Entered CNET Catalog: 10/17/2001
SKU: BA350
Manufacturer: Bantam Interactive, Inc.
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Manufacturer description
The Bantam BA350 is one of the smallest, slimmest multi-format players that offers a lot of convenient features such fast USB downloads, custom EQ / Digital Signal Processing (rock, jazz, dance), a high-resolution back-lit LCD display, a memory expansion slot for MMC and 7 custom color changeable faceplates. The BA350 plays MP3, WMA and future formats. Music and speech files are loaded from a PC into the BA350 as MP3s, using a USB cable. The player contains 128 MB of data storage. It's very lightweight and compact-sized, making it perfect for sliding right into your pocket.Product summary
The good: Inexpensive; 128MB of internal (expandable) memory; strong rechargeable battery; clear and loud sound; car adapter kit; seven different-colored faceplates.
The bad: Lacks extras such as an FM radio or a voice recorder; must be removed from carrying case in order to use the controls; maximum volume not high enough.
The bottom line: The BA350 is a great value for a compact 128MB MP3 player, although it doesn't play loud enough for some users.
Average user rating: from 309 users
3.0 stars
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 11/01/2001
Editors' note:
The rating and/or Editors' Choice designation for this product has been altered since the review's original publication. The reason for this is simply the general improvement of technology over time. In order to keep our ratings fair and accurate, we sometimes need to downgrade the ratings of older products relative to those of newer products.
The rating and/or Editors' Choice designation for this product has been altered since the review's original publication. The reason for this is simply the general improvement of technology over time. In order to keep our ratings fair and accurate, we sometimes need to downgrade the ratings of older products relative to those of newer products.
Bantam Interactive may not be a big name in portable music, but its Explor BA350 is going to put the company on the map. Combining a compact design with nice cosmetics, 128MB of built-in memory, good performance, and strong battery life, this digital music player has all the makings of a winner.Updated 7/22/02
 Editors' note:
The rating and/or Editors' Choice designation for this product has been altered since the review's original publication. The reason for this is
simply the general improvement of technology over time. In order to keep our ratings fair and accurate, it's sometimes necessary to downgrade the ratings of older products relative to those of newer products. |
Bantam Interactive may not be a big name in portable music, but its Explor BA350 is going to put the company on the map. Combining a compact design with nice cosmetics, 128MB of built-in memory, good performance, and strong battery life, this digital music player has all the makings of a winner.
As noted, the BA350 is fairly slick-looking. Probably the most impressive aspect of its design is that it's nice and thin and isn't too much bigger than a Zippo cigarette lighter. Graphite plastic covers most of the unit's surface, but you can swap the removable panel on the middle of the front with any of the seven included faceplates (blue, magenta, lime, peach, white, aqua, or orange). We found it easy to navigate the menus using a four-directional toggle button, which is very solid to the touch, unlike the buttons on some other players. The display could be bigger, but it shows you everything you need to know and is easy to use, thanks to an intuitive menu structure. Five equalization settings round out the equation.
Solid software, easy installation
On another positive note, we had no problem installing the companion BitExplor software. The instructions are easy to follow, but if you need extra guidance, just turn the unit on and press the play button to hear an audio walkthrough. BitExplor ran smoothly and has a unique three-paned interface: two windows that each toggle between Explorer (browsing for MP3s), Find (searching for MP3s), and Playlist (drag-and-drop playlist creation), and one window on the right that shows the songs on the player.
To transfer songs with BitExplor, just drag and drop files from the left two panes onto the right pane. Once you have your 128MB of MP3s lined up, hit the Synchronize button. If you really want to pack a ton of songs onto the unit, a check box gives you the option of WMA files at a lower bit rate, but such a conversion slows down file transfers and degrades sound. We preferred leaving the files as MP3s--after all, 128MB is a lot of space for a . In addition, you can add more memory via an expansion slot that accepts MultiMedia Cards. Our only gripe with the software is that when we selected a directory with a massive number of MP3s in it, BitExplor took way too long to list all of the songs. If you buy this player, organize your MP3s into small folders to avoid this problem.
A little powerhouse
Sound quality is excellent, with an impressive dynamic range and a clear-sounding signal-to-noise ratio of 85dB. However, the maximum volume is a bit low for those who like their music pumping or need a high volume to block out external city sounds. A thoughtful selection of accessories rounds out the package, including wraparound headphones, a car cassette adapter, and a gym-worthy carrying case. The BA350's only real downsides are that it doesn't work with Windows 95 or Macs and that it lacks an FM radio and a voice recorder. Although some newer players--such as the Sonicblue Rio S35S--offer a more evolved design for the same price, the BA350 is still a good deal at $179.
Despite its small size, the Explor BA350 packs a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that lasts 12 hours once fully charged. The player actually charges itself via the USB port while it's connected to your PC. One source of annoyance is that the sliding power switch lets you choose from hold, on, or off--in that order. When you remove the BA350 from its case to adjust the volume or the track, it's pretty easy to flip the switch from hold to off (instead of from hold to on). That means that you have to turn the player back on and navigate to the track that you were listening to. We consider this to be a fairly minor problem, but it's worth mentioning.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Not a good long-term prospect
Pros: Was very cutting-edge in its day; upgrade made it more useful
Cons: Company went under so no support; Bantam charged for upgrade; upgrade made the device more delicate/damage-prone
Review: I had a great experience with Bantam, when they were going strong, but it seems that they lost steam; charging for a much-needed player upgrade (which mostly made the device independent of its file-transfer software). I didn't appreciate Bantam charging me for hte upgrade, while offering the upgraded machine to new buyers at a lower price. That's no reward for loyalty!
To add insult to injury, the company was acquired by GPX and basically were bought out. GPX doesn't provide support for the player anymore, which, evidently is in high demand, as the upgrades seem to be causing the players to have battery and bad block issues. I know that mine does. What was left of customer support didn't do a very good job in helping me fix the player. Now I feel burned because I only got a couple of years out of my Ba350. That's not fair!
I will definately look twice at buying from a little-known firm next time. At least then I might be able to find technical data on better-known players so I can perform DIY repairs.
Bottom Line: Bantam had a great product; what went wrong, guys?!
To add insult to injury, the company was acquired by GPX and basically were bought out. GPX doesn't provide support for the player anymore, which, evidently is in high demand, as the upgrades seem to be causing the players to have battery and bad block issues. I know that mine does. What was left of customer support didn't do a very good job in helping me fix the player. Now I feel burned because I only got a couple of years out of my Ba350. That's not fair!
I will definately look twice at buying from a little-known firm next time. At least then I might be able to find technical data on better-known players so I can perform DIY repairs.
Bottom Line: Bantam had a great product; what went wrong, guys?!
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
kept freezing!!
Pros: nice n compact, slim design, good sound quality, easy to use, USB re-chargable
Cons: product worked great for about a yr and then it just froze up! I got Bantam to it replace TWICE for the same reason n even had to pay $30 each time!! However, every 3 months, it froze up!!! Now, I am done with Bantam!! Looking for something better...
Review:
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Good player, but has flaws...
Pros: Really good sound quality, fast boot time, small and compact.
Cons: EXTREMELLY Fragile. Had to return it TWICE; once for unpluging the headphone jack too quickly which made audio come out only on the left channel and for dropping it about a foot off the floor. Also, the version I had needed the firmware to be upgraded to
Review:
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
CUSTOMER SERVICE-TECH SUPPORT DISMAL
Pros: size
Cons: very bad tech support and customer service DONT MAKE SAME MISTAKE AS I DID!!
Review:
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Idea, Poor quality
Pros: Very light, rechargeable batteries, decent capacity
Cons: This product won't last very long. The usb cable socket wears out quickly and the player has software problems. The company offers nothing in the way of tech support either on the web or on the phone. I bought this as a birthday gift for someone and it
Review:
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Good product overall, BUT...
Pros: Size is unbeatable--extremely lightweight and about the size of a credit card. Comes in a cushioned carrying case that clips tightly onto your waistband. Very good sound quality with decent storage space at 128 mb. Tech Support bent over backwards for
Cons: Have to take it out of it's carrying case to use any buttons. Dropped it from 3 feet up in it's padded carrying case and it's DONE! It will not work anymore and I'm bummed.
Review:
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Product failed twice
Pros: Small, and light weight, nice case.
Cons: Product broke after 6months. Was replaced and got charged 30dollars. Then 2 months later, the same thing happened. And they are going to charge me again. For the 200 dollar price they charged for this, they should stand behind their product.
Review:
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
NO Service or Support
Pros: Very light, good sound
Cons: Several months after buying the unit the left stereo channel failed. Bantam is telling me they want $100 to do ANY repair to the unit. My pleas for fairness and reason have fallen on deaf ears. An email to management has gone unanswered. I WILL NEVER BUY
Review:
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great for the wear
Pros: Great sound, compact, easy to use
Cons: the internal hardware just died and couldnt be fixed unless I paid $100
Review:
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
This is yesterday's player!
Pros: It was a decent player when it came out about two years ago!
Cons: I can't believe some people are still buying this product! This product should be retired already. Compared to today's mp3 players: sounds sucks; not cheap; and too well-designed.
Review:
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Ok product, poorly supported by small company.
Pros: Small form factor, and when working is a middle-of-the-road MP3 player
Cons: Prone to microcode corruption, random re-booting & skipping. Company supporting product is a small startup, with very shoddy support mechanisms. Tend to over-commit, under-deliver, if at all.
Review:
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Nice design, poor quality
Pros: lightweight, good price for the capacity
Cons: 3 months after purchase, it stopped sensing when the USB cable was plugged in. They replaced the unit, with commments that led me to believe it was a common problem. Now 10 months later, it's doing the same thing, but this time no response from their se
Review:
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Claimed to be upgradeable..now want to charge for upgrade
Pros: Small, nice sound.
Cons: Customer support is not good. Tried to hide bugs & blame it on the memory card. Now want to charge $50 for a firware upgrade. DONT BUY THIS THEY TRY TO RIP YOU OFF.
Review:
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Solid Unit
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Review: After searching around i actually found this unit for a little cheaper from CoolMP3Store.com, the player is good, great size and sound. i think that it is still a little more expensive that it should be compared to some of the units that are available, i haven't had any problems that some of the other reviewers had. I would definatley recommend.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great, BUT DON'T DROP IT!
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Review: By far the best on the market. Just fabulous. But if you drop it on a hard surface, even only once while in the case, you'll be sorry. It's about as durable as a new-born infant.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Broken within 7 months
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Review: Everything was fine with mine, until one day it just stopped working. Luckily I was still within the the year warranty, but that meant an extra 30 dollars for repair......If I could do it again, I'd get a different player (I could definitely get one for the 250 it cost me total)
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Excellent Product & Service
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Review: After reading reviews, I was concerned about the maximum volume and product quality. Volume was more than fine. First unit had slight random crackling. They shipped me a second unit before even receiving my return (no charge to me). Second unit worked brilliantly!!! Way to go Bantam!
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Bantam dropped the ball on this one.
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Review: This isn’t that bad of a player, if you can get one that isn’t defective. I had to send the first one back, because the internal memory was bad in it. Second player has been functioning flawlessly. Just from reading other user comments, it seems as though Bantam is sending out quite a few defective units. The software, at least in the past has also been a problem. However, the latest version of the BitExplor software seems much more stable than previous versions. The software is reasonably user friendly and there is support for M3U play list files. I definitely don’t recommend using the convert to WMA option for file transfer, because the file conversion process is painfully slow. One missing feature is the capability of using the player as a general file transfer device. There is also no voice recorder or radio. If you are considering getting one of these players with the intent of using the memory expansion slot, be forewarned that the transfer rate to external memory cards is ridiculously slow. Before I bought my 128 MB SD card, I assumed that the file transfer speed to the SD card would be the same as to the built in memory. I have since discovered that the transfer rate to the SD card is about 4 times slower, which means that it takes about 24 minutes to completely fill the SD card with MP3 files. This is ridiculous since the card is capable of a much faster transfer rate. Bantam Technical support has confirmed that the slower speed (about 90 Kbps) is as fast as it will go. I’m not sure if this limitation is due to the hardware, software or firmware. I think the player unit itself is great. It is very small yet sturdy enough to handle being banged around and the sound quality seems excellent as long as you’re not listening with the supplied headphones. The display could be larger and easier to read, but it does provide the essential information. The track information scrolls too slowly in my opinion. It would be nice if the display would show the total playtime for the track without having to call up the song info. I also wish that there were an option to display the file name as well as the ID3 tag info. Battery life is acceptable, but is less than the advertised 12 hrs. Generally, I can get a little more than 8 hours of continuous play back from a full USB port charge. The battery seems to drain down very slowly when the unit is off, so intermittent use will result in less playback time per charge. USB port charging is a neat idea, but what if you want to charge the battery and there isn’t a computer around? The good news is that Bantam has an AC adaptor for this unit. The bad news is that the adaptor has to be ordered separately. One nice extra that is included with the package is a cassette adaptor. All in all this isn't a bad player, but with a little extra effort Bantam could have had a real winner.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Overall, satisfied with product
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Review: I bought the Bantam for my mom to take with her on daily evening walks. Overall, satisfied with the sound clarity and volume, screen is legible, but small, & it is possible to fit ~4 hrs WMA files or ~2 hrs of MP3 files; my biggest complaint is that for non-tech savvy users, neither the software nor the instruction booker or user-friendly; you have to follow a precise start-up sequence to transfer files (if you reverse the order of the steps, won't work); also, while the battery is rechargeable, it seems to dissipate quickly; however, I found both customer support and technical support to be both very responsive and helpful with any problems
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
EVERYTHING THAT HAS EVER BEEN WRONG W/BA350
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Review: Bantam had the opportunity to make an MP3 player that would have revolutionized the MP3 industry. Instead they opted to make one that is deserving of negative reviews such as this one. SO what’s wrong with it? Let me list hem out 1) First and foremost the sound quality leaves much to be desired. 2)One of the most annoying characteristics of this player is the software on the player does not enable it to show the "file name". Instead it will only show the ID3 tag info. HELLO! OVER HALF OF THE MP3s OWNED BY THE AVERAGE USER LACKS ANY ID3 INFO!!!! So what does this mean? It means that you either have to edit every single mp3 in your media library! Or get used to seeing nothing on the screen of your Bantam player when the song plays! If you Bantam people are reading this, Would it really hurt to allow file names to show up on your player? Would the extra kilobyte or two really hurt?!?!?! 3) The Bantam software really sucks, very very very glitchy. If you really wanted to make this player the best on the market, why not allow it to show up as a drive so that we can drag and drop items into from Windows Explorer? (I hope some one out there is taking notes) 4) Although the BA350 is meant to work with the SDMMC it seems to have problems with handling the external memory. I have a 128 Mb sdmmc and a 500 MB sdmmc. The 128 mb works occasionally without any problems however the 500 mb wont work at all and returns gibberish on the screen when it tries to play the song. 5) Whats up with the colors for the face plates? How is it possible to select so many impossible colors in one sitting? How about white? Black? And who the hell needs more than one face plate??!! Save the money and give us better headphones or put it towards a wearable clip for your belt or pants! .6) The LCD screen looks about as lively and modern as my casio calculator watch from the second grade. 7) Hey here is a crazy idea, how about two SD MMC slots!?!? Heh?!? You like that one huh? Maybe the Bantam people under estimated the potential of SDMMC? Probably considering we are just around the corner from seeing the first ONE GIGABYTE SDMMC. Having two SDMMC slots would enable a whopping 2 Gigs plus the internal 128 mb! How’s that for cutting into the hard drive mp3 market ! To be honest with you I REALLY do want to love this tiny, compact, affordable, player. But you guys are making it so tough! If you are serious about making “Audio with Vision”, you will heed my advice. If you truly are committed to making “Audio with Vision” you will contact me ASAP for expert advice on the redesign of the BA350. email – www.Nuvo9@email.com
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great looks, bad quality
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Cons:
Review: Breaks often, internal battery won't last long enough to play all the songs. Will try and sell this dead one on EBay - already got my GREAT iAudio unit!
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
The MP3 player that could've
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Review: I'm sure in a few years Bantam will produce a nice MP3 player. Until then don't waste your time on the BA350. It's really buggy and has a tendency to freeze and shut off unexpectedly. I don't think anyone in customer service could spell "customer service". I threw mine in the trash...it wasn't worth the headache.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Overall a good player
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Review: Bought this unit about a year ago because I was flying a lot and wanted a small, easy to carry flash memory mp3 player. I now use it at my desk because radio reception is poor at my workplace. I run it off the ac adapter sold on the Bantam site. I'm satified overall but a few things could be improved: 1) The s/w is very picky about the startup/connection sequence. It has a annoying tendancy to crash for no discernable reason. (Windows XP) 2) the transfer rate is slow, especially noticeable with the 256M cards I've been using recently. 1) battery life seems to run between 3-8 hrs 2) can't access the controls when unit is in the case 3) the control access is a little awkward for large hands like mine 4) the ac adapter occasionally introduces a loud hum to the music This unit still appears to have a good price/feature mix and I would recommend it to a friend.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best combo of product and service!
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Review: I purchased the BA350 when it first came out, and then it started to go bad. So I called them and sent out the player (it had a short circuit). They sent out a brand new one and I couldn't be happier. Cannot wait for the BA1000!!
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
very unreliable
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Review: I have this unit for 6 months, From very begining it was acting up. It would not turn on without USB port connected. Battery discharging very in a few days when unit switched off. Finally it quit completely. When turned on Bantam banner is displayed and nothing happening. Tech support responded right away and advosed me that it will be $30 fee to repair or replace a unit. Before I send it I will try to upgrade firmware, see what will happen..
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
One year later, and still lovin' it
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Review: I bought this last Xmas and it's been a workhorse ever since. While I had a few problems with the software on WinME, I haven't had a single problem since my switch to XP. Battery life is still great, and despite what they say on the CNET review, you can use the controls without removing the player from its case. I recently purchased a 128MB memory card, doubling its already fairly large capacity. Although it is a year old, the player still manages to turn quite a few heads and win me some ooh's and aahh's when I use it. The only change I would recommend for them is a toll-free service number. They were very helpful, but who wants to pay long distance for a service call? Overall...8/10.
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Constantly dying. Software is nightmare. Tech support does not reply.
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Review: Clumsy controls that click on in my back pack and drain the internal battery. Software interface always locks up. Tech support does not respond to inquiries. Very frustrating.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Plays GREAT, but has QUALITY PROBLEMS!
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Review: After doing a lot of comparison shopping, this was the player for me. Light, great for dropping in the gym bag, etc.. Sound quality WAS GREAT at first, but about six months ago, a low-level hiss developed at lower volumes. As the player ages (it has been played almost every day this past year), the hiss becomes louder & more annoying. Yesterday, I experienced the "mysterious battery problem" that everybody here is warning about. Now I'm well out of warranty, and Bantam has yet to return any of my email about why my player won’t turn on or acknowledge my presence. FRUSTRATING! I spent more than $250 on the BA350 and the USB-free charger, and I take good care of it, keep it in its case, occasionally run the battery dry, etc.. I expected it to last a while longer. My recommendation: look elsewhere (or buy it used and expect eventual problems).
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
It's a keeper aterall...
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Cons:
Review: My first one developed a faulty ear phone jack after a few days and the controls were buggy. I phoned and they were very nice, sent me a new unit even before waiting to get mine back (without charging me) and the new unit has worked flawlessly. Like others have already mentioned pros are small size, great sound, rechargable battery, easy software. Cons are controls not convenient to get to. I don't think my battery holds the charge as lng as specified. I also wish it had an arm band, and too bad it doesn't support Audible.com files as I am getting into audio books now. Lastly the battery charge indicator is pretty useless. Nothing is perfect, though, and over all I love this lettle player!
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Ignore the bad things everyone said, its great
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Review: everything about the player is very good and well worth the money
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Wanted to like this more...
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Review: This should be a really good player for the price (at least, it was until the jukebox players became more common and cheaper). But the quality control is just bad bad bad. We have two (my husband bought me one and I bought him one), and one has had ongoing battery problems, which have finally turned fatal. From what I've heard this is VERY common. The support is ABSOLUTELY the WORST you can imagine!!!! I have emailed several times and never once had an answer. The toll call to support cuts you off or sends you to voice mail. If you do get through, they say things like, "Oh, it's dead? Have you tried plugging it into the charger?" That was the COMPLETE extent of their help, before transferring me to customer service for info on sending it in for repairs, at my expense. I get the feeling this company was set up out of a garage by a recent engineering graduate who had some pretty good ideas about designing a player but no idea how to run a business or or do customer service. If you knew you were going to get a good one and didn't have to deal with support I would recommend it, but as it is I can't.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Strong and efecient
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Cons:
Review: I had been looking forward to getting this player for along time. when I recieved the player I charged it for the full twelve hours. I installed the software properly and tried to transfer a few songs onto the mp3 player. I had trouble geting the player conected to the computer. But I soon found out that it was the usb on my computer that was faulty. I used my other computer to transfer the files. It was quick and easy to put music on it. The player at first seemed small but it becomes easyer to use once you learn the buttons. It has loud music, long battery, good equalizers, sturdy case, great selection of cover plates, car adapter, and great interface. I would recomend that any one who wants a flash memory mp3 player should chose this great player. It is much smaller, reliable, and sturdy than most other players. The customer service was great answering all my questions about expandable memory. GET THIS PLAYER!!! It would be a good idea that you have an up to date computer, atleast win.98 and at least a pentium 2 for quick transfer and and so that the program works properly. The Headphones were great with loud sound and a good comfort level. and for all those who think this is a bad player think again everything works perfectly, its you and your computer that is not working, you just don take the time to read the directions and or have enough patience to deal with electronics. This player is great for anyone who knows how to work a computer and a cd player. Get This!!! Great price for what you get. Enjoy!!!
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
software problems with XP
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Review: I have had 8 months of driver and software issues. When the player works, it is great, but it often screws up my computer with errors and driver incompatibility. Also, the on/off switch is too sensitive, and often will automatically shut off without wanting to
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
very basic
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Review: this is a very basic mp3 player i got it about 5 months ago. It has NOT been doing good for me at all. Everytime i plug it into my computer it dosnt work and there are practicully no features on it. I didnt like it..maybe because i like gagets and stuff but all u can do is play like 20-30 songs on it. So dont be fooled. Play 20-30 songs on it thats it if u have 300 songs or 500 forget it. Its to hard and TIME CONSUMING to handle. No joke either, dont let the others fool you. Its very small happy with the size. Good for working out, running, excersizing but not for car rides or long distances battery only lasts hour or maybe 2!
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Don't Buy It
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Cons:
Review: >Software buggy and unreliable >Blank spots during song play >Does not work with Windows XP >Company too small poor support >Buttons on unit hard to use >Sound quality poor >Not ready for retail marketplace
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Does its job
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Cons:
Review: The player is good overall and has filled my needs. The main problem i have with it is that the battery will lose its charge if not used for about a week. Also, once the battery is dead the display does not show it being recharged when plugged into the USB port.. even though it is.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Some Design Flaws
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Review: I love the size and storage capacity of this MP3 player. However, the battery never lives up to its rated time. When storing the item in its case the unit can be accidentally turned on since the onn/off swiich rubs the side of the case and can move to the on position without any signal. On Shuffle Play the unit is balky. It will play the same song repeatedly sometimes. I emailed Bantam twice about this and they didn't even bother to respond. If the battery expires the unit does not like to turn on and accept the USB charging system. Mysterious quirks abound.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great after getting a few problems fixed.
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Review: I got one of these back in March. The first one I got would never turn on. The Bantam people were very friendly and they sent me a new one. The second one works great. The sound is good, it holds a charge well, and it is so small! The only problem that I have is that the battery meter does not reflect the actual battery strength. It always says the battery is full.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Cool Player...BUT...
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Review: I feel bad about giving this player a thumbs down because it was so promising at first. However, after a few months of use my unit developed the same problem with the player refusing to stay on, as well as frustration with the buggy software. With so many people having the same problem, this is not just an isolated quality control issue.
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Take your money and RUN!!!
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Review: Bought this for my wife for her birthday. After a long period of time getting th esoftware to work correctly the unit performed great. Soon we learned that the battery life is TERRIBLE and customer support is worse. Actually not worse, ITS NON-EXISTANT!!! Emailed every department with no response. This issue seems to be well known but Bantam ducks for cover. Take your money and run folks. Buy something from a company who backs its product and that is NOT BANTAM!!
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Beware Win 2000 Users
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Review: I just purchased. I did a ton of research on players. I have had in house 4 days and it still does not work properly. I give tech support credit. They have been very responsive. However, there is only one port in with THEIR software. It has repeatedly crashed on my PC. When I loaded on Win 98 system, it worked great. Wait until they work bugs out of software - for Win2000 users. It is great little player and will be satisfactory to Win98 users.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Some good concepts, but not for everyone
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Review: Recently purchased it and am now going to send it back - 30 day money back guarentee. Compared to everything else on the market it seemed like it would be amazing - and it IS, except... Previously had the Rio 800 and, while it was great, the battery life was absolutely horrible. This unit IS impressively small - it is amazing how tiny it is. Sound quality is absolutely wonderful - it just works perfect. However, I feel the unit is TOO small, for me at least. The controls were too tiny and hard to use - I found myself skipping to the next track often instead of fast forwarding. The display is nice and sharp, but it doesn't show much info - it can't being that small. If you DO want a tiny player, this is one of the best. However, if you want a little bigger player (slightly larger than a credit card) with better overall features - the Rio S50 is the best. I just purchased it and it is AMAZING. Very small - just a bit bigger than the Bantam, but the display is bigger and much more info is displayed - and a nicer color. Control is perfect - it's big enough to use without messing up. The case is better too - it has holes to use it where the Bantam doesn't. Battery life has been fixed since the Rio 800 - it goes for 20 hours on the rechargeable. PLUS, it has an FM tuner - and, yes, it isn't that great - but it does work. All this for $20 less than the Bantam - trust me, this IS the better player. The Bantam is amazingly light and small - but that is the only thing is has going for it over the S50 unfortunately now that SonicBlue seems to have fixed battery issues. To be fair, though - let me say that Bantam's customer support and sales is INCREDIBLE. They were VERY responsive - even calling me to give me a tracking # when they couldn't reach me by email. This IS a good company and I do recommend them if you feel this player is for you.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
This player has evolved
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Cons:
Review: I read alot of the comments on here befor buying the player. I got to say it looks good, it has a good feal and sounds great. The software was a snap. As for the position of the hold/on/off switch, the company has changed it. It is now positioned as hold/on/of. Accidently hit the hold switch it will click into the on position. As for the case, yes you cant press any of the control buttons, well you shouldnt. the case is there to protect the player from being scratched. if they put holes in the case then people would be complaining on how it doesnt protect the player. The player is easy to use and woth the money.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
everything you could want
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Review: I have had my player for almost a year and love it splurge for the power adaptor so you can charge it if you travel w/o your computer. easy to use, lots of storage room and great small size. A great value.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
One year evaluation
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Review: I was one of the first to order the BA250 over one year ago. I did have to have the original replaced (It took a nasty spill off the treadmill) but, I have had the replacement with no problems for 11 months. I use it daily for workouts and am consistantly downloading new songs on it. I have not encountered any problems with unit or software. (Windows ME). Battery still holds charge as good as day one. I am always looking for the next great thing but for small portable flash players you can workout with this is still the best option out there.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Good So far
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Review: The one thing missing on this unit is a battery option for us hikers that don't have a computer on the mountain. As for the pouch throw it out and get yourself a Motorola Startac carring cradle.It Fits perfectly and you can reach all the controls except the on/off. Hope that helps. Love the unit so far.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Accessories?
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Cons:
Review: The Carrying case, I had to modify. The head phones where just too big. The sound is great. Using the software took was easy to setup.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
trouble maker
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Cons:
Review: At first I thought it was a great product, but that all changed after a while. I bought it when it first came out and the second time using the software proved to be a problem. The program froze and I had to install and reinstall numerous times. Then after a few months the player just wouldn`t turn on. My advice - don`t waste your money.
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Cheap Quality
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Cons:
Review: Had to return the player 3 times within the 1st 6 months. Finally asked for and got refund. Bad product, but good customer service.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I received two, they both broke
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Review: Not much more to say, at least they refunded my money almost as quick as they both broke. Just to clarify, I ordered one, it broke, they sent me a replacement and it broke
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Another disappointment
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Cons:
Review: I had tried the Nike Rio PSA, and the software crashed. The same has happened with the Bantam -- I cannot even download digital audio files onto the player. Do any of these products actually work with Windows XP?
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Very Happy, Only one problem
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Review: I got the BA350 in June and since then (it is now October) the player has been working flawlessly. I use it primarily when I ride my mountain bike and work out. For that it is great. It also holds a ton of songs on the built in memory. I recently got 64 songs on the player which is pretty much all of the good songs in my CD collection. The only problem I just have had was after a FIRMWARE update. Performing the update went flawlessly and the player seemed to function properly after the update. However today I encountered a proble where the player would not turn on and function past the initial screen on the LED. I immediately called tech support (the number is clearly posted on their web site) and within 30 seconds of describing the problem the support person knew what had to be done. Unfortunately I need to send the player back and they will then ship me a new one. The tech person described the issue as a problem with a built-in ROM. Anyway, within 5 minutes I had my return instructions and I will be sending the player in next week. I have read many negative reviews of this product and that is a shame. This has been a great product and I installed a firmware upgrade on a until with no problems. My fault entirely because the way I see it IF IT IS NOT BROKEN DO NOT FIX IT. If I had followed that motto I would be able to use the player tomorrow in my workout. But regardless of that I trust Bantam to follow through with the professionalism that the have shown me so far. THIS ONE IS A WINNER!
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Set Up a Snap
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Cons:
Review: I am cursed of bad purchases. I received my player in day! Took it out of the box and loaded it and I was off. Using the software was a snap. Couldn't believe it. Yes, when using the carrying pouch you cannot see the controls. But, if you know where the controls are on the player, you can adjust the volumne and such right through the pouch as it is not that thick. I found that to be a nice bonus. The clip btw stayed on snuggly on my short through an entire run. Although mine is fairly new, days old I don't foresee any problems other than getting to know it better.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
So small I almost washed it with my clothing
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Cons:
Review: Very satisfied for the following reasons: 1)it's size. I can barely feel it on me at the gym. 2)128MB is great. I bought a 64MB MMC card for it as well. 3)Tech support was fantastic. It went bad in the beginning and they sent me a new one within the week. Actually, my friends went bad as well and they sent him a new one. But we both love it and won't switch unless the IPOD gets alittle cheaper. Only annoying thing is the carrying case. I cut holes into it so I could change the tracks without pulling it out.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Lasted Only 3 Weeks
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Cons:
Review: I had the same experience as another reviewer. The product was great for about 3 weeks, then it wouldn't stay on. They clearly have a problem with quality control. I'm also seeking a refund. Don't buy it.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Excellent sound
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Cons:
Review: This player has excellent sound, is small and light and is pretty easy to use although it is a little buggy when I try to change music on it. I have XP Pro. I sometimes have to turn the player off and on to get it to respond. Only other complaint is that you have to lift it out of case to use controls while exercising....an arm band would be nice.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Perfect Fit
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Review: After living with this payer two months, I am still very happy with it. The small size and large capacity are great. Very east to use, as well. The software could use some work, and it does act very odd when the battery is low, but those are minor compaints. A great buy!
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
SoWEET MP3 Player...
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Review: Great Player; -Repeat, Shuffle, shuffle Repeat, etc. -Plays 2 Formats (Upgradeable through firmware) - $200, Good price but for 130 an Irock 520 can be aquired (Little Bit Smaller, 128 MB, No ID3, AWESOME Sound Quality) - Look For Irock Players Before Buying this one, Radio Shack sells them.. - Good Customer Service From Bantam - 
MMC Cards cost 90 for 128 - Irock (uses smartmedia), 128 MB more for $50 basiucally you can get the same player for $130 in the Irock 520, but without ID3 Tag Viewer (really not that great), and backlit display. Still A great player worth researching AND purchasing...
MMC Cards cost 90 for 128 - Irock (uses smartmedia), 128 MB more for $50 basiucally you can get the same player for $130 in the Irock 520, but without ID3 Tag Viewer (really not that great), and backlit display. Still A great player worth researching AND purchasing... User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Player...Great Cust. Service
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Review: I wanted a player for use at the gym; it had to be durable and small. First I tried the YEPP Pendant (128 MB)--twice. Both players were duds. After giving up on the YEPP, decided upon the Bantam. What a great little player! Initially had trouble with the Lithium battery; it was only playing for 3 hrs before dying. Called Bantam and they responded immediately by replacing the unit for free. They even guaranteed that it would go through quality control (again) before it went out to ensure that the battery would perform up to standard. Definitely worth the $200...plus it plays both mp3's and wma (even converts yr mp3's to wma format if you choose).
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Software Problems, Zero Support
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Cons:
Review: Nightmare experience with this device. Software worked 1 or 2 times and then just refused to recognize the device. Their tech support dept. tried for an hour on the phone to help then promised to call back but never did. Also never answered numerous emails. This company is a joke and so is their software. Don't buy this product!
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
cant use
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Cons:
Review: my first day i got it and whenever i TRY to open the software an error comes up saying a problem occurred and shuts down the software. i've tried everythin. everytime i open the software it shuts down. i havent even used the player yet. anybody have any suggestions? bin ladin's brother on the phone couldnt do anythin about my problem. HELP!!!!
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Still very happy.
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Cons:
Review: Well, I said some time ago that I would submit an update if my initial satisfaction with the BA 350 turned sour. Instead, just the opposite is true. The player has been 100% reliable, and the BitExplor software has caused me no problems of any kind. The only fly in the ointment came when I tried to install new firmware on the player. I'd been having USB problems (they crashed a lot) which I finally traced to a bad USB bus. Unfortunately, I tracked the problem down AFTER the attempted firmware upgrade; the USB ports went dead right in the middle of the upgrade, rendering the player unusable. Well, no problem at all! Even after owning it for 9 months, Bantam told me to return it for a free replacement. I was back in business within a week! The Tech and Customer Service staff were extremely helpful and friendly throughout. I can't say enough about these folks!
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
DO NOT BUY THIS MONEY PIT
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Review: Do not but this money pit. I run Windows 98, and have downloaded all of the newest drivers off of Bantam Interactive's website (as of 9/02), yet I still can NOT get the BA350 to sych up with my computer. This is not user error. What happens is that the synch starts up and gets about 2/3rds of the information across before the 'blue screen od death' comes on and shuts down my system. Multiple calls to the company have been to no avail. It is true what other users said about this company. It is a garage shop. There is ONE person in their technical 'division' who does not know the answer to anything (and probably won't get back to you anyway) and one software engineer who is a contractor and is not even employed by this company. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. Trust me, I really wished I could get it to work as it is small and the few songs I was able to succesfully download onto it sounded good. However, it is not worth the risk of paying $10 shipping and handling each way, and wasting several weeks of time, to you for these features. If the President of Bantam Interactive is reading this, I suggest that you fire your technical 'team' and hire someone who actually knows what they are doing and is customer focused!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
fantastic portable player
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Cons:
Review: I run on a treadmill at the gym and wanted a lightweight, high quality mp3 player. This is it. Easy to use software and hardware, and a great sound. I added a secure digital 128 mb card to bring the total memory to 256 mb. At 160 to 192 bit rate quality, I get about three hours of music. One thing to mention. I did trade the supplied headphone for a set of Koss "Plugs" These earplug style headphones provide far superior sound and efficiency to the supplied headphone, or any headphones that I tried. With a norma headset, I always was at full volume, and was still hearing the gyms audio in the background. with the "Plugs" I set the BA-350 to 1/2 volume, get gread loud sound, and can't hear the gyms audio at all. The Bantam BA-350 and Koss Plugs were the prefect solution for me.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
A little bit of hiss but OK.
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Cons:
Review: I had the Nike PSA 120 before this and it was garbage. I love the built-in battery. The new software fixed alot of bugs and it is now OK. When no song is playing you can hear some hiss and interference but when the music plays and I am working out its not a problem. They really need to make an armband for this player. I rigged one up using the Nike armband.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
What a Great Player
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Review: This was a very easy to use mp3 player. The instructions that are put on the mp3 player before you get it are very helpful. The software worked very well and putting music onto the player was a breeze. The only thing that could make this player better would be a radio.
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Don't do it.
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Cons:
Review: I'm sorry I trusted the "editor's choice" on this piece of work. It's died after less than a week and has refused to do anything except flash the intro screen, even after monkeying with it for hours, reinstalling the bitexplor, reinstalling the drivers, etc. This is a great concept that was never tested properly. Don't get suckered in by an "editor's choice" like I was.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
NO USB with WINDOWS XP
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Review: This product was a major disappointment for the devout Windows XP user (me). After barely upgrading the firmware (software locked up) and the computer not recognizing the device (unknown usb instead of Bantam player), this product has been the only thing to crash my computer. Thanks for nothing but more headaches!!
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Worked great for few months....
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Review: I had very few problems with this palyer for a few months and then I too, had the battery go bad. They replaced the player very quickly, but now I can't even get the newest software to start. It will show the splash screen and then quit. I've done numerous installs and registry edits, and even tried to re-install the version of Bit Explorer that was working, to no avail. Will have to see what tech support says........Otherwise I can't use this player. That sucks because it worked well for a few months.........
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great idea...broke in 5 days
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Cons:
Review: Let's see: 1. Forgot the install cd in my package, luckily I downloaded the app from the site. 2. Balky software that alternately either didn't recognize the player or couldn't catalogue my MP3s. 3. Great sound once songs loaded. 4. After about twenty songs played and nine days of ownership, the player won't turn on, won't charge and won't reinitialize. So I returned it. They had the cahones to ask me if I wanted an exchange. No thanks, just my money. You get what you pay for. On to the IPod!
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
excellent for people with adequate intelligence
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Review: this product is truly amazing. now there has been some difficulties with the inadequate instructions but the support they gave me over the phone made up for that problem. my wife accidentally dropped it on our stone floor and it stopped working. I called the company and after telling them it was my fault they replaced my player for FREE. For people who want to listen to high quality music when they run this is definitely the way to go.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Superb deal, superb sound, superb size!
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Cons:
Review: The major benefit is the size. This little baby fits in the ticket compartment of my wallet - and a credit card can't fit there! The sound is superb for me - although I'm more into photography than sound, I'm not deaf either. The looks are great - the faceplates are nice, the controls are convenient, and everything is just where I'd like it to be. 128 meg is enough for my simple tastes - about 3 different styles of music fit there. On a camping trip I stuffed 2 albums of Enigma and about 10 more songs of rock (for the drive) - and all that lasted me perfectly throughout the 2 days. Battery life is excellent. I find that I can use it for days at a time without recharging. The problem of charging through the USB port is not a big problem for me because I do spend a lot of time on the computer, and rarely go away from it for too long. Besides, you can charge it even if there is no software installed - I did that for a 4 day trip where there was a computer which didn't have internet - I just recharged it there. The only drawback is that there is no FM. I found it to be missing for me. Bottom line: nothing can beat this size and this amount of memory!
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
the best i've seen
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Review: i like the color covers, the software was pretty good, waiting for the AC adaptor for charging outside of the computer, sound and quality are excellent.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best overall value by far
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Cons:
Review: I've had my BA350 for about 5 months now. I use it almost daily for workouts. Super small, sturdy design, good sound, excellent support. Software can be buggy, but only poses minor inconveniences. I did return my 1st player after 1 week of use. I noticed that a few tracks, when played at the loudest volume, heavy bass caused distortion/popping. Bantam responded that it was a problem with the jack in the player (not the headphones)and quickly replaced it at no add'l shipping charge. Service was instantaneous and thorough. Unfortunately, the replacement had the same problem. I like my music as loud as possible, but have been willing to turn the volume down very slightly to get rid of the problem... still loud enough for most people. Have not purchased milti-media card as I've found that 128 meg (mine actually has 132 somehow)is enough. Very happy with my BA350.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great player, so-so software.
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Cons:
Review: This is one nie player. It's perfect for a no frills "just play the music" kind of person. One problem, which Bantam needs to deal with is the software. While it does work, it has a tendency to make my system unstable. If Bantam ever decides to fix this software, this player would be perfect!
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Unit: good, BitExplor 2 software: BLOWS!
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Cons:
Review: Software is cumbersome. The actual unit, however, gives good quality sound, is compact with relatively high memory and is expandable. Overall, hardware is a great buy but software needs significant improvements.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Losing Proposition from the Start
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Review: Bought the BA350 and after a slight problem with Bantam being able to read the difference between a PO Box and a street address, I was excited to get my unit. Spent 2 solid days, 5 long distance phone calls to Bantam (got to talk to tech support - Osma Bin Liden's brother- couldn't understand a word this Mohammad said) and still wouldn't work. I can not recommend this unit at all. Software is unstable as is the unit. Guess I will have to go back to a Rio.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great but not perfect.
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Cons:
Review: Sound quality, unit design, and software (I'm running win xp) are all excellent, but there are two major flaws that keep this unit from attaining perfection. First of all, the faceplates and unit itself both scratch WAY too easily. I walked around with it in my pocket for two hours and when I took it out it had scratches all over (there wasn't anything sharp in my pocket either). Not only does my BA350 look like its a year old instead of week old, but now I've had to resort to using one of the ugly colored faceplats that were included with the unit. Secondly, even though I've had no problems transferring songs, about half of the time Windows doesn't recognize the unit when I plug it in. It's totally random and I've no luck in figuring out why. All in all this is a great deal and product- just as long as you don't expect it to be the last word in portable mp3 players.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Overall, nice MP3 player; does the job.
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Cons:
Review: In researching an MP3 player, it was difficult to find a compact yet powerful player until I found the BA350. It is about the size of a pager, and great to exercise with. It's drawbacks are few, but I feel somewhat important. The displayed photos on the Bantam website are misleading; the display on the BA350 is very small and hard to read. The backlight does not remain on for long, requiring outside lighting to read the display while it is playing. If jogging or exercising, the controls are not possible to manipulate while inside the carrying case. Having said all that, overall it is a great player. It is easy to install and use, and works very well with great sound quality. The best player for the money.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
BA350 = Great deal!
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Cons:
Review: I have been searching for a flash MP3 player for about a year. The BA350 is the answer hands down. The sound quality is great (better than Creative Labs, and Archos). It holds more music (128 mb & expands). It's a slick designed, light weight, credit card size package with simple controls. You get a sturdy pouch with clip, multi color covers, a tape player car adapter and a (passable) set of headphones. The battery life is great. It doesn't have a radio or voice recorder, but I gladly lose those for less weight and less cost. The only thing that needs work is the software. You must work with it slowly or it tends to lock up. I have ME and got up an running with only minor glitches.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Two players stopped working within three months!
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Cons:
Review: I was happy with the first player for the two months it lasted, so I bought another that stopped working within three weeks! I'm buying another brand next.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Company; Great Player While It Worked
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Cons:
Review: I bought the BA350 to listen to while I run. My system worked great for a couple of months. I absolutely loved it! Then I bought a 128 MB MMC for it and it started acting flakey. I removed the MMC and it still acted flakey and finally became unusable. The company was absolutely great. They allowed me to exchange it for a replacement unit, but it was flakey, too. The company was still great about it (very rare to find a company so cooperative and nice to deal with these days) and allowed me to exchange the second flakey unit. The third unit seemed to work ok, except the software that downloaded the songs wouldn't work right and it took me all day to load just a few songs. Then when I tried to play the songs, the player quit playing after only a couple of songs and went flakey again. The company allowed me to return the whole system for a complete refund. I would like to try their new product when it comes out despite my bad luck with the BA350, just because they were such a wonderful company.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Good function, great form
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Cons:
Review: I just received this unit, charged it up, and immediately started loading it up with MP3s. The sound is great with the included headphones. No problems with installing the software or drivers, using Win2K. So light and small (smaller than my wallet), it fits in my pocket perfectly. I am gonna try and make an velcro arm band so I can jog with it. I wish the case was made of clear plastic over the buttons, then you could manipulate the controls. This really is no issue for me, since I arrange my songs and let them rip. This will be going to a select few family members and friends as a Christmas gift this year.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best 128mb available!
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Cons:
Review: I got my BA350 last week and it is absolutely terrific. No software problems (XP)--I really like the tranfer program, BitExplor. Also, there is only 1 cord! It tranfers and recharges through the same USB connection. The BA350 replaced my Rio 800, which was a total piece of garbage, skipped all the time, and crashed frequently. The BA350 is so small (think credit card)! It has 128 mb, which is plenty for my purposes. But you can even buy more memory, effectively doubling it. The sound is great, especially with the different equalizer settings. Navigation is a snap. I only wish you could scroll through all the songs like I could on other players. Overall, though, Bantam did a great job with this player, including everything (even carrying case and tape adapter) in this package.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Don't believe the CNET hype!!
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Cons:
Review: This is an OK mp3 player. However, for the same amount of money, better ones exists. mpio dmg is 10 times better. sound on this is ok, software is a joke, and it looks pretty lame(for those who care). don't buy
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I'm happy with my purchase...It pays to shop around.
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Cons:
Review: I received the unit in the middle of May 2002 and after about a month I'm ready to give my opinion. I've tested this unit out--at the gym, on an airplane (flight attendant was very impressed and wanted one), in the car with the adaptor that was sent with the unit. I've interfaced with windows 98 and 2000. The unit was completely drained of battery life once after about 8 hours or use. Everything has worked fine as far as I'm concerned. I can load about 43 pop songs on the unit. I haven't experienced any crashes or strange behavior. If anything, I would change only cosmetic things. For example, I would have liked a radio to make it a complete package. Also, the casing of the unit is NOT scratch resistant. The colors are pretty ugly. I'm looking forward to getting a 128 MMC so that I can put more songs on the unit. I've sent 2 messages to support. They responded within an hour with the first message. They never responded to the second message. If you're looking for a reliable, compact MP3 player consider this one!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Excellent thing for 200 bucks...
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Cons:
Review: Well lets start with the good. A whole lot of great features including 5 preset equalizers. Cool face plates. Excellent quility and sound blasts up higher then most of my cd players. Extremely small. A generous 128mb of built in flash memory with an extra expandable MMC (Multimedia Card) socket for more memory. And a great price of $200 for a small powerful thing liek this. Now the bad. Lets start wit hthe worst. The Software is just horrible. Although the software is really easy to use it's extremely buggy as hell. The software crashes on me while i'm tranfering files. It's defenittly no good for those people that have no time to wait.. that just wanna plug, transfer, and play. Sometimes when you plug it in the Firmware screws up... When u plug it in your computer doesn't detect it but on your mp3 player it detects it. When you unplug it fro mthat your whole computer crashes and restarts... This little thing sure is power it totally F*ckes up your comp. Especially if you use WIN XP or WIN 2000 beware. ok now lets move on. Customer support isn't to good most problems it never fixes for u. You have to by a separete recharger to charge the mp3 player without using a computer. Buttons could have been better built. the face plates make it harder to see the screen. Could have been a much more cooler look. Worth it for $200 but cnet was way too generous for a 9/10 for it. i would giev it either a 7.5 or and 8 of 10.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Excellent quality-Easy to use
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Review: The software is great, it is small, has lots of features, and the battery pack seems to last forever. My only complaint is if you forget to shut it off, the pack runs empty, then you have to reconnect to a computer to charge. I would prefer batteries.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Absolutely Thrilled and Happy with Purchase
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Review: I must say that I am 100% satisfied with my purchase. It works great with my WinXP, sounds great and BitExplorer works just fine. This is my 3rd MP3 player, and while the first two were relatively low-budget models, there is NO comparison. I'm sorry about bugjoe's experience. I'm sure Bantam will work to get him a new, functional unit if he desires. I've read other reviews where people were unhappy, and it sounds like in every instance Bantam was very willing to do anything it took to rectify the situation.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Broken the <<<NEXT>>> day...DO NOT BUY IT!!!
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Review: I'm really excited about this product especially when CNET gave them 9 out of 10 (have they lost their mind??). I bought it with very very high hope that it's gonna work just great. Little did I know that only less than 24hrs later, it'd stop working!!! I downloaded five songs to the player just to see if it can match up with the reputation it got from the review...after playing for only 2 songs, it just went off automatically. I turned it on again and the BANTAM logo display keeps playing on and on forever and wouldn't let me go to the main screen display! One word description, it SUCKS...and it sucks really bad.
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
what!!
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Review: not so bad one, but cnet rating: 9 out of 10 ??? no, give 7 out of 10. just average plyer.thumbs up to only best one bcoz will buy only one player. so thumbs down
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
A little buggy but good overall value
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Cons:
Review: When I got my player I couldn't get the drivers installed. Tech support was at a loss as to what was the problem and after nearly 2 weeks I haven't heard back from them. I decided to try and fix the problem myself. Come to find out the reason I couldn't get the drivers installed and the player to work was because of programs running in my start bar (ie virus program). If I exited all those programs the install went flawlessly and I also have to exit those programs each time I want to connect the player. It's a bit of a hastle but I don't plug it in that often. The sound quality is great. Headphones aren't the best but you can get by with them. Player gets nice and loud. Cassette adapter works great in my car. I use the player at the gym and it's great. It's like it's not even there. If you're looking for something that will be hastle free with great tech support this player probably isn't for you. If your technically minded and able to solve problems yourself and looking for a great value I think once you work past the bugs you'll have a great player.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Tabernacle!
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Review: Sorry if I'm amazed, but ... the thing darn WORKS! I'm relatively new to MP3 but have entered with a storm. I am fortunate to have the ability to put a Linux server on the net. The next step was a portable MP3 player. The Bantam was Ed Choice at CNet, so, what's the risk? Well, I got it today, and it bloody well works as advertised! The software is slooooow, but so is my P2-350 running Win2K. My biggest complaint was the vagueness of the instructions: they tell you to follow the steps precisely, and they also tell you to charge the Bantam fully first. So... how do I charge it before I install it? I dunno ... so I plugged it in a USB port and Win2K actually didn't notice, probably because the Bantam was fully discharged. Anyway, hours later, the software installed fine, the transfer of MP3 to the Bantam worked fine, VBR MP3s worked fine, and the sound and volume were great! I may have more to say come 3 weeks from now, but other than te trouble finding 128 MB MMC cards, the Bantam is GREAT!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Not a problem so far!
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Review: I have had my BA350 for a few months now and have never had a problem with it. When it arrived I was truly amazed at the size, it was significantly smaller than I expected. I use it when I run and love that it never skips, it doesn't weigh much, I don't have to wear a bulky tune belt to use it while exercising (unlike my old portable disk player) and it's great for the car. The sound is quite good and you can make minor adjustments to the sound quality if needed. I can usually fit about two disks worth of music on it in the WMA format. I can't say much for support, since I've never needed any. The software was slightly problematic at first, but if I load a couple of songs on my player at a time, I have no issues. Just don't try to load 20 songs at once. You can't beat the price for this product. I highly recommend it.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Will blow up your XP!!!
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Review: This system just is full of problems with Drivers for XP. When you install it can completely destroy your Xp's ability to BOOT. What a mess!! Be Very very carefull.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Its the best for the price.
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Review: This player is way smaller than it looks and was a cinch to load music onto. I debated for a long time and am totally happy with the purchase. It has everything you need for lots less money than the intel. Quit looking and buy it. I can't say anything about the service because I haven't had a problem with it.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
tiny with great sound
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Review: the display is a bit small for mature eyes but hard to imagine better sound quality. Remember to initalize the memory when installing software.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Size does matter
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Review: I think this is an excellent small player. I would be nice if it synched directly with other software such as music match. But I do not think there is a better one out there for size and performance.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Good overall player for the money
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Review: I returned a (broken) Nike PSA play and got the BA350. The first player I got broke after a few weeks but they were pretty quick to replace it with a new unit. Now the player has been working well and holds lots of music (with an added multimedia card). Has all the basic features I need. The second time I had to call support, they were not nearly as good. I had to leave a message because the lines were busy and never got a call back. Obviously not nearly as good as my fist experience with their support team
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Right On Target
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Review: It is always a pleasant experience to purchase a product from a company whose product is right on target to the companies claims. The BA350 offers quality music, memory and user interface that is user friendly. An awesome player for the price.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Horrible product and service;0(
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Review: After three weeks and two units with terrible service mixed in at my long distance and shipping expense, I was never able to get the unit and software to work under XP or Win2K. It's really too bad. I was really excited about this product. On paper it's a great deal and an impressive unit. However, reality proved very different. I would be curious to know why many people have had no problems at all while many others have shared my experience. I’m guessing some serious software conflict or code issue or some bad part batch. However according to tech support, earlier versions of the software had problems but the current one works perfectly and only a couple of units had bad internal batteries. Both units I tried acted the same way: no ability to transfer songs or remain connected for more than a minute. I also experienced severe system crashes that required Safe Mode restarts and the whole bit.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
This IS the best deal you can get in a 128MB flash player!!!!!
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Review: After a lot of research, and relying on CNET's opinion of the BA350, I ordered one online (the only way you can get it is directly from the company). 128MB and a rechargable battery for $200 (with headphones, a cassette adapter, and seven different colored faceplates? What's the downside?) The customer service was awesome! Not only did I get an e-mail confirmation of the order, but also an e-mail when it shipped, and an e-mail advising that FedEx had delivered it to the house. The player itself seemed much smaller than I had anticipated from the specs. The build quality is great and the display is much nicer than the picture shown here on CNET. The player is already loaded with step-by-step audio instructions to walk you through the software installation and the buttons/functions of the player. The software works great and is very straightforward. Player and controls function flawlessly. Sound quality is great for such a tiny package. No complaints here, best $200 I've spent in a long time!!!!!!!!!!
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Excellent for running/walking
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Review: We had previously owned a Nike psa play 60, which we never could get to operate properly (despite returning it twice). What a difference to have the 350. Running XP on a relatively old computer (600 mhz processor, 256 RAM), and have converted over 3 gigs of our CDs to MP3. Accessed all of those songs via bit explorer, and while it was (as expected) slow to initially load, had no problem assembling songs for playlists/loading onto the player. The sound is fine--not audiophile quality, but that isn't what we want in this application. I also haven't found it difficult to change individual songs or the entire capacity of the player. (Presently have 64 mb extra memory, using WMA I get over 100 songs on the player.) I like the headphones, but my wife finds them uncomfortable. No problem thought, since the jack is standard size. The random shuffle feature is difficult to find at first, but customer service responded to this and one other emailed question (About the battery indicator) in a day. We are pleased with the Bantam--as is our 12 year old, who is starting to make implicit ownership claims over the player.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Many problems/poor sound
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Cons:
Review: After three weeks of researching MP3s - the BA350 "appeared" to be the best value for my money. Considering the BitExplore software that comes with it seemed to crash 4 out of 5 times along with it not recognizing that mp3 player was connected via the USB port very frequently - the efficiency of using/loading songs was a nightmare. The clip-on pouch is very cheap. I didn't even have a chance to try the car adapter since I was SOOO frustrated with the software. I feel bad for the non-computer type person that will purchase this product. HOWEVER - I highly recommend the MPIO DMK. The software is easy to install and to use. The DMK only weights 29 grams so for a gym rat like me it's a great buy (but I would recommend new headphones since the DMK's are short and fall out - ear buds). You can purchase some PHILIPS 303 wrap-on headphones for $10 at Target.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
This is the ONE.
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Review: I bought the BA350 because I was finally tired of my buggy Samsung Yepp E-64. So far I've had none of the woes I had with Samsungs poor excuse for a player. Doesn't randomly shut off or freeze (it was especially prone to failure during sudden temperature drops), sound quality is worlds better than Yepp, the software doesn't freeze and offers during-download conversion to WMA for maximu storage. Installation was even more painless than the instructions implied -- after a virtually perfect software installation, drivers were automatically installed. This player is ideal for the gym or just walking around -- compact and solid. A 4 for Features only because the carrying case prevents operation and the EQ is limited to five choices. Still well worth the money.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great value, update software please.
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Cons:
Review: The unit works well and is extremely light it. I only notice the music while running. The controls are simple and easy to use. The only blemish is the music management software, it is a bit buggy and hung several times on win2k.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Net positive - go buy it!
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Review: Yeah, the software isn't great, the supplied headphones aren't great, the on/off/hold isn't great, the scroll speed for song info isn't great, and the EQ with its limited presets ain't great either. But, hey it's all about the MUSIC, right? Portable music. First of all, it is tiny - the pictures don't really convey this - and, it supports 256k memory with a 128k upgrade MMC. People complained about support and shipping, but I emailed once to find out the largest MMC card supported and got an answer two hours later, then again I emailed to get my tracking number (I deleted the email that had it) and got an answer in less than an hour! Forget about all the cute accessories, go spend $20 on some KOSS KSC-55's, then download all 30 songs Thievery Corp has on Emusic and you'll be loving it!
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
unfortunate
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Review: I never post my gripes but I have to join the legions warning agains this product. the BITexplorer software worked only briefly then froze everytime I tried loading files to the player. Think again before buying this product if you are at all a tech novice.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Decent product if it worked...
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Review: Please read. I am a first time writer and this might be worth reading if you are serious about buying a MP3 Player. This unit has been problematic from the start. Assume from the beginning that I am a high end user/administrator with a lot of experience. Also realize that the warrenty on a bantam unit is 30 days... Spent first 30 days getting it to work under Win2k. Worked like a champ for month and a half. Battery went completely dead. Unit wouldn't charge. Sent 2 emails to Bantam's tech support with no call or email (this happened a lot during the first month). Finally called them on the phone during regular business hours (central time). Solution is the batter is dead. Ship to them on my bill and pay for return shipping also on my bill since it's out of 30 warrenty. Unit would be great if it worked. Also having a lot of problems with BitExplorer. About every other use it simply bombs out and shuts down. That tends to be a pain in the butt.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best Value On The Market!
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Review: I've been researching MP3 players for over one year, waiting until I could get specific features for a price point around $200. I wanted a player that could handle MP3 and WMA and be upgradable to new formats. The player needed to have at least 128MB internal and be expandable with additional flash memory. Finally, I wanted about the size of a credit card. This player fit all those criteria. I received the player within 1 week of order and it has been great! Great quality sound, Good design. Small and light. Lots of extras included and everything works as advertised. I've read all the reviews and had mild concern about some of the comments. I've had no problems at all. I'm running XP - no problems. Just read the instructions. I showed the 350 to my wife who hates gadgets. I had to order another one within an hour because she kept mine for herself. If you the best deal for an MP3/WMA player, order this. The only reason that I rated features a 4 is because it does not have a radio. But I didn't want that feature and I think it's an unnecessary feature.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Good Hardware, Quirky Software
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Cons:
Review: The device itself is great but the software hangs up a lot especially when trying to transfer files to the removable MMC memory. I have Win XP and do have the appropriate drivers and firmware for that OS. Otherwise I love this thing.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
The BEST in its class (Ultra-portable)
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Cons:
Review: If you are looking for the best ultra-compact MP3 player abvailable, this is it. This is NOT a 20G nomad to hold your entire CD collection, however, it does pack a punch with 128M and the ability to utilize additional 64M MMCs. The BA350 IS a great player for those that work out and want tunes, or those in need of a small yet powerful music device. The sound quality is exceptional. The BA350 has enough volume for the loudest of tastes, yet sound distortion is practically nonexsistant. The included headphones are nothing but a bonus, they sound great, look nice, and have a relaxing fit. The player controls are very intutive, however, somewhat sparse. I was able to have it up and running within seconds of looking at it. The controls are small as you would expect with a player this compact, however, stil serviceable. The backlit display is nice for darker environments. I like the shuffle feature as it allows me to use less effort to load up the player, and get a random play list as I listen The included software is functional, yet needs some tweaking. There have been a few anomolies which require a software restart, and player reconnect, but it does work. The player to software hookup was no problem. The software is laid out in a double explorer type scheeme, and allows you to create play lists, search, and manage your media. Loading music on the BA350 is as simple as drag and drop. The throughput was around 350+KB/sec, which allowed me to fill up the onboard 128M in around 6 minutes with 30+ songs. The battery life is phenominal. It charges via USB, and does have the ablity to use an AC charger if necessary. With such a great battery the BA350 excels in usability. What would I change? Not much, but I am glad you asked. 1) The on/hold/off button shold be seperated out to 2 buttons, one for on/off and the other for hold on/hold off, or perhaps hold as a menu choice on the player. 2) It may not be possible, but utilize a standard USB cable. 3) Work out the minor software bugs which require an ocassional sowftware restart and player reconnection. 4) The player can not be controlled when it is in its case. This is okay most of the time, but when you need to pause, or chage somehting, you are required to take it out of the carring case. (which is nice by the way, save what is mentioned here). OVERALL I have to give 4.5 out of 5 stars to the BA350. It has solved one part of my music life: ultra-portable and workout tunes. Two thumbs up to Bantam on the BA350, keep up the good work! I will now go listen...
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
an excellent player
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Cons:
Review: I bought the player due to the fact that I can have 100%money back in case I don't like the player. When I got the player. I really think that it is great. The rechargable battery has saved me lots of money. It is so small and slim that I can keep it in my pocket. The sound quality is great. 128M internal memory is already good enough for me, so i never used an external memory. I like the software. I don't have any of the problem that has been reported by others. I am using win 98. I rate this product one of the best MP3 player that I have seem in the market. Try it! I highly recommand this product to you.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I have no idea
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Review: I know nothing about this product because i havent bought this product.i just want to see my writing on this website. hope this helps you
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Player, Support Good
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Review: My original player had a battery problem and when I first contacted tech support, they did not respond. I contacted them again, and it appears they have their problems ironed out. They sent me a new player with free headphones (upgraded) and a box with a call tag to return my old player. I believe this is the best value out there and now the customer service is there, too.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Thank You Bantam for the Best MP3 Value on the Web
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Review: I did extensive research before I purchased my BA350. I have to say that it has been able meet or exceed all my expectations as a great performing MP3 player. The size, software, feel and sound quality are better than anything I seen or heard. Its tiny and solid. The accessories included are a nice icing on the cake considering the low price. I loaded up the software and was on my way, no issues at all!!. The 128mb of memory is a must and the battery life has been outstanding. In my opinion You cant buy a comparably equiped player for under $300 anywhere. As far as having an FM radio or a voice recorder on an MP3 player? Why??. Try one you'll love it.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Ideal for Exercise
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Cons:
Review: I bought the BA350 in early April, and have used it extensively while exercising. I found that the software worked perfectly as long as you followed the supplemental instructions on the specific order to turn things on and connect (probably more critical than it should be!}. I have added a 64 MB external MMC, and with this I can load approximately 60 pop songs. I got 11 hours from the first charge, and am getting at least ten per charge now. The sound is very good, although it is difficult to easily change the equalizer settings as you have to access a menu. The size of the lettering for the controls requires glasses even with 20/20 vision, but once memorized it is less of an irritant.The rating I gave for support, reflects that I have not had to call them, hence no experience. I have since ordered the separate charger, only to find it is on backorder, but I don't mind waiting. All-in-all,I find this a great value that fits my needs well.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Better than I thought it could be
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Cons:
Review: after reading all of the reviews, 200+ of them, i thought i would take the leap and buy this bad boy... i ordered it and in less than 1 week i had my MP3 player... i set it up, had to charge it over night, but i had NO PROBLEMS with this!!! even though i am running W2K!!! at first i loaded 64 songs, which was the max it let me load, but after i updated the firmware, i was able to load more songs...81 to be exact...and i was thinking of buying a 128mb mmc card, but i can listen for over 4 hours with the built in memory!!! so would i recomend this?? YES!! i know you can get a hard dirve player, but this is so light and it fits so much music on it and i have had no need for support, the secret is this...READ THE DIRECTIONS FIRST!!!! dont just try to figure it out. the reason i did not rate the support--NO NEED FOR IT< IT WORKS PERFECT FROM THE GET GO!!! if you want a great, compact, super sounding MP3 player, this is your player!!! oh and as far as the bad headphones...don't know, cuz i have a favorite pair that i use and have never tried these!!! take my advice!!!! THIS IS THE ONE!!!
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
excellent player
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Cons:
Review: This player has it all, great sound quality, plenty of accessories, tiny size, and long battery life. No hassle of buying and replacing batteries. The documentation and support was first class. Overall a great value, highly recommend.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Pretty Nice
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Cons:
Review: Hi, my name is Tim Bonney and I live in New Jeresy. (Hopefully you will realize this review is not propaganda, which seems to be the case in most reviews)This was my first mp3 player purchase and I did quite a bit of research. I decided to go with the Bantam 350 primarily based on cnet's review, despite the negative opinions. I must say that I am pleseantly suprised. This player works fine with XP pro. The software crashed on me when I hit the edit button(only twice tho)aside from that the software is stable...so far. While this device lacks cool extras like a clock for instance, I would have to give this a excited thumbs up.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
annoying power switch
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Cons:
Review: This is a great player, but the missplaced (stupidly placed)power switch often turns itself off when you remove it from the case. Also, the software has crashed on me a number of times.
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Needs Better Software!!!
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Cons:
Review: The software bundled with this player for file transfer is very poor. On an XP platform, the software has crashed several times. If you have a large music library, you’ll find it difficult to navigate and select the files you want since the software has non sizable windows & does not use the external file names for naming. Additionally, since the manufacture has failed to write drivers for Windows Media Player (WMP), you cannot use any of the playlists that may have been created under WMP. It may be a nice product once it gets going, but you’ll spend some time getting there!
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Non-Existent Support!!!
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Cons:
Review: Bantam is obviously a mom and pop shop that have hired their retarded son to run their support/software team. The player is small and sleek...now, if it would only work. The player itself is mechanically great but the software and support that accompany the player bite. I just upgraded my OS to Microsoft XP and I have been at their support team for three weeks to provide a stable software upgrade. What good is a player if you can't load songs?
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Brutal
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Cons:
Review: I read some positive reviews on the Bantam player, so I thought ok sounds great..Looks like a nice product and has a good price. I called the number to order, and I had to leave a message. I didnt get a call back, so I tried again the next day..This time I was told that since I live in Canada I cannot order the product, I could however order it and send it to somebody I "know" in the states and they could then ship it to me. Not only did they not want my business but I was under the impression that if they have such a crummy setup that they cant even ship to the North they must be a bunch of College kiddies trying to make a buck. For this reason, I will not purchase the product even if it comes to Canada (which I doubt). They offered no help and the company sound very mickey mouse. Forget it save your money
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Very happy with the BA350
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Cons:
Review: I looked at all the other compact MP3 players on the market and this one beat them all, which is why I bought it. It isn't crippled by the anti-consumer SDMI, it's nice and small, and the sound is great. I bought it for use at the gym and it's great for that. I only gave support a 3 because I've never actually had to use Bantam's support (which is a good thing). I did bring it with me on a plane and the flight attendant asked me what it was and looked at me suspiciously. So, yes, it has a few small imperfections, but it kicks the butt of all the other compact MP3 players out there right now.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Hardware - Abysmal Software
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Review: CNet should not give this such a high rating until the software stops sucking
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
software buggy. player bit the dust.
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Cons:
Review: I got one of these. It is a good concept, very small and lightweight. The preset equilizations lacked bass. The software was cumbersome and buggy. The player itself stopped working after about a week of use. I had to return it for a refund.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Amazing, really
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Review: I've had experiences with a number of different mp3 players, and this is the only one I recommend to anyone. The only problem I've ever had with it is the buggy software it originally had, but now that the software has been upgraded, there are no problems whatsoever. Amazing sound quality, unrivaled storage space, incredibly small and light, and expandable, dammit. With a pair of lightweight headphones, it's like having a portable soundtrack to your life. You don't even notice the weight, and the sound quality is honestly the best of any mp3 player. Go buy one. Seriously.
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Not XP compatible - Poor quality
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Review: After waiting about a month to receive my player, upon arrival the advance button was not functioning properly. I sent it back and received a new unit in about a week. The software provided works horribly w/ Windows XP. I returned the unit for good when it displayed a no memory found error and was told that it would need to be replaced.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Has problems....
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Review: When I first my BA350 I was very impressed... but then that began to wear off fast! The battery would die in two days whether it was used or not. Then after about two months it was completely dead! The support was very good... they sent me a new unit overnight when they received mine. I know I bought this unit when it first came out, so this could be a greater problem for them in the feature. Now that I have my BA350 back... the software will not work on Win 2000 pro that I have. It starts to run and then just locks up. I like the product, but they have some quirks to still work out I think....
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Pile on: software renders this useless
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Cons:
Review: The hardware may be first rate, but unfortunately the bundled software so buggy that it's just easier to whistle your favorite tunes and leave this player in your bottom desk drawer. Though the tech support/marketing folks are nice, they appear to be powerless against the ineptness that wrote the software for loading music onto this handsome, but impotent device.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
100% Satisfied!!!
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Cons:
Review: I am almost afraid to write this review for fear of jinxing myself. I've had my BA350 for a week now. I've been putting it through major testing and it has not failed. The unit is incredibly compact and the sound quality is terrific. I did quite a bit of research before I bought the unit. Truthfully, I was a bit nervous after reading about all of the software problems. So far, I the problems which I've had have been minor -- and could have been avoided completely had I just followed the instructions EXACTLY. The software is unforgiving but once you get use to it -- the BA350 is a dream!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
happy deliveries
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Review: I liked my BA350 a lot when I first got it in the mail. I liked it even more when I got my second BA350. The first one broke. I mailed it off on Monday, and got a replacement (beyond the terms of my warranty no less) the next Friday - that's ten business days. They were awfully kind to do that, and I think it means their support is exceptional. Of course I do wonder if I need to be nervous about the cause of breakage on my first player recurring. Mysteriously, the head phone jack stopped functioning. I had assumed that the cause of this was more to do with faulty headphones, but when I tried a second pair of headphones, I found they didn't work either. People have rightly pointed out it could have a better carrying case. But the display, the backlit screen, and the size more than anything else are what I had always wanted in an MP3 player and was quite happy to get - twice!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
good sound, controls, short battery life
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Cons:
Review: Good sound. Controls are easy. Great size. The battery life is far short of the 12 hours advertised (only about 2 hours). This is a big problem. Otherwise great little product.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Love Hate Relationsship
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Review: I have been pretty happy with my player now for about a month. However, a few days ago I downloaded the latest firmware upgrade v. 8.08, and the latest software BitExplor 2.0 3.2a (Final Release). Final Release, that is a joke, unlike with the previous version 2.0.3.1 this new version hangs all the time in XP, requiring you to kill the APP with Task Manager. With this new version I can no longer use my external memory card. The songs play at an accelerated speed and sound like a CD skipping. I was able to resolve these issues by downgrading to the previous software and firmware version. Note, I not the only user to complain about this. Now everthing works like it is supposed too! So, either the guys do have a QA team or they just fail the properly test their software and firmware before releasing to the public.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Way too cool - Great!
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Cons:
Review: I wanted a player that worked with Windows XP right out of the box. So that reduced my options to about 6 products. The BA350 works great with XP! Positives: It's small, really small. It plays loud and has an equalizer. A 12 hour battery with fast charge. It comes with a lot of extras. Plenty of memory (128MB) plus expansion bay. Software is pretty good - easy to use. Negatives: Installation painful if you don't follow the directions - READ! (It's easy if you do). No AC charger - so what - the player charges from your USB port in 1 1/2 hrs. Too bad it uses MM memory cards (upper limit is 64MB right now - not cheap). But hey - IT'S SMALL! If you want a SMALL MP3 player with 192MB capacity (today), the BA350 is for you!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Cool Player
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Review: overall, this player is great. there are a few small problems with it though, including the fact that the display always shows that the battery is fully charged, so i sort of have to keep track of how long it will be charged myself. also, the counter does not always work properly ( the numbers bounce around, i've found mostly just when i have converted the songs to mp3 from cd). also, the support at bantam has been virtually non-existent, so luckily i haven't had any major problems!
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great, Too Bad Support Sucks!
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Review: I loved it for the first day that I had it. I got it for Christmas and it didn't work. I sent it back and it took them a month to send me a new one. I used it for a day and then it stopped working (i think from the cold outside). So I sent it back again. That was a month ago and they just emailed me to tell me that they didn't know who originally bought it. SUPPOSEDLY, they'll send it tomorrow but at this point I am utterly ticked. I wonder since I haven't had it for more than a day if I can get my money back.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
One of the best, only a few problems. :)
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Cons:
Review: Has a 128mb flash memory. Plus and expandable MMC(Multi Media Card) slot for more memory. 5 presets in the equilizer. Cool small shape and design. A cheap $200 mp3 player that gives a whole lot. A few bad things. The worst software in the world. Extremely buggy, especially if you have Windows 2000 or XP. Could have been a little more sturdier. There is a hold button but what if you want to hold it as off, you can't. Need to buy a seperate adapter to charge player without computer. All in all a great mp3 player. Could use some fixing but i'm glad i bought it.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
it is a great player
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Review: I just upgraded to the new software. It is pretty tricky. I thought the player was die when I first did the upgrade. Later on, I figured out that you have to do an initialization for both the memory and MMC before it works. Frankly, I don't find much differences for the new upgrade. Overall, I am very happy with my first MP3 player. I don't have problem with the USB charging. I have my computer on 24 hours a day anyway. It is a bit annoying to have to wait for the animation to finish before I can plug in the USB. I think bantam should consider changing it in the next software upgrade.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Quirkie Little Thing!!!
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Review: OK, this is a follow-up comment. I've had the player for about a month and I am still very happy with it. But this think is quite quirkie. We will start with the niceities: 1) Great size, when you are running/working out - size/weight matters. 2) The accesories are very cool. I too use the tape converter in my car, in my office and sometimes in the house. 3)Thank goodness Bantam offers a 110V charger. Found out the hard way that the player doesn't charge, even thought the player is hooked up to the computer, when the computer is off. (Seems obvious...but not) 4)The player holds enough music to get me through a cardio and weightlifting workout - so I am overall pleased! NOW for the not-so-nice: 1)I've loaded new songs on my player and I notice that the songs just stop...the counter doesn't count - the song freezes and then starts again. That sucks when you are really into a hard cardio workout and the jams disappear. 2)You will need the new headphones - the ones included are a bit lacking 3)I don't understand why you can't just plug the unit into the charger or the USB cord without having to turn it off and on and waiting for the "Bantam Screen" to disappear. 4)The buttoms have be hard to work to FF scan through a song. 5)The pouch isn't suited for reaching into to change the song selection etc. A bit difficult to do on the fly. BUT: Overall, this MP3 player is very cool. I am very happy this is my first player. I haven't downloaded the new software and I am concerned about the comments regarding the MMC card because I just purchased a 64MB and I would like to put it to full us! Best to all.
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
NEWEST SOFTWARE BROKEN (3/24) DON"T DOWNLOAD
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Review: I have posted previously about how much I loved the hardware but hated the software, and gave it a 'Thumbs Up' recommendation. But the latest software/firmware upgrade no longer works with MMC cards! Songs downloaded on the external media don't play at ALL! This is a nice player; it is a shame the software is so bad. AVIOD PURCHISING THIS PLAYER UNTIL BANTAM GETS THEIR ACT TOGETHER! I wonder if they test the software at all.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Excelent MP3 Player
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Review: I have had the BA350 for a week. I installed the updated BitExplorer and firmware 8.08 yesterday. Everything works great. I have encoded my CDs to 64kbps WMA files. The sound is wonderful and the volume is loud. I am using Windows XP and my computer has not crashed at all. The files download very quickly. I highly recommend the BA350.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Outstanding product, excellent support
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Review: I got the BA350 this February, and have been overall very pleased with it. The sound quality is excellent, the price can't be beat, and the unit itself is light as a feather. It holds about 30 songs if you choose the WMA format. I use it in my car stereo all the time, and I get great playback from the cassette adapter. I have found the software buggy running under WinXP Home, though it has not crashed the system at all. I emailed Bantam today about the problems I was having and they emailed me back within the hour to tell me a new version of the software was being posted tonight (3/22) that should work better. If the software has been revamped and works well, then I would give a 5 for quality. Their support seems to be really good from my interaction with them. Things I would like: A carrying case that allows you to manipulate the buttons while running with it. A car charger and a 110V charger included. The USB charger works fine, but you're not always near a computer. Overall a great value for the money - I am very pleased!
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
So close yet so far
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Review: Along with everyone else, I have to say that the hardware and value is generally great, but the software SUCKS!! I was pretty happy with the whole thing until one day I tried to sync some songs and the software wouldn't even open up! I got the splash screen and that was it. I tried uninstalling, reinstalling, downloading the latest version, and none has worked. And I'm using windows 98. An email to customer support has gotten no reply. Does anyone have a phone number to call?? Or a suggestion for how to fix this software problem themselves?? please post it here
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Once you learn how to navigate the buggy set up, it is the best player on the market today.
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Review: I got my 350 last night, and I loved the faceplates and tape converter. Well packaged, well presented. Then the trouble began, setting up the software was easy enough, but getting the PC to recognize my 350 took over 4 restarts and an hour of tweaking my system. Once it actually saw my 350, it worked like a dream. Great player.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Horrible support and it SKIPS..
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Review: I bought a unit (all newest firmware as of March 14) and the unit will SKIP if you copy a WMA file that is large (40 meg+)onto it. At 96kbps it skips at 5:43 and 9:13 every time.. they have not responded to ONE of my emails.. do not buy if you want to listen to long mixes.. will try and return as I still have not heard anything.. Buyer Beware
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
OK product - LOUSY Software
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Review: This MP3, for the value, is probably the smallest 128 mb MP3 player. Sound quality is excellent. The software, however, consistently freezes my PC while transferring or downloading MP3 files to the player. Support has been sorely lacking!
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
This says it all!
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Review: From an earlier post: >>had problems with USB at first - slow speed, 40/50 k/s. After a reinstall of Win2k no problems at all<< If you have to reinstall an OS just to get an MP3 player to work, either you love MP3s too much or there is some serious issues with the player. I'd say both possibilities would be good bets here.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
not ready for production
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Review: You get what you pay for. Someday they will have an excellent product. Some day. But the software is extremely buggy, and finicky. Froze up my PC constantly. After about 2 weeks, the rechargable battery malfunctioned, and unit will only turn on when connected to USB port. Not time for this B.S. I'll just pay more for a finished product. This is shameful.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
You mean you don't have one yet? What are you waiting for?
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Review: Here's some straight advice: you can end, right now, your search for the best deal on an mp3 player. Go to www.bantamusa.com and buy the Bantam BA350 for $200. Pair it with *good* headphones (not the included junkphones, uh, I mean backphones, which should be thrown out along with the color faceplates) - I use and *highly* recommend Sony MDR-ED238LP earbuds ($30 www.sonystyle.com). Next, go to download.cnet.com and get a _free_ copy of CDex 1.40 beta 9 (incredible that it's free) for ripping CD's, converting wavefiles, and creating mp3's using the excellent L.A.M.E. encoder (set at: 160kbps, cbr, joint stereo, highest quality). Do all this, and you'll have an extremely portable source of loud/crystal-clear/rich CD-quality music. I returned a Panasonic SD-80 in favor of buying the Bantam BA350 (better sound, more memory, less expensive). Be advised that the only real possible negative regarding this player is the chance that the file transfer software won't be stable on your system. The transfer software works fine on my WinMe system, but often crashes my Win98a system (fortunately, after rebooting, files transfer successfully - also, disabling autoinsert on the CD drives seems to have helped to improve stability, though I'm not sure why - I discovered this accidentally because I didn't want windowsmediaplayer starting every time I inserted a CD for ripping). The file transfer snafu is annoying, but tolerable considering how good the player is. Since there's a money back guarantee, you've nothing to lose by trying it out. The worst that can happen is you'll have to return it. But trust me, you'll find yourself doing everything possible to get the software to work so you can keep it. Well, there you have it: Bantam BA350, Sony ED238LP earbuds, CDex 1.40 software - all HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Greatest Product I could Find
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Review: I have been looking for a combo mp3/wma player at a reasonable or what I consider a reasonable price for a year. The BA350 more than meets all of my criteria. One of the refreshing things I find is the Customer/Tech support you get from the company. When you call somebody ACTUALLY answers the phone. Your issues are handled quickly and you are routed to a real live person at the tech support issue. I find the product everything they say it is and more. Yes there are a couple of software glitches, however, they are really no big deal. I have spoken to their tech support people about adding an accessory like a plugin cigaretee lighter power adapter and thayt will be coming. I would habve written the GUI's a little differently and changed the WMA conversion setup but that is just one persons opinion. Overall the best product and buy on the street. Suggestion for users. Convert your mp3's to wma's off line not using their conv. utility in their software. There is nothing wrong with their utility.However, you will find the song load time and your happiness factor will increase if you have a seperate file of pre-converted wma's to load. Oversall a super product
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great mp3 player
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Review: I received it today. I installed the software w/ no problem (using winxp) and i upgraded the firmware. right now its charging and i have had no problems.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
BIG pluses, small minuses
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Review: I value three things in a player: form factor (size, weight), rechargeable battery, and expandability. This player is tops in all three categories; the only players I looked at that came close had much higher price tags, proprietary or expensive memory modules, AND known battery problems. In addition, I found the software pretty good (the only problems were when I tried to use a faulty MMC--it got a bit confused). I understand that XP problems and the 64 song limit are being fixed. The player can supposedly use a 128MB MMC, but they don't exist yet--I'm told they will be out by the middle of 2002. Customer support is pretty good, although no 800 number. They do respond to email and after I spent 1/2 hr on the phone with a tech guy trying to resolve the problems created by my faulty MMC card, they told me to send them an email if I had further problems and they would call me. The upshot: I LOVE this player and am thrilled with my choice. That said, there are a lot of small issues. 1) with such a small face, the display and buttons are necessarily cramped 2) the off-on-hold button is tiny and terrible. not only is it POSSIBLE to go all the way from hold to off, as CNET tells you, it's hard NOT to because this tiny switch is in a slot that's about 2 mm wide 3) I sometimes have trouble getting the vol down key to work 4) provided carrying case does not let you use the controls, is not water-resistant and does not cover the entire unit. I immediately replaced it with a small cell phone case, which is not perfect but does let me use the main controls. 5) provided earphones are decent but hurt my ears after about 15 min (behind the neck style) 6) ugly faceplate colors (only three I consider acceptable)--but with the one decent color I think the player is REALLY cute 7) there are some things about the player buttons and software controls that are not intuitive, and the manual is comprehensive but not always clear. it took me about a half hour to get up to speed, as opposed to the Rio 600 I tried, which was much more intuitive. but the final product is well worth the investment! 8) there is no cover for the MMC slot or USB slot. I immediately filled the slot with an Infineon 64MB (on sale for $40 at Fry's!) which works great. 9) the rechargeable battery draws its power from your computer through the USB cable; for this to work, the computer must be ON. if you want to charge it when the computer is off, you will need a $15 charger available separately.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I Don't Work For Bantam
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Review: If I did work there I would stick to what works and improve as they have been. This site should toss all 5 or all 1 for the trolls they are. As for the player I am charging the battery now. The software installed fine, however I noticed the fit of the MMC slot was bad and it looked like the assembly was done by monkees. The battery must have been totally dead. Would not turn on at all, however after leaving the USB in to charge for 1 min and trying again, it worked ok. I can see many steps where the slow would be challenged and frustrated, but it I figured it out and most people who can download drivers and check versions of software/firmware will be fine. The accessories are really, really nice. It makes the $200 price make more sense and even the faceplates are excellent. I'll rate on use tomorrow after the battery charges for 12+ hours.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Works well so far
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Cons:
Review: The Good: Size. 128 internal memory. Sound. Car adapter (bonus) Cost. The Bad: Software is lame. You should be able to review mp3z within software before loading onto device. Headphones. carring case for device. Should have cover for mmc card slot and usb slot when not in use. Max mmc card available is 64meg. It would be nice to have an additional 256megs. (I was close to buying the 6-20 gig drives but baulked because of moving parts) Ugly: Fruity colored covers. Should of put the money spent on these things into software developement. I am happy so far. Looking forward to New Technology in this field. I would love an IPOD!!!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Battery Level ?
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Review: I have had the Bantam for a couple weeks so far. Overall I can say I am satisfied with a couple exceptions. The Battery Level Indicator does not work on my player at all. Has anybody else expierenced this problem ? A full charge seems to last only about 7 to 8 hours. The ON/OFF switch can be hard to operate. On the PLUS side, it sounds good for it's size and I have had no problems with the software . Spoke with a Tech on the phone and he did call me back to follow up.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Dudely....approved
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Review: Good sign fo Bantam Interactive. Good going BA350 Software.....BitExplor 2.0. I talked with Tech Guy its going to get much improved XP support in next Software release and the Firmware release. I had the second (replaced) unit, having problem with the battery, and I think they have changed the make of battery. Now its working fine. There customer service is too good.......Techline support is understandable....having problems in software itself. I heard about thier new product BA800 having some more in-built memory with having feature like .......just call them and ask....
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
really easy to setup and use
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Review: The directions were really clear and easy to follow, I had the thing up and running right away. Its size can't be beat, and the software makes intuitive sense.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Wait for Version 2
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Review: I tried this for a week - it's got ALL the right features but they still need to work out some real bugs. Contrary to what Professor Milk says in his review, the LCD display is VERY hard to read and not at all like the one pictured (much worse). You can barely read the battery level. Pros: they claim 12 hours of battery time but I averaged 8 which is still very good playing at almost highest audio level working out. The case it comes with is super as are the accessories. My dislikes: The LCD display is too small. The on-off-hold button is too small. The labels on the buttons are way too small. And the software is very buggy (latest release as of 02/28/02) - you have to do things in the right order or it won't interface: turn on the player, wait for the USB connected message, run the software, THEN connect the device. Support for .wma is great because you can make lots of small files and fit 30-40 of your favorite songs all in nice quality. I'd wait for Version 2.0 of this product with the bugs all worked out. Tech support is very bad but could get better???
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
All that!
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Review: I based my purchase onCnet's top five in ultra-compact MP3s. I must say that the Bantam 350 delivers. Soup to nuts it is a great product. If you are looking for a product that you can download playlists and save on battery costs then this is it. Just bring the USB cable and you can charge from any PC! The only drawback is the belt clip holder, I had to cut a hole in the frony where the main control button is.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best Flash Player Available
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Review: The smallest, coolest, all around best flash memory based mp3 player available. The only flaw that I found isn't with the player itself, it's the headphones. They pretty much suck, so, just buy some good portable Sony's and you're set!
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Holding Up Well
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Review: I have had the BA350 for about 4 months and it goes on runs and to the gym with me everyday. It has help up remarkable well. Since the updates to the on Unit software (v7.7) and updating the computer software it has not crashed once. (I have windows XP) So far it has meet all expectations. For those of you having trouble with software you should update or try again. It can be tricky. Good Luck.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
very good - especially for the $
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Cons:
Review: Pros- lots of memory, small, sounds great, good display. Cons- would rather have an external belt clip, instead of the case. Software is awkward and locks up sometimes - Intel has the best user interface I've seen so far. Maybe musicmatch will have a plug-in soon???? Overall - I am pleased with the unit and would recommend it to others
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Wow !!! An Unbleavable small size !!!
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Review: I was a little worried before purchasing my Bantam BA350 MP3 Music player, Bantam who ??? but with so many good reviews, I decided to give up my Sony CD Player in favor of a Bantam BA350. Boy was I overwhelmingly surprised with the size, capacity, and how great this MP3 player sounded. I do wish the MP3 player had separate individual treble and bass controls. But the built in equalizer presets are very nice. The volume also can play songs very loud as well. Plus you can expand the already high memory capacity by 128 mgs. If your in the market for a MP3 player, don't hesitate to pick up a Bantam BA350.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Broken in a Week
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Review: When I got my Bantam, it was all that I wanted. 31 songs of storage in two ounces. I used it happily for about 4 days. On the fifth day, I switched it on, and nothing happened. Completely shot. I would not recommend buying this player, as it seems lots of people have problem with reliability. It's great when it works, but mine doesn't work
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great hardware horrible software
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Review: This is my 3rd portible media player (RIO 300 and 500) and had high hopes for this product. The player itself is small and lightweight. The controls are not as intuitive as it could be, but that is a minor problem. The reason I did not give this player all 5's is the software. It has to be THE WORST software I have ever used. The interface is clunky and hard to use. I have sent numerious emails to Bantam addressing the issues with no response.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
GREAT MP3 PLAYER
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Review: I THINK THE BANTAM BA350 IS A NICE PLAYER I LIKE THE SIZE AND GOOD IT SOUNDS THE SOFTWARE INSTALLATION WAS EASY AND THE PLAYER IS SIMPLE TO USE I THINK THIS A GREAT PRODUCT
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Player! (FOR PPL WHO HAVE A GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF COMPUTERS)!
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Cons:
Review: Its tiny, and so light, sound qaulity is excellent, although recharging through USB is abit of a pain, but for $15 you can buy a wall charger, The kit it comes with is iexcellent, and i have had no software problems with my XP Laptop, However the software is abit of a pain to use, and therefore i fully recommend this product , but only for ppl who are good with using computers and software in general!, Bantham have done a very good job for the money!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Prfect mp3 player.
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Review: My parents gave me this for my birthday, after we had gone through numerous check lists and options. I can honestly say I enjoy this player 120%! The good: small size, faceplates are fun, expandable - but I have yet to reach the 128 megs limit, I do fine with about 90 so far, fast USB, name scroll, ability to lock keys, durable. The bad: had problems with USB at first - slow speed, 40/50 k/s. After a reinstall of Win2k no problems at all - 400k/s. Problems on the fwd key - only works in a certain sweet spot - doesn't bother me that much, the problems that it causes are not enough to complain. Overall? Amazing!
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
RipFlash RULES
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Review: For equal money, you can get the PoGo! Products RipFlash and also get direct MP3 ENCODING!!! (recording)
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Only read the newest reviews, this unit rocks!
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Review: Before buying the BA350 I read many of the reviews for this and other MP3 players. I was a little bit nervous about picking this one even though it got high marks from CNET and a majority of the reviews. My advice to anyone looking to get an MP3 player is to ignore the older reviews of this device. As I went through them, most had only software complaints and didn't have too many negative comments about the player. I have now installed the software and have been using the player for a few days and it is marvelous. It installed easily on my computer with XP, I have no problems adding and removing songs, and the sound, well lets just say I have a hard time taking it off once I'm listening. Oh, and by the way, I can hardly believe its a real piece of electronics because its so small. Including the case its roughly the size of your typical beeper, maybe even a little smaller. So ignore the older reviews on this player and go for it! Oh, one last comment, I had a brief snafu with UPS (not Bantam) during shipping. I contacted Bantam and got an immediate response via email.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
GREAT except for...
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Review: this is really good mp3 player their is one problem the software that comes with the bantum 350 freezes up which can get you very frustrated...im running windows 2k2
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
cheap and now i know why
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Review: I like the rest of you did all my homeowrk and read up on what was available....i decided to spring for the BA350 b/c the player seemed tiny and i wasnt looking for an fm player. first, the product was delayed massively. like 2 months. the only thing i was hoping for was the product was so amazing that people were lining up to buy it. W R O N G. the bottom line, this is a total garage shop. i imagine 3 college kids and a lego kit as their assemby line. the software is terrible, i run windows ME, it my OS has NEVER FROZEN UNTIL Bantam. I followed the intrusctions word for word. It freezes all the time, and my system crashes 3-4 times before i can load any songs on the player. I called support to n o avail. I got a some tech loser who said he would call back within the hour after researching the problem but he never did. If bantam wants to be anything other than the joke it is quickly becoming in MP3 circles, the should work on SOFTWARE PROBLEMS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE. Stop trying to jam as many players out the door as possible and FIX THE ONES YOU ALREADY SOLD!
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
awesome sound quality, bad everything else
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Cons:
Review: I got this player 2 days ago. The quality of sound is amazing. Everything else? BAD BAD BAD. The software sucks. it crashed my winXP OS 5 times. No other software managed to do that even once and believe me I use a lot of software and drivers and devices. The player doesnt connect properly on the computer. Sometimes it shows up sometimes dont. And the controls are so inconvinient especially when the player its in its cute pouch. Another comment. The picture on CNET is fake!!! the screen is not that big and the player is not silver its gray. I am sending this player back to it's mama as soon as possible, and I ll stick to a Sony minidisk player. Those new netMD's look nice...
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Fantastic Player
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Review: I was slightly skeptical before purchasing the Bantam player, but with such good reviews, I decided to give up my Hip Zip player in favor of Bantams. Boy was I overwhelmingly surprised with the size, capacity and how great this player sounded. Just amke sure you use a decent set of headphones or ear buds. The only things missing, and I mean the only things, is I wish the payer had separate treble/bass controls and a better case to allow you to use controls. But the equalizer pre sets are very acceptable. The volume also can play pretty loud as well. Plus you can expand the already high memory capacity. If your in the market for a new MP3 player, don't hesitate to pick this one up.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Simply the BEST....
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Cons:
Review: I am using this player for almost six weeks in gym and it works great. I used to listen the music with my walkman, and then discman. But, it was only one hour of music. Now, I can store lot more, with smaller size, lighter weight, and longer battery life. Can't ask more. Go for it.....
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
awsome!!!!!
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Cons:
Review: i recieved my ba350 three days ago, i charged it up, installed the software,driver setup and downloaded music from my extensive music collection and i love it... today i bought an extra 64mb mmc card for it and a $30 dollar headphone and om ready to go.. i had to play with the equalizer alittle to get the sound i was looking for..the menu is easy to use, the bit explorer program is alittle buggy but thank god for the refresh tab on the task bar .. this is a great buy and im thinking of getting one for my wife!!!!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
You can't Ask For Anymore
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Cons:
Review: After purchasing several other types of MP3 players and not being happy with them because one or another. I decided to try the Bantam. IT WAS PERFECT! Unlike most other MP3 players, the volume is much louder, smaller, holds more music, and fairly easy to use. I received version 7.1 of the software and DID NOT EXPERIENCE any of the problems listed in the other reviews. FOLLOW THE INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS AND IT WORKS PERFECT. True it does not have an FM tuner on it, but I believe the purpose of an MP3 player is so you can listen to your own choice of music. The only thing I that could be made better is the software interface - it could be made more user friendly. BUT OVERALL - THE BEST PORTABLE MP3 PLAYER ON THE MARKET!
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great little player!
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Cons:
Review: This was my first mp3 player, and the selling points were the size, and the fact that it came with a car kit, since that's where I spend most of my time. I found the software setup to be remarkably easy and bug free, and once the unit had charged, the transfer was simple and quick. The quality of the sound is terrific - it's crisp and clear and I never have to turn the volume louder than 2 to experience the sound fully. I highly recommend this little guy - you'll never want to make mix tapes again!!
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
It is only help back by the software
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Cons:
Review: This was the best package I recieved in the mail since I got my new computer. The sound quality that gets squeezed out of this credit-card sized player rivals CDs (even when I compress the mp3s to WMA at 64kbps, they sound fine). The provided headphones rattle with much bass, but what can you expect from provided headphones? So, the positives include the player itself (sturdy, small, light, powerful), the sound quality, the accessories (which color for today?), and the size of the built in memory. The downsides include the horrendous software (oh it works perfectly fine if you know what you're doing - I've found that certain options that shouldn't cause a problem make it "upset" with you), the fact that it causes Windows to complain whenever you unplug it, and that you can only fit 64 songs on it tops, no matter how much memory is left over. Bantam, if you read these - PLEASE let me put more then 64 songs.. you've given me space for around 80-90!! Go get yourself one of these.
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Terrible Software
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Cons:
Review: After waiting 6 weeks for delivery, I was very disappointed. It came with the latest firmware and software. I tried it on multiple machines and OS (ME, W2K, XP). I could not load a song onto the BA350 without is crashing. There web site is useless (no knowledge base) and tech support is slow. Save your money.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best deal for 199$....
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Cons:
Review: Great product with loaded features, superb sound quality at very attractive prices. Highly recommended...
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best $200 I ever spent
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Cons:
Review: The Bantam 350 combians great sound, lots of memory, good size, and great price.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
excellent hardware, poor software
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Cons:
Review: Two serious flaws are its included BitExplor software and 64 song limitations even with my latest firmware, driver, and software. If you can overcome these two frustrations, this player is the best deal out there right now.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best player around....
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Cons:
Review: I had Samsung and Rio in past two years. I use MP3 players for almost five to six hours a day. Superb sound quality. This is THE BEST Player I have seen. Built-in battery is very good feature for me. Saves lots of money at long run. Even though, unit charges with computer USB port, I recommend to get AC adaptor. No problem with Software at all. Go for it without any hesitation.....
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best solid state mp3 player
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Cons:
Review: The BA350 execeded my expectations all around. It's easy to us use either in the car, on a run or just sitting around. I was expecialy impressed with the non-standeard accessories that came with it. The built in battery is a great idea, and it takes about 15 minutes to transfer 128 mb. The software while picky about the procedure of connecting the play is easy to use and works well. The company issued a XP firmware upgrade before I got mine, but when I recieved it they had already installed it for me. Overall if you are looking for a good solid state mp3 player this one will do it without busting your pocketbook
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Very Cool!
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Cons:
Review: My MP3 player just arrived and I love it! It is so small and sounds wonderful. I did have to wait about 8 weeks for the player and I often thought about cancelling the order. Since GG, CC and BB continued to fail me - I waited for my Bantam BA350. I am very happy I did. I rated the service as a 3 because I don't have any experience with their customer service department.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Simply Great player...
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Cons:
Review: Small little gadget from less known company at attractive price. I used for few months and it rocks.... I used under win98 first, and now, just upgraded to XP. No problem. Very clear sound and headphones are better than average discmans and walkmans available in the market. Highly recommended.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
NOTHING COULD BE BETTER
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Cons:
Review: VERY HAPPY WITH THIS ULTRA SMALL,BUT ULTRA BIG SOUNDING PLAYER. SOFTWARE WAS A SNAP TO INSTALL AND GET UP AND RUNNING. LONGEST WAIT WAS FOR THE INITAL CHARGE. LOVE THE SOUND BUT WILL MOST LIKLY UPGRADE THE HEADPHONES. HIGHLY RECOMENDED, DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE OTHERS OUT THERE BUT IMAGINE THEY ARE RUNNING A DISTANT ECOND TO THE BA350. YOU WILL BE HAPPY.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Some good, some bad...
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Cons:
Review: The first one I received was defective (bad battery), so things were not looking food from the start. A new one was shipped to me relatively quickly, though. Chalk up a point for Bantam. <P> Some of the good: nice sound, very small, looks pretty good, large amount of memory, (finally) WinXP and Win2000 compatible (requires new software and firmware upgrade!), fairly intuitive ergonomic design. And as Cnet has already said, the sound is excellent (or as excellent as MP3 will get). <P> Some of the bad: buttons can be a little hard to press (particularly play/pause), especially if you have the player in your pocket. Included headphones are lousy. Battery life indicator is dubious at best. The software, although it works, womps hard (note to Bantam: can't you make Windows recognize the thing as a removable drive??). No FM tuner or voice recording. No equalizer, although the availble presets do a passable job. <P> Don't get me wrong, although the "Bad" list is long, they really amount more to minor annoyances than problems, and they don't come close to outweighing the good aspects of the player. Highly recommended.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Greatest MP3 player for it's price.
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Cons:
Review: The Good: When i bought the Bantam BA350 i was amazed on how small it was and the sound quility also amazed me. It has 128mb plus upgradable. Extremely cheap for what you get. Upgradable through the internet. Cool colored cases. The Bad: An Extremely buggy software. Software crashes way too much. Sometimes my computer crashes when i put in the USB into my BA350 for it to charge. Costumer support is alright but only work monday-friday from like 9am-5pm. Headphones given suck. Buttons on the BA350 could have been a little better. The Bottom Line: A great mp3 player for its price. Has great sound and 128mb of space. Buggy Software. Great Product and i'm glad i bought it.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great investment
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Cons:
Review: This thing is the size of a credit card, and it's so easy to carry around. THe audio quality is excellent, though I have not compared it to other MP3 players to know how great it is. It doesn't feel flimsy or cheap. The software for Win XP is now available, and customer service was excellent for addressing questions i had about software setup. Overall, an excellent value!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
where is the patch for windows XP reboot??
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Cons:
Review: I was wondering if someone can helo me. I have bought the BA350 and my only complaint is the disconnection from the USB - it reboots my computer. I am currently running windows xp. I saw in an earlier post that someone downloaded a patch and now their player works fine and it don't reboot the system anymore. Can someone tell me what patch I need to download?? Thanks Chris
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Excitement turned to disappointment
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Cons:
Review: I bought the Bantam350 after months and months of waiting and hoping for a new line of mp3 players to come out. It took them forever to get me the mp3 player, and with no phone number listed on their site, all contact was slow via email. When it came, it looked great, it sounded great with their preloaded music, but alas, the software caused my entire system to crash repeatedly, on reinstall after reinstall. The player itself looks a bit shaky and not really well put together. In 5 hours of work, i was able to get 1 song onto the player. I run Windows ME, but i hardly see this as a problem, since they clearly state that all 98+ machines will work.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
This think rocks!
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Cons:
Review: I bought this player, despite the seemingly large number of cases where people had trouble with the software. I recieved the player, and yes, the software is slightly buggie, but works none the less. I am running XP had have found that there is a certain way you must connect the player to the software for it to work every time, but it can be done. Other than that, the sound quality is most excellent! It produces a full range of freqencies and is loud enough for just about anyone. The controls are easy enough to use so that if I put the player in my pocket and want to change a song, I don't even have to take the player out to do so. Plus, its small enough to fit in the 5th pocket of some of my pants, really nice! I am more than happy. From a small company such as Bantam, I couldn't expect a better product. Further software upgrades are all that are needed.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
You've got to get yourself one of these!
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Cons:
Review: Although it might take some time getting shipped, it's definitely worth the wait! It's got great features, the sound quality is great, uploading to the player is so fast, and the size is incredible! Plus the accessories are great! Great value of a 128mb player
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Player - Good, Software - Needs Work
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Cons:
Review: This is my first mp3 player and it met my 3 criteria: 1) Small size, 2) Large memory, 3) Good looks. The player is great, and who cares about FM radio? The convert to wma is a nice feature (~60 files), but it will take forever if your files are still in mp3 (like mine). The packaging, documentation, and accessories were better than expectations. The software has been acting buggy, but the software will hopefully be upgraded. When it works it is very straight-forward. I have fired off some questions to tech support today so I cannot give them a fair rating. Go for it if you want a big mp3 player for a good value, but they are swamped - it took them 5 weeks to fill my order (exactly what customer service told me when I asked after the order was placed).
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
You can't beat it for the money!
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Cons:
Review: I just got my BA 350, but here's my initial impression: This thing blows the Rio 800 out of the water! I was pulling my hair within five minutes of using the Rio 800 I returned in favor of the Bantam; so far, the BA 350 is everything it promised to be. The software's easy to use with no Windows compatibility problems whatsoever. The player is TINY and light, and the sound out of it is incredible! Sure, it's got a couple of details that could use improvement: the controls aren't oriented intuitively (i.e. volume adjustment is sideways instead of up/down), and they're inaccessible when the unit's in the carrying case. But then again, these are MINOR issues (really, it's nitpicking) considering this thing's $100 cheaper than some competitors. One other thing future buyers should be aware of: the display characters are smaller than pictured on the web site, on a par with other units this size.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great unit, software needs update
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Cons:
Review: I have used my unit for about 3 months. I haven't had any major problems with it and tech support is very responsive. Unfortunately I've had several minor problems, such as freezing up my laptop when I load songs. I've used other MP3 players and think this one is the best yet. I hope they release some new software -- then it would be perfect!
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best deal out there.
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Cons:
Review: A great toy. Very small - fits everywhere. True, software could be slightly improved but it is till better than Rio's software.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Excellent hardware, poor software
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Cons:
Review: I really love the device, but I hate the software. However, since I only use it briefly to sync files I can definately put up with it. The only other device I would consider is the Apple iPod.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Would be one of the best, IF IT WORKED!
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Cons:
Review: I was really excited when I finally received the unit. It worked the first 2 days, then all of a sudden during file transfer, the unit turns off unexpectedly. Guess what.....didnt turn back on til the next morning, weird. Tried transfering again, was successful but at soon as I tried to play the first track , boom, OFF it went again. Now lets talk about the software......hmmm what Can I say. Does anyone know what DR.Watson is? You got it.....horrible software. Crashes on you left and right. So what can I say, I returned it and got my refund, oh and by the way I had to PAY for the shipment of the returned unit and was not reimbursed for it. Bad customer service. Thumbs Down from me!
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Software is awful
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Cons:
Review: I was initially very happy with the Bantam 350 until I began to use the software more heavily. With Windows 2000 the software would freeze up time after time causing hours of frustration. Battery life is good, but must be able to connect to a PC or laptop to charge which is a bummer if you want to take it on a road trip. Tech support is non existent and a long distance phone call to St.Louis, MO where the one tech support representative that you engage with is very difficult to understand. Great idea, but would like to see separate battery charger and a software that doesn’t want to make me pull my hair out. This product has a ways to go.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Very nice, small, well-featured
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Cons:
Review: The small size and solid build are nice. Replaceable plastic insert is questionable. Sound is great. Software was tricky at first but once I reinstalled the software and driver in the right order on my Windows 2000 system, it's worked flawlessly. I wish you could make the title scrolling move faster and/or have the backlight stay on for more than 10 seconds. Overall, a great buy!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great player, flaky software
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Cons:
Review: My player didn't work when it arrived, but Bantam was very cooperative with replacing it, including sending me an extra pair of huge headphones -- I am not quite sure what to do with these since I already own some nice Grado headphone. My new player works great, and I enjoy its small form factor when working out. However, even the newest release of their software for XP tends to crash my dell to often. Another option for an inxpensive player would be to buy a cheap 32 MB on clearance and add your own memory.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Can't even order one in Canada.
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Cons:
Review: I don't know what is going on with CNET reviewers lately but they give this 9/10 and say it has no features. Then the NEX II (which by the way I could actually order) is not only better liked by users but their reasoning for not giving it a good review was that it had no features like FM, etc. On top of that this product uses the more expensive and less expansive MMC memory. CF is superior. Don't waste your time with this mickey mouse company or with CNET's useless reviews.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Better and cheaper than my old one.
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Cons:
Review: Lots of practical features(except for the faceplates). The BA350 is probably got the most bang for the buck. Good for a first time buyer.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Working gr8 !!!!!! :)- -
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Review: If any body wants to celebrate this "vAlEnTiNe", I think you got my point...... I bought for me and for my girlfriend....works great, sound qaulity is "Loud" and "Clear". Now her father get teased of this present whenever he look at this product (reason, her mother needs that badly....ha..ha..ha..). The Customer Service and the Technical Supoort for software problems was easy to me for working. Yes, I agree that there was some problems with software......but I'm checking their website regularly for updates...and looking for more new cool products that blows everybody 'out' and 'in' to the 'Bantam Interactive'.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
No Regrets here!
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Review: I received my BA350 last week and I am glad I didn't go with another brand and waited for this. For such a small unit the sound quality is excellent! You have to hear it to believe it! And it's loud which is good because I don't like the music they play at my gym and I can easily drown it out. Good Job, Bantam, and send me my AC Adaptor!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Always on move with this.....little
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Cons:
Review: I've bought and received this unit in November. It was working fine.....there was some software buggs...but thats not all ends up. The BA350 unit itself is good, i should say "the greatest". It sounds awesome....... I know they will improve the Software......and thats what I found. Anybody wants......has any problem with software, first check thier website, if you have any questions then you can go for Technical Line Supoort. I spoke with the support...they solve my problem having drivers not installed properly, in one attempt. OH!!! no...nobody have noticed the package in which it comes, with new simple and catchy concept.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Better than expected.....
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Cons:
Review: When I ordered, I was concerned about the company and the player quality. After reading some software bug problems, I was not sure, if I was going to get something good, or just lemmon... When unit arrived, it was in quality packing. For software installation, it was little tricky, so I called tech support. Believe me, it was much easier to install. Sound quality is good. I am happy now.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
A Little Buggy But Good
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Cons:
Review: I Have a windows 2000 machine and I had problems with the device drivers. I called tech support and he gave me new drivers and it fixed the issue. He was very good. The software is a littl quircky but anyone with a little tech knowledge should be able to get through it. The on and off switch is a little bit of a pain.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I've revised my opinion
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Cons:
Review: Finally got a response from support, actually got a phone call from them. And, to their credit, when I didn't call back right away, they called again. When I returned the call, I was immediately connected to someone (I believe hes's one of the engineers) who stepped me through the software installation and pretty quickly figured out the problem was a bad registry entry left over from a previous installation attenpt. I still think they aren't top knotch on software development (the registry entry should have been handled by the deinstallation/installation process), and the software still is kind of buggy, but it mostly works and they bent over backwards to help me fix my problem. I'm sure they're a small company, but it looks like they're willing to try hard to make things right when they mess up, which is more than I can say for a lot of other technology companies.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
One Month follow up...
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Cons:
Review: Got my BA350 on 12/24 after a month of use the software works on both of my W2K machines (contrary to what some other people report). And the player is GREAT. The only problem I’ve encountered is 1) On/off switch…the “hold” function is the third position and sometimes I accidentally switch it all the way to “hold” instead of "on". 2) The display on some songs runs rapidly though the elapsed time (if they’re variable bit rate). I’m guessing this will be fixed in a firmware upgrade. 3) Sometimes I have to concentrate on skipping a song as the pad doesn’t react on the first attempt. Upsides: 1) Great sound quality and VOLUME! 2) It’s design, look, and feel is awesome. (Common sense tells you to through the clip on “color covers” in the trash). 3) The bundled software has performed flawlessly on two different Windows 2000 machines in contrast to some other reviewers’ reports. 4) It has a Memory Expansion slot for up to 128MB of MMC. 5) I love the USB and rapid charging on the same wire. 6) $200 for 128MB 7) 12hr charge life 8) Solid construction vs. something plastic and fragile 9) Comes with cassette adapter, and belt clip 10) Lots of documentation
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I am happy now
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Cons:
Review: I did experience some software problems, but now it works great for me, and I am happy now. The sound quality is great and I really love the rechargable battery.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
great design
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Cons:
Review: Just got the BA350 and it is a great device. If you're using Windows 2000 you'll have to download a driver from the Bantam site, but other than that, the software is really simple and easy to use. This is a great mp3 player.
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Product totally failed. Bad Software
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Cons:
Review: Get use to seeing; Error loading. You must reinstall Windows. While some buyers appear to have sorted out the many problems, almost 30% have not. I will be returning this unit for a refund.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Hardware, Bad Software
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Cons:
Review: The BA350 is a slick MP3 player, maybe the best hardware execution on the market. However, the software is buggy (as someone else noted)and my computer reboots everytime I unplug the unit. Support has still not responded to my inquiries about what to do.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Can only store 64 songs & poor support
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Cons:
Review: No matter how much memory is available, the unit can only hold 64 song titles. I contacted Bantam, and was told that a firmware upgrade to version 08.08 will fix the problem. They said the firmware will be released in a couple of days. Well, weeks later, still no upgrade. Also, the BA350 can only charge the battery from the computer while the USB cable is connected. Not really a problem but I travel alot, and don't always have a computer. So I called them in November, and asked when the AC recharger would be available. They claimed they would release an AC adapter to charge the battery within a couple of weeks. It's mid January and they still don't offer the AC recharger. I returned the unit. Who needs that type of support?
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Software totally buggy on Win2000
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Cons:
Review: I can't even tell you how well it plays yet because I can't load it with songs. First, the Win2000 drivers didn't work. So I had to download new ones which finally worked. Second, when trying to add mp3 or wma files to the unit, the BitExplor software ALWAYS crashes. Thus far, their customer support has not replied to my requests for help. Stay away!!!
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Third one fails to make it!
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Review: Product works fine for a short while. When it works, it's great. This is the third one and now it's down. My son is talking to tech right now. I WANT A REFUND! They were very courteous. I might be OK when all the bugs are corrected.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Canadian order
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Review: I ordered a Bantam about 4 months ago. And it still hasnt arrived. i kept e-mailing batam, but they told me they ahd to work out stuff with Canadaian Logistics and that they would have something worked out in 30 days. What BS. Still no word from them, and i dont know if ill ever get my Bantam 350. What terrible service. A real dissaponitment.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Worst Software I Have Ever Seen
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Cons:
Review: I give it this rating in spite of loving the hardware. Continually crashed under win98, updated to the winxp release and now it doesn't work at all. It is the ONLY software I have installed under XP that has any kind of problem at all, and that includes non-certified software. These guys are obviously amateurs when it comes to software. They should get someone who knows how to write sw to build jukebox plugins and get out of the sw part of the business.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Good player, software needs work
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Cons:
Review: Very impressed with the quality of the player. Software is very buggy however. I hope they release an updated version.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Another silly addition
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Cons:
Review: Just wanted to add another useless Cnet review by someone who hasn't used or tried the machine.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Electronics, VERY POOR SOFTWARE
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Cons:
Review: The player itself is nice, but lacks some volume. Easy to set up and get going. Their installation is faulty when it comes to Win2K, I had to call support, and said that I needed to use the WinXP drivers. The BitExplor is one BUGGY piece of garbage. It even locked up my box once, and I had to do a hard reset. Did they test this stuff before releasing it.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Fantastic unit!!.. Now..
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Cons:
Review: Since the bugs have been worked out downloading is a cinch, this truly is the (1) to have-irregardless of price. And...tech support was pretty much as easy as dialing a phone. Excellent stuff.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Gave it a second chance. Getting Refund!
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Cons:
Review: Okay. I waited for the "new" software and XP drivers to become available in order to give this thing a second chance. I really wanted to love this player. I did finally get it to work with XP (still no luck with Win2K). I “was” very impressed with the copy speed to the device. I also thought the sound was "okay", but I still like the sound of the Compaq iPaq better. The sound is more full and achieves a higher quality volume level (same WMA files, same headphones, of course). The 15 mw of o/p power doesn't seem to result in better or louder sound. Compared to the iPaq, the Bantam sounded slightly muffled overall (on all EQ settings). What I like most about the iPaq is that you can customize Bass/Treble settings independently. With the BA350, you are limited to Flat, plus 4 factory-preset combinations. None of them sounded quite right. The final straw for me was that it again locked up (completely froze) my WinXP machine right in the middle of copying 14 WMA files to the device. So far, this is the only application/device that has managed to crash my XP system. So, right back in the box it goes. UPS is on the way. Overall, my impression is that this is a quirky and un-reliable product and I'm returning for a full refund. Look, if the initial quality is so questionable, chances are, it's only going to worsen with wear & tear. With all the trouble I’ve had, I feel sorry for the un-knowing semi or non-technical consumer who buys this product. Not recommended.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
For all those careful shoppers...
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Cons:
Review: I know, just as i do, that many of you that are interested in buying this genious player go through all of the bad reviews first to sort out what might be potential problems....ALL of the problems that people talk about have been resolved...There is both a software update and a firmware update for those using windows XP and the BA350 is now shipped with that....call their number and you can order an AC adapter to charge the unit on the go...for those using windows 2000, if you read the readme that comes with the software that states "FOR WINDOWS 2000 USERS," i'm sure you can see where i'm going, the unit will work with perfection! This is THE most powerful unit out there, has far sufficient memory, is smaller than a credit card, is user friendly, and is MUCH less expensive than it's competitors. --If you have any questions about the player, email me and feel free to ask! ~madmaster24@hotmail.com~
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Player! (after the XP upgrade)
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Review: As with all other XP users, I had all kinds of problems with uploading songs with their software on my XP machine. (It would always cause a blue screen and reboot IF it worked at all!) However, I just installed the updated software / drivers from the bantamusa.com website and it made a world of difference. I was able to upload songs onto the player with no problems at all. As for the hardware (the player) itself, I never have had any issues. It is tiny, the volume gets very loud, and the battery lasts for 10+ hours. My only minor complaints are that the volume / track changing knob is a little small and difficult to use. Also, you are unable to adjust the volume / change the song when the player is in the case. Lastly, they do not have a 1-800 support number, but they have been very responsive to my emails, and I had no hold time the one time I did call their non-800 support line. Overall, now that it works with XP, I am very happy with the Bantam BA350.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
IT WORKS WITH XP (updates on the website) !!!
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Review: So here's the deal.. I bought this thing when I had W98. It worked just fine. Then I upgraded to XP and it crashed my system everytime I unplugged it. However, I was using the same W98 software. The XP updates are now on the website and they work very well. I love the unit. It is light and compact and it sounds GREAT. I have no need for a recorder or a radio (the recorder on most units is pretty poor quality anyway and as far as the radio, I got this thing to avoid listening to someone else's idea of what good music is). I have not had any problems with buttons or anything else. Now that the XP software is available on the internet (and being shipped by the company), this is simply the best deal going. As far as tech support, I spent about an hour with a tech guy (who e-mailed me a driver update during our call) to clarify a couple of issues that were more my problem than theirs. I was very impressed with them. Overall.. very satisfied.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
DO NOT ORDER THIS PRODUCT!!!!!
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Review: bantam interactive is a company which cares not for the consumer. my order sat unprocessed for 31 days until i called to find out why i had not received it. the girl at bantam then told me that there was no address match for my credit card. every other transaction i was involved in was properly charged and arrived on time, but when bantam had a problem with my order, they simply set it aside with no intention of even alerting me. they even told us that it was "in the mail". my colleagues who recieved their players after 4 weeks, were sorely dissapointed. one player didn't work at all, and all 3 partys had considerable software problems, with no support available. BANTAM-YOU ARE IN OVER YOUR HEAD!!!
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Do Not Buy This Player!
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Review: I know it looks tempting, but CNET really let us down on this one gang. This device looks great on paper and looks very nice when you "finally" receive it and remove it from the packaging. However, when it comes to the actual electronics and software, it is a very poor quality product. I configure PCs and load system device drivers for a living. The BA350 drivers instantaneously and completely locked up my Windows XP machine, crashed Windows 2000 with a blue-screen and caused my Win98 machine (at work) to become very unstable. At one point, I did get everything loaded on my Win98 machine and I was able to copy some WMA files to the device. However, I consistently received "application execution" errors whenever I attempted to copy more than 3-4 titles at one time. When I tried to listen to the tracks that I "was" actually able to copy, I got no sound at all. The tutorial that comes pre-loaded on the device played just fine, but not my tunes. The display simply jumped into high gear, humorously counting through about 30 minutes worth of music in about 30 seconds. I'm not sure what CNET evaluated, but the shipping product is not ready for production. If you are still on the fence, take a look at the support section of Bantam's web site (http://www.bantamusa.com/pages/supportDownloads.php3). There's absolutely nothing available for the BA350. It's like it doesn't exist. This should be a huge red flag. If you do get one and have any problems at all, make sure you return it within the 30-day return policy period. Although $200 may be "inexpensive" for an audio player, it's a lot of money to throw to the curb on some molded plastic and stapled paper manuals. By the way, the documentation reads as if it was written by a third-grader, from a non-English speaking country. CNET has lost a lot of credibility with me on this one. Buyer Beware! I know I’ve learned my lesson. If it seems too good to be true, well . . . you know the rest.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Loud & Clear
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Cons:
Review: this player is easy to use. Running ME and no problems w/ software. It looks 10x's better that photo and is much smaller than image. Sounds better than Intel PocketConcert. Battery lasts forever. The best quality is the sound.(its very loud and very clear. Holds about 30-33 songs at high quality. Has scrolling band name and song while playing. It was worth the 2 week wait. Downsides. the case is tiny and looks good but if you run you have to take the player out to adjust volume or change songs.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
What a piece of junk!!!!!!!!!
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Cons:
Review: This unit is poorly made and has tons of bugs. My display was showing everything backwards and the battery only lasted an hour at most, but the incidator shows full charge....what's up with that? Those buttons are hard to use and headphones felt really cheap. There is no support at all and think about it, a company that doesn't even have a toll free number???? I have to think this is being sold at some idiot's house. By the way Satan, keep waiting on that patch for your XP. They said they would have it over a month ago. My advice is to return it before your 30 days is over or your stuck with a piece of junk.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best MP3 player i have seen for the price.
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Cons:
Review: I bought the mp3 player about a month ago, and it is awsome. Extremely small and great features. I especially love the fact that it can be recharged through my computer, and i dont have to worry about batteries. An FM tuner would help but im not insisting on it. Support is good because they answer quickly, but i am a bit disappointed with the fact that its software is NOT compatible with Windows XP. I emailed support and they told me new software would be available in about a week. Well i waited for 2 and still no news on it.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Poor Support For Buggy Product
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Review: The software froze my computer numerous times. After one day of use, the unit died. Replacement took numerous calls, weeks, and was not sent with USB cable. Unit is not good for travel unless you bring along USB and laptop. Sound level is weak.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I only have one thing to say....
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Review: The only good thing about the BA350 is that I got my refund within 7 days.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Buggy software and crappy display
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Cons:
Review: After using this for a month, I am returning it. Sound quality and storage amount were great. But their software is extremely buggy (froze my PC numerous times), and some aspects didn't work (couldn't edit song names so sometimes had no idea what songs were playing). Also, the LCD display is very difficult to see, not like image on CNET. Finally, support, after about 10-12 calls/emails, almost nonexistent, and completely incompetent. I am VERY disappointed and am returning this ASAP.
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Doesn't work with XP no support
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Review: I'm very disatisfied. If you use XP don't bother buying this product. As soon as you disconnect the player it causes a blue screen. Software is not only ugly, but pretty much useless, it won't open a shortcut to a folder!?! I have email support 5 times in the last week, I've heard nothing from them. So much for that xmas present for my wife. How frustrating!!!
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Excellent product for the price.
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Review: This is the best mp3 player I have ever had. It is so small and light you can take it any where. I can fit about 33 songs on it in 128 format(cd quality). The program lets you convert all your song to the desired bit rate. I just wished they had made it with a compact flash card expansion instead of a MMC card. The flash card is much cheaper and they don't make a 128mb MMC card yet. It also comes with good headphones. The controls are fairly easy to use and the lcd screen is sharp. The sound rom this little thing is fabulous! I dont see why people want an FM radio with an mp3 player. You spend all this money for a digital, quality sounding player, and you want to listen to the radio! Overall, this is they best buy you can get for a compact, 128mb mp3 player.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Third one is on its way via FEDEX
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Review: First one had flash memory troubles.They shipped another in 2 days. Second one works but buttun controls do not. 3rd one is on its way. This will be the last I truct ZDNET to rate anything!If the 3rd one doesn't work, maybe they can ship a dozen and we'll keep trying to get a good one. What a Christmas Disappointment!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Hardware. Great Company.
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Cons:
Review: The hardware is great with oustanding sound. I recently returned the BA350 due to the fact of it being incompatible with Windows XP. What is most impressive with Bantam is their service and support. My emails to support was replied within 2 days. When I call their support hotline. Support was busy helping with other customers so the secretary took down my name and number. Within 5 minutes after I hung up the phone with the secretary, the phone rang with support on the line ready to help with all my questions. After waiting over 2 weeks for their new drivers for WinXP, I decided to return the product. Again, their service was outstanding. They were going to have UPS come to my house and pick up the unit to be shipped back to them, prepaid. I am hardly ever home so I decided to paid for the shipping charge myself by shipping to them via the US Postal Service. 10 days later, I received an email from Bantam stating that a refund was issued back to my credit card. What is most impressive is that the intial shipping charge for sending the unit to my house was refunded as well. I can't think of any other company that would do as such. When Bantam states a 100 percent money back guarantee, they mean exactly just that. Thanks Bantam. I will order it again when the BA350 is compatible with Win XP.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Good things come to those who wait, and wait, and wait…
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Cons:
Review: Ordered the BA350 on 12/4 -> arrived 12/24! I called them on the 19th inquiring where my player was…the girl told me it was shipping that day – it actually shipped on the 22nd via UPS 2nd day overnight. Nowadays their website warns of shipping problems due to “high demand”. At the moment it's two days later and I’m a happy camper. Upsides: 1) Great sound quality and VOLUME! 2) It’s design, look, and feel is awesome. (Common sense tells you to through the clip on “color covers” in the trash). 3) The bundled software has performed flawlessly on two different Windows 2000 machines in contrast to some other reviewers’ reports. 4) It has a Memory Expansion slot for up to 128MB of MMC. 5) I love the USB and rapid charging on the same wire. 6) $200 for 128MB 7) 12hr charge life (not tested yet) 8) Solid construction vs. something plastic and fragile 9) Comes with cassette adapter, and belt clip 10) Lots of documentation Downsides: 1) On/off switch…the “hold” function is the third position and sometimes I accidentally switch it all the way to “hold” instead of "on". 2) The display on some songs runs rapidly though the elapsed time (sound comes through perfect though). I’m guessing this will be fixed in a firmware upgrade. Requests: 1) Armband for gym use 2) Included AC power adapter 3) Firewire (I can wish can't I?) Bottom line: The BEST MP3 player for those concerned with size, design and function.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great LITTLE product!
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Review: After doing my research here on CNET, I decided to buy the BA350 for myself for Xmas. This little goody is really easy to setup and figure out how to use. The software is pretty slick, and although it froze my computer once, I think it may have actually been another piece of software that I had running that had a memory leak. Hard to tell. Anyway, this package comes with a cassette attachment for your car, which I am going to try out later. It is really small, but not overly light, has some heft to it. There is an equalizer built-in, although all the settings are 'pre-sets', like 'Rock', 'Jazz', etc. The software will automatically convert your .MP3 files to .WMA if you want, which take up about half the room and allow you to upload twice as many songs to your player. The unit comes very nicely packaged, with easily understood documentation for both the player and the software. There are 'quick start' guides for those impatient people like me who just want to play with the darn thing. The colored face-plates are kinda cute and the first thing that I fiddled with since they are so easy to take off and change. If you want a nice little techno toy for yourself or a friend, pick up one of these little babies...don't think you will be disappointed!
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Very Defective
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Review: I think it's fairly obvious that batam is out of their depth on this one. Never got a chance to use this player, because as soon as I started to load songs on to it, it crashed my machine. It has not been able to turn on since. Should have known that this player would be poorly made from all the babies on the website.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Support is horrible!!!
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Review: DOES NOT WORK WITH XP! Support is non-existent. Clearly, this is some fly-by-night company that does not have support for its two products. Nowhere does it state that the product software is INCOMPATIBLE with Windows XP. Polite E-mails to Bantam Support are never returned. What support persons are available (non-800 number) outright lie about the availability of software that does not crash XP or Win2000. I have been told that a "beta" version of the software, with XP compatibility, would be available on Bantam's website in seven days. Of course, I was told this on three separate calls on three different weeks. Real nice, when you consider that the money back guarantee is only 30 days. The Better Business Bureau should torch the charlatans at Bantam USA.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
One of the best MP3 Players I ever heard...
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Review: Bantam BA350 maybe not so featured with FM tuner or voice recorder possibilities, but it surely one of the best players at the market. Can't wait for AC Adapter to make recharge from Power Outlet possible. Hey, Bantam, hurry up ^_^!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Compact Value
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Review: Although this is my first MP3 player and first time to place a review I actually have a bit to talk about. For those of you are anxious to decide on an MP3 player let me just say you wont be disappointed. Overall this is one of the most, if not the most, compact player for the money. If you are looking for a player that is simple with great sound and a low price point, stop right here and go and order yourself one. For those of you who need more detail I will share with you my observations. Since my intention is to use in mainly in the gym I really don’t need a lot of fancy features such as a voice recording feature or FM tuner. The FM tuner complaint I really have a hard time with. Why do you want an MP3 player that has an FM tuner in it? The point of having the MP3 player in the first place is so you can listen to the music YOU want to hear in the order you want to hear it in. If talk shows are your thing then get a portable FM tuner and save a bundle of money. Voice recording is a toss up but it makes the player bigger and takes up valuable memory. Once I am at the gym and the music starts I rarely mess with the controls but if I wanted to the included caring case does not allow you access to the controls without having to remove it from the case. I was considering doing what I did to my CD player, and that was to go to a phone store and buy a adhesive clip for $2.00 that will work perfectly on this little player and give you access to the controls while clipped to your side. Better yet I am working on a Velcro strap so that I can place it on my arm. This way I will never have to unclip the player from my side as I have to do when doing stretching exercises. Currently I have found that it works just find wedged between me and the elastic in my workout pants. Its not waterproof so I am not really comfortable with it there. There is only play controls to contend with. A Pause/Play button and a multi directional button that is not as responsive as I would like it to be. To skip forward or backwards can be quite a challenge given the size of the 4 directional button. Changing songs can be quite a challenge even with the unit in front of me sitting at a desk let alone while running on a treadmill. Not really that big of an issue for me since one I press play I rarely touch it, but if you are someone who intends on doing so it can definitely be a hindrance. I really like the fact that it charges through the USB port and after a full charge I experienced 10.5 hours of play at a volume of 85%. Not bad in my book. If you are planning to go on trips with it you will have to buy the portable charger from the manufacture, which I am not sure is even out yet but I have read about. The only thing that I was a little disappointed in was the volume. I have read that the amplifier was one of the most powerful but it was unable to achieve the volume that I am used to with my CD player. Again, in the gym I am having to compete with there stereo as well. Which at times can be quite loud. I have found however that outside the gym, the volume is more than adequate. Last but not least is the software. It seems to work fine but could use some improvements in the features department. It is lacking the ability to sample the music, (listen to it) while creating your play list. This makes finding music on your hard drive and building a playlist quite time consuming. Although you can create playlists, it would be much nicer to have to only maintain the one in your current MP3 player software. Even the ability to import other players playlists would be nice. I am not sure what is involved in creating a plugin for the leading MP3 players out there but it would be really nice if you were not forced to use bantams software. (BitExplorer 2.0) Cheers.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
great packaging, features, product
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Review: I'm very happy. More than I expected for the money. Software slightly tricky. Its a winner, and the best MP3 for the money out there.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Battery life stinks
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Review: I get about five hours of playback out of this thing before it dies without warning. Messages to their tech support have yielded no response. Poor product, horrible support.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Bantan is no help
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Review: I tried to order one of these and Bantam told me it would be a month or so before I got one. Not only that their support is bad I e-mailed them several times with no reply and then when I finally got a hold of them on a non-800 number they were rude to me. They are never in stock and won't be for the Christmas holiday's. Bantam really missed the boat on this one.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Don't guy it!
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Cons:
Review: My display was showing everything backwards. The battery indicator doesn't work right, it always show full charge, but the unit will die. The buttons are hard to use and the headphones are not made for people with glasses. Also, the software is really bad and doesn't work on Win2000 or WinXP.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
BEWWARE OF BATTERY PROBLEMS
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Cons:
Review: Great size, excellent sound, easy downloading process, but the battery only lasts 2-3 hours for me and that's it. So I am returning it and going for another brand.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Seems great, but is it reliable?
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Cons:
Review: I bought one through Bantam and have to say I was pleased with the size of the unit and the features in relation to the cost 199$. However, the unit stopped working 7 days after I received it. Whenever I turned it on, it would go through power on screens and then shut back off. I called to have it returned and customer support was mostly helpful, though I was disapppointed in how long it took to receive a return UPS label, and in the fact that 2 emails were not answered with regard to when the new unit was being sent, causing me to have to call customer suppotr on my nickel. Hopefully the 2nd unit works better or it will be time to get my money back and try a different MP3 player.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Do you guys at CNET test this stuff at all???
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Review: This unit sucks big time! The buttons are hard to use, the display comes on when it wants to, the software is the worst I've ever used! For $200, I expected better from these fools. I'm going with the Digitalway MPIO-MPG....no, not the $200 64mb one, but the $200 128mb!! CNET people needs to check out all the possible stores over the net before posting any prices.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Completely Awesome!
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Review: At first I had trouble figuring out how to download songs but the support line was very helpful and I got thru right away. I love the rechargeable batteries.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Yeah right
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Review: This unit has great features, size, sound, accessories, etc. etc., but only if this thing works. I got it today, followed all the instructions and what do you know? The display is broken. I still can get it to play music, but after an hour, it died! Nothing works now, the quality and the workmanship is so cheap.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Cool,tiny Player
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Review: I really like the player itself, especially the size but as others have mentioned the software is buggy( hangs up) on Win2000. Support has been responsive. Basically i had to resinstall it. so far so good . I have used it for about a week
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
flash cards?
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Review: Im not here to hate a product. im here to state my opinion and ask yours.why flash cards?how many songs can u get on this product, more than othe ones, but still.i have a 20gig archos i have all my 50+ cds on it plus a rediculusly large mp3 collection and i still have room for future songs.I guess if your into top 40 its ok but i know u want more songs than, come on though you can't even put your top 5 cd's on it. Another thing is why do you use mp3s. i had a cd player for a long time and i hauled around a huge cd collection if i wanted to play all my cd's when i wanted. The next step i cd compression mp3 cds those are ok instesd of my 50 cds i can have 10 but i still have to carry around those cd's. The forth is minidisc i think they are rediculously expensive but maybe im wrong seeing that i don't know how much my cd burner caosts (it came with my pc).And the next is a hard drive mp3 palyer on my 20 gig player i can store 500 cds thats enough said.Im not supporting archos by saying there the best, im jsut supporting the fact that they have a hard drive based mp3 players. I don't know about you guys but i would love to hear your opinions, im sorry for this being long and forgive my spelling thanks!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
phatty-boom-batty!
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Cons:
Review: Hey I did a lot of research and decided that this would be my first mp3 player. I got it in the mail today, and I was thoroughly impressed. Its tinier than my cell phone and only half the thickness! Although its tiny, it feels pretty solid and durable. The LCD display is different (much better) than the one pictured. It was really easy to setup, and the software is pretty straight forward. I love the fact that besides the battery icon, the LCD also scrolls the level that you have charged your battery. The accessories are a nice bundle (the headphones are ok, but I love the belt clip and faceplates) Customer service was very helpful and answered all of my questions (before I bought it). I highly recommend it!
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
If it weren't for the software...
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Cons:
Review: I am running Windows 2000 and like another reviewer said, it crashes everytime. It is a great little player, but its not much good of you can't get the music onto it.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Small,great battery life
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Cons:
Review: It's easy to use. It's small. It could be a little louder but I've played it through a PA system and it sounded great. Nothing flashy on the software but it works fine. I like mine.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Powerful little thing!
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Cons:
Review: It is really impressive! Such a tiny box filled with so much features at such a good quality! It blows all the competition away! The internal memory of 128MB (they are the only one as far as I know) provides enough space to incorporate hours of music, paired with the optional memory, it becomes indecent...
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
This is a good stuff
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Review: I show it to my friend and they all love it! The sound quality is really good and it is interesting for me to charge it over the USB
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
awe-freaking-some and then some
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Cons:
Review: I'm not a review kinda guy but this thing deserves every good review it gets. Everything you need in an mp3 player. A missing FM reciever is pointless AFAIC. Go get it.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
DOES NOT WORK WITH XP!!!
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Review: Software does not work on XP. No support whatsoever. This is what you get when you buy a no-name brand.
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I returned mine
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Review: After only a couple of weeks with the unit, it died. I just get popping noises when I download MP3's to it. Softwre QA needs improving. Navigation button is difficult to use. I was able to get the player into many strange states if I did not follow the instructions provided to the letter!
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
EXCELLENT....but flawed
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Review: This player is the best out there! I jsut got mine. I live in NC and i ordered it and I got it in like 2 weeks.....it was a logn time but it was all good. AS far as USB speed....i put 24 songs on it in liek 3 minutes. THE ONLY THING I HAVE AGAINST THESE PEOPLE IS.....The picture on the website for the BA350 is not what you actually get. But still....i brought it to school and everyone I showed it to was like "I want one of these". SO buy it....unless you can get a good deal on a Gb player...then do that obvisously.....IF you ahve any questions EMAIL ME JPD1501@aol.com
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great player, bit weird in part
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Review: Nice size and all, but looks a bit different from the one on the cnet site. Why cant I delete files on the player from the bitxplorer software like i could with my rio 800. This feels better than my Rio 800 ( which was probably worse that the 500 in several respects) am waiting to see how good the battery life is. Wish it would work directly with MS Media Player.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Great Hardware. Software is okay.
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Cons:
Review: Overall, the player is great. The sound is loud and crisp (depending on your mp3 quality of course). However, I am running Windows XP and it crashes the OS whenever I unplug the device from the USB. Does anyone else have this same problem? I will contact Support about this problem shortly. In short, it is a very good value at $200.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Software incompatible w/ W2K
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Review: For the past month I have been working with Bantam Support. Their software eventually crashes on a W2K platform and must be completely removed before working again. They are aware of this issue, but they are doing nothing about it.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
very compaq
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Review: this product was very confusing at first, but when i got the hang of it, it was a piece of cake.This thing is incredible,128 mb, credit card size,chrges while downloading, I can go on and on.In conclusion, I highly reccomend the Bantam BA-350
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
A neat player!
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Cons:
Review: It is amazing for how they can fit all these in such a small player! Usually a play this small would not have a slot.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Am I the only one with these problems?
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Review: Great player, super small, but I'm having three big problems. One, the battery only lasts about 2-3 hrs on me... isn't it supposed to last like 12? Two, the main 4-way button doesn't really respond to my pressing of it. As a result, it takes a long time for me to skip to songs or to lower the volume. And third, and perhaps the biggest problem, when I'm listening to a song and I choose to go forward to another song, I hear these skipping noises. Is anyone else having the same problems?
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Do not buy if you run XP
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Review: I was told by the sales rep that it would work with any OS higher than 98. Bitexplorer DOES NOT work with Windows XP! I had to send the unit back until they come out with an XP comptaible software. I did transfer some songs from my laptop to test the unit, and the sound and features are outstanding. Can't wait for the XP software to come out so I can re-order it!
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Good player with rubber feel
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Review: This player is in fact not silver in color. The one I have is a grey rubber casing instead of Silver casing.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Comparison to Nike PSA]Play??
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Review: Can anyone comment on the BA350 vs. the Nike PS]Play, specifically from a durability perspective? Is the BA350 robust enough to be used while working out, etc.? Thanks...
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Happy Customer
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Review: I have it and I am happy. The sound is good and the finishing is good, and most importantly, the price is good. So all add up together, it is a good value player.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Why ipod? Get BA350 instead!
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Review: true that ipod supports Mac and BA350 does not. But hey, ipod doesn't support PC either. And all the computers in my school lab and at home are PC, so I don't care about Mac and ipod.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I really love the player!
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Review: I find my player tiny and powerful. The sound is perfect. It would be good if later it could also support MusicMatch. But the software now is good enough.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Bantam Software could be better
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Review: I love the BA350 but hate the software. I am running Win 2000 and after a while BitExplor entirely stopped working. Reinstalling the program did not fix the problem. After a call to tech support I uninstalled the program, deleted the bitexplor folder, and deleted the bitexplor entry in the registry. I reinstalled and Bitexplor now works.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
The software is awful!
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Review: I ordered this unit as soon as I read the CNet review - because it sounded perfect. The player itself is _GREAT_. However the Windows software is awful, it crashes frequently and now it even fails to start. Reinstalling does not fix the problem. No reponse from customer service when I send emails asking about this.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Impressive Achievement!
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Review: Excellent choice for the price and technology. I was surprised at how small the product actually was. It is easy to use and has a wonderful sound quality. And you can't beat the accessory package. My only complaint is the confusing set of directions shipped in the box. There were at least three pieces of paper telling me different things. One said charge only an hour and a half. The other said charge 12 hours before first use. The other said it only needs a quick charge to start downloading software. Also, one said to plug in the USB before starting the software. The other paper said plug it in after the software is booted. A little confusing. But, once you get it setup, it is a piece of cake. Bantam has a great start. Now all they need is to add a few more features and the market is theirs. Enjoy.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Question..?
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Review: I really like it. I have one question though. How good is it in scrolling?. Can I for example jump to a song by its number? Do the songs line up in one play-list in the player? or There are sublists?... Thanx.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
The Best Mp3 Player Out There
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Review: Obviously, everyone who dissed this product doesn't own one, cause this thing is the shizzle. It's tiny (less than the size of a credit card), and it hold so many songs, especially when you use the wma conversion feature (about 4 hours worth) if you don't have this thing already, buy it now, i command you.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I need Help!
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Review: I just got my BA350 and it was working fine for few hours. then the software that came with it began crashing. When I click on BitExplor 2.0, the program freezes. I tried reinstalling the software but still no luck. Anyone else experienced this? I'm running win2000 pro. Please help. Thank you.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
So happy with my first MP3 player
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Review: After reading strong reviews for this player, I finally broke down and bought it. I had been waiting about a year to get a player, and the value to this player impressed me. But, after being wary of it's low price, I was quickly impressed by it's ease of use and sound. I've never written an on-line review before, but this is a really cool (tiny tiny) player that I've recommended to all of my friends. With all the extras, it's truly an outstanding player not only for the price, but for the great quality as well.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
should i buy it?
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Review: im thinking about buying it but im not quite sure. Either this one or the MPIO DMG. How is the quality of the player? does it feel cheap and "plasticy"? thanks for any input
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
A steal for 199
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Review: I bought the Bantam BA 350 after reading the CNET review. I ordered my unit and received it within a week. I had ordered an Intel MP3 player but it was not expandable and did not come with any additional assessories. This player comes with a full 128 mb memory, memory upgrade slot (via MMC card), headphones, carrying case, and car adapter. If this were not enough, the unit recharges via the USB cable and has a built in 12 hour battery.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
A very nice under-rated player.
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Review: The Bantam player has been under-rated, with to many people looking at "better" players. But with a cheap sticker price and 128 MB of memory, not to mention the sleek design, you know what I bought. Take that Nike! COMPETITION: Rio 800, Intel Pocket Concert, MPIO, Yepp
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
CNET review fits to a tee!
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Review: I placed the order and then almost cancelled it...that would have been foolish! Excellent sound and features. 2 things lacking, which would have been nice -AM/FM receiver -support in the software for CD to MP3 conversion. The former is asking for too much I suppose, the latter should have been included even though a lot of free converters are available. I don't see why they could include it in the s/w for the other product and not the newer one! Bottom line: worth every penny I spent for it...am thinking of stealing it for myself, from my wife! 
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
BRAVO!!!!
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Review: 128MB, rechargable battery, expanable memory, great design, a great price plus all the accesories are included in the price......buy this one and be happy! (I have returned others brands due to poor results...this one is a keeper)
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
All at (my) home uses with there own loaded external MMC Card.
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Review: We have to wait for our turn to insert own choices.....but we can wait to listen a great qaulity music. The MMC slot is also It is easy to use and what you call "DRAG AND DROP"......and I never have to call the support since I bought it.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
can u add to the 128 built in?
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Review: is the 128 hard wired into the unit, (would allow for adding memory cards) or is the 128 a card that they sell with the unit, making 128 the max the unit can hold?
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Billy
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Review: I really like it coz the outlook is cool, the size is small, the weight is light, the software is easy to use, the price is good for 128Mb. The only thing I can say is there is no FM tuning.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
This is my dream gift for this Xmas
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Review: I hope someone would buy this for me as my Xmas gift! Or else, I would buy it myself anyway.... Wonder when I could see it in the store...
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
BA350 is Much Better than MPIO-DMG !!
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Review: In his comment, Mark is wrong about the size of MPIO-DMG. According to MPIO official website, it is (W x H x D): 68 x 17 x 68 (mm), which is almost double the thickness and 40% wider than Bantam BA350 (It is easy to understand because it uses the much bigger SMC). MPIO-DMG also doesn't have the USB-recharging capability that BA350 has, and I think this is one of the coolest thing I like about the BA350. I am tired of changing battery every few days anymore....
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Better players out there
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Review: For the same money, u can get the MPIO DMG, which also has 128mb of memory, but is smaller, cooler looking, works with a Mac, and uses cheaper Smart Media expansion cards.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Waited one week, but now I am happy.
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Review: I had purchased newer model from Intel approx. ten days ago. I thought, it looked ugly, but because of Intel and price, I bought it. Unit was easy to operate, but was extremely slow during file transfer process. Then, I heard that Intel is getting out from digital audio players and discontinuing all their players, that's it. I returned that player and I ordered this one. When I ordered this product, I was expecting to get it right away. I was told by their customer service that I had to wait for ten days. I just got it and I am pleased. Much much smaller and thinner than web pictures. I think, product looks much better than photo. Software was easy to install and player was easy to operate. I liked WMA conversion on the fly feature because I don't have to convert my current MP3 files into WMA first and waste hard drive space twice for same songs. It becomes little slower when I convert all 25 to 30 songs into WMA and then transfer, but still it was much faster than my Intel's new one. Serive was great. Techline was responding even on wek-end. Sound quality is excellent. I was told by customer service that I can also order AC adapter to charge the unit without computer. This is just intial reaction. I am hoping that not - too much known brand Bantam unit also built with quality for longer product life.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
I LOVE it.
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Review: well, I was quite angry about the delay of shipment coz I've paid with my credit card for so long and not until today I got my product. The support keep on saying to me that they are sold out and waiting for new supplies... Oh well, I finally got mine. I feel lucky not to cancel my order because I think it is a product worth to wait. I mean, this is NOT the smallest player I've seen, but it definitely is the smallest player WITH MMC slot, WMA, hi-res LCD (with backlit!) and Li-ion. With this spec, it is much smaller than RIO800 and *much* cheaper than Sony's player. I love the idea of how you could charge your li-ion via USB. This is smart. However, I think most of the color of the faceplates looks stupid, but it is good that they have choices, coz it allows me to pick the color I like, change it and throw the rest away. The software is very easy to use, coz I can drag and drop songs anywhere. And it has a function that change your MP3 songs to WMA songs while downloading. It is smart too. It is a pity that the software can't play songs, so when I pick my songs I have to listen with my WinAMP first. The player is amazing. And is worth to wait.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Value and Feature Packed
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Review: I haven't seen an MP3 player that has all these things come with the package until now. 7 faceplates, carrying case, cassette adapter, wraparound headphones, 128MB memory, come on, this is packed with stuff, and for 200 bucks, it's a steal.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
This looks sweet
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Review: I dont see how many people have rated this since it hasnt shipped yet, and how do you know it isnt so great since again....its not out yet, once its out then i will actually consider your reviews
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Best Straight Player
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Review: No FM radio or ultra snazzy design. This does play music, and does it quite better sounding than the more known Rio 800. Let us not forget the no-nonsense software which is a plus. As for the pictures on the homepage, it's in the hands of little babies, can't you tell? Maybe why it looks big?
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Modern, sleek and plain kool!
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Review: This one really blows the competition away. You can not go wrong with it. It has all the offerings of the higher priced players but they don't have the goodies. Stop looking and get it now.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Smaller than a Credit Card
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Review: Actually the player is shorter than a credit card. Check out the pics at IGN.com
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 309 user reviews
You call this credit card size?
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Review: Look at the picture on the bantamusa.com web site. This this thing look huge!!! http://www.bantamusa.com/pages/productHome.php3
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 309 user reviews
Needs an FM tuner
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Review: 1) At $200 or better, all MP3 players need to have an FM tuner. Something to extend its use when you can't get back to the computer. 2) Yet another MP3 player not rugged enough for outdoor use like jogging or biking. These things are fine for walking across campus, but I've yet to see one that really works for active people. (No, the Nike doesen't fit the bill. Especially w/o the FM.) Make the right MP3 player and I'll keep it more than a week.
