Good product, good value.
Written: Jul 27 '04
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Pros: All-in-one design: player, radio, radio/voice recorder. Good value, looks, weight and quality. Great sound.
Cons: Radio is useless.
The Bottom Line: Sound is great, enough battery power and storage for the whole day of music, durable - suitable for joggers. Easy to use, good looking. Probably, best value.
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| msenin's Full Review: Frontier NEX IA (1 GB) MP3 Player |
I wanted an MP3 player that supports MP3 and WMA, and if I don't listen to music, I'd like to listen to the radio. I wanted infinitely expandable memory. Then I came across this product.
First I looked at most popular MP3 player out there: iPod. But they are rather expensive, and I don't believe iPod's hard drive will last long if I used it while jogging or rollerblading. The fewer moving parts - the better. But what about memory? iPod has 10-40GB for songs, NEX ia - only 1GB. Here's why I preferred NEX ia over iPod storage-wise:
1. I don't have 10000 MP3s to store - my entire MP3 library (150 disks times 4MB/song at 128Kbps times 15 songs per CD (or 60MB/CD) = 9GB). That means I can put 10-15 albums on 1GB card - enough to listen to for day or more - about 10-12 hours.
2. Did you ever try to upload 40GB over USB? It will take a day!
Sound quality
Better then expected. About as good as can be with 128Kbps MP3s. NEX ia supports up to 386Kbps WMA format - perfect sound!
Software
Though I tried software that came on CD, which I found very easy to install and use, I prefer MISICMATCH Jukebox - a more sophisticated music library management software.
Moving files onto NEX ia
Easy:
1. through mass storage driver (when your computer recognizes NEX ia as an external removable disk) - they just copy/paste files into it like onto any other disk.
2. through supplied software
3. through 3rd party software
Tip: I like to use an external flash reader/writer with USB 2.0 interface - moves files 10 times faster then supplied USB 1.1 interface cable.
Radio
Useless. When I was in 1st grade, my first detector radio I soldered from used parts was picking up 50 stations. NEX ia picks up 3 at best.
Radio recording
Major disappointment. Since radio is useless (see above), you'll record only noise. No ability to set up timer to record radio programs that you are going to miss.
Voice recorder
Good quality. Current firmware only supports 64Kbps recording of voice through internal microphone, not that you'll need better quality - it's descent.
Firmware
Uploadable through USB. Pretty easy if you follow instructions. Future versions of firmware will support new music file formats. Current version only supports Latin letters in files names and MP3 tags: French/Cyrillic/Chinese won't work; you'll have to rename your MP3 files, otherwise player locks up or displays jibberish.
Looks
Sexy.
Tech. support
By e-mail and on online chat boards, which FL calls "Knowledge base". No phone support.
Battery life
Works 7-8 hours on Metal Hydrate batteries with microdrive, and about 8-10 hours with Compact Flash card, however battery indicator goes crazy: shows 50% power but player shuts off. Better use alkaline batteries. NEX ia can also be powered by USB cable from your laptop, or through supplied A/C power adapter.
What's included in the package?
Player (of course), headphones (pretty descent) with remote, 1GB Hitachi microdrive, A/C power adapter, software CD, custom USB cable.
How to get a good value?
Amazon sells 1GB NEX ia for $135. Frontier Labs has $50 rebate. I also bought Viking 1GB flash card, $165, less Viking components $45 rebate, less Amazon's $50 off $250 in electronics = ($135 $165-$50-$45-$50=$155). Just $155 for 2GB of storage and great little player!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $165
Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym
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Epinions.com ID:
msenin
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 0 members
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