dpeck's Full Review: RCA RD1000 Kazoo (32 MB) MP3 Player
I did a heck of a lot of research before finally deciding on my RCA Kazoo Mp3 Player. There are so many models out there.. Different sizes, different memory, different ways in which they connect to your computer, different expansion options, etc, etc, etc...
I decided I wanted something with the following:
-Small
-Simple
-USB (faster)
That's it, really. The Kazoo fills these requirements with ease. First, it is very small. Most of the size comes from battery storage (2 aaa batteries) -- And it sits right in the palm of your hand. The size is wonderful. It goes so easily on my belt and doesn't get in the way of sitting down or anything. It's smaller than a pager.
The way the buttons are placed on the unit is done very well. The forward back play and stop buttons on the front (yes, you can seek through a track with audio), and then on the one side is the volume buttons, and on the other are mode (loop all, shuffle), and an EQ button (to change the way the music sounds from BASS to Flat to Rock, etc). It sounds good.. Overall.. If it is a very quiet song and you're in a very quiet environment, you can hear a bit of a buzz or hiss, but I think part of that is just the nature of Mp3 files.. There is also a HOLD switch so you don't press a button by mistake, as well as a feature that will turn your unit off after so many seconds on pause or inactive... Me, I clip the unit on my belt in front of my left pocket, run the headphone wire under my shirt and put the headphones around my neck. This way I am always wired for music.
Let me take a moment to comment on the headphones that come with the unit. They are very good quality and comfortable, too! Most included headphones suffer in quality, but these deliver very nice sound, and the band goes around the back of your head, which is nice, too.
Simple. The unit is the bare basics. Operation is easy. Just like a CD player. Hooking it to your PC is easy. Just follow the instructions for the first time and you're good to go. And the USB makes it fast to transfer music to your unit.
The things that aren't so great:
a) The LED doesn't show the name of the song and all that... It just shows a track number and the time increment.. Which is really ok with me, because i know what I'm listening to.. Some people might be picky about this, but not I.
b) I hear battery life is anywhere from 6-12 hours? Not sure. I'm still on my first set.. I'd say i've put a few hours into it.. Just stock up on batteries.. That's what I'll do.. Maybe one day in the future, everything will be internally powered or will be rechargable. Until then, batteries are a must. 6 hours is nothing to complain about. better than most CD players...
c) The belt holder accessory could be a bit better designed.. It's like a clear plastic thing that the unit slides into and then snaps with two buttons.. And then you can slide your belt through the slot.. They could've come up with somethinge better. It's exceedingly difficult to get the unit in and out of the plastic thing.
That's about it. Nothing really to complain about. I'm going to give it 4 stars.. Because it's not perfect... But for me, it's what I need. I don't need top of the line for my MP3 player.. Although I WILL be getting a memory card to upgrade the space (there is a little slot right on the side of the unit for that). Right now it will hold about 7 songs at 128kb.
32 MB flash memory for skip-free playback Plays MP3 audio format USB connection for fast downloads Additional memory slot for MMC cards Windows compat...More at Amazon Marketplace
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