Great in and out of the car
Written: Mar 08 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Lots of storage, great car kit, good company, upgradeable, expandable, uses standard storage format
Cons: slow transfers, belt clip blocks battery compartment, rechargeable battery would be nice
|
|
|
| IronHelix's Full Review: i2Go MP3 96MB Player |
I bought this thing about a year ago because it seemed like it would not get outdated. I was right. The eGo comes with a 96MB standard CompactFlash card which I also use in a digital camera and a handheld PC, all work at the same time without reformatting. Other devices use a proprietary format on the card. The eGo also supports software upgrades (flash firmware, AKA eGo Boost) that give it more features like better battery life or additional playback/recording options. It also supports hardware upgrades with an expansion slot (the carGo slot) on the bottom, and a bay for the expansion (so it does not make it bigger). Currently the only expansion is a second CompactFlash card, but more will come. The device has an 8-character LCiD Display (it glows red), internal speaker, external headphone plug, and a mic for recording. It is a little bigger than i had expected, being almost as tall as a soda can. The CompactFlash slot is in the back, and has a fold-down eject button. This is kind of fragile. I have taped that button in the folded down position, as I have no trouble pulling the card out. The card sticks out of the unit a little bit, just enough to grab the little bump on the bottom of the card. I have no problems with this arrangement, except I would have put a little 'well' for the button to fold down into (so it wouldnt get stuck on things and unfold).
When you open the box (which is kind of small, but packed full with stuff) you will find the eGo, batteries, the card, the cable (which is a standard USB cable, available at CompUSA or BestBuy if you lose it), generic earplug headphones, a carrying case made of wetsuit material, and the CD with software. You also find a FULL car kit-- lighter plug with coily AND straight cables, tape deck adapter, and windshield (radar detector style) and visor mounts. The mounts have a tab that locks into the back of the unit and releases with a button on the side.
The unit is pretty easy to operate. The menus on the device are a bit confusing at first but i2go (the company that makes it) includes a great Getting Started sheet which explains it well. Once you read the sheet you are automatically a pro. The software is great too, and I had no problems setting it up. The songs transfer more slowly than I would expect for a USB connection, so you might want to pick up a PC card to CF card adapter (which they sell, ~$20) or a USB-CF adapter from another company for about ~$30. With one of these you will be able to fill the entire 96MB in about 30 seconds. With the included connection it takes about 4-5 minutes to fill it up. The software lets you put playlists (.PLS and .M3U) onto your eGo, and you can store your playlists on their website. They have just FULLY REDONE their website and are now making a major content play. You sign up for MP3 'channels', sort of like AvantGo except in spoken word. Then it will update and download these every time you plug in. There is a wide selection of channels to choose from. Then you can listen to news, sports, etc. on the go. Useful, especially if you don't have a PDA.
Playback is great. The sound quality is very good, especially with good phones (which they sell too, several types). The internal speaker is a bit tinny but sounds great at low volume right up next to your ear. Hey, its only 1". Its not that loud, but its enough to let your friends listen in easily. It includes bass and treble controls (in soft menus) that will adjust each from -15 to +15. Very useful. ID3 info is scrolled on the display, of you can set it to show you play time, or real (clock) time.
But it also has some new great features. For example, you can have it get your email from any POP3 server and put it on your eGo as MP3 files (MP3Mail). There are several computerized voices to choose from. Then you can record a response in MP3 and it is send back to the sender as an attachment to the email. If you get a reply to that in MP3, it automatically puts it on your player (MP3Chat), which means you can keep swapping voice messages. Very cool. You can record memos in MP3, which you can then download onto your PC for later use.
The device is designed mainly for use in the car. But it works well as a portable too. My only complaint is that you have to unscrew the belt clip to replace the batteries. It lasts about 5 hours with a standard CompactFlash card. I would not suggest a Microdrive on batteries, it would last about 20 minutes. Microdrives are great in the car though, and if that's your real use for it then get the 340MB Microdrive.
Overall, its a great little gadget. The company is very responsive, and if you email them they will answer all of your questions. They also love user feedback, so if you send them an idea theres a good chance it will be in the next release. I say its worth the $$. You will not be disappointed.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
IronHelix
|
|
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 2 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.