The Bottom Line: Like I said, I love a good deal on a great product. The DJ certainly won't disappoint and will provide you with hours of music enjoyment. Have fun!
trippingmsu's Full Review: Dell DJ (20 GB) MP3 Player
I actually purchased a 2nd generation Dell DJ 20 early this year. A friend of mine has the earlier model, and it seemed like a decent alternative to the ipod, so I took the plunge and have been nothing short of pleasantly surprised ever since.
The first (and to some, most important) benefit is the price difference from the DJ to the ipod. I couldn't justify spending $400 on an ipod and its accessories when I could do so with the Dell stuff for just over $250 ($199 for the player, umpteen for shipping, and 20 or 30 bucks for a protective case, which has held up exceptionally well). I found that every component (if bought from the two websites) was being sold from Dell for, on average, $10 cheaper than Apple. For the very same component!
I was slightly confused when I first got the box and there were all these cables in there, but they've turned out to be pretty great. The DJ connects to a cord via Firewire, and then to the computer through USB 2.0. The "DJ" end of the connector cable has an extra port through which the power source connects. Seems simple enough, but I found it to be convenient.
The DJ appeared to receive a bit of a facelift from the 1st gen model. It's smaller in almost all dimensions, with a much more sleak look to it. The volume controls, if I remember correctly, were on the side on the 1st gen, whereas now all controls have moved to the top, alongside where the headphones plug in.
The DJ itself is very easy to use, though I would've liked to have had a hard copy of the user manual when I first got it (I found out later that it came on one of the software CDs, and could be accessed at my leisure). I've tried the ipod "wheel" controls before, and as much fun as those are, I find the Dell scroll button much easier to use. The scroll button also works as an "enter" key, if you will. Scroll to your category, press it, and away you go. With the back and home buttons, it's easy to get to any category on the thing quickly. My friend with the 1st gen always complains b/c apparently his DJ doesn't have a "Play all Music Tracks" option. Mine does. Of course, in the "Play Mode" category, you can switch between repeat, shuffle, etc. There are settings options for the backlight (to conserve battery life), and apparently a date and time option, but honestly I never use the on-board calendar, nor the clock (for some reason, it won't keep consistent time ... the one quark).
Battery life on this thing is amazing! I've worked 12 hour days where it was still going strong, and I've heard the horror stories with ipods dying after a couple hours, though I hear that's being remedied as we speak over at Apple. Either way, it seems to charge relatively fast and last a very long time.
As for the software, it's one of my very favorite things about the DJ. Musicmatch leaves something to be desired, and frankly I've never cared much for their product. DJ Explorer, however, is a terrific alternative. It opens up and you can go either to the data library (if you use the device as a jump drive, which I've done transferring files to and from work), or to the music library. Once in the music library, you can track down files based on genre, artist, or album. Track properties (such as those listed above) can be edited quickly, or entire selections of songs can be edited for album, artist, or genre in one shot. For someone who's music collection was in disarray, this was a true blessing!
In short, I'm one who doesn't mind sacrificing the "hip" factor when I'm getting a good deal on a good quality product. the DJ has easily exceeded any and all expectations I've had for an MP3 player and I highly reccommend it to anyone who's shopping for one.
PS - I did just forget one thing: keep in mind that the DJ is a hard-drive based MP3 player. It's not something you can take on a jog (at least I wouldn't), for fear of damaging the disk. If that's what you're looking for, I suggest the ipod shuffle; however, that's not what I was looking for ... I needed something to store all my music for a long time, and I found that in the DJ. Hope this helped!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250 Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
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