CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 04/02/2007
It was only a matter of time before Samsung put out a speakerless version of the innovative YP-K5 MP3 player. The YP-K3 delivers the goods in an even sexier--if ever-so-slightly bigger--body than the iPod Nano. But it's priced for the masses at $119 for 2GB and $169 for 4GB, undercutting the iPod's tag. Samsung says an 8GB model will be out by summer, which makes sense given the company's good footing in the flash memory market.
Out of the box--which is nearly identical to that of the full-size iPod, interestingly--the K3 is simply stunning. Its glossy front is trimmed with chrome, giving it a sleek and stylish look. When you turn the player on using the side-mounted power/hold switch, the touch-sensitive controls light up, reminiscent of Philips' GoGear line of players. The controls consist of four directional arrows, as well as Select, Menu, and Back keys. Like the K5, the YP-K3 takes some design cues from the LG Chocolate phone, right down to the availability of black, red, and green versions--sorry, no white. The red version in particular is truly gorgeous, and the backlit controls give it a very jukebox-like appearance.
The K3's 1.8-inch OLED screen is a bit larger than the Nano's 1.5-inch LCD, but like said iPod, the K3 has a bottom-mounted headphone jack and a proprietary dock connector. The K3 isn't as prone to scratches as the original Nano was, but ours picked up a few very minor scratches as well as lots of fingerprints. Navigating the menu system is snappy, and we like the animated icons on the main menu level. There are no significant differences between the YP-K5 and the YP-K3, other than the K3's lack of an alarm-clock function, which depends upon a built-in speaker. The touch controls are very sensitive, but they're spaced far enough apart to avoid too much frustration. Still, with no tactile feedback, it's impossible to operate the K3 without taking it out of your pocket.
Setting up the YP-K3 to communicate with your computer is a no-brainer--just attach it via the proprietary USB cable, and it syncs with Windows PCs. Sadly, though, Samsung has once again left out the growing number of Mac users by abandoning USB Mass Storage Class drivers, so the K3 can't be used as a thumb drive. But it syncs fairly well with Windows Media Player 10 and 11, as well as other MTP-based jukebox software. We did run into a few issues with Windows Media Player 11 where we had to disconnect and reconnect the player a couple times to get the sync feature to work right. But it's not clear whether this is a WMP 11 issue or a K3 issue.
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Where to buy
Samsung YP-K3 (2GB, red):
$69.79
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$69.79 | Yes |
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