- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 22 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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6 out of 6 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"Better sounding than iPod Nano but interface no match to clickwheel"
Pros: Excellent sound with impressive 3D effects, long battery life, small & light, high-quality aluminum scratch-resistant construction, relatively large display with very good colors, simple user interfac
Cons: No software-free drag-n-drop, no choice of file system to supplement ID3, not Mac compatible (at present), touch pad is no match to iPod clickwheel
Summary: A recent article in the NY Times points out that "Samsung executives said they had engaged Mr. Mercer [the interface guru] and Iventor to design a user interface for the Z5 because they were hoping to offer an ease of use that matched that of the iPod...". Well, not quite. While it is a nice user interface, it doesn't match the simplicity and functionality of the clickwheel. In fact, the manual includes instructions regarding the proper usage of a finger on the touch-pad! While the clickable controls are excellent, the four touch controls around the center require a bit of time to get used to. Once you do master those, however (plus the short vs. long clicks), navigating the Z5 is quite easy. It is a truly gorgeous and superbly designed device (I have the 4GB silver model) and the aluminum case adds a lot to both its scratch-free handling and to its looks. It is small and light, perfect for music on the go. The color screen is a bit washed-out compared to OLEG screens but still very good and it is larger than the iPod Nano's, which makes quite a difference when watching digital photos. The 35 hour battery life between charges is remarkable and quite a bit longer than that of the Nano (or of any existing iPod) although I haven't verified this yet. I don't consider the lack of FM radio or recording capability as weak points: this is supposed to be a DAP/photo viewer - why add lousy sounding FM? Why complicate matters (and use up memory) with a recorder? I also don't find the proprietary USB connector a weakness - just make an effort not to lose it. The sound is excellent (I haven't tried the supplied earphones, instead using Sony EX71) and the 3D sound effects work wonders! I am inclined to say that the Z5 sounds better than the Nano. Add the Janus compatibility and the seamless integration with WMP10 and you got a fabulous player. I wish it had the choice of a user-defined file system in addition to the ID3-based music organization and I also wish it showed up as an external drive on the PC for direct drag-and-drop without any software (some Archos units have both these features) but all in all it is a very good player. Whether it is worth $250 when $50 more gets you a 30GB iPod Video is another matter. Mac users are out of luck at present, but the unit is firmware-upgradable so who knows?
- 2 replies to this review
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There are some reviews that say that although this is a flash player, it does NOT have gapless playback- in other words, it still has a pause in between songs. Can you please confirm this? And also, have you had problems with it displaying album art (as this has been reported also)? Thank you.
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$80 away from the zen vision m with a wall charger.
Samsung YEPP YP-Z5 (4GB, silver):
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