MobiBlu US2 (2GB, silver)

CNET Editors' Rating 7.3/10 Very good Editorial policies >>

Product Summary

The good: MobiBlu's stylish and wearable US2 is slim and lightweight; features photo and video playback plus FM/voice recording; OGG and subscription WMA support; two headphone jacks; preloaded PodcastReady software; MTP and MSC USB modes.

The bad: The US2 has a couple of interface missteps; non-standard USB; not supported by WMP11; mediocre screen colors; slight noise from left headphone jack; maxes out at 2GB.

The bottom line: MobiBlu's wearable US2 is sleek and feature packed, but the user interface isn't very sophisticated.

Specs: Device type: Digital player / radio See full specs >>

See all products in the MobiBlu US2 series

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: James Kim
Reviewed on: 11/08/2006
Released on: 11/06/2006

MobiBlu and its family of Cubes (including the recently reviewed Cube2) has stolen some of the limelight from its Korean brethren: iRiver, Samsung, and Cowon. And still MobiBlu claims the world's longest-lasting MP3 player, the B153. Now, the company with the strange name brings us the US2, a slick-looking, flash-based wearable that purloins some design cues from the Moto Razr. We're not surprised that the US2 is jammed with features--that's a given with flash players these days. However, the attractively slim gadget (available in 2GB silver for $130 and 1GB black for $99) has some quirks, such as an imperfect interface and washed-out screen colors.

The US2's Razr-like appearance comes in part from its size, measuring only 0.27 inches thick (the Nano is still thinner, though) and its hinged-look on top. Otherwise, it would be somewhat large for a 2GB flash player at 3.35x1.61 inches. At 1.05 ounces, however, it is one of the lightest players I've held in a while.

It's designed to be worn pendant-style, using the bundled necklace earphones that curiously clip onto both sides of the US2. We say "curiously" because each connector is actually a minijack port. Yes, there are two minijacks on the necklace earphones. Don't worry, they are not left and right channels--instead one of the headphone jacks is a dummy jack when used with the supplied 'phones. You can connect two sets of headphones if you wanted to, though. Wearing the US2 isn't too nerdy (the color screen and backlight look sweet at night), but if you want to control it, you must awkwardly turn the player around so it faces you. MobiBlu combats this problem with a pivot display option, whihc rotates the screen (and controls) 180 degrees so the UI isn't upside down. The US2 makes a great pocket companion, by the way.

The US2 next to the barely thinner iPod Nano.

The metallic finish of the silver version is actually plastic (thus the light weight), but the main control deck seems to be real metal. This controller is a thin but tactile five-way pad that pays homage to the Razr's metal-etched front panel. It's also backlit blue (activated by a button) and looks awesome at night. The buttons themselves are decent but you must firmly click down: up and down for volume (and for navigation--they are not dedicated); right and left for playback control and for diving in and out of menu options. The play/pause button is awkwardly located above the square 1.5-inch OLED display next to the equally petite SRS WOW button, however. So for a while, I repeatedly tried to press the center select button for play/pause. Not good.

MobiBlu US2 with its bundled accessories.

Pressing the center button actually reveals the current folder-tree-style playlist (or library), and you can navigate back to the root folder. Holding down the center button takes you to the main menu, where each menu item has its own icon and page. Here you can select music, photos, video, FM radio, settings, and more. You can go to this menu while your music is still playing (though you can't view photos and listen to music simultaneously). Selecting the Music option takes you to the playback screen. To browse for music by artist or album, you must press Select and move back two steps. I prefer browsing by ID3 tag from the start. While it's easy to figure out, you'll notice that the interface isn't as efficient as it could be.

The color display isn't the most impressive thing I've seen lately. It's got excellent viewing angles and it's colorful (260k colors), but MobiBlu's resident color theme feels a bit dated--the blue and orange looks kind of 8-bit. The screen isn't very bright and can be a chore to view outdoors. It doesn't support album art either. Photos and video aren't awe-inspiring; they look pretty low-res and colors are washed out, though I realize the US2 is an MP3 player with multimedia capabilities. Still, I've seen better display quality. I don't know if it's a carryover from the Cube2, but the square screen isn't photo or video friendly.

Luckily, it has features galore
The US2 can playback MP3, store-bought and subscription WMAs, and OGG (applause). It has a capable FM tuner with autoscan and 20 presets, and it can record FM and voice at a maximum bit rate of 128kbps MP3. Unfortunately, the voice recording is pretty scratchy; it's more for leisure than for work or sampling. Video files must be converted into MSV using the included media-converter utility (compatible with WMV, ASF, and MPG). The US2 supports JPEG and the proprietary MSJ format. Bizarrely, the US2 is not officially supported by WMP11. In fact, you'll find a notice in the package that states this fact and offers a basic tutorial on how to roll back to WMP10 (remember how WMP10 sucked?).

Like most new MobiBlu players, this one comes preloaded with PodcastReady myPodder software--simply plug the US2 into a Web-enabled Windows computer, and you can configure or download podcasts right there. Though it includes both MSC and MTP modes, the player wouldn't show up on my Mac.

Quickly back to design: there is a Hold switch on top, and the USB port is actually the right-side headphone jack/necklace holder. Like the Cube family (and even the iPod Shuffle), the US2 uses the unconventional minijack-to-USB cable (it also ships with a tiny USB/mini-adapter), so don't lose this item. You'll also need it to recharge as the US2 doesn't come ship with an AC adapter, nor can it be charged that way.

Performance is decent, though I detected some circuit noise coming from the left side jack. Sound quality is reasonable and is enhanced by the SRS WOW feature, plus 7 EQ presets and one custom EQ. I subbed in my own headphones (on the right-side jack) and thought the audio was hiss free and full, and maybe even a bit bright. Battery life is rated for 14 hours for audio and 6 hours for video, though video with its conversion process is a labor of love to me. Unfortunately, the US2 didn't hold up in CNET Labs testing, which eked out a disappointing 10.6 hours for audio.

Overall, the player has a neat, gadgety presence that fades somewhat when you turn it on. It's a solid DAP with nice extra features, but it feels a half step below similarly sized players like the Creative Zen V Plus. But if you're into wearables, the US2 definitely holds it own.