Truly take your tunes everywhere!
Written: Jul 05 '00 (Updated Jul 06 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: expandability, versatility, great sound
Cons: a little bulky compared to others
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| jaylamb's Full Review: i2Go MP3 96MB Player |
All over the internet from Slashdot to CNN.com you'll find the acronym MP3. M-Peg Layer 3, (or MP3)encoding is a popular encoding algorithm to compress relatively large AIFF( the music format on CD's) to much smaller MP3 files. The average 4-5 minute song can be compressed down to a 3-4mb MP3 file from a 40-50mb AIFF encoded file. Add to it the fact that little music quality is lost during compression you now have a viable means of storing large volumes of music in relatively small storage space. This convenience ushered in the proliferation of small devices that natively read and save in the MP3 format. A walkman on steroids.
There have been many portable MP3 offerings by many different companies, but none met my needs quite like the eGO. I needed a small portable device that would see primary use in my car but could come with me to the gym or on the way to class. Though a bit bulkier than competing offerings, that hardly takes away from its appeal and usability. The bright easy to read red text lcd is position on the top, narrow side of the device,( like a pager) so that if it is on your hip , you need only glance down to read the display. This is an invaluable advantage as most other MP3 devices have the display on the broad side of the device, (like the palm pilot). The narrow side lcd position makes the device equally easy to use in the car. If it is mounted on the dash or visor, you only take you eyes off the road for an instant to read the display. With devices that don't use this style, you must handle the device to read the display. This is dangerous while driving, riding a bike, jogging or just walking the streets, as your hearing will likely be impaired by the music. This is not the time to have your music device take your eyes away from your surroundings for any longer than a second or two. The eGO accomplishes this well.
Storage capacity is a plus on this device. The eGO uses a CF+ II( Compact Flash Plus II) slot for storage. This, the 96mb( mb = Megabyte) model comes bundled with a 96mb Compact Flash card for storing your MP3 files. You can get 24-32 songs on a card of this size, which is plenty for your morning jog or walk. If you want more space you're in luck. The eGO's CF+ slot is compatible with IBM's new microdrives. These tiny mechanical hard-drives are available in 170, and 340mb sizes with 512mb and 1gig size slated for this fall. With these drives you can transfer your entire MP3 collection onto a few cards for your listening pleasure. The eGo also has an expansion slot on the underside for attachments. This expansion slot can be used to connected another CF+ slot to have two cards inserted at once. Imagine having 2 one gigabyte microdrive in there! That's over 500 songs of your choice at your fingertips! Compare that to the competing players that use only Smart Media or Compact Flash disks which top out at 128 and 262mb respectively. The eGO scales up and down to most peoples needs well, instead of forcing you to confirm to its limitations.
The controls and buttons are easy to use and with a little time you won't even have to look at the buttons to control it, very important while driving or on the move. The eGO comes with a usb cable to connection your pc, and software to organize your files and playlists. It comes with a visor clip as well as a suction cup clip your windshield ala many radar detectors. The eGO runs on 2 AA batteries or the included car cigarette lighter adapter. Sound out from the eGO can be routed to your car stereo, (or home stereo) via a mini-plug to rca adapter that would connect to the aux input of your stereo or the included tape adapter. Again the eGO shows off its versatility. In addition to MP3 playback the eGO is a voice recorder an email playback device. Some may use the voice recorder but email playback seems frivolous.
Simply put the eGO has the best feature set and expandability of any of the MP3 players. Though not as sleek as the RIO or Nomad it is much more versatile. This is a device that is great today and will grow with you for use later.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jaylamb
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Member: Jason Lamb
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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