produces the output with effective earphones.

In-built Memory: This model comes with the built-in flash memory of 1GB. It is capable of storing up to 300 songs to excite the user. All time favorites can be carried along without any difficulty.

Battery type and its power:  This Technika MP-309 Flash Memory MP3 Player works with the battery power and is been embedded with the Lithium ion rechargeable battery that is been built-in with the device. It has the power to produce the output for 9 continuous hours when it is in full charge. Also allows to be recharged through the adapter.

Functions and Controls: With the ability to offer music play back that supports the formats of MP3 and WMA goes in an interesting way. The songs can be ordered as preferred and can be selected to be shuffled and played. Each time row of music can be made different to offer a new experience to the user. The controls are been found in the front side without the discrimination in the colour, in a wheel control the play, skip, rewind, forward and pause controls are present to be operated in just the touch of the button.

Convenience: The convenient features that are underlying in Technika MP-309 Blue Colour MP3 Player are the earphones that bring the best music output and the clip style that allows to be clipped to anything and makes an easy move all the time.

Miscellaneous: The supported OS for this model are Microsoft windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP and the interface of mini USB is been present here. This helps to transfer the files from and to the other devices.

Included accessories: The following are the accessories that come inclusive on the buy of Technika MP-309 1GB MP3 Player Earphones, CD driver and USB cable.

Technika MP-309 Compact, Portable MP3 Media Player - Specification Details

Portable, compact structure: Known to be an MP3 player, this 4GB MP3 Player model is been designed in the compact form for the user to carry along anywhere. It comes with a neat square shape with the dimension of 15.6 x 44 x 46 mm as height, width and depth respectively. It cannot be called compact just with the determination of the dimension. It is true that it weighs just a mere 34 gram. Hence, taking it along does not bother anymore. This petite model comes with the aluminium finish that ensures the robustness and durability.

Display/controls: This SA1942/02 Digital Audio Player comes with the user-friendly control panel. It consists of three-line display that is good enough for the display of the song titles, remaining battery power and can go through the music library and choose among the artists and the albums. The display consists of the backlight and the screen belongs to the LCD type with the resolution 128 x 48. The controls are present in the front side with the soft touch buttons. It dedicates to the super scroll, volume control and features with the keypad lock.

Memory Capacity: The storage type belongs NAND Flash type with the capacity of 4GB. It comes with the mass storage class compliant and the music storage capacity can go up to 900 music tracks.

Performing functions: The various functions offered by this player are been briefly discussed as under.

• Audio playback – It is said to offer a wide range of audio playback that supports the various file formats ofMP3, WAV and WMA.
• ID3 Tag Support – It offers this support of song title, artist and album.
• Audio capturing – This model is capable of recording voice with the built-in microphone and captures with the file format of WAV. The voice-recording format is ADPCM and the built-in microphone belongs to the monotype.

Humbling battery: Philips RaGa Portable MP3 Player belongs to the Li-Polymer battery type that can be recharged through USB. It gives a play time for up to 27 hours, this allows the user to enjoy throughout the day to be recharged at the end of the day.

Features:

• Available in Philips RaGa Voice-Recording MP3 Player is the ‘Equalizer’ with the technology that automatically sets the optimum sound based on the style. The choice lies between Classic, Funk, Hip Hop, Jazz, Rock. These preset EQ can be enjoyed with the right sound.
• It allows to ‘drag and drop the songs’ from the PC without the need of any special software.
• The connectivity is through the headphones of 3.5mm each and the USB 2.0.
• This product comes with the ‘Green Technology’ as it is been designed with the lead-free soldered finish.

Package contents: This model comes with the package contents of MP3 Player with earphone, USB 2.0 cable and Installation CD.

Philips RaGa  SA1942/02 4GB Flash MP3 Player - Technical Specifications, Features

Special design: The credit of this model rests mostly in its innovative design. Looks attractive with its black colour finish. It does consist of a clip that can be clipped to your clothes or the belt to be carried all the while. Compact in size with the dimension of  52 x 27 x 12 mm and it weight is as less as 14 grams that does not bother the user in any way. It goes all the way into the tightest pockets and its curved edges make handling easy.

Functions: This device offers the best of music and supports the various music file formats of MP3 and WMA. These formats are good enough to handles many music files.

Storage: This device comes with the high storage capacity of 2GB. Even in case of many multimedia players, this has been the storage capacity. Archos Clipper Compact size 2GB MP3 Player thus stands out interesting with this high storage. It can store up to 60 hours of music that is more than 1000 songs and yet priced small as its size.

Features:

• User friendly – The control of this model is intuitive that comes with the soft touch buttons. It is simple and friendly to use.
• Playback – The playback functions can be set as your personal DJ as it lets you to play shuffle or normal. It is easy to switch from one mode to another. All that is required is to hold the play button present in the center. If it is required, to play the same song again then the normal mode can be opted and in case of switching to the next, the shuffle mode can be selected.

Battery: Available in this model is a built-in rechargeable battery that offers up to 11 hours of music. It can be recharged either by the mains or through the USB port.

Others: This Portable MP3 Player shows compatibility with the various OS of Microsoft windows or MAC and Linux. The interface of Archos 2GB MP3 Player is the high speed USB 2.0 for managing the files.

Package contents: The various package contents of this Player are MP3 Player, USB Cable, Earphones and User Guide.

Check other 2GB MP3 Player Reviews in this website.

Archos Clipper 2GB Portable MP3 Player - Technical Specifications, Features