Samsung YP-Q2 Review

Summary
This device rates unfavourably in terms of form, although it does feature certain great functions and features, a lovely screen and solid sound. While its construction may strike you as being fairly cheap, the good news is that it retails at an agreeable price thus providing good value for money.

Product Description
Its interface consists of Touchpad controls that light up on its face, while the edges are border wrapped with chrome wrapping. Measuring at 99 x 48 x 10, the player is fairly compact although its 61mm display is quite larger than normal. While it lacks a volume rocker, it does feature some tactile buttons on its right hand side – a record button and power/ hold key. You may connect this device either to a Windows PC or Mac, as well as select between drag and drop transfers or jukebox to play your favourite tunes.

Outstanding Features
This device doesn’t have too many outstanding features to boast about although it does feature a screen worth mentioning. Its screen – a QVGA number with a 320×240 pixel resolution provides great clarity and colour saturation, while its interface is icon-driven.

How it compares to IPod Classic and IPod Touch
In terms of updates iPod Touch is still a much better buy than this Samsung. In addition, the cheap plastic design does not compare to the elegance of the iPod Classic and iPod Touch. The latter two devices are also renowned for their user friendly interface, unlike this Samsung whose Touchpad interface may not be ideal for all users as it does not allow for blind navigation.

How it compares to other MP3 players
Because it is a budget MP3 player, this device does not have the sleek weighty feel that the Samsung yp-p3 does. It also does not feature a dedicated volume switch unlike other MP3 players – which allows for easier control of sound. In addition, other MP3 players feature user friendly interfaces unlike the Touchpad interface included in this device.

Bottom Line
At first glance, this device seems rather elegant and sleek, but on taking a closer look, you are likely to discover that there is a lot to be desired. This is a rather plain looking device although it does host a decent array of features, has a good screen, provides solid sound quality and is quite inexpensive, retailing at $99.99 for 8GB. If on a tight budget, you would much rather opt for the YP-Q2 as it offers a great variety of features for the money. However, if you have some extra change to spare and are looking for elegance, you are better off going for the 8GB iPod Touch at $229 which is guaranteed to provide you with style, along with a more user friendly interface.

Rating: *** 3/5 stars

Samsung YP-P3 Review

Summary
This Samsung YP-P3 review focuses on a great multimedia MP3 player which packs a broad spectrum of fun features into a compact device, which can then be accessed on one of the most impressive screens available on the market today. Its awesome sound has also made this device a firm favourite amongst audio enthusiasts the world over.

Product Description
This device comes in an attractive and highly functional design. Measuring 53 x 102mm x 10mm, this device is similar in size to the Sony player, with its touch screen occupying majority of the front panel. There are several tactile buttons located on the top spine of the device, such as the power/hold key and volume controls.

Outstanding Features
The most distinct feature of this device is its great sound which you are not likely to find in many other similar devices currently available on the market. Its extensive multimedia playback supports WMA (as well as subscription), FLAC audio, MP3, OGG and AAC; WMV9 (as well as Amazon Unbox), H.264 (MP4) video and MPEG4 (SVI, AVI).

How it compares to IPod Classic and IPod Touch
While it does have a sleek and sturdy design that can stand up to the elegant iPod, this device doesn’t feature the easy user interface that you will enjoy in both iPod Classic and iPod Touch. In addition, it doesn’t feature Wi-Fi capabilities and also offers a rather inelegant podcast support. This is of course incomparable to the podcast support that Apple users get to enjoy from their iPods.

How it compares to other MP3 players
This Samsung YP-P3 review found that the one great feature of this device is its superb sound and audio capabilities that have made it clearly stand out from the numerous other MP3 players currently available on the market whose sound does not match up.

Bottom Line
If you are looking for a fun interface, a wide variety of features and audio formats, gorgeous full colour touch screen and sleek and sturdy design – then this Samsung YP-P3 review can conclude that this is just the MP3 player for you. Remember, however, that it lacks some bells and whistles such as easy user interface that you will enjoy in both iPod Classic and iPod Touch. In addition, it doesn’t feature Wi-Fi capabilities and also has a rather inelegant podcast support. At $300 for 32GB, this device is priced at par with the $299 iPod Touch – yet doesn’t offer as much in terms of features. I would therefore rather go for the latter device which offers better value for money.

Rating: **** 4/5 stars

Creative Zen X-Fi 2 Review

Summary
In this Creative Zen X-Fi 2 review, you will be introduced to the features of the X-Fi 2. The first touch screen player in the Creative product range of MP3 players, this device is available in capacities of 8GB, 16GB and 32GB. This is a second generation MP3 player which also features a TV-out capability on top of its solid X-Fi foundation, which enables you to playback movies and pictures on a large TV screen.

Product Description
Made entirely out of plastic, the Creative Zen X-Fi 2 features a shiny metallic strip surrounding its edges. Users can enjoy the 3-inch, touch sensitive, TFT LCD that is capable of displaying up to 262,000 colours, in addition to the featured icon-based menu. The device supports multiple audio formats including MP3, Audible, secure WMA, FLAC and AAC , as well as video formats like WMV9m XviD, MPEG4-SP and DivX4/5), along with BMP and JPEG photos. It also features basic Personal Information Management or PIM functionality with which you may sync your calendar and contact information, and an alarm clock feature that can wake you up in the morning with your favourite tunes. This is a convenient feature that not all other MP3 players have.

Outstanding Features
What’s new about this device is that it comes preloaded with a variety of content. You will therefore enjoy 9 eMusic tracks and an audio book of James Patterson’s “Maximum Ride” which retails at $19.99 which you will not find in many other MP3 players. It also features fully adjustable X-Fi sound enhancement features as well as a microSD card expansion slot to enable you to increase your memory. In addition, there is an external speaker for sharing tunes, onboard FM radio with auto scan and 32 presets, as well as a built-in mic which you can use to make your voice recordings.

How it compares to IPod Classic and IPod Touch
Measuring at 4 inches length by 2.2 inches width by 0.4 inches depth, this device is longer than previous generation models and somewhat at par with the size of the iPod Touch although still smaller than the latter. Although it does resemble the iPod Touch it is more pocket friendly in comparison. In terms of sound, this device compares favourably to the iPod Classic as well.

How it compares to other MP3 players
This Creative Zen X-Fi 2 review found that the one great feature of this device is that it is oriented in landscape mode allowing for a larger display area, which makes it stand out from the numerous other touch-screen MP3 players currently available on the market whose menus come in portrait mode.

Bottom Line
This Creative Zen X-Fi 2 review can conclude that although it doesn’t feature all the bells and whistles that you would enjoy in pricier devices such as iPod Touch or Zune, this device is a good buy due to its unique landscape orientation, preloaded audio book and eMusic. The Zen lacks the sleek IPod Touch user interface for which you can get apps, faster processor and graphics; as well as the hard drive and support for overdrive audio books that are found in the Zune. Seeing as a 32GB Zune MP3 player retails for $229; IPod Touch goes for $299; while the Zen is marked at $229, the Zune would be a better buy than the Zen because it retails for the same price yet has more features than the latter.

Rating: * * * (3 stars out of 5)

The brand new, and tiny, MP3 player from Phillips is out and Cnet recently got their hands on it. The GoGear Spark appears to be a competitor to the iPod Shuffle or the Sansa Clip. The device has a minuscule 1.5″ display and has a (somewhat) innovative interface system where the controls are activated by touching different parts of the screen – similar to the iRiver’s D-click.

The Good: The Philips GoGear Spark packs music, photos, radio, voice recording, long battery life, and a color screen into an affordable little package.

The Bad: The GoGear Spark is light on format support, voice recordings are noisy, storage capacity is meager, and not everyone will appreciate its wearable design.

The Bottom line: In the world of budget MP3 players, the Philips GoGear Spark is a diamond in the rough, offering an attractive balance of features, style, and usability.

Score: 7.0/10 (or 3.5 stars)

link – Phillips GoGear Spark Review (via DAPReview.net)

Now this is truly a unique MP3 player. While we don’t have any specifics on this player yet, (including price, features or name) what we do know is that Aigo is releasing a digital audio device that resembles a jigsaw puzzle piece. I love creative and innovative design, but this seems borderline ridiculous. I hope the functionality of this device will be more intuitive than it appears. Generally speaking, you don’t want to equate using your product with a frustrating IQ test.

link – Aigo’s Puzzling new DAP

mobiBLU is known for their quality products. They are also known for their slightly unconventional designs and ideas. However, they are consistently one of the best boutique MP3 player developers out there right now. That being said, this one is a little off the wall, even for them. Introducing, the A10 UFO:

“The A10 UFO has a speaker, a vibration system (whatever that is),
Bluetooth and no screen. Battery life is unimpressive at 15 hours with
headphones and 6 hours with speakers, but this is likely to be more a
children’s toy than a “real” mp3 player anyways. Beam me up, Scotty.”

link – mobiBLU A10 UFO

mobiBLU’s latest player, the T50, features a 2.6 inch haptic touchscreen. The device itself and the interface both appear attractive. Hopefully, the price point will be low enough to give it a solid chance against the iPods and Cowons in today’s crowded marketplace.

“The outer design looks mighty familiar with a 2.6-inch screen size that should put it in direct competition with the RAmos T50. It plays RM/RMVB and MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, and APE. The mobiBLU T50 in fact looks exactly like the Teclast M26, while the M26 supports more video files, including FLV.”

link – mobiBLU T50

Recently, LG announced their new flash based MP3 player named the UP3 Touch. This player supports MP3, WMA, Ogg formats. It also has an FM tuner, a slick LED display and touch-sensitive controls. The UP3 Touch is expected to be released in both 2GB and 4GB varieties.

This MP3 player, however, leaves much to be desired in both originality and style. The flash based digital audio niche seems to be so saturated at the moment that it will take nothing short of a grand-slam to make any headway into Apple and SanDisk territory. Of course, we haven’t gotten our hands on one yet but we are not expecting huge sales numbers for this model.

link – LG UP3 Touch