|
I had a Dell DJ for almost 4 years and loved it. It got stolen 3 weeks ago out of my car so I am going the Ipod route now. Things I loved about the DJ... Intuitive interface, Solid as a brick (I dropped mine many times, and punished the hell out of it. Eventually I just accepted the fact that it wasn't going to break and just did whatever I wanted with it. ex. throw it in my bag.) Battery is pretty good, Sound is as good as an ipod. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles an ipod does but it is a heck of a good machine in my opinion.
I bought my 15 GB Dell DJ in May 2004. I've had it for 3 years and have no complaints! My sister has already had to buy a new iPod after her battery wore out in 1.5 years; my Dell still plays for hours before it needs recharging. If you care about functionality and a good, quality product, this is for you. It's very easy to use with a home, scroll, and back button similar to web browsing. Dell also has great customer support for these. This thing is also very tough - it has traveled with me to three other countries, fallen off my treadmill several times, and fallen onto concrete quite a bit (I'm not the easiest on things) and is still going strong! My first and only review I'll write for something, but I really love mine!
Why buy a Dell DJ when you can buy a ipod. An ipod is a sleek cool device and its popular. Do u see people or kids walking aroung with a dell dj? NO! you mostly find someone having a ipod. PLus! ipod has itunes to go with it. If you ask me i think dell should stink with its comp and printers. NOT MADE FOR MP3 PLAYERS!
It costs half as much as an average iPOD it hold twice as much as a average iPOD! How can I refuse.
Bought my Dell DJ20 several years ago with my computer. I'm no techno-geek & knew very little about these mp3 players.
I have a physical disability which affects my hand dexterity, which made switching discs often in a disc player frustrating! My DJ has been a joy, 1350 tracks loaded & still plenty of space! It's not very heavy, fits in a pocket, & the buttons are fairly easy to use, (On/Off requires more pressure & holding for a few seconds - but at least to turn it off you can also just press pause & let the auto-off engage).To be able to build playlists & even repeat them allows a day filled with the songs I love - not what some radio station with bad dj's & tons of commercials picks!
The musicmatch sync can be a pain at times, but bearable considering the benefits.
I've wanted a second one just to load my audio books & now that I've found out Dell discontinued them, I'd better hurry!
If anyone from Dell reads this, please bring these back!!!
It was probably a really good idea, but honestly... its not very practical. Yeah 20 gigs is great but Most people dont have 250 cds of music they want to listen to all the time. Id stick with an Ipod. The camera isnt all that great, it needs to be high lighting and you have to hold absolutly still otherwise the picture sucks. I dont recommend it for noisy public places because the volume doesent get very high on these. It has semi-slow response time, definitly not nearly as fast as an ipod, but its not horrible either. Its heavy, quite heavy. Not like strain your arm heavy, but its rather uncomfortable to put in your pocket, and its 3 or 4 times thicker than an Ipod nano. and the battery lasts for like 2 hours on a full charge, because its powering a touch screen 3 or 4 inch display. You can turn off the screen like the ipod "hold" button, but then you cant change songs, youre stuck unless you turn the screen back on.
Overall if youre not bothered by weight or size, then this is for you. If you need something slim, but holds music, stick with the Ipod, its not that much more expensive.
This is AMAZING you can take pictures (will ipod bring out a new one that's got camera funtions too?) Save your portfolio of pics, great for designers looking to share their work without tons of sketch books, not to mention create a slide show for your clients with pictures and music! How cool is that!
But with so much room holding thousands (5000) of songs, you're going to have to search your house for every cd you own and still will have room for more songs!
I won't recommend buying individual songs image just buying 1000 songs at 1.99 each is going to cost you $1990.00 dollars now multiple that by 5!
Ive had this mp3 player for about a year now. It has many pros and cons.
Pros:
Touchscreen
20 gb
easy-to-use software
comes with charger, soft case, etc.
Cons:
Big
Hard to find a song when you have a lot on it
Cant get very loud
To my knowledge, Olympus hasnt made any cases or other accesories
Camera has very low mp
Bottom Line:
For around $200, its worth it but if you want something user friendly, stick with an Ipod.
I like this particular digital audio player. For being Olympus' first venture into the d.a.p. market (as far as I know) this is a really good start. Too bad they decided to throw in the towel and have discontinued there d.a.p. line.
There are problems with the mr:500. It is a little big and heavy, but it certainly does not feel cheap. The audio qaulity is not the best I have heard, but it is very decent. Also, if you like to blast your music then this is not the player for you. The mr:500 does not get very loud.
The pros are that it has a very clear and bright screen, though it has a low viewing angles, you need to look at it straight on. The camera function is a neat idea (I wish it were a bit better quality but it is workable) and you can take, store and view a crap load of pictures. It has a very striking design and will get a lot of comments and start a lot conversations. The software is great; easy to use and fast.
I can only imagine what the successor to this would have been, improved sound and camera quality, better volume, and smaller size; damn you Olympus for giving up so fast. This dap had the most potential of them all.
If you're looking for an mp3 player than can take hard hits, this is the one for you. iPods are fragile things. You drop it and there goes your hard earn cash. I've had my iRiver for about 4 years now. It's been with me through my softball training practices, running, tourneys, the gym, and around the campus. I have dropped it on more than one occassion, but it was in its case so it was completely fine. It has also been through the washing machine AND the dryer at high heat for the whole duration!! And yes, it still works perfectly!
I have had this mp3 player since March 2004 ($330), and was the best purchase I have ever made.
I recognize that the firmware sucks, however, there was a firmware upgrade offered a year and a half ago or so, and with it, has significantly improved the product.
I have not had any problems with it. The click-and-drag format is easy and makes for a very organized system. The battery life per charge is amazing, 16 hours. Over the course that I've had it, it has only decreased to 12 hours or so. So even nearly 3 years later, the non-replaceable re-chargeable battery is still performing at near-top notch.
It has excellent recording (internal or external mic--included), AM/FM radio (another reviewer on 12/8/2004 said it didn't have AM capability but it does), navigation (very intuitive to pc users), "remote control"....I could go on and on. It is bulky compared to today's standards (3 years ago, this was considered "small"), but is well worth it. It also has a sleep timer, so if you're listening to it as you fall asleep, you can make it turn off by itself after 30 min or 60 min, whatever you specify.
It also originally comes with the case, external mic, earphones, remote control, and USB connection. Which is more than you can say for ipods.
I am aware that others have had problems with the harddrive and other problems, but I have not experienced any of these. I have used this extensively during 6-hrs a day studying over the past 3 years, so I can attest to its dependability towards long-term use. Addressing an ealier comment left by a reviewer (on 7/28/06), it most CERTAINLY DOES play other formats than mp3, INCLUDING wav and wma.
Cons:
-You can't make playlists or delete files on the go. But with 20 gigs, who needs to delete files?
-the earphones it comes with are painful. i bought a sony pair for $7.
-It is too bad iriver does not make this product anymore, it is far better than what they offer now.
If you can find this product, I highly recommend it. Apparently others have had problems with it, so I guess the quality between units differs. If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them lizz2424 @ yahoo . com (remove spaces)!
I've had my iRiver since early 2005 and have not a problem. The battery holds the charge a long time (I play my player on the way to work and at my desk for a total of over 9 hours and I still have power left to carry me thru for most of the next day (just remember when you turn it off to move the button to the hold position, this will keep the battery charged longer)). I love the radio and all the other features especially the remote control. It comes in handy when your on a long flight with not much space.
Had the player, a little funky to figure out but was working well. Works more like a hard drive than a music player, By that I mean it is not very Windows freindly. It has upgrades for the software, if you have a lot of music, the Moodlogic firmware upgrade is not a very good idea. The firward can really slow down the player.
Sound quality is good.
Warranty is 1 year. My player died at 1 year, 2 weeks. Player was $299 when I bought it.
It took 7 calls, emails, and 1 fax from 9/27/05 until 11/08/05 to get a response, to my request to have it fixed.
Response: It is out of the 1 year warranty, there is nothing we will do for you.
$300 annuanly for a player is a rip off
BUY SOMETHING ELSE
Pros: It plays many formats, including ogg. It's nice that it's a usable hard-drive, without requiring special software for the computer it connects to. The radio and recorder are great plusses. The interface is better than average, although still not great.
Cons: If it breaks and it's not under warrantee, there is no way to get it repaired. User interface could be better. The fast-forward is very slow, and there is no "bookmark" feature - together this makes the iRiver nearly unusable for long podcasts or audiobooks.
Summary: A good choice, especially if radio, recorder, and ogg playing is required, and if you don't need to listen to audiobooks. Otherwise, consider the Rio Karma or iPod instead.
I wanted to like this device. The form factor, long battery life, and ability to load music without special software are great. Unfortunately, my primary reason for purchasing the Gmini 220 was to use it as a backup for the photos I took on my digital camera.
Let me start with the good things. I got the device home (not from Amazon), pulled it out of the box, charged it up and plugged it in to my computer. It showed up instantly and I was able to copy MP3s and playlists directly to the Gmini without even having to read the manual. The music sounded great and it usually plays for more than 5 hours on a charge.
The navigation is a little clunky and there's a noticeable delay when transitioning from one track to the next, but once you've organized your music into playlists and queued them up, all you have to do is sit back and listen because the Gmini will play for hours...
Having dispensed with the basics, I read through the manual and moved on to the primary purpose for which I had purchased the Gmini; backing up photos from my digital camera. Copying files from a flash card couldn't be simpler. When you plug in the card, the Gmini automatically offers you options to copy or move files from the inserted card. It couldn't be easier. Unfortunately, upon returning to my computer, I discovered that about 1 in 7 of the images copied to the Gmini were corrupted.
I tried copying instead of moving the files. The files on the Gmini were corrupt, while the ones on the CF card were not. I was never able to contact technical support via phone, but after my third email, I received a response. The support rep pleaded with me not to return the unit and explained that they were working on the problem and would have a new firmware to address the issue soon. The rep went on to assure me that if I was not satisfied, Archos would accept a return of the unit for a refund.
About 30 days later, a new firmware was released. As far as I could tell, it did nothing to fix the problem. Another firmware was released 5 days later. Still no fix. By this time, I could no longer return the Gmini to the store where I had purchased it, but I continued posting whatever I could determine about the problem to the support forums. At this point, the corruption occurred at exactly the same location (30 bytes after the header) in every mangled file.
After two months of essentially one-sided conversation with the support folks, I requested a refund. There was no response to my request. I posted my request in the customer service forum and was told that Archos did not refund directly to consumers and that my only recourse would be to return the unit to the store where I had purchased it.
Buyer beware.
I got my Gmini 220 in summer of 2005, when iPods were doing the circuit and they had yet to come out with the ability to see color photos. I was ecstatic about it and did not mind the fact that it was not color. The bulky-ness of it is not that attractive but could be worse. The fact that MusicMatch Jukebox sucks means nothing to me because I don't and haven't been able to sync with it, instead I use it as other users do and pretend its a hard drive.
The biggest downfall has to be the battery which for me last only about 4 or 5 hours. The fact that I can't replace it just makes me sad and there's hardly any point to hooking it up to my car because out of 3 possible bars of battery, it will quickly go to 1 bar and very soon just stop playing.
But really above all, its small, you can show pictures to your friends, you can have people ask you if its a Zune, and no one knows really what it is so they won't steal it.
The screen on the gmini stopped working after 8 months (within the 1 year warranty). It took 2 weeks to contact Archos to recieve an RMA number to mail it for repair. It then took 7 weeks to have it repaired and returned.
I was first told that I would have to pay for the new screen (not covered under warranty). I was referred to customer service to settle the problem. I was told to fax a copy of the receipt(tech support had the receipt with the unit). The customer support person was fired during this process (the voice mailbox was full). I finally spoke with someone in tech support who had some authority to finally repair it...I'm so afraid to EVER have to have the unit repaired again. Don't try the website...it took 2 weeks for someone to repond to me there. I won't buy another Archos product because of this experience.
Well, I won't claim this is a perfect product, I have used
iPod 20GB, Creative Zen Extra 40gb, iRiver PMP-140(40GB),
iRiver H10 5GB/20GB. By far I consider archos is the
best among all.
I don't like iPod or Creative. Don't get me wrong, they are
find products, but I just hate the way they organize the
music purly by the information stored inside the MP3 files.
I like to organize my songs by directories and sub-directories,
and maybe sub-directories under sub-directories, just like a
hard drive. But in iPod and Creative I feel like all my albums
are spreaded all over the table, I have to scroll down several
pages to locate an album. Not to mention the information stored
inside the songs is not always accurate. In some languages,
the same word can have different codes. Like chinese has Big5
and GB, so the same singer published by TaiWan and Mainland
china will appear under two names! And the two names are not
always together!
I had huge problem with iRiver PMP-140. The damn thing automatically
switch between play and fast forward, it doesn't play 192 bit.
Finally I had to return it.
iRiver H10 5GB is a nice product, but a little too expensive
considering its small disk size, and it doesn't connect to PC
smoothly, some day it gets connected with no problem, some day
it doesn't, there are weird ways to solve the problem on internet,
just google it.
iRiver H10 20GB is OK, but transferring songs is super slow,
especially on a celeron processor, plus, the battery is not
interchangable, and you can't just plug it in any computer
and expect it to be connected -- you need to log in as an
administrator to install software, This is going to be a
problem for people like me who doesn't have administrator
privilege on a office PC.
OK, so how do I like this Archos 220? First, the compact flash
card reader is the best! I am a photo enthusiast. I take tons
of photos with my Nikon D70. With gmini 220, I literally take
with me a 20GB harddisk! I can transfer my photos to the Gmini
220 anytime I want. Got memory stick? no problem, buy the 4-in-1
compact flash card adaptor and you are good to go! Don't trust
the so called "USB-on-the-fly" thing, First you to carry a cable
or a card reader with you, second it doesn't work with all cameras,
Third, most "USB-on-the-fly" supports only USB1.1 host, the transfer
speed is terribly slow. I tried the one on that iRiver PMP-140, it
literally takes 15 seconds to transfer one picture file -- you will
probably run out of battery before you finish transferring files.
On my Gmini 220, One 3Mb photo takes less than 1 second. I spent a
vacation to Vegas and Grand Canyon a few weeks ago, where I took over
1GB photos, all photos were transferred to my gmini220 and carried
back safely, no problem at all!
I also like the way gmini connects to PC: no software required,
no installation, no need to log in as an administrator. When you
connect to a PC, it becomes a hard drive automatically. copying
files to 220 is just like copying files from one disk to another.
I did have connection problem on one of my older Dell PC, but it
connects perfectly on my all other newer PCs and laptops. According
to archos website, they suggest you to upgrade BIOS, I yet to try
that out.
It has dual organization methods of your music library. You can
browse your music files through directory structure, just like what
you would do on a PC hard drive, or, if you prefer, you can use ARC
library, which is similar to windows Media player, search your library
by singer, album etc.
The screen of gmini220 is bigger than other MP3 players, although it
is black/while, but I found it is very practical, I've never wanted
to view my photo or video in a tiny little screen, why do I need
a color screen?
But as I said, it is not perfect. here are something that I think
archos should improve:
1 The factory-installed battery really sucks, they should use higher
capacity battery and make it interchangable
2 There is ZERO customer serivce, they don't reply your email and their
phone line is always busy
3 No carrying case, my screen got scratched the 2nd day I got it.
4 It's a little bit ugly, not a main issue for guys like me, but
probably your girl friend won't like it.
5 If only it is 40GB ...
6 It does support Asia languages like Chinese, but you can disply
either GB or Big5, not both. That is annoying but not a disaster,
some Big5 characters still gets displayed correctly under GB system
(vice verse).
Overall I like the gmini 220 and would recommend it to any of my friends.
I did hear a lot of complaint about this unit on internet, but strangely,
I personally have no problem with mine at all, probably I am lucky? don't
know, will report later if I encounter problems.
I bought this little thing last summer because of the Compact Flash slot. I am a photographer and I liked the idea to use the unit as digital wallet. Since I got the unit I had an enormous amount of problems. Archos released four Firmware updates and one USB 2 update in just 6 months. The Gmini 220 is full of bugs (as all the other Archos product - they have firmware update for basically everything they sell). It freeze without reason and produce corrupted pictures. I lost tons of pictures because of the Gmini 220. I wish I had bought an Ipod. On top of all these problems last month I sent the unit for repair because the battery was death in less than 1 year. They email me after 10 day that the unit had to be replaced. Since then, they disappeared. No mail, no calls. After many calls (long distance, no 1.800 number) someone told me that the unit was not in stock and I had to wait at least two weeks for a replacement. It is more than one month and still I have not my Gmini back. Think carefully before buy from Archos. They are unprofessional.
As mentioned by several others the software is terrible, the device locks up and can't be restarted until the battery is completely dead, but by far the worst thing is that when the battery does actually die and fails to retain a charge, you have to return it to Philips and they charge $143.73 to replace the battery!!
My advise: DO NOT buy the Philips HDD line unless you are looking to spend $200+ on a "throw away" MP3 player.
Pros:
-mp3 recording(mic, optical and line in)
-plays mp3 and WMA
-acctualpartitioned disk space:18.9 gig
-very bright backlight
-easy to use interface, great ipod alternative\
-nice looking, almost identicle size to 3G/4G ipod
-remote included, good audio quality
Cons:
-horrible software, i use a thirdparty software media manager
-shows wear more because of dark color
-a little bit slower than an ipod
overall a great product, i reccomend it if you want an HD player, and want lots of good features
I've had this for over a year and it's finally died on me.
Problems I've suffered through include the previously mentioned crap software, a period of lockup (only once) where I had to let the battery die and it worked again, and the device being way too quiet for my taste.
Browsing through the player's library has always been a pain, but now the library has stopped updating. In other words, I add tracks, and they do transfer onto the device, but the device doesn't see them. I know they're there because I can look at the files via Windows Explorer. But they're not there if I try to access them on the device itself. So basically I'm stuck with what's on it, and it's only 56% full.
I'm going to do some research and buy an ipod or something else. Then, since it's too late to get my money back, I'm going to smash this into pieces and never buy Philips again. A $250 lesson learned.
Overall i enjoy this MP3 player. It looks good and is much cheaper then an Ipod. The pros
Great design
20 Gigs
Great display
decent battery
Cons
software: It is not as bad as everyone is saying it is. The only problem that i find is i have the put the soungs on in reverse order(14-1) Other then that the software is self explanitory.
The head phones are O.K (But who uses the headphones that come in the package anyway.)
I would recomend this product if you do not want to shell out the 300 bucks for an ipod but still want a 20 gig player.
I got mine on eBay for about $75 bucks. It had everything but the manual, and the software. That was all easily downloadable on the internet though. The software isn't too bad, actually. I originally got it to record lectures off of the internet, as I am going to law school online, but it doesn't seem to be so keen on doing that. It may work in the end though, I just haven't spent too much time on it. It didn't come with the headphones or the remote, either, but oh well. What do you want for $75? I think its a beautiful machine, by the way, and the sound is first-rate. It has locked up a couple of times, but that's been more my fault than anything. It will hold a ton of songs, too. So far, I'm pretty happy, but if I had spent $200 or so for it, I might have felt a bit different
Got this product after my Nomad died (NEVER BUY CREATIVE!!!) After 6 months, I'm really impressed with the product, and have total confidence with buying IAudio products in the future.
Pros
- Afordable: I agree with the sheep review; you buy Apple, you pay a lot extra for the name.
- Slim Design: No one can believe this is a 20 gig hard drive!
- Strong Structure: Forget silver plastic, this is a true metal case!!! Feels incredibly sturdy in you hand, despite slim size!
- Easy Plug and Play Features: Connects as an external hard drive to the computer. Adding music files is as easy as dragging and dropping. Folders and subfolders allows you to organize your music as you would on a normal computer. I also keep important documents (e.g. PhD dissertation) backed up in Textfile folder.
- Jet Audio: Once you get use to it, you'll never use Media Player again.
Cons
- Remote Control: Takes getting use to, and unlike hard drive component, MADE OF PLASTIC! Wire connecting to hard drive got caught on door, ripping remote from my belt, breaking clip off the back. Now a nuisance to carry around. I plug headphones directly into hard drive when going to work out, etc, but without remote attached, I have to navigate blind.
- Computer Interface: Everything connects through a docking port on the bottom (like cell phone). I would like to recharge in different places but need to bring special adapter wherever I go, which is another nuisance. Would prefer the USB cable and DC cable to connect directly to unit.
- Carrying Case: Solid loop at back means you need a belt to carry player. A clip would be more versatile (clip to shorts for working out). Bought the Apple iPod slim photo leather carrying case, which has almost identical dimensions and works great with the unit.
- Making Playlists: Only a problem at the beginning. After I got use to Jetaudio software, was finally able to create/store playlists. Still time consuming to modify, however.
Overall, I am VERY impressed with the company, but found slight design flaws with this product, specifically. If you are interested in an affordable MP3 player, consider the newer M5 or X5 units. Eliminates the biggest problem on external remote control.
I'm not going to waste space debating this vs. Ipod, etc. Instead, I'll tell you that I've been using this player for about 5 months and enjoy it very much. Pros: small size, don't need to take the whole unit out of your pocket/bag to change stuff, intuitive and easy to use controls once you get used to them, lots of extras (FM radio, voice recording, radio recording, supports Ogg Vorbis and others), frequent firmware updates (the company cares about the users of their product), good price. Cons: some people may not like the extra wire that's needed for the screen, not supported by online music stores (that last one is a biggy if you plan on buying music online- I still buy CD's and then rip them (using CDex into Ogg) and put it on this). Even though there are a few other companies that have bested this one (barely) in terms of size and battery life since it's release, I still think this player has the most to offer for its price than any other on the market. Don't be scared off by the lack of the screen on the main unit; once you use it, you really wouldn't want it any other way. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't seem to be offering it for $259 w/o the cradle anymore (the cradle is redundant to the small adapter it comes with which is much more travel friendly, but some people like it and at $289, it's still a great deal).
I have Windows XP and I use the USB port for many devices (digi camera, printer, other audio device). This MP3 Player is advertised as XP compatable. It comes with a dedicated USB cable, and an explorer type program "Jetshell". I never could get XP or its own program "Jetshell" to recognize the device. I exchanged the MP3 player for a another new one thinking the one I had was defective. I had the same problem with the new one. I spent a lot of time with customer/tech support to no avail. (I noticed on their support forum other customers with the same problem, but no solution offered) I finally gave up and returned the unit. Too bad, it was a small, compact and attractive device. Wished it would have functioned.
I have been reviewing the market for a multi-functional MP3 player, which could store most of my music collection. Being a student I also wanted a voice recorder that could record my class lectures. For the price and quality iAudio definitely beats everything out there. The FM radio has excellent reception, and the variable bit rate voice recorder is very beneficial. I was tired of waiting for Apple to include these functionalities in their IPOD, and when I came across the IAudio, I absolutely fell in love with it. This is a great product and is highly recommended.
I was torn between the IRiver, IPod and the IAudio. The IRiver was about to go out of production and was just a bit too big so no thanks. I read sooo many reviews and came to one simple conclusion. People who buy the IPods are sheeps - Baaaah! Loads of people slated this product who hadn't even used it and they all seemed to be IPod owners - Heeelllloooo! I admit the IPod looks cool but that's about it - For the record I think the IAudio looks better!
I purchased the IAudio M3 and haven't looked back. With a pair of decent Sony headphones the sound quility is quite amazing! You get all the equipment in the box including 2 docking units, remote control and carry case. It is plug and play on any PC with Win ME plus so no need for drivers - simply drag and drop the MP3's (or any other files). Also records and has a radio....need I go on?
Don't be duped into an IPod just cos everyone else has!
Only small downfall is no screen on main unit - a very small issue.
I bought this after my Zen Micro filled up. I liked it for the most part....Until it froze on me and I didn't have a phillips small enough to get the casing off so I could pull the batteries. My Micro just has a slide panel in back that makes it easy to pull the batteries. I've since misplaced or had the unit stolen so I don't know if it will even be any good if I do find it. In general I like Creative and will stick with that brand the next time around....Only not this design.
This machine has fantastic sound. However, you navigate w/ a touch-pad that is so sensitive that I found it unusable. I really wanted it to work because the sound quality is remarkable. However, it was nerve-rackingly frustrating to try to navigate with this device. I can not believe that this product actually got tested by technicians and made it out of the research lab. Unless you have the dexterity of the finest surgeon, buyer beware. I sold mine on Ebay, lost alot of money. I now have the Toshiba Gigabeat ME30S 30 GB multimedia player. The sound is nowhere near as good as the Zen Sleek, but it is so user friendly that I am satisfied. At least I can use the darn thing.
I would advise anybody to buy a creative labs audio player. I've had no problems with my zen sleek and I have about 3,500 songs sync'd to it. You have to remember that it's a harddrive type mp3 player. If you're not tech inclined you probably won't understand how to work and maintain this player. If you drop your personal harddrive computer at home it will not operate anymore, hence, if you drop your harddrive zen sleek it won't work anymore. If you buy this item and take care of it and have the know how's of a computer you will enjoy a great piece of audio work.
While Zen may be a trancendental state of mind, this ZEN will put you in a less enlightened frame of mind if you buy it. I did and now have lived to regret it.
The unit frequently freezes and can be reset with a paperclip. Then it for some wonderful reason, it deletes a part or all of a song(s) when you do. The battery life is pitiful, even with the backlight and extras turned off.
Forget about downloading firmware or software and getting it to install correctly. It won't and you have to do the paperclip thing again.
The control buttons are exceptionally sensitive, even when set to low sensitivity, so you can zip right past what you want to do almost by dropping an eyelash on it.
Now, my unit won't power on after being charged. Customer service tells me that after only 5 months of owning it, that the battery needs to be replaced. Of course I have to pay $25.00 for the diagnostic testing and then $122 for the battery AND I get to pay for the shipping both ways.
Customer service questions can be answered by phone after the first 60 days at $12.95 per call and customer service emails will wind up in Singapore or Ireland and will take several days between emails. The Creative Lab site says it is usually only one day to get an answer. I am now on my second email to them and have lost most of a week.
Save your money and do not buy this product. You will probably live to regret it, sooner or later. I am shopping for a new player and hoping I can find one that won't let me down the way this one did.
UPDATE 12/12/06***Original review was written in November 2006.
I sent my defective device into Creative Labs after receiving a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA). After emailing the company with the warranty information, I had to send the device in with a $25.00 check. The check was to cover diagnostic work and return. Creative promised a 10 business day turn around on the device. The battery replacement was covered under warranty.
I did not get my old device back, instead, I received a factory refurbished one. I could tell that it had been used because of the minor scratches on the case.
When I tried to connect the player, I could not get my computer to read it, with Windows Media Player 11 or the Creative Labs software. I uninstalled the Creative Software and reinstalled it and it would not work. I went to the help tutorials and after much searching I discovered the device needed updated drivers and firmware.
Now, this is just my opinion, but it seems logical that a newly refurbished device would have come with updated firmware and a note telling me I needed new drivers. I did get a note saying that with my new to me device that Creative would keep it under warranty for the remaining period on the old device. I think that the new to me device should be given the 1 year warranty effective from when I got it. I see this item is no longer available for sale. Perhaps with good reason. I will never buy another Creative device regardless of what it is, my experience with them has been so poor. Caveat Emptor! Buyer beware!
I loaded 16 gigs of my music and listened for 3 days before it completely died. It gave me an error message, and then went to a black screen. It will not charge. It will not play. But it looks cool on my desk. I took it back and won't get another.
I have been using this unit for about 6 months.
I read several reviews before settling on the M3 for a hard drive MP3 player. From other peoples opinions it appeared to be a good music player. After buying one I agree. The 20gb size should provide plenty of capacity. Mine is about half full.
Part of the reason I bought it was the name. I bought a 256mb CW300 several years ago and it is indestructable. The M3 has turned out to the same quality product. I still use the 300 for listening to music while riding a bike or working out. Along with it's small convenient size it has plenty of capacity and a great FM tuner.
I had previous experience with the software. It is fairly easy to use.
In my opinion this player works real well in a car with a decent stereo as you can run it thru the cars stereo with an FM adapter. I use the iRiver FM transmitter, it works great. You will need to access an unused FM frequency. Some people have complained that there is a lack of unused frequencies in the metro areas, we don't have that problem where I live and travel. Make sure you keep the volume down on the player below 20 ( about half volume ). Turn up the volume on the car stereo and it will be nice and clear. Turn the player to shuffle mode and you can drive across country listening to your own great tunes. If you get too much bass through the car speakers you can go into the JetEffect controls and adjust the various equalizer components. You should end up with a good clear sound. Battery life I have experienced on road trips is 8-9 hours of continuous play.
Another way to use the player is with an external speaker source. I bought a JBL On-tour speaker box. It hooks up well with the M3 and runs on batteries or thru an AC adapter. You can take it on trips, use it by the pool or in the kitchen.
One gripe I have is most accesories ( ie. speaker boxes ) that you can find on the market are for the iPod. It is a shame these items wont work with other MP3 players like the On-tour does.
I agree it does take time getting used to the controls. Once you have that down it works great. Overall this is a good product. I am glad I bought it
I bought the M3 in 2004, and it has performed beautifuly. The optional screen feature is awsome because you can, for example, while riding a bike, change the song without taking the player out of your pocket. The Jetshell used for putting music on the player is extremely easy to use. The sound quality is much better than an ipod or any other competitor. Finally, there is also FM/AM radio, voice recording, and direct line-in/line-out recording. A downside to this player, if any, would be the adapter thing you connect to the bottom of the player for USB/charging/line in/line out; because if you loose it, you're screwed. But, there is a way to avoid that, you can buy a cradle, and use it instead. So, overall if you are thinking about getting this player, and don't want the hastle of worring about your screen scratching up, buy the Cowon iaudio m3.
How do you weed out the best MP3 players from the abundance of models and brands on the market? I had done some quite in depth research into this, as I wanted to make sure that if I'm going to spend a fair bit of money, it's going to have to be something that lasts and performs to a very high standard indeed. I wanted great sound, great style and build quality, ease of use and compactness and lightness. Well, the Cowon IAudio M3 certainly fulfils all those requirements to a really high standard and good value for money when compared to other players (you don't have to fork out extra for protective casing or a cradle, it's all included).
I initially narrowed my selection to an IPOD, an IRIVER and this one from Cowon. I've not listened to IRIVER's sound quality but I have listened to the IPOD and I do feel happier with the IAudio's sound.
I've had it now for 3 months and I'm still over the moon with it. The feature that really sold it for me was the small remote, from which all controls are made. It means that the actual main body can stay hidden away in your pocket safe from accidents and those dastardly `hoodies' you get nowadays and you can clip the remote to something within easy reach. The actual remote is a really great idea and not at all difficult to control as some reviewers have suggested and is rather stylish. I like the fact that the two main buttons can also be pushed in as well as from side to side...
The equaliser settings are superb and the MP3 enhance and the surround sound effects work to really fantastic effect. The built in FM tuner is another added bonus and the voice recorder has also come in very handy - other features that sold it for me. I also really like the fact that the IAudio M3 automatically encodes to MP3 format as you record directly to it, which comes in handy for when you want to record from cassettes.
The only criticism I do have is that the instructions are really bad and do not explain well enough the ins and out of the JetShell software and if like me, this is your first foray into the wonderful world of MP3, and unless you've had experience with encoding to MP3 before and file management, you will probably get rather frustrated and there will be an element of trial and error before you work out how it all works. However, it's a small criticism and not enough to warrant a reduced star off the overall rating.
In short, this is a nigh on perfect MP3 player and used in conjunction with a set of Sennheiser PX200's (although the earphones it comes with are rather good), you'll have a stunning jukebox set up.
I'm not an IPOD proponent, however, I feel the need to correct the previous review that claimed this product is "considerably less" than the 20GB IPOD. This is not true. The 20GB IPOD is EXACTLY the same price as this unit. That being said, I would still rate this higher than the IPOD simply because its true plug and play with no driver necessary - that is, it will show up as a drive letter in Windows without loading any proprietary software.
I bought my I Audio about 6 months ago and have not had one problem with it, the sound quality is great (although the headphones that come with it suck), and it's got a good battery life. The one negative thing about it is that the software that comes with it is very confusing, and the little toggle keys on the screen can be very confusing and hard to work. However, if you're okay with putting up with that, it's a great little MP3 player.
I know the price on this one is attractive, but DON'T BUY IT. I had the 40gb version which is the same as this one. I figured Polaroid was a good name and they would stand behind their product. Wrong! Not only is it not made by Polaroid, but they leased their name to a company that doesn't exist anymore who was buying these from a lousy manufacturer in Taiwan. When mine failed to read the HD - and wouldn't reset with the reset button - I called the missing company ("Digital Media Group") who still had a voice mail box. I never got a call back or a response to my e-mails, so I finally called Polaroid - and I was told they could not support it, that I HAD to contact the company. A friend was able to find out for me that Digital Media Group was bought by another company, and that they were refusing to support this device.
If you think you'll never need tech support/service for this, you STILL should not get it. The software is lousy (the version of MusicMatch Jukebox that came with mine didn't even work with it) as other reviewers have described. If you use iTunes you can just drag and drop music to it as a removable drive, BUT the onscreen interface is impossible to navigate. You can't even use the "random sequence for all songs" feature - it will only play songs from the first few letters of the alphabet!
To summarize: do NOT buy this player. It is NOT a Polaroid product, and they did themselves a disservice by associating with this product. PLEASE don't make the same mistake I did!
I have had two of these. One quit after only 3 weeks, the other never worked at all. My experience with the unit that worked was very dissapointing:
You cannot import playlists, you have to create them using clunky software included with the player or on the player itself. This becomes much more difficult with large numbers of mp3's. You also must select and load mp3's with the software one by one. The unit's database crashes frequently and must be rebuilt using the software, this destroys all playlists. The only media player that supports it is "Musicmatch Jukebox" and only the version included with the player, (It's not much better as an interface than the other software included with the player).
This is a discontinued unit which is being sold off by third party resellers under several different names, there is almost no tech support available except from other owners.
If you buy one of these you will soon be wishing you hadn't wasted your money. The Creative Labs Zen Extra can be purchased for under 200 dollars, It's well worth it.
1) Battery does not work (can't be charged), Therefore, it is useless for portable device
2) Can't play song or other mp3 files in subdiretory
3) too big
I'll try to keep this short but try to read between the positive lines!
I researched MP3 players for a month...tried so many it was ridiculous...what I found was that there are some very nice players that just didn't fit my needs and, I'm sorry IPOD fans, the IPOD is overpriced for the feature set and sound quality...it rated #4 with me but was "good" across the board...
I chose the M3 and I haven't looked back...many reviews say that the separate remote with a screen is a "con" but then go on to say that, in practice it worked out beautifully...that was my experience...it's not a "con" it's a big "PRO"...it's just different and innovative...
The features you get for the $$ on this machin (I got it for $270) blows away all others...(FM, longer battery charge, line in and out, the transfer/conversion speed is #1, sound flexibility, the remote, the included cradle, and so on)...
The sonic capability of this machine is second to none (the buds were actually decent but replace them if possible...this machine "sings" with my Ultrasone HFI-550s)...and I've tried Creative, Iriver, Sandisk, & Apple...in rank order: JetAudio, Creative, Iriver, Apple, & then Sandisk...
Jetaudio products are second to none and the company actively provides updates through firmware...a hidden but important factor when buying...
There is a CON but this is only a nuisance and it's like taking one step back to go 20 steps past the competition...THERE IS A LEARNING CURVE ON THIS MACHINE WHEN IT COMES TO NAVIGATION...again, fair warning...THERE IS A LEARNING CURVE...but take your time because once you get the hang of it you've got one of the best players out there...
A second CON could be true for nearly all MP3 players with the exception of the Creative 5G micro...for the $$ these machines should have a removable, replacable, rechargable battery...(Apple charges $100 to replace their battery...you have got to be kidding me!!!)...
There's more but all I'm going to say is to NOT be a lemming...do your research...there are great players out there that fit your needs at a reasonable price...while I love and use all my M3 features...your needs may be different so don't get caught up in the "gingerbread"/accessories...but...again...
DO YOUR RESEARCH AND AVOID THE HYPE/COST OF OTHER PLAYERS! If you like the features of the M3...you can't go wrong.
Enjoy!
i have purchased in over a year. this iaudio deal seemed like a bad gimmick at first...but after 2 or 3 hours of looking around i was hard pressed to find a negative opinion about it. i could not stop myself after finding out that it is also compatible with .ogg files, and can process&output audio at above 256kb and 16 bits (it can pretty much process your audio at any rate conceivable) i was convinced, i jumped right in and bought a 20gig iaudio M3. for one this little electronic box is about 1/3rd of the weight, height, width, and depth of the ipod. second off, it comes with a great program called jet audio to obtain and transfer music with, but even better is, unlike the ipod YOU DO NOT HAVE TO USE THIS PROGRAM to use the iaudio, using the software is optional! it is the definition of plug and play. you just plug it in to your usb port and windows doesnt even prompt you to install a driver, the same goes for macs. you computer will recognize it as an external mass storage device and you can just drag and drop your audio files into the drives window, no configuration necessary, and no waste of space on your computer. the iaudio m3 has even fallen over, and been dropped in my apartment and outdoors at least 3 dozen times and it still works perfectly, aside from this the digital interface is not integrated into the main device, it is a wonderfully small remote control type device which i just snap to the inside of my pocket. so when i do accidentally drop it, i dont have to worry about the screen being scratched, punctured, or generally damaged. the machine lets you fully control the organization of your audio so there is no need to fuss around getting your iaudio to play your music in the order that you want. it charges in about an hour, and yields about 6 hours, sometimes more playing time, it never over-heats, play my audio crisper than many at home or car stereos i have hears and is far better more reliable and functional than any of the 100's of other products i have seen on the market. GO BUY IT NOW!
Well, I've had this the 20GB M3L for about 3 months now. I bought it from Amazon (jetaudio) and have taken it to Europe, long car drives, etc. First, yes, the battery truly lasts 30+ hours. Second, the remote screen for the unit is what I truly like. I know there has been some concern about it, but let's think about it for a moment. If the screen were to get damaged on the main unit - that would be it. You'd be forced to buy a new player. With jetaudio/cowon, you can replace the remote screen for a nominal fee ($30-40). But even more importantly, because the screen is not attached to the unit, I don't have to keep pulling it out of my pocket to make a change. It just clips onto something I'm wearing and off I go. The unit is durable and tough. The product is VERY WELL supported by jetaudio with frequent firmware updates. The user forum at jetaudio.com is extraordinarily helpful with answers to your questions/problems coming quickly. What I like most about the M3L is that I can put any format of music on it, I can store files or pictures, or actually any file type at all. AND, you just plug it into any computer and off you go. Thus, there are no proprietary programs to install or navigate and you can move music/files to another computer by just plugging it in. Your computer will recognize the unit as a new, separate hard drive. You just drag and drop to add/delete files. Yes, it is that easy. So, do your homework, read the lousy reviews of the competitor products (specifically lousy product support) and you'll likely come back here to buy this. Now, if you're not in a rush, I hear the M5 will be coming out in December and has some very cool features. Guaranteed it will be VERY EXPENSIVE though.
I've got the 40gig version but it is the same as the 20 gig one. Has an amazing sound with all the audio enhancements that are easily changed from the remote which is very light and easy to use. It is the smallest hard drive mp3 player by quite some way. The software took a while for me to work out as the instructions wern't brilliant but once i worked it out it is so simple and quick! Patches and updates are available from the web site. An excellent buy.
I sthe best product that you can find, is a excelent mp3 player. The smallest size in the market, with display remote control, you can record from any source, even from the integrated fm receiver!!!! Wonderful, is realy thin, great product
The iAudio really out did everyone with this mp3 player. It's small, compact, and lightweight. It weights practically nothing. There are a gazillion features this wonderful mechine has, including a FM tuner, a Voice Recording and a line-in recording. This is useful because if you want to hear something new instead of your music you can listen to the radio, and it is easy to even record the music from the radio to the mp3 player if you like the song. Have a memo and no pen? just record what you have to say in hifi quality on your mp3 player, and it takes about three seconds. The Line In is wonderful because you cant record a friends song to your mp3 player from there mp3 or cd player at an equal quality on the go. Plus you can record it at plenty of bitrates and it is all mp3 format, so compatibility is no issue.
But now with the actural playing. The player hase a wonderful array of features to make the music sound beautiful! It has BBE for high definition sound and MACH3BASS for wonderful clarity on lower notes. It has 3D surround sound on it as well that up-mixes the music to a mock surround sound, and it does feel like it is surrounding you. And the most wonderful thing is that it has a mp3 enhance to help bring out some of the music from compression. These things make the sound feel like it it coming from th e studio as you are listening. Litterally everything with the mp3 player is customizable, and very efficient. With the long 15 hour batter life, which i got over 20 hours out of, is marvelous, and hardly any other player out there has such amazing features like this.
The External screen is sweet. It may be small, but it has all the information on it and with the controls on it which I find very easy to use. You can't go wrong. There IS a learning curve to the thing, but it is about only ten to fifteen minutes. I clip it to the inside fo my jacket and leave the main unit in my pocket, so I don't risk breaking it and if you break the screen all it costs is 20 dollars, instead of like $90 that Apple charged me for my iPod. Yes I had an iPod, and this is simply better, not counting the fact that they are the same price. But comparing this to the iPod is an insult to the M3, so i won't do it. Go with the iAudio, and I guarantee you wont regret it. Firmware updates come very often from cowon, and keep the player at a marvelous condition for a long time.
I don't even think they have a word for how awesome this player is. 35 hour battery is why I purchased it. I had some concerns about the filesystem, boot times, display, comfort of the remote, GUI...
Everything is solid. It boots in about 4 seconds with a full player, the filesystem is a "WYSIWYG" sorta thing. Just put a directory in and its subfolders and everything will be mirrored once the player starts. There is no ID3 tagging for the filesystem, which I think greatly increases the boot time.
The remote is awesome. 10 minutes with it and I felt a thousand times more receptive to using it then just a standalone player. Wow.. how do you describe something like this. I think its the best purchase I have ever made in my entire life. Everything is supereasy to navigate thanks to not 1 but 2 job wheels which help you get around. Navigating with one hand is a cinch, as you would imagine.
The fileformats this thing supports are insane. Plus being able to play .m3u's is big plus. All in all, this IS I think the first of the ipod killers. All that crap about Rio, Sony, Dell, iRiver, and Creative beings the "ones" just never happened. People got hyped before the products came out and everyone was disapointed.
Thank god I never bought an ipod. Did I mention this is smaller than the ipod? Did I mention it runs for almost 3.5 times longer than the ipod before needing a recharge?
Get one. Its worth the money. Stop messing with those brands I listed above. They DO NOT UNDERSTAND. I have owned products by Rio and Creative, both were HORRID. I read reviews that the Iriver has a horrible boot time and that the Dell is just a joke. Save up and buy a quality product.
This is probably the best consumer electronic item I've ever purchased. Essentially all of the best features of the iPod and iRiver are incorporated into the iAudio.
I've had the player for a few months. I was planning on purchasing the ipod, but the poor battery life and the lack of additional features (such as FM radio and in voice recording) steered me away from the product. Instead I opted for the M3L which has a 35 hour battery life on a one time charge (compared to the 12 - really 8 hour battery life of the ipod). I'm not really a high tech person, but in case I ever did become one, I wanted to have the player that had the most features.
The only negative complain I have of the item is it having no screen on the unit itself. It can be a pain using the remote (it's tiny) and the wires really tend to get in the way. To avoid this I create my own playlist ahead of time and scrap the remote. Anyway, for the specs this is good, but for ease of use and portability, other players would probably beat this one out.
Also the sound is AMAZING on this player. If I were you guys I'd wait until next year when Iaudio will release an M3 with a screen on the main unit. I really should've waited for that. Anyway, hope my review helps!
There's been a lot of talk about this being the first real "iPod killer," but having used the iAudio extensively, I would say that is a bit of an stretch. It is, however, a strong alternative. The M3L has a less elegant but more pragmatic approach to portable music. The aluminum casing can withstand abuse, the display is small but crammed with information, and the buttons are many but functional. Fit and finish is excellent, the main unit is solid and amazingly small. The screen moved to the remote is inspired in my opinion, but it is purely personal preference. I can commute to work with the iAudio safely tucked in a pocket and still be able to control the music. But the tradeoff is the small screen and the reliance on the remote for all functions - without it the iAudio would be almost useless (additional remotes can be purchased). Navigation is through folders which is a blessing if you've sorted your music collection, and it seamlessly plays M3U playlists, a huge plus if your comfortable with Winamp. The sound is amazing, a bit louder than the iPod and - with the extensive DSP effects - a bit more dynamic. But even directly from an MP3 or Ogg, it renders the sound precisely. The included headphones are decent and fontunately the iAudio can power a big set of heaphones easily. I've pulled 32 hours (!) of use from the M3L before recharging, and I was able to fill the unit's HD in just a few minutes through the USB connection. The FM tuner is clear with good signals but has trouble grabbing weaker ones, and the built-in recording is suprisingly good for voice, radio and line-in. In fact the line-in sounded beautiful, recording at 320kbs MP3 with good range and little static. I'd have no hesitation using the iAudio to snag a recording if I'm far from home. All in all, it is an incredible player that has distinct style and features very much it's own, a well-kept secret I'm happy to have found. It should also be noted that Cowon's response to users' ideas and complaints has been solid, and they've continued supporting the M3 with firmware upgrades and features. Highly recommended.
| |
