Competition For IPOD? - You Bet!
Written: Feb 08 '06
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Pros: Small Size, Great Price, FM Receiver, Voice Recorder, Great Sound, Not Apple!
Cons: Small Size, Support Web Site, Battery Life could be better.
The Bottom Line: This is a great alternative to IPOD. Its smaller, better sound quality, and extremely easy to use. 1GB of file storage for any files. Everything you need is included.
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| deschmann's Full Review: Hyun Won Cube (1 GB) MP3 Player |
Overview:
I got this great little MP3 player in November 2005, prior to what I predicted would be a massive Christmas rush on this device. I did a lot of research on this MP3 player, and other than a lack of information on long term durability, most positive reviews of this item are dead on. Its small (the size of a quarter), easy to use, plays music, records sound, has an FM receiver, USB compatible, has great sound, and a variety of equalizer options. Only a lack of advertising is what is keeping mobiBLU from the mainstream consumer.
Purchasing MobiBLU:
I bought the mobiBLU for $130 retail from Walmart.com. I was reluctant to buy from Walmart, but that was the only available retailer at the time of purchase (Nov 2005). The mobiBLU came well packaged in a cute little cube box. It now appears the mobiblu is available from Target Direct as well.
MobiBLU comes with a lanyard/headphone set, USB battery charger/downloader, rubber shock absorber to place around the outside, and instruction manual.
I also purchased a wall charger for an extra $20. The wall charger is not required as the mobiBLU charges right through the USB connection, but if I am on a trip, I might not have access to a PC, so it seemed prudent to spend the extra money.
When first using the mobiBLU it is suggested you go to the mobiBLU home page and upgrade to the latest firmware. Its as easy as downloading the upgrade application and downloading to the mobiBLU player.
Features:
Size
The mobiBLU has a wealth of features. First off you will notice the small size. Search web sites for data and images on the mobiBLU and you can fine some screen shots showing it to be the size of a bulletin board pin, quarter, and smaller than a battery. This is no lie, it is very small, which is a pro and a con.
OLED Screen
The mobiBLU has a small OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen. The OLED screen is bright, and sharp. The use of OLED technology cuts down on battery drain, and provides a sharper image than other LCD technology. The OLED screen is also something many previous IPODs did not have. It is great for navigation, and to see the songs currently playing.
Recharging and Downloading
MobiBLU downloads songs and is recharged all through its one headphone jack. The one connection point contributed to making the mobiBLU the smallest MP3 player out there. You connect to the PC using the included USB cable that plugs into the headphone jack.
MobiBLU connects to your PC just as any other USB device would. One of the GREATEST things about MobiBLU is that basically it is a 1GB jump drive that plays music. That's right, you can store any files you want on the mobiBLU as it is just a block of memory that plays music. Copy music to mobiBLU by dragging and dropping files from the Windows file explorer.
Obviously you can't play a word text file, but you can take mobiBLU to a friends house, listen to music, and take any files you want back home with you.
While your mobiBLU is plugged into the PC downloading music, it is also being recharged. I would have preferred mobiBLU come with a wall charger, but you should be able to charge often enough by hooking up to your PC.
One con of the mobiBLU is the short battery life. Its spec'd out at 10 hours, but I would expect a little less. I tend not to run the battery all the way down, but have listened for 7 hours before recharging. The IPOD has a much larger battery life than mobiBLU.
Listening
The mobiBLU comes with a set of headphones that double as a lanyard to hold it around your neck. The headphones are of the earbud type and are connected directly to the necklace like apparatus. It can get a little tangled up, but if you are not into having the mobiBLU around your neck, you can plug any other headphones in and they will work fine. The lanyard also fastens securely to the mobiBLU, so even if the headphone jack were to disconnect, it would still be held to the lanyard around your neck.
Sound quality of the mobiBLU is fantastic, with good treble and great bass. There are also equalizer settings for anyone daring enough to tweak around the sound options.
The headphone plug is pretty tight, and you really need to push it in and hear it snap for it to be put in correctly. I know one time, my mom thought her mobiBLU was broken because she hadn't plugged the headphones in all the way because of this additional snap. She could see it playing, but heard no music. Once she forced the jack in, it worked fine.
FM Receiver
The mobiBLU also contains an FM receiver for listening to the radio. I haven't used this option much, but reception seemed adequate. I wouldn't plan on listening extensively to the radio, as a device this small is bound to not get as good as reception because it doesn't have a huge antenna. But, if you are planning on listening to TV's at the gym, it should receive the stations fine.
Recording Sound
The mobiBLU also has a sound recorder feature. I haven't used this feature at all, but documentation states the mobiBLU will save voice recordings. I mention it here as just another of the many features.
Navigation
You navigate the mobiBLU with five buttons on its side arrayed similar to a remote control. There is the up and down arrows for increasing and decreasing volume. There are left and right buttons for previous track and next track. There is a center button for play/pause.
Navigation is pretty intuitive for a techie like myself, but my mom got one for Christmas, she's no engineer, and she was able to get the hang of it.
The OLED screen will shut off to conserve batteries while playing songs and not actively navigating. When you do use the buttons it will snap back on though. A nice power save feature.
If you have large hands, it is definitely possible the buttons will be difficult to use. Remember the mobiBLU is the size of a quarter, so there's five buttons on that quarter for you to press. Luckily you can usually just hit play and hear great music.
MobiBLU Pros
This is a great little MP3 player. It is not large and bulky, it has great sound, it is easy to use, you can store a lot of songs (at 1GB, with 5MB songs, you can get 200 on here), and listen to the radio when you want to.
One of the things I love most is that if you have a large library of MP3's, you can just copy them right to this device. You don't need to subscribe to a music service, but some sites are supported (I don't think ITunes is at this time).
I also love the fact that this device doubles as a USB jump drive, meaning you can copy an files you want to ths mobiBLU. The FM tuner is a nice addition, and voice recorder is fine (but I wouldn't be upset if it were left off).
CONS of MobiBLU
The mobiBLU is very small. You can lose it easily, it may also be difficult for those with large fingers to manipulate the controls.
Battery life is a little short at 10 hours, but I can live with that. I wish it came with a wall charger, but the computer charging is fine. I mean at least they don't force you to buy it in order to charge it up.
Support is a little lacking at the writing of this review. It consists of a BLOG page. Not even a forum, but a BLOG with tech support at mobiBLU.
Since this device is new, there is also very little information on long term reliability of this device. I've been careful with mine, and used it weekly, if not daily for 3 months now. Everything works fine.
Lastly the headphones really need to be forced into the jack. This isn't all bad, as it ensures a secure connection, but for first time users it can almost seem like you are going to break the thing.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 130.00
Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym
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Epinions.com ID:
deschmann
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Location: Rochester, NY, USA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
I am 32 years old and a Computer Engineer (RIT Graduate 1999).
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