A Nice All-In-One To Carry Around
Written: Jan 19 '05
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Pros: voice/fm recording, mp3/wma player, equalizer
Cons: proprietary drivers, confusing UI
The Bottom Line: A good buy for someone who's looking for an all-in-one.
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| paulygon's Full Review: Pogo RipFlash Trio (128 MB) MP3 Player |
I've had one of these units for a couple of months now and I'm rather impressed. It was only $100, so I don't have to worry a great deal about it getting banged around, making it handy to carry around in my pocket.
The majority of use I get out of it is in recording audio for video overdubs. My digital video camera has a crappy microphone in it that picks up almost nothing of help, but I can stick my RipFlash in my pocket, string the external microphone under my shirt to clip onto my collar, and then overdub the RipFlash's recording into my video. The quality (through the included external mic) is quite high, and you can set the player to record MP3 at anywhere between 32 and 112 kbps. For this task the unit is a lifesaver, and I could easily have bought a machine designed to do only this task for the same price.
I carry my camera and my RipFlash around in my pocket 90% of the time I'm away from home, and since my camera plays MP3s also, I rarely use the RipFlash to play MP3s. But the experience I've had with it has been very good. There even seems to be some preset equalizer settings. However, the stock headphones are crap. Buy some good ones at Target for $10, and get a $2 2.5mm->3.5mm phone jack adapter at RadioShack.
The FM radio is OK. As long as you can get the reception clear (and BTW, you're headphones act as an antenna), you can record a fixed 96 kbps. This quality seems to work pretty well for voice, but I've never actually tried to record music.
There are a few points I don't like about the device. For one thing, you have to use POGO's proprietary software to upload/download files with the unit, which is unlike many MP3 players which you can plug into your Windows computer as a "Removable Disk". Since the drivers are proprietary, this cancels the idea of trying to use the device with Linux. Also, even though the manual says you can charge the battery through the USB cable, GOOD LUCK! I can't get it to work, after following all of their steps.
A nice thing about the device, in general, is that the software is upgradable. So you can download a new OS version if POGO fixes bugs or adds features.
Overall, a nice product. Mine was a gift, but in different circumstances I would have bought one anyway.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 100
Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym
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Epinions.com ID:
paulygon
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Location: Livin' in the midwest
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
"Point me towards the tube and I'll be just fine" - Becker/Fagen
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