A power walker’s guide to the Intel Pocket Concert player
Written: May 05 '01 (Updated May 06 '01)
Product Rating:
Sound:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
Portability:
Battery Life:
Pros: Compact, light, large storage capacity, excellent sound quality
Cons: Poor FM tuner reception
The Bottom Line: For a memory-based MP3 player, you can't beat the Pocket Concert. As long as you don't mind a poor FM tuner, this is an excellent choice!
tanster's Full Review: Intel Pocket Concert (128 MB) MP3 Player
If youve read any of my other reviews, you know that I love to eat. In the course of the past year, this pastime has landed me in a state of, shall we say, augmented density.
It was time to dust off the ol treadmill and go for the burn.
I thought an MP3 player would be just the motivation I needed to walk that extra mile. Theres nothing like the driving beat of a good dance song to turn a simple walk into a high-energy and endorphin-inducing jaunt.
What I was looking for in an MP3 player
Since Id be using it mainly while power walking on my treadmill, I wanted a light and compact player that I could easily clip on to my shorts. I also wanted a player that would hold more than an hours worth of music, since I wanted to pick and choose a different set of songs from a relatively long song list each time I exercised.
After conducting my normally obsessive amount of research, I decided to purchase the Intel Pocket Concert.
Out of the box
The Pocket Concert comes with a pair of headphones, a belt clip, a USB cable, a pair of AAA batteries, a Quick Start card, and a CD containing a audio sampler, in addition to two programs for transferring files Intels own Audio Manager (simple) and MusicMatch Jukebox (full-featured and more complicated).
Setting it up
First, insert the batteries, connect the headphones, and attach the belt clip. Next, install Intels Audio Manager and MusicMatch Jukebox. Finally, connect the USB cable. Windows will detect the new device, install the drivers, and now youre ready to transfer songs!
Copying songs from the PC to the player
I cant imagine a simpler program for transferring songs than Intels own Audio Manager. The program displays two panes the left pane lists the songs stored on your PC, and the right pane shows the songs stored on the player. Simply select the songs you want from the left pane, click the transfer to player button, and the songs are copied to the player.
The Pocket Concert supports MP3 and WMA file formats, and is upgradeable to support new codecs and standards.
The high-speed USB cable allows fast file transfer I copied 43 songs, totaling two hours and fifty-three minutes in play time, in 96kbps WMA format, and about 125MB in size, in 11 minutes. (For workout purposes, 96kbps is perfectly acceptable quality.)
A small note about memory
The Pocket Concert comes with 128 MB of built-in flash memory. What the sales documentation doesn't tell you, however, is that only 125.5 MB of that memory is available for copying files. Intel estimates that you can store as much as four hours of music on the Pocket Concert, but you'd have to use a pretty low-quality file format (lower than WMA 96kbps) to make that possible.
Power walking with the Pocket Concert
Its a joy to power walk with the Pocket Concert. First, the player easily fits in the palm of my hand (3.8 inches tall x 2.4 inches wide x .9 inches thick) and is relatively light (3.4 ounces without batteries).
The belt clip easily accommodates thin waistbands (like on cotton shorts) and thick waistbands (like denim pants).
The headphones that come with the Pocket Concert are actually called neckphones instead of wrapping on top of your head, they wrap around the back of your head. I was initially skeptical at how such a design could actually stay on my head while walking vigorously, but I had no problem whatsoever. (They wrap over the ears so theyre quite secure.)
The small (2 inches wide x 1 inch tall) blue backlit display shows the current track number, song title, and elapsed as well as a battery indicator.
The sound quality is absolutely amazing, even if you dont adjust the included treble and bass settings.
There are only three front-panel buttons: Rewind, Play/Pause, and Fast Forward. The Rewind and Fast Forward buttons can either scan the current track, or jump to the previous/next track. You can also set Repeat and Random play modes.
The power switch has three modes: On, Off, and Lock which locks all of the players buttons except for volume, making it quite convenient for exercising.
The volume control is located at the top of the player, and consists of two buttons, one to increase and one to decrease volume. I really like buttons instead of a more traditional dial because the buttons are a lot less prone to accidental (and ear-splitting) volume changes.
Speaking of volume, this player is loud. The loudness bar on the display shows 20 tick marks, and I rarely set it over 11 (and thats with the din of the treadmill competing in the background).
Intel claims 10 hours of battery life, and I wont disagree. Ive used the player for about eight hours now, and it shows no signs of juicing down.
What I dont like
As well-designed as the Pocket Concert is, it isnt perfect. For one, its included FM tuner (with 10 presets) has rather poor reception. My audiophile friend, who also purchased the Pocket Concert, eventually returned the player for this very reason. If your dream MP3 player must include a good FM tuner, then definitely skip over the Pocket Concert.
Second, is it possible for a headphone cord to be too long? Perhaps this is less a fault of the Pocket Concert and more due to me being a klutz, because I have become entangled in the 4-foot cord on more than one occasion, causing the player to go flying off my belt, and me flying off the treadmill. Not a pretty sight.
Shopping
I purchased the Pocket Concert from www.provantage.com for a grand total of $273.40 (which includes shipping and tax).
If you hate disco, skip this section
I must say a little bit about the songs I work out to. Pure disco, baby! First, I rip my favorite dance tunes from my CD collection. Then, using a nifty little freeware Palm app called BRC, I calculate the BPM for each song, and then copy them on to the Pocket Concert in ascending BPM order. This way, I can always start my workouts slowly at 108 BPM (about 2.7 MPH), and end with a heart-jolting 148 BPM (over 4 MPH).
Obsessive, arent I?
Well, heres some sample data in case youre curious:
- Rock the Boat, Hues Corporation, BPM 112
- Boogie Nights, Heatwave, BPM 124
- YMCA, Village People, BPM 132
For more information
See Intels website at www.intel.com/home/audio/ for more information, including frequency response, total harmonic distortion, maximum output, all that nerdy stuff.
All in all
Ive been very happy with the Intel Pocket Concert its small, light, holds enough music for hours of workouts (oh joy), and produces wonderful sound. I dont think any other memory-based MP3 player can compare.
I still hate to exercise. But at least I now get to re-live my disco glory years every time I step on that treadmill.
You can dance, you can jive
Having the time of your life
See that girl, watch that scene
Diggin the Treadmill Queen.
128 MB of built-in memory--over 4 hours of music Digital FM radio with 10 presets Supports MP3 and WMA; upgradeable to support future digital standard...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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