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- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 10 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
2.0 stars
"If I didn't get it for free, I'd feel cheated"
Pros: Plays Mp3's from memory sticks.
Cons: that's about it.
Summary: Honestly I don't see how CNET gave this thing any more than a 3 grade because not only is it a waste of money, it fails to meet its own expectations miserably.
I got one of these free from Circuit City 3 years ago ( I won't go into details about how I got it, I'll leave that for their LP team). This was one of the most frustrating devices I've ever used on my computer and as anything more than an optical drive, it is a waste of cash.
#1 You must have USB 2.0 to use it. with USB1.1, this thing will slow your computer down and even crash it if you don't have enough memory. Forget trying to use DVD's on it without USB2.0 because it will only read DVD's at 1X (instead of its 8X rated speed). It will also only burn Cd's at 2X rather than its 24X rated speed.
The device can play MP3's, WAV's and a few other lesser file types off of Memory Sticks and CDR's.
You don't have to format music to ATRAC3 like most sony MP3 players require but,to play music off a CDR, you must use an MP3 burning program and finalize your disk for the songs to be recognized.
As an MP3 player, the AP20U is HEAVY and BULKY- like carrying a loaded gun in your pocket. it does feature a nice remote control stick with a green nightlight which looks handsome but, you're gonna have to put this bigassed thing in a backpack.
Forget trying to play CD's and Cdr's though because the built in battery pack dies in less than 2 hours when using it that way. If you use Memeory sticks, you will get about 6 hours between charges.
Even moreso annoying is that the Ap20U features NO skip whatsoever. So don't even think about using this as a jogging cd player because it will skip more than you do!
So far I've used the Ap20U with 128 MB memory sticks. I'm not certain if 1 gigabyte MS can be used but I have been able to use it with a MS adapter to read MS Pro Duo's and edit them.
The AP20U has no computer LED on its body. Without a computer or its included remote, its useless. the unit has no play button, no stop, rew, ff, nothing. All it has is a ubiquitous "SOUND" button, an EJECT switch and a HOLD button. On the bottom is an emergency eject knob on the bottom which you will need since the unit tends to freeze up from time to time. If it does this while in MP3 playback, you must unlock it to get it back online.
The player has a neat cradle dock that will charge it and connect it to the USB on the computer. It has an included AC adapter that charges it fairly quickly. It actually has very handsome looks if your a tech nut.
OVERALL however, this device is only recommended to people who don't have a DVD ROM drive or CDRW drive. Without USB2.0 it is useless though. I'm sure there are people who needed devices like this, mostly APPLE users, but for $300, its costly and only a neccessity for those who really need it specifically for its lackluster functions.
