In the field of flash memory MP3 players, a new competitor enters the market. But... Intel? What business does Intel have coming into this field? Well folks, the answer will surprise you... it certainly surprised me.

The Intel Pocket Concert Audio Player or PC-AP (cute... sounds like PC app. i.e. appliance) is Intel's first product in the MP3 player world. This unit in a way directly competes with the more established brand names like SONICBlue's Rio and Creative's Nomad product lines. What make the PC-AP stand out is the internal memory. It is a huge 128 MB of flash memory. That means about 2 hours of music encoded at 128 kbps sampling rate. That is double the standard memory of any other flash memory MP3 player in a similar price range! The unit is solid with a few extra goodies that will satisfy just about anyone looking for a flash memory MP3 player. Period!

The name Pocket Concert... well, Intel means giving you a whole pocket concert!

What you get is a fairly small unit (slightly bigger than the Nomad II MG) with brushed aluminum casing and deep blue highlights/trim. There is a large LCD on the front of the unit with three large buttons under it. A play and a forward and reverse search buttons. There are a few other buttons on each side for the hold function, FM tuning, and power... but there is also a jog dial. Now that's a neat way of scrolling thru the menus and the track selections. Pressing the jog dial acts like a accept/enter key as well. The jog dial make the PC-AP extremely simple to use... especially in one hand. Your index finger and your thumb is enough to operate the majority of function on the PC-AP.

Now when you listen to this player and compare it to most others... you'll notice that the volume is quite high and the sound crisp and clear. I am guessing that the signal-to-noise ratio is at least 90. The Rio 800 and the Nomad II MG are 90. (Higher signal-to-noise ratios are better. 90 is pretty good and the standard for most quality MP3 players). Even at the highest volume settings, the sound is still crisp and clear. You'll love it! The specs say the amplifier is 11mW... what?! This is rather powerful for a portable MP3 player. No wonder the playback is so awesome! This may be the best sounding MP3 player yet!

I have to remind you again that this player has 128 MB of flash memory built in. Since Intel has released the PC-AP, SonicBlue introduced the 128MB Rio 800 for $299 and dropped the 64MB version to $219. Creative lowered the price of the Nomad II MG and introduced the cheap Nomad IIc (32MB with additional SmartMedia slot for up to 96MB with 64 MB Smartmedia card and up to 160 MB with 128 MB Smartmedia card). Again, this is approximately 2 hours of music encoded at 128 kbps. The only problem with this? Well, you can't expand the memory. There is no memory backpacks like in the Rio units or SmartMedia slot like in the Nomad units. You only get 128 MB and that's all. Granted that the majority of flash memory MP3 player buyers will not likely need more than that... but for some, it's nice to have the ability to expand the memory of your player in the future.

You have an FM tuner with up to 10 presets. Not as nearly as many as the Nomad II MG but how many do you really need? Reception is good for the unit overall. Nothing earthshattering here.

Unlike the Rio and Nomad units, there is no voice recording option.

The PC-AP supports MP3 and WMA off the bat and can be software upgraded in the future.

The software Intel added to the package is quite nice. You get the full version of MusicMatch Jukebox Plus and Intel's Audio Manager.

Here's something you don't see everyday... a MP3 player with decent headphones. You may still want to buy a good pair but the ones that Intel provides aren't bad. The headphones are the behind your neck style and match the color of the PC-AP unit. At least you don't absolutely have to buy a new pair of headphones!

The unit runs on 2 AAA batteries. However, unlike most other packages, you don't get an AC adapter or a pair of NiNH batteries with the basic package. You have to purchase the accessory kit to get those items. It seems Intel has done its homework on how to scam more money from its customers! Alkalines lasted in the 7-8 hour range with my use. 14+ on just the FM tuner.

Unfortunately, no remote of any kind is available.

You do get a belt clip and a USB cable for the unit. Ummm... wheee... well, it more of Intel making a profit out of you by forcing you to buy the accessory package.

PC-AP Accessory Package

This adds $50 to the price of the player if you purchase the package as a whole or $55-$60 if purchased separately. You get a pair of AAA NIMH, an AC adapter, a carrying case, the car adapter, a docking station, and a set of RCA cables. Now I have to be honest here... you need to buy the bleeding accessory package because buying just two of the above items run almost the same price as the package itself. I think that you do need the AC adapter and the docking station is damn close to being a neccesity itself.

The docking station is very nice. It can stay hooked up to the USB port and has RCA ports in the back for a direct stereo hookup. You can also recharge the batteries through the docking station and upload songs to the PC-AP through it. You can even play music through the stereo since the AC adapter powers the unit... no need to turn on your PC! The docking station is a must for this unit.

I'm rather upset at Intel's decision on this package. The Nomad II MG comes with the rechargable batteries, AC adapter, and docking station in the package already! Intel wants you to pay an additional $50-60 for it. The car cassette adapter is nice but is unneccesary and you DON'T get a cigarette power adapter with it. The carrying case is nice but again... you don't need it!

This makes the setup for the PC-AP with accessory kit run in the $330-$350 range instead of the $275-$305 for just the base package (I'm adding S&H and/or tax into the price already). The Nomad can be bought as low as $235 with S&H from many e-tailers and another $47-$65 will buy a 64MB SmartMedia card to bring the memory to 128 MB. The Rio runs $180-$219 for its 64MB memory but the prohibitive cost of the Rio 128MB backpack ($170) makes the Rio 800 192MB version a high $350-$389... might as well pay the $599 to buy the Rio 800 Extreme 384MB model. Then, SonicBlue thought of making a 128MB Rio player for $299. Now we have some true competition from SonicBlue against Intel's PC-AP. The 128MB Rio 800 player could be found as low as $249 at some places. Note that the Rio 800 does come with NiMH batteries and a bit more accessories that Intel would have you pay for through the accessory kit. Talk about a tight market!

Conclusions

Overall, this is a simple MP3 player with excellent sound quality and a large memory for the price but it is not the killer deal Intel wants you to think it is. The accessory kit has items that usually come with other brand name MP3 players (i.e. SONICBlue's Rio and Creative's Nomad) although the docking station is extremely nice. It will satisfy many users. However, the price should be noted with the accessory package... You are likely going to need rechargable batteries (which will run $15-25 with a charger), the AC adapter, and the docking station.

Again, the unit costs $299 retail for the base package. I've seen prices in the $245-255 range online from Amazon and buy.com. The lowest price I've seen to date is $219. The Nomad runs about $235 at Amazon, buy.com, and Computers4sure.com. The Rio 800 64MB runs around $209-$219 at these same stores and the Rio 800 128MB runs $285-$289. Now considering the majority will want to buy the PC-AP with the accessory kit, the price jumps to $322 at Amazon before S&H is added. With S&H, it is near $330 for the package. Consider the Nomad II MG bought from Amazon.com... with S&H it will be $240. The 64MB SmartMedia card can be bought for $59 at newegg.com with free FedEx delivery... if you want a more trustworthy store, buy.com sells 64MB for as low as $75 = $80 with S&H. The total will run between $299 to $320. At most, a ten dollar difference! With these packages, the Nomad II MG doesn't come with a car cassette adapter or a nice carrying case but has everything else the PC-AP has (just a slightly worse docking station and less powerful amplifier). The PC-AP loses the ability to voice record, to record FM station programs, and expandable memory (as the SmartMedia prices come down). Note that for spending $120-$130 for a 128MB SmartMedia card, you get a 192 MB Nomad II MG for under $400. Another thing to note is that the SmartMedia card can be swapped with compatible devices like digital cameras (like Fuji and Olympus branded digital cameras). These are things you have to consider! If you want a simpler solution, look at the Rio 800 128MB player for $299!

As much as I like the PC-AP, I still prefer my Nomad II MG. However, look at this and the Rio 800 and Nomad II MG and decide what you really need from your MP3 player. If you want the best available sound with a large amount of memory, the Intel Pocket Concert may be just what you're looking for after all! Just make sure that you want to spend this amount of money for a flash memory player.

Also read my reviews on the
Rio 800: (cut and paste link)
http://yusakugo.epinions.com/content_11880205956

Nomad II MG: (cut and paste link)
http://yusakugo.epinions.com/content_12093918852

Look at my ebates.com review to get additional discounts if you want to purchase one of mentioned MP3 players... you'll be glad that you did!

Ebates.com: (cut and paste link)
http://yusakugo.epinions.com/content_11868081796

Read my commentary on various MP3 players: (cut and paste link)
http://yusakugo.epinions.com/content_1025089668

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 310 with kit