Small, Stylish and Full-Featured
Written: Dec 30 '03 (Updated Dec 30 '03)
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Pros: Size, style, ease of use
Cons: User manual, headphones
The Bottom Line: A fantastic little player with lots of versatility
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| pallasma's Full Review: Mpio FL100 (128MB) MP3 Player |
I received this, my first, MP3 player for Christmas. As with all my electronic gadgets, I familiarized myself with all its features and functions within the first hour of opening the box.
Style
I was initially impressed with the look of it and the simplicity of of operation. The buttons are a little small for my big fingers, but I really appreciate its small size since it fits in any pocket and with the leather case (included) it will clip to a belt too.
Headphones
The headphones leave a little to be desired -- they are an in-the-ear type, but then most similar products don't have the best headphones -- they are the first thing to upgrade. That said, they still have pretty good sound, but they may hurt the ears.
Operation
The menus are easy to navigate and it's nice to have the ability to personalize the built-in equalizer. I really appreciate the auto power off feature when you leave it on without any music playing. The "hold" button locks all keys to prevent accidental button presses when the player is in a pocket or backpack. I haven't yet used the voice record feature, so I can't comment on the quality of the mic for recording lectures, meetings, etc. but I do know that recording the radio in .wav format works well. The "study mode" feature may be useful for reviewing lectures, meetings, etc. The manual indicates that it can be used to learn foreign languages, but I'm not sure about that one.
Sound Quality
Both the MP3 files and FM are extremely clear and with a good set of headphones, the sound quality is great. I have yet to find myself in a place where I don't have crystal clear FM reception.
Memory and Software
The internal memory (128MB) will be enough to hold 30-35 songs saved at 128 KBps. Memory can also be expanded through desired sizes of SD memory cards.
The software that is included is good, but not great. The MPIO manager comes bundled with Real Player and for reasons I won't go into here, I can't stand Real Player and refuse to use it. MPIO manager is adequate for transferring files to and from the player.
In The Box
- MPIO Player
- Carrying case
- USB cable
- Headphones
- Wrist Strap
- Battery
- CD (software)
- User Guide
The user guide is quite poor -- it appears to have been very badly translated and is a little cryptic in places. In some places it's actually good for a chuckle -- "Pay attention not to hurt your hand while you touch a product box, manual, accessory etc. Keep the manual to use at any time. (pg. 9)"
Summary
I am quite impressed with this little player. It plays MP3, WMA, ASF and WAV formats. Even with only the internal memory, I will get lots of use with this player almost anywhere I go.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): Gift
Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym
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Epinions.com ID:
pallasma
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Location: Alberta, Canada
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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