iPhone 3GS from AT&T. Free Shipping
- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 41 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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24 out of 26 people found this review helpful
3.0 stars
"A fair review from an experienced MP3 player user"
Pros: It's a light-weight, small in size, and simple to use. FAST file transfers.
Cons: Decent size screen, poor battery life, not fully functional on MACs. Terrible display, without using backlight. Pic and text viewer are very impractical. Design prone to scratches.
Summary: Being a former i-river 390 user, I took a risk by purchasing this, even though I have a mac, as its not supported. Its okay to use on MACs if you plan on just using it to listen to music, (as the player shows up as an external drive, thus you can drag and drop your mp3s); however, if you want to take advantage of the text reader and picture viewer, it doesn't quite work (for MACs) because you can't use the included software which is necessary to properly use these functions.
On my MAC...
I experienced anyway by dragging and dropping both my text and jpg files... The
text showed up on one file, but I wasn't able to scroll down... Line breaks don't show up properly either. My other file didn't show up at all. Supposedly the manual says you can read e-books using this feature.
Read more to see why that's not even practical...
Picture Viewer
The picture viewer program included has a function to format the pics to 96x96 so it can be viewed on your player. Obviously I forgoed this since I can't use the software. The picture I transfered over was a somewhat large file as it was taken from my digital camera. It squished it on the screen appropriately; however, I had to wait over somewhere around 15-20 seconds for it to load.By the time it loads, the screen goes out and you can't see the picture. ( you can adjust the length of backlight tho)
As an MP3 player
It does the job. Good sound and control of EQ settings. File management on the player itself is a little clunky. It orders according to the ID tags instead of the actual file names...
Voice recording is sloppy, as the mic pics up a lot of noise from just holding the player as it records.
Overall functions...
To me, the text and pic viwer functions are included as novelty, as they aren't really practical, regardless if you can use this properly on a PC. The screen is decent in comparison to the actual size of the player; however, there's no way you would be able to read an e-book off this screen, as suggested. NO WAY. If you want to keep a phone number or two or small note then its okay...
I'm suprised nobody mentioned this, but its very difficult to near impossible to see the screen without using the backlight function. Even in well lit conditions, which is extremely puzzling. The screen may as well be off. Seriously, its that dark. Why would you want to avoid using backlight? To conserve the already poor (compared to other players) battery life. It takes 2 hrs to charge. I'm used to switching batteries in and out, which is actually more convenient if you ask me.
Don't get this player if your excited about the extra functions. They aren't practical at all.
In fact, I'd recommend a different mp3 player. I'm okay w/my purchase, but it could have been a lot better. It does the job as a music player; however, it doesn't capitalize on the extra functions.Updated
the headphones included, are incredibly uncomfortable, which seems to be the general concensus. odds are, you won't use them. they look really stupid too. it looks like you have the "Sorry" board game pieces in your ear.
I can't emphasize enough how frustrating it is to see the screen without using the backlight. even in a well lit office, or even outside in the sun, it is terrible. difficult. i live in hawaii too. c'mon...
the screen shouldn't even be on
as a matter of fact, i would take CNET reviews as a grain of salt for now on. how can you overlook something like this and rate this product as "excellent"? my god.
i've never been a fan of the i-pod for various reasons, but i would recommend that over this one, easily.
the only reason why i wouldn't recommend the i-river over this is that the software for it is propietary, meaning, you can't use it from computer to computer if the iriver software isn't installed on it...
- 5 replies to this review
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Thanks for taking the time to comment on the features of your mp 3 This helps greatly in making a decision. Non MP3 user, buying it as a gift.
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Thanks for taking the time to comment on the features of your mp 3 This helps greatly in making a decision. Non MP3 user, buying it as a gift.
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It must be charged using the USB port. That is a bad design feature. So are you supposed to carry a PC with you everywhere you go so you can recharge the MP3 player?
Related to that, it does not use AAA or AA batteries, but an internal rechargable with 10 hrs max life. That compounds the charging problem
Third, it is built only for the Windows based PC. Mac users beware. -
I read the directions for it and followed them. I find the battery life quite astounding. As long as you follow the direction for the first charge it should work just fine. And the included charger is nearly useless, I hardly ever use it as long as im updating music file on it. I might plug it in once or twice a week for less than 10 minuites in the computer and it will run for the rest of the week without needing a charge. And the display works in all conditions and like any other LCD in sunlight, the proper angle really helps view it without backlight. In all practicalities, this device is super-duper.
I really like the enlarged equilizer mode for the play screen too. -
So what kind of poor battery performance did you experience. I assume it was closedly related to how much you used the back light? Correct? Or?
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