MP3 Player, Data Storage, and Voice Recorder all-in-one
Written: Dec 18 '03 (Updated Dec 18 '03)
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Pros: Small, easy to use, nice accessories, great at everything it does
Cons: bass-lacking earbuds included, alphabetical file playback, needs 3 more notches of max volume
The Bottom Line: Be it sports or office use, this is a great lightweight MP3 player for any use. Functions very well as a storage device. Impressive voice recorder with decent range.
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| krye's Full Review: Creative Labs Nomad MuVo NX 128MB MP3 Player |
Wow, the quantity of gadgets in my pocket is going up. Cell phone, gameboy, USB drive, mp3 player--GAH! Too much stuff. My boss appears to have agreed with me for when he asked me to do a little research he uttered the following. "Krye", he said, "I need you to find me a voice recorder. But I want something small. I'd be even better if I could save it for later review. Perhaps an MP3 player/recorder. I'd be even better if it would double as a data storage device."
So off I went into the week-long venture of finding something that fit the bill. I knew they existed but I also knew they were moderately pricey. However, I stumbled upon the unexpected: The Creative Labs MuVo NX 128MB. Just as small as the previous version, but with an LCD display! Here's my experience with it...
Usability...
One of the nicer feeling small MP3 players I've played with. With a loaded AAA battery compartment it's about the size and weight of a zippo cigarette lighter. It comes with 2 battery compartments, silver and red (as shown in the pic above)
Just like you see in the picture it has 4 buttons: 2 volume controls, one "rocker" button, and a play/pause button. It turns on and off by holding down the play/pause button for about 2 seconds. The "rocker" button can be pushed to bring up the menu and you "rock" it back and forth for menu selections. It also doubles as the next/fast forward and previous/rewind button when playing through an audio file. All the buttons have a solid feel to them and don't feel like you'll break them with normal use.
The menu is quite intuitive. Like I mentioned above, you push the rocker button once and you have a choice of play options (shuffle, repeat, etc), delete a file, settings (contrast, timers, etc), music playback, voice playback, or recording. Select one and push down the rocker button and it selects it.
The LCD screen is sharp with readable text. You can even rotate the screen display if you're a lefty! The backlight is blue with a timer from 3sec to 15sec. The display shows the song timer and it either scrolls the file name or song name of the file you're playing in smaller text underneath.
When you turn on the player it stays in the same mode as when you turned it off. Useful if you just want to turn it on to record something quickly, or if you just want to listen to tunes without having to mess with the menu.
The unit comes with a belt clip and a wrist/arm band. Since this is used for work purposes I have not had the opportunity to test these.
As an MP3 player...
Pretty straight forward. You turn on the player and hit play. It has all the standard shuffle and repeat features. It comes with 4 custom equalizer settings, and the option for you to setup a custom setting (nice!). It supports folders and even has the option to skip folders that you don't want to listen to.
When you turn off and on the player it resumes from the point in the song you stopped. It plays files in alphabetical order, so you may want to ensure you have some sort of number scheme or file structure when you copy music over.
The volume could honestly be a *tad* bit louder. Not to many situations where you'll max the volume but the few that you do you might find yourself wishing it was just a few levels louder.
The only real requirement I suggest is you use a different set of headphones. The included earbuds lack any kind of bass response. I fell back to my trusty 3yr-old headphones and the MuVo NX shines.
On the very first day I ran a battery test using the included generic AAA battery. I loaded two 60 minute MP3s and let it run all day. Playback lasted just shy of 9 hours. That also included me playing with the controls and learning how to use it earlier that day. Not too shabby.
As a Storage Device...
This is probably the easiest part. As you see in the pic above, you remove the MuVo NX from the battery compartment exposing the USB connector. Plug that into a USB port and you're ready to go (in Windows 2000 or Windows XP). It shows up as a removable drive that you can use as a normal flash drive. Drag and drop files into it, save to it, and when you are done, unplug and go on your way.
Since no additional software is necessary I haven't even opened the software (and thus cannot comment on the software management tools at this time). However, as I understand it, if the on-board memory ever needs to be reformatted you will need to install the software to achieve a reformat.
As a Voice recorder...
I am honestly impressed by it's range considering the tiny microphone. In a normal conversation setting (ie a meeting room for 12) it picks up everything quite nicely from 6 feet away. I attempted to record in theater (500-600 ppl capacity) and I was able to get the speaker (although I really had to crank it up to hear it).
You press play to begin recording and press play again to stop recording. When you start recording again it automatically creates a new file. With a clean memory it stores up to 8 hours and 47 minutes in WAV format. It does not record into MP3.
Bottom Line
What can I say, I'm happy when my boss is happy. And he was smiling a lot yesterday when he came back from a meeting. As I use it further I'll have to update my review but unless something really tragic happens I doubt it'll change much!
I happen to purchase this one from Best Buy for $150 with a $20 rebate. For $50 more you can also get the 256MB version which some may require. I'll be happy to answer any specific questions as I get more time to play with it!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150-$20=$130
Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym
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Epinions.com ID:
krye
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Location: Belleville, IL, USA
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Computer Gamer/Programmer/Tweaker
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