Best MP3 Solution (In my opinion)
Written: Jan 02 '01 (Updated Aug 20 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cheap Storage Disks, Great Sound, Super Long Battery Life,
Cons: None at this time.
The Bottom Line: I recommend this player to anyone interested in getting a MP3 player! It has the best options for its price. Check out www.ravemp.com to get more information.
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| compro32's Full Review: Rio Rave MP2300 (40 MB) MP3 Player |
1.Reasons For Buying
I absolutely love MP3’s; I am playing songs right now as I type this review. I have about 1,588 MP3’s stored on my computer, so you can see that a portable player is a must for me. But picking the right one can be a problem. There are so many out there, most using different methods and technologies to store the songs. But I have finally found one that suits my needs, and I think it will make anybody looking for the right player happy. This player is unique because it uses little 40Mb Clik! disks as the storage method. Most of the MP3 players on the market use Flash memory to store songs, this method is ok but very expensive, and some players can’t be upgraded to use more memory. But using these cost efficient disks you can get more storage, and better expandability. I paid $299 for the player, and I bought for two extra 40Mb Clik! disks from Compusa. I also loved how small it was compared to a normal CD player.
2.Storage Method
First off these Clik! disks are the perfect solution to the Flash memory problem! Not only are they much cheaper (as cheap as $10 a disk if bought in a quantity of ten!). But they are great and easy to carry around (Each disk comes with a protective clear plastic case). This player comes with two 40Mb disks, which makes it like buying a 80Mb MP3 player. But you can easily buy more and just change the disks, making it unlimited to storage possibilities. I have four disks so it’s like I have a 160Mb MP3 player! That is really great! With this method you also get very fast transfer rates because of the USB, even faster then Flash!! (Up to 1MB per second write and read). And adding songs is extremely simple, all you do is just attach the USB cable and then a removable drive shows up in explorer, just drag and drop the songs u want into the “Music” folder and you are set to go!
3.MP3 Technology
All my music I play is encoded at a 128bitrate, which is CD quality music at 1Mb per minute. So I store about 40 minutes of music on each disk. I can fit about 10-11 songs on each disk, I think that's fine because I have 4 disks. So if I go on a long car ride I have 160 minutes (about 40-44 songs) to bring with me.
4.Battery
The included batter is a Lithium Ion battery that is built in. It has an extremely long running time, I didn’t fully charge mine when I got it and its still running! You can get about 12 hours of play time with this battery, and with the indicator on the screen there is no guessing. And to charge the battery you use the included AC Adapter.
5.Extra Features
Ok there is a lot of stuff that this player has that most don’t. First off this is called a “Digital Media Player/Personal Assistant”, and for a good reason. One example is the built in world time and calendar. Always have the time, date, and month at your fingertips! Another very useful feature is the address book, you can download your MS Outlook or express names, phone numbers, and email addresses to your player! Now if that wasn’t cool enough you get a built in voice recorder. It has a little built in microphone next to the display and you can record up to 2.5 hours of voice on a single clik! disk. And to see in the dark you get a really nice blue backlighting that turns on whenever a button is pushed. Also 5 EQ modes are included, this will insure that no matter what type of music you are listening to it will sound good! I personally always keep mine on “Rock” mode. I never use this feature, but you can change the icons (aka “Skins”) by editing the bitmap on the CD. I tried it and it does work, but I don’t mind the icons it comes with. And last but not least is the Firmware upgradeable feature. This has to be the coolest and most important feature to me. What this means is that if there's a new technology that comes out, or if they come out with a new feature you can go to their web site and download an update! So if a MP4 does come out, most likely it can be updated to play it! (Box says ‘Upgradeable firmware provides future compatibility for new formats and the SDMI compliancy standard’)
6.What is included
Included with the player comes: (2) 40Mb iomega clik! disks, sennheiser headphones, USB port connection cable, AC/DC charger, Users guide, Installation CD with Rave:MP digital media manager, MusicMatch Jukebox 5.0 media player and CD ripper, iomegaWare 2.2.1clik! utilities. Free Emusic tracks included.
7.Specs
80MB of memory with the use of the two included clik! disks. Unlimited expandability with more cliks!
Built-in Iomega 40MB Clik!™ drive
Supports MP3 and Microsoft WMA4, AAC formats
Backlit graphic type LCD (128 x 64 DOT)
12 hours of continuous play with a single charge of the rechargeable lithium ion battery
Built-in microphone
Max output: earphones: 10mW x2
Frequency range:20Hz - 20Khz
Distortion: 0.01 - 0.1%
S/N ratio: -90dB
Weighs 204g (7.2 oz) including battery
Dimensions are 2.83"(wide) x 4.76"(tall) x.87 (thick)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
compro32
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Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 3 members
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