mashimaru's Full Review: Latte Communications M1 (2 GB) MP3 Player
I got the Latte M1 MP3 player as an X-mas gift. It is by far the simplest, most basic MP3 player I own.
The Latte M1 comes with a pair of headphones and a manual. It holds 2 gbs.
The shape is deceptively basic - just a glossy black rectangle. And it's certainly the tiniest MP3 player I own. But it's got all the necessities - a power switch, a headphone jack, a mini-USB port, a reset button, and a little loop at one corner for a lanyard or ornament.
The controls are a very simple 4-way button (forward, reverse, volume up & down) with a play/pause button in the middle. These buttons have a blue glow during operation. Also, there's a glowing blob on the player - the Latte logo - that flashes with a blue light when you use it, and also flashes with a red light to indicate certain functions. It's the only decoration of any sort on this very sleek, minimalist player.
Using the Latte M1:
I charged the player by plugging the enclosed mini-USB cable into my computer. It's a plug-n-play device, so I didn't have to install any software.
Adding the songs is a simple drag-and drop process, and the Latte M1 can also be used as a storage device, like a standard USB drive.
Pros:
Sound:
The sound is pretty terrific. Well, as good as any mp3 player I own, anyway. (I use the same set of Sony headphones with each one - it's cheap and basic, but it lets me compare sounds between the players.) I've also plugged it into my home theater system, and have gotten pretty nice sound out of it. No complaints.
Functions:
One of the only "extras" of the Latte M1 is that it has a voice record function. It records the files as 32 kbps *.wma files. It even lets you play back the files on the MP3 player. (I'm not sure what this function is useful for, though - reminders to myself, I guess. Or ... secretly recording conversations? Oooh.)
Battery Life:
No complaint here, either. I haven't timed the use, because there isn't really a way for me to do this. But I've had it for 6 months, use it regularly, and it just seems to go on and on for a very long time before I need to plug it in again.
Cons:
The Latte M1 plays all the songs in order, and doesn't offer an option to choose a "shuffle" mode. So you're stuck listening to all your music in the file order. If you arrange them in folders, it will play them folder-by-folder, but there doesn't seem to be a way to skip over a folder.
In comparison, the iPod Shuffle allows you two playing modes: regular and shuffle. And another basic screen-less player I've used before, the Creative MuVo, allows you not only to choose between those two playing modes, it also lets you skip folders if your files are arranged that way.
Not being able to navigate to a particular song can be kind of frustrating for me. If I was shopping for an MP3 player right now, I'd be willing to pay a little more for something with at least a basic navigation screen. I guess I'm a capricious song-searcher, as well as a bit of a control freak (I confess). But an MP3 player without even a basic screen frustrates me. Sometimes I'm content to let the player decide what I'm gonna hear - after all, it's going to be something I chose to load onto the player. But sometimes, I just need to hear That One Song Right Now. And these "blind" players don't let me do that.
But as far as "blind" players go, I would prefer at least the ability to choose between regular and shuffle playing modes. And if, like the Creative MuVo, there was a way to skip folders, that would be great, too.
So the fact that the Latte M1 doesn't offer a different playing mode is a drawback.
Conclusion:
The Latte M1 is a very basic MP3 player with a minimalist design. It's very simple to use, the controls are very easy to figure out, and it sounds pretty good.
Would I buy the Latte M1 for myself? I would say no because I personally prefer MP3 players with some kind of navigation screen.
But despite that, I enjoy using the Latte M1 a lot, and use it all the time. A player like this is fine if you load it up with (500 of) all your favorites so you don't care which song pops up. And it's perfect to use for working out, during which you probably shouldn't be staring at the little screen on your MP3 player looking for the next song anyway. (Not that I ever do that. Ha ha.)
I think a MP3 player like this is a good second or back-up player. Most people want something bigger with a detailed screen, and maybe some fancy features like video playback, FM receiver, and things like that. But sometimes, you just want to hear some tunes from the most convenient and smallest device you can get.
However, among the many other players you can get with these particular set of features, the Latte M1 would be much better if it offered at least a shuffle function, and the lack of it is its biggest limitation.
If you want something no-frills, the Latte M1 is perfectly fine for a little bit of music in your pocket. What it does do, it does very well. And although I didn't buy this myself, its low cost certainly makes this an attractive purchase. It sounds good, looks sleek, and it's so small and cute.
Although the minimal set of functions available on the M1 was not enough for me to love it, I'm impressed enough with the M1 that I'm interested in looking into Latte's more advanced MP3 players.
MP3 player stores up to 500 songs Player offers 2 gigs of memory Electronic device includes voice recording capabilities Support file Format: FLAC/MP3...More at Overstock.com
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