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CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 10/14/2004
At a compact 1.69 by 3.15 by 0.71 inches and 1.24 ounces, the MP-800 fits easily in a shirt pocket, while the cord on the included earbuds doubles as a lanyard for easy portability. With its black plastic shell and silver trim, the unit itself isn't eye-popping, but it feels comfortable in your hand. Three buttons (power/play/pause, record/A-B loop, and FM) and a Hold switch line the top of the unit, and a four-way joystick sits to the right of the display. All of the buttons are small but tactile.
The player's streamlined design may be too bare-bones for efficient navigation. While a song is playing, pressing down on the joystick brings up options for adjusting the speed, the EQ presets, and the repeat/shuffle modes. To access the main system menu, however, you have to pause the song, then press and hold the joystick once to reach Music mode, then press and hold the joystick again to reach the main setup menu options. This frustrating navigation process would have been much easier with a dedicated menu button, and it wouldn't require much additional space.
MP3 and unprotected WMA files are transferred to the player through Windows Explorer. (Windows 98 users will have to install drivers from the included CD-ROM.) Along with digital music playback, the MP-800 features an FM tuner with which you can manually save up to 10 FM presets; disappointingly, there's no option for scanning and automatically setting presets. There's no seamless way to switch from MP3 to FM mode--you have to go through the laborious process mentioned above to accomplish this.
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