Apple iPod nano 8 GB Black (4th Generation) Review

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(More customer reviews)this is my 6th portable digital music device so far, and i tried to avoid ipods because they always got bad reviews for malfunctioning and lacking features. this on is a different story. not only is this ipod the thinnest ipod ever made (you can stop here, apple, any further and it will vanish), its made smart, and so far its a pretty good buy for me. unlike everyone thinks cover flow cant be turned off, it can. instantly after i connected my ipod for the first time to itunes a new firmware update popped up, and one of the updates was an option to turn off cover flow, among other things.
+ pros
-incredibly thin. i cant even tell its in my pocket
-aluminum casing and glass screen offer excellent scratch resistence
-very light
-very competitive pricing - 16 gb for what the nano offers is the most affordble nano ever. the apple reputation has never been so attainable.
- accelerometer - this adds a few fun touches to operate without pressing buttons, is very useful for rotation on the screen when viewing pictures or watching videos. games are now actually very interesting
- screen clarity
-simplicity of use
-lots of colours to choose from
- cons
ITUNES - although itunes is the gold standard in today's media players, it has a tendency to use a massive amount of resources on any pc, and runs without question parallel to quicktime. if any quirks manage to occur, renstallation is required
- battery life - other than uninterrupted music playback very disappointing, especially while playing games
-everything is automated - this pertains to 1, the fact the ipod will turn on when i put in headphones, and the rest to itunes, which tries to sync entire libraries worth of music onto foreign ipods, like friends' and family
-Apple decided to require either their brand or certification to all ipod accessories, so to anyone that has bose or othere expensive docks and such, this might be a deal breaker
er, then i suppose theres a "both" category
-genius- theres something i havent noticed people mention, or if they do, its complaints. Genius is an absolutely worthless feature when used on the ipod. It works with only about 25% of PURCHASES. And it doesn't make a very satisfying playlist even when it does work. But honestly who should expect that? When you use genius on, itunes, yeah it still sucks at making playlists, and it is frustrating, but it's an excellent tool for finding new music, because it reccomends a huge list of new songs and different artists that usually appeal to your taste.
overall a big improvement compared to other ipods ive seen. the pricing and compactness, features and ease of use stand out, though the battery life and new accesory restrictions leave something to be desired. (get the 16 gb if you really want movies, or go for the classic or touch, which are both equally appealing) i give the nano ****.

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Samsung S3 4 GB Slim Portable Media Player (Green) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have had 2 iPods in my life and this product by far surpasses it. It arrived fast. It is so easy to use and has great sound quality. It has some awesome features. I really like the radio so when I get bored of listening to my music I can listen to the traffic or news while I work out. It is a great purchase!

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MEDIA PLAYER - FLASH - 4 GB - STEREO - MP3;WMA - RADIO TUNER - FM - 25 HOUR(S)

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Samsung YP-K3JQR K3 2 GB Slim Portable Media Player (Red) Review

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(More customer reviews)Well, here's Samsung's answer to the ipod nano, and it's a beauty. Yes, this is the RED Samsung K3 2GB mp3 player with built-in FM tuner. The unit is sleek, stylish, easy to use, and it offers EXCELLENT sound. The earbuds provided sound as good as my Sennheiser earbuds, unexpected performance for pack-ins. Though I haven't filled the K3's memory to capacity, it would appear to hold around thirty albums or 500 songs at the standard 128bit sound quality. There are a number of EQ settings designed for different types of music, but you can also set up your own custom setting using the built-in seven-band equalizer. FM performance is excellent as well, with adjustable sensitivity. The little color screen works great as a GUI but washes out in sunlight and doesn't do the greatest justice to your photos. This unit excels at playing music, not displaying photos. Beyond that, battery life is claimed to be 25 hours. I have been using the K3 with the Belkin mp3 armband designed for nanos and K3's, and it's very unobtrusive and comfortable to wear. For someone who grew up in an era of portable battery-powered record players accompanied by a stack of worn 45's, this is an amazing device!

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Featuring a bright, 1.8-inch full-color OLED display, the Samsung K3 is an ultra-thin 2 GB subscription-enabled MP3 player. Instead of being limited to one equalizer mode, the K3 has five EQ modes so that your music plays the way you want to hear it.
Keeping up with the Samsung media players of the past, Samsung includes above-average headphones with the K3, so you'll be able to enjoy your favorite music files with high-quality resonance right out of the box. These bass-boosting earphones fit comfortably in your ear and substantially limit extraneous noise for an improved listening experience. With an easy-to-browse picture menu, photo-viewing capabilities, and a built-in FM tuner, the K3 truly stands out among other Flash-drive-based MP3 players.
The K3 supports MP3, WMA, and DRM-Janus audio files and JPEG photo files. The player's Li-Poly battery supports up to 20 hours of continuous audio playback. For added convenience, the battery recharges every time the player is linked to a live USB connection. And with its speedy USB 2.0 connectivity, transferring audio and picture files to the device is a snap. Compatible with Windows XP and later operating systems, the K3 measures 3.78 x 1.73 x 0.27 inches and weighs just 1.76 ounces.
What's in the Box K3 media player, balance earphones, USB cable, and installation CD.

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RCA Opal 4 GB Video MP3 player with 1.8-inch Display, FM Radio, and Voice Recording (Blue) Review

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(More customer reviews)I didn't even read the manual and have been listening every day since I bought it a week ago. The 4GB holds three 12-disc audiobooks, about 25 more hours of music, 28 pictures and 7 short videos. I could probably get more videos on if I deleted the audiobooks! I haven't used the Audible feature yet though I will. A couple of minor things - snipping video from your PC works but the audio is awful so I recommend you don't use this feature. Also if you pause for too long when you go back the file will start from the beginning which is hard to do on a 45 minute file. And last there don't seem to be any instructions on how to use the Audible feature.

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No matter what you want your portable audio/video device to do, the RCA Opal can deliver. Listen to audio, watch video, record radio, or view slideshows all in one full-color, compact device
Become a Recording Artist A built-in microphone and the push of a button makes it possible for you to create your own MP3 files. The Opal also can record what you are hearing on FM radio, saving the file for later use.
Make Online Video Your Own The Opal's VideoSnip feature allows you to capture online video and transfer to your device, so you can nab your favorite clips and take them with you anywhere. The player is compatible with Mpeg4/MP4, SMV, AVI, WMV, RMVB, and MOV file types.
Manage Your Files Wisely RCA's EasyRip software is stored on the device, and it allows you to quickly add music, photos, or videos from your computer or personal CDs.
What's in the Box RCA Opal 4 GB Video MP3 player with 1.8-inch display, FM radio, and voice recorder (Blue); USB-to-mini USB cable; EasyRip software; carrying case; silicone earbuds

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Philips SA52 8 GB Flash Video MP3 Player with FM Radio and 2.8-Inch Color Screen (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)Before I get to the scathing portion of my review, let me highlight the positive things this player has to offer.
***THE POSITIVES***
1) Excellent sound quality. When this player works, the sound it produces is amazing. Philip's Full-Sound Technology offers exactly that: full, three-dimensional sound that gives my music previously unknown depth and clarity.
2) Excellent headphones. In fact, I'm buying the first set that I find, now that I've returned my Philips in favor of Sony's far superior 8 gig player.
..........................................................................
--Please note, the first two negatives are persnickety. The last three are essential.--
***THE NEGATIVES***
1) Player is overly dependent upon the Rhapsody cd. Seriously, it won't work without it. This wouldn't be as problematic if the cd or the setup guide warned you about this, but such is not the case. Instead, the cd-related portion of the setup guide serves as an ad for Rhapsody. I find this practice unethical, as it usurps the user's needs in favor of making a sales pitch.
2) Deceptive drag-and-drop. When I finally installed the components on the cd, I noticed that Microsoft Explorer was suddenly able to see my Philips mp3 player as a device. Furthermore, it could see folders within the player. "Fantastic!" I thought. "I can drag and drop!" Wrong. While it's true that you can drag and drop folders into the player this way, once the information is copied to the player the organization they once had is lost. There are ways around this obstacal, but they all are painful to execute, painful to describe, and painful to read about.
3) Slow load times. There is a noticeable lag that occurs when turning the player on or browsing through music, videos, or pictures. If you're listening to music while you browse, this effect is compounded. Sometimes it even causes your song to skip.
4) Frequent freezing. The thing that really set me against this player is that it freezes. A lot. And by a lot I mean that it froze on me once per session for the last week that I had it.
5) Problematic updates. In an effort to resolve my player's freezing issues, I opted to update my player, but this just made things worse. After updating, the pause feature ceased to function. Whenever I tried to resume a song from a pause, the song would restart from the beginning. It was at this point that I decided "enough" and returned the player.
***CONCLUSION***
The Philips 8 gig mp3 player caused me one problem after another. As soon as I solved one issue, another would arise. I estimate that once all was said and done, I probably spent close to 10 hours trying to get this thing to work. What's more, I was unsuccessful. So unless you are seeking a thankless challenge, do not buy this device.

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Listen to music, watch your favorite videos, record messages or ideas--this 8 GB Philips Flash video and audio MP3 does what you need, and its ample, full-color screen ensures you enjoy every minute of it.
Find it Fast With 8 GB of memory, you can load hundreds of music and video files. Find what you're looking for in a flash using Philips' SuperScroll feature. Move through your playlist one song or video at a time, or press and hold to move swiftly through your catalog to the song you want next.

Hear it All Philips\' innovative FullSound technology restores sonic details to compressed music, so you hear it exactly as the artist intended, without any distortion. The included high-definition headphones enhance the experience even more, providing exceptional noise isolation and amazing comfort.













































































What's in the Box Philips 8 GB Flash Video MP3 Player with FM Radio, and 2.8-inch Color Screen; CD-ROM with IFU, device manager, media converter and Windows Media Player; high-definition headphones; quick-start guide; USB cable; storage pouch

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Transcend T.sonic 850 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this player about a month ago and use it every day. It has all the features I looked for after shopping around for about two weeks. The display is crystal clear with very good definition. What sold me on it was the fact that it has a customizable EQ, a GOOD radio, easy to use controls that are rugged and have a solid feel. The file system is great, so you can set up your folders to find what you want when you want. The sound is truly amazing! You can't do better for the money!

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Slim, lightweight, and easy to use, Transcend's T.sonic 850 combines a bright 1.8-inch color TFT display with a compact, portable design. Whether you're on a long trip, at the gym, or just making your daily commute, the T.sonic 850 will keep you thoroughly entertained with 8 gigabytes of music, videos, photos, or electronic books. The T.sonic 850 also features a recordable FM radio with 20 station presets and an advanced voice recorder with built-in microphone for recording personal memos, class lectures, company meetings, and more.

Enjoy Your Music Anywhere, Anytime The T.sonic 850 provides 22 hours of nonstop music playback and supports MP3, WMA, and WAV formats, including WMA-DRM10 subscription music files.
It also boasts a few features you won't find in many players, like the A-B repeat function (which allows you to continuously replay a designated section of a track), variable track playback speeds, and a sleep mode (which will power off the 850 after 15, 30, or 60 minutes). And naturally, you can dial in the EQ--the 850 features seven equalizer settings, including one customizable user setting.
Take Your Entire Photo Album with You T.sonic 850's high-resolution screen and slideshow screensaver is perfect for viewing your favorite pictures. Pull up JPG and BMP format images for sharing anytime.
A Movie Theater in Your Pocket Transfer full-length movies and video clips to the T.sonic 850 for convenient, portable viewing. Just use the included Transcend Media Converter software to convert to the ".mtv" format, and you're good to go.
Listen to Your Favorite Radio Stations T.sonic 850 is equipped with a crystal-clear recordable FM radio with 20 station presets. Pull up your favorite stations in a snap, and if you want to save it for later, just hit record--the 850 features FM recording.
Read Novels Without Turning a Single Page Leave your books at home and use the T.sonic 850 to read all of your favorite e-books or other text documents while on the go. The text feature also lets you display lyrics for karaoke-style fun.
Create Memorable Voice Recordings Class lectures, important meetings, or personal memos can be recorded at the touch of a button with T.sonic 850's digital voice recorder enhanced with voice activity detection (VAD) technology for high-quality gapless recordings.
Take Your Files with You The Hi-Speed Mini USB 2.0 port ensures easy computer connectivity and fast file transfers. An added plus is the ability to use the 850 as a USB flash drive for carrying/transferring files.
Real-Time Clock Displays local and world times.
What's in the Box Transcend T.sonic 850 8 GB Video MP3 player (Black), Protective Silicone Cover, Neck Strap, Software CD, Earphones, USB Cable, Quick Start Guide, Warranty Card.

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SanDisk Sansa c250 2 GB MP3 Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I did quite a bit of research to get this one. and here are the reasons, I arrived at this decision:
Pro:
Size: It is pretty small yet not hard to use the controls
FM Radio: That's pretty nice in such a small MP3 player. Top that iPod
Expansion slot: The micro SD card makes this player future proof. Have more music to upload? get a card and you are done. iPod doesn't have it.
Voice recorder: was not on my wish list, but nice to have.
changable battery: battery goes bad, you can change it. iPod can't do this.
If you hit a button by accident while listening to the music, the button just wakes up the device then you can tell it what to do. Small feature but saves a LOT of annoying moments.
Sound is pretty good, unlike some reviews I have read. It is pretty much in par with other MP3 players especially iPod which is the benchmark these days.
Price: half of iPod Nano.
Con:
The package only comes with a USB charger. I have seen some plugs that have a USB output, or you can get their optional AC adapter.
Memory slot although nice, but there is no dummy card in it to avoid things getting stuck in it, so I just put a cheapy micro SD to fill the hole.
The screen could use some more contrast or better color scheme to display the menu better. You get used to it right away, but I am being super crtitcal here.


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The latest in SanDisk's audio line, the Sansa c250 2GB MP3 Player provides everything you need to play music, enjoy photos, and listen to FM radio. This affordable device also includes a bright color screen, on-the-fly voice and radio recording, a microSD slot for memory expansion, and an intuitive, easy-to-use interface.

Full-Featured MP3 Player The SanDisk Sansa c250 will play MP3, WMA, WAV, and protected WMA DRM (digital rights management) music files. Enjoy the album art on the compact color screen, along with track information via ID3 tag support. The Sansa c250 MP3 player has two gigabytes of built-in flash memory, which allows you to store up to 500 songs (32 hours of playback) in 128 kpbs MP3 format, or up to 1,000 songs (64 hours of playback) in 64 kbps WMA format. Additional capacity can be added via the microSD slot. It also supports subscription music stores, for easy purchase and downloading of new music to your player. Finally, you can adjust the sound to your preference using the digital equalizer's five presets: normal, rock, jazz, classic, pop, and one customizable user setting.
Take Your Photos With You Use the c250's color screen to share slideshows ofphoto thumbnails with your friends. The device supports JPEG, TIFF, PNG, BMP, and GIF files, which are easily converted using the included Sansa Media Converter software.
Portable FM Radio Enjoy programming in a more traditional way with the built-in digital FM radio. Keep your favorite stations stored in the twenty programmable presets, and cycle between them with ease. Record FM radio on the fly, saving your favorite programs for later.
Voice Recording Have a thought you need to get down before it evades you? Use the built-in microphone to record voice memos. Capture interviews, classes, presentations, short notes to yourself, or anything else you might feel inspired to record for later listening.
Easy Transfer The c250 uses a high-speed USB 2.0 connection for fast file transfers from your computer. Once connected to your computer, the device is detected by your operating system and appears as additional drive. Simply drag and drop your music files to the device and you're ready to go. Alternately, you may use Windows Media Player or other music software to manage your files. Requires Windows XP and Windows Media Player 10 or later.
Time to Play The included rechargeable lithium-ion battery allows for hours of music before needing a recharge, and is removable--buy a spare for a long road trip or other situation away from power outlets.
What's in the Box Sansa c250 digital audio player, Earphones, USB Cable, Quick Start Guide, Lanyard, and 1 lithium ion battery.

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Philips GoGear 4 GB Vibe MP3 Video Player with 1.5-Inch Color Screen Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)With a large outdoor project looming on the horizon I decided to purchase an MP3 Player to listen to my tunes as I work. After a lengthy review process both locally and online I finally decided to purchase the GoGear Vibe 4Gig player.
Overall I am very happy with my purchase. It plays my music very well. I even hooked it up to my full over ear headphones and some external speakers and it did quite well. I really enjoyed the equalizer feature as this did an excellent job of improving the music that I like to listen to. There are multiple presets based on Music Genres plus there is a custom setting as well. I advise you to try all the presets as I found the Rap setting improved my tunes the most, though that isn't the music I listen to. The controls are well laid out though the front panel toggle can be a bit twitchy causing mistaken key presses.
The device synch's very easily with your PC and I use the standard windows explorer to edit the files that are on it. The Rapsody player it is bundled with is a bit annoying. Take care when you have the Windows media player synch with the device for the first time. The darn thing went across my entire hard drive and synched every single WMA it could find! My only complaint with that is that it isn't perfect. It took compilations and created folders for each and every artist who was involved making it almost impossible to listen to the work together. Plus I have some older works that I have collected from several different sources that it insisted on making up lots of folders that would contain only 1 song in it. Then it would simply confuse some tracks and place them in the wrong folders. The best way I have found around this is to edit all those songs back into 1 folder to play those selections from the folder option and not the artist option. So far it has randomized my tracks well and I haven't been able to detect a pattern. I would like to try track editing software to attempt a more professional solution but I haven't tried this yet.
I'm afraid I can't evaluate the player for anything other than an MP3/WMA player as that is all I have been using it for although the album art does show up rather well on the very tiny screen (The screen is about the size of those keychain photo viewers.) I did use the FM also and it works well. The device has no expansion slots so you should make sure your music can fit in the 3.6 Gigs of formatted space. I don't have a massive collection of music so 4 Gigs was enough to carry my current collection and still leave a good amount of space for more music or some snapshots. I use the Phillips athletic armband carrier (Not included but I recommend it)to lug it around as it has no belt clip, but the carrier does a great job of protecting the device and gives you easy access to all of its features.
It plays for a very long time on a charge. I have let it run for better than 8 hours and it was still going. I don't yet know how long it will play before it needs a charge. It recharges very easily from a PC USB port fully in about 3 hours. It does have an extremely short recharge cable that only measures 4.75" long from tip to tip, but I have found any standard large port to small port USB cable (Like those of camera stick readers) allows it to recharge. The headphones that it comes with do an okay job of playing but they bothered my ears after a few hours so I bought some JVC in the ear buds for it that I like much better.
A Word of Warning! Only use the reset button in absolute emergencies. I used it casually to try to get it to the set time function and completely locked the player down! It would refuse to do anything after that. I thought I was going to have to take it back to the store, but I was able to get the Philips GoGear VIBE Device Manager to finally see it (Hold the + portion of the volume control down until it sees it) and it was able to update the firmware and restore the device to working order. This was great except it completely erased the Player! I had to restore my entire collection to the device again.
Other than that 1 hiccup (caused by me) the device has performed flawlessly ever since and I am really enjoying it. It has an excellent array of features compared with devices that cost twice as much.


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Philips GoGear ViBE Portable AV Player (4GB) packs big entertainment in a superbly small design. Its 1.5" full color display shows off album art and folder view ensures easy file navigation and organization.

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Archos Key 4 GB MP3 Player with Built-In Micro SD Card Reader (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have spent a fortune on finding an ideal MP3 Player, while some met my requirements, almost all failed at two basic things...
Have to carry cables for transfer songs or charging : This is a very basic flaw in a lot of MP3 Players, you need to carry a cable for charging / loading songs / podcasts... and that is very inconvenient when you need it because you end up searching, untangling in vain most of the times.
Ability to browse the songs as I loaded them, and not in some preset sorting like by album / by genre etc. I have gone through a pain staking process of organizing my music into different categories (Gym, Podcasts for learning etc) and getting to my choice of song / item becomes too difficult. Archos had this feature all along.
While this player scores big on these two items. it has a lot of features already advertised which are very useful as well.

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The ARCHOS key is a handy MP3 USB key with a handful of great features. Listen to and record your FM radio programs, enjoy your digital music anywhere, and even transmit your music directly to your car radio using the built-in FM transmitter. The key offers 4GB of memory for up to 2000 songs, plus you can use the built-in micro SD card reader to extend the capacity at your convenience.

Big Sound, Small Size With its USB thumb drive form factor, the ARCHOS key makes for a versatile player. It's the perfect companion at the gym or for other fitness activities, commuting to the office, or just listening at home. Enjoy your favorite MP3, WMA, or WAV music/audio files, or go with FM radio.
FM Radio and Transmitter Listen to your favorite radio stations and stay on top of the latest news using the built-in FM Radio. Even better, the key features an FM transmitter, allowing you to tune in your vehicle (or home) stereo to the key's signal, for enjoying your favorite MP3s without cables or bulky external transmitters.
Micro SDHC Slot With 4GB of internal storage capacity you can easily store up to 2,000 songs directly on the ARCHOS Key. For music lovers who need a little more, a Micro SDHC card slot is included. Set up a few different cards and swap 'em out on the go for serious audio options.
Voice Recorder Need to make a grocery list, daily reminders, or record a class lecture? The ARCHOS Key has a built in microphone that will let you make voice recordings. The voice recorder can also record FM Radio on the device, so you can record that new song on the radio and listen to it over and over again.
Retractable USB Connector The ARCHOS key doesn't ship with a sync cable--there's no need for one. The retractable USB connector lets you plug it right in to your PC for easy drag-and-drop file transfers, just like a USB thumb drive. In fact, if you have a couple files you need to take with you, you can throw those on the key as well, since it acts as a USB storage device.
What's in the Box ARCHOS key Player, Earphones, User Guide

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