A Must for Mopping!
Written: Jul 10 '02 (Updated Jul 10 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: small, durable, convenient, cheap
Cons: buggy software
The Bottom Line: I'd definately buy this again, and I do recommend it to anyone shopping for a basic MP3 player.
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| oatest's Full Review: FID Irock 520 (64 MB) MP3 Player |
Being a poor college student in a college town, I needed a job and jobs are hard to come by. I ended up mopping hallways at 5am every morning. I desperately needed something to help me forget what I was doing (mopping requires very little thinking). I tried an AM/FM Walkman, but found myself irritated at the frequent interruptions for talking and commercials. I tried a portable CD player, but I like to really get shakin' when I mop- thus, the CD's would skip. Also, carrying a bunch of CD's and swapping them while trying to work was an interruption.
I decided what I need is an MP3 player that is very small and durable, and not completely eat through batteries. I came across the iRock 64MB MP3 player, and it was these things in addition to being under 100 bucks. Perfect!
From then on, work wasn't really work. I just woke up early and listened to my favorite songs, which i got to pick depending on what I felt like listening to that morning, and danced around with a mop. On tired days, when I wasn't exactly dancing, i could at least zone out to the nonstop good music and keep my brain asleep.
As far as battery life, I usually got about 8 hours of loud music out of a single AAA, from what I've heard is decent for an MP3 player. I just picked up a huge pack of Duracell's from Cosco (that's the only way to buy batteries!) and I went through a few of these big packs over the course of the year. I can't imagine paying for those little expensive 4-packs all the time- I would be buying batteries whenever I bought milk too!
Sound quality is excellent, as far as my ears are concerned. I'm definately no audiophile- I can't tell the difference between CD and MP3 sounds. There is even different EQ presets such as 'jazz', 'rock', etc. For most types of music I thought the 'flat' EQ preset sounded the best. Also, there is a 'bass boost' option- I don't like it though. The bass sound generated without it is well rounded and full, only to become overbearing and muddy sounding with it turned on (I guess it could be more beneficial with certain types of music, however).
The provided headphones are the ear bud kind that fit inside your ear. I thought these were fine enough, but the player has the standard 3.5mm headphone jack if you want to use others.
I've dropped the iRock many times and it never breaks. I mean I've really dropped it! I think its been stepped on also, but I can't say for sure. Needless to say, the iRock is tough and I'm sure it wouldn't mind at least a small person stepping on it...
The only think that I really didn't like was the audio manager software provided. It is very cumbersome and buggy, at least on my system (I rarely have errors or problems). I don't know how many people have had problems with this software, but it acts the same on several computers I've tried. It is usable, however. You will be able to upload your songs to the iRock.
If you decide to buy this product, please try and find a job better than mopping. If you can't then you've just made you're job a whole lot better.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
oatest
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Member: Thomas Oates
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 5 members
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