Pros: Good user interface, cheaper that most competitors, lots of disk space. Battery life.
Cons: poor included ear-buds, no FM tuner, documentation.
The Bottom Line: A very compact, easy to use player, with enough disk space for a large number of songs. The included feature-rich MusicMatch software is fun to use on Windows computers.
glenhamilton's Full Review: Dell Pocket DJ (5 GB) MP3 Player
For Christmas, I purchased the new Dell “Pocket DJ” as one gift for my wife. In advance of the purchase I looked closely at the Apple Mini iPod and had an opportunity to play with one for 3 days that belonged to a friend. Having converted myself from being part of the “I-cult” to becoming a Windows user many years ago, I admit being biased against the iPod due to so many personal issues with Apple and their products in the past. Nonetheless, I did try it for comparison. Secondly, I tried the Creative Labs “Zen” unit for a few days. I easily decided on the Dell DJ.
General Comparisons (based on our purchase decision)
When I bought the Dell Pocket DJ and used it for a week, I was greatly impressed. At the time of this writing, it compared very closely to the mini iPod… it’s about the same size (slight difference), 20% more disk space (5Gig instead of 4Gig on the iPod), and $60 cheaper. To me, it was a no-brainer choice. This product will give iPod some stiff competition. My wife is not a geek and seems easily confused about some computer operations. This is why I wanted something simple to use. She is very pleased with the DJ and quite comfortable using it with MusicMatch software. DJ is lightweight, portable, and fits in any pocket without the size being a distraction to the user.
Windows Software Installation:
IMPORTANT: If you want setup to go more smoothly, you are wise to follow instructions and install the software BEFORE connecting the DJ to your computer. Actually, this is true of all computer devices such as cameras, MP3 players, scanners, printers, etc. The purpose is the get the software driver (communication software from computer to device) onto the Windows operating system so that when the device is connected, Windows will find the appropriate software driver in the Windows registry and configure it. Only a few common generic devices (such as some printers) already have drivers built into Windows. If you plug in the device before installing software, the process will require manual configuration, take longer, and run the risk of installing the wrong driver. Furthermore, installation is the weakest part of this product, so it is not clear as to what you should do. Dell could have done a better job here of detecting an existing version of MusicMatch software on the computer, but didn’t. It might confuse you during installation as to what selection to make.
One other point about Installation of MusicMatch (MM) software (Dell version or full version). DON’T CHANGE the default installation folder. There is a problem I reported to them about Windows always popping up the “C:\Program Files\Component” folder when Windows starts. It’s a nuisance that this folder always appears and you have to close it. Otherwise there is no harm. It is interesting that when I did a Google search on the Internet, people complained about this window popping up, but nobody ever realized or tied the source of the problem back to MM. Even if you uninstall MM, the problem still occurs. Only a tedious Windows registry change will fix the problem until MM comes out with a fix. This is an oversight by MM. Enough geek talk, on with the review.
Support for MusicMatch Jukebox:
One of the more significant decision points for us is that we have all of our mp3 music in “MusicMatch Jukebox” and we aren’t that fond of iTunes (another iCult product), after having tried it. Don’t get me wrong, iTunes is a good product. It is a personal taste issue. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, MusicMatch did not support the iPod although this might change in future versions. Using MusicMatch with the Pocket DJ was a breeze. We already had the full version 10.0 of MusicMatch Plus, so I did not install the Dell limited version. I highly recommend upgrading to MusicMatch Plus in order to get better features on CD ripping and encoding.
Hardware Comments:
You can easily find specs in any other review or on the Internet. However, our comments on the important specs included the following:
USB 2 communications interface: USB 2.0 is ten times faster than the older USB 1.1 standard of a couple years ago. Thus, a large number of music files will download much faster, but still takes a long time if you have thousands of songs. Downloading 1,000 songs can take an hour or more. Practically all recent MP3 devices will support this standard so it shouldn’t be a comparison point with competitive devices. If you have an older USB 1.1 card, lookout… you are in for a long download of many hours. Consider upgrading with a plug-in card. They can be bought for a little as $25 for a decent card.
Ten-hour battery life: This is easily more than we would ever use in one or two days of use. DJ appears to live up to this spec. At least we are able to get 9 hours or more. Your mileage will vary. Much of this depends on how often you skip songs or hop around with different selections. The longest times can be achieved by letting it just play through your lists. Use of the menu and backlighting will reduce life. With constant fiddling around on the player, you might only get 7 hours before charging is needed. The rechargeable battery is not user-replaceable, at least not easily. In a couple of years, Lithium Ion batteries will need replacement after a few hundred charging cycles. The included charger plugs into the same USB connection, and it is an "auto-switcher" that will operate over a wide range of voltages from 100 to 240 VAC. Thus, it will operate in foreign countries without need of an adapter. It also appears that the DJ device is powered via the USB port when connected to a computer.
Sound Quality: It’s great. The spec is 94 db, which is superb by most standards. The included ear-buds are a disappointment. You probably just want to toss them out and get a decent headset. The frequency response is not that linear and bass level is poor. With a nice set of headphones, this unit really rocks. The audio power is more than adequate to create loud sound levels with most any earphones you will select.
Disk Space: It’s more than we need. We store most files at 128KB compression level which let us store about 1,500 songs with plenty of space remaining. If you have a large library and want to put more than 2500 songs on the DJ, then you need a version with a larger hard disk or choose to use lower bit rates (poor audio quality).
FM Tuner: It does not have one, but we don’t care about that feature. Some people want this feature, but to me, it makes no sense to have it when you listen to a large library of “on-demand” music verses hearing something on FM that you don’t know if you’ll like it or not. Some people want FM radio to listen to other programs, news, sports, etc. You won’t get it in this unit.
User Interface: We think it is cool, intuitive, and attractive. There is a thumb scroll bar in the center where you make most of the selections to operate the device. The backlight is a soft blue light that is very functional and attractive. We liked the easy-to-use menu selections. The display is crisp, good contrast, and easy to read even outdoors under typical lighting conditions. The menu structure seems to somewhat mimic a web browser; there are few buttons. One dedicated button displays the “Home” menu screen if you get confused. Another button acts as a “back” button that returns to the prior selected function. It was simple to operate with the thumb wheel. It scrolls up and down the menu selections and allows pressing in to make the selection. Also, there is a “button deactivation” slide switch on the top of the unit allows you to temporarily prevent any button from making changes. This is good for long periods of listening when you perform activities that might cause accidental pressing of buttons.
There are several handy play modes such as Normal, Repeat All, Shuffle, Shuffle Repeat, Track Once, Genre, Artist, and Single Album. These modes allow playing songs in a variety of categorizations.
Note: When I tried a Creative Labs Zen player from another friend, I was greatly disappointed with the way that play-lists must be created. I had to create them manually on the player instead of being able to do it in MusicMatch. I suspect this is an issue with the Zen player because MusicMatch has this feature on the Dell DJ. Also, the Zen unit had software interface bugs with MusicMatch where it did not sync the song list properly. None of these problems exist in the Dell DJ.
Reliability:
The wife has been using the DJ for a couple of months now. It is reliable, responsive to the buttons, and doesn’t exhibit any song “hiccups”. It’s been dropped a couple of time (in its case), but seems to have not caused any damage.
Using DJ as a Data Unit:
Although my wife isn’t going to use the DJ for this purpose, I did experiment with it to see how convenient it was to move files back and forth between computers. Files transferred at reasonable speeds considering this is not the primary purpose of the device. It averaged about 350 megabytes per minute. Transfer speed will vary from 200 to 400 MB per minute depending on file sizes and number of files. Keep in mind that you need to install the DJ Explorer software on both computers. I suppose you could use the DJ as a combination of MP3 player and data transfer unit, but in reality, you will probably fill the disk drive space with your music files and use a separate USB FLASH memory key for transferring files. That is a much more efficient and convenient way to move files across computers. This is the way I do it.
Accessory Case:
I purchased this case for added protection. It is a rubberized material that allows you to create a solid and secure grip on the unit. The DJ slides snuggly into the case. All buttons can be operated with the case on the device. Basically, the case is just a slip-on cover (and stay on well) that provides some cushioning if the unit is dropped. There are several available translucent colors. I chose the clear white one. I like it, but don’t think it is worth the $20 that Dell charges for it. Obviously, this is a high margin add-on. The price should be more like $10-$12.
Summary:
Cheaper that iPod with more disk space, and similar size.
Much better functionality than Creative Labs Zen.
Good user interface.
Packaged with limited version of MusicMatch Jukebox software:
Decent battery life (8+ hours).
Very small and portable.
Great sound, but only with alternate headphones. Included ear-buds are inferior.
USB 2.0 support (assuming you have a 2.0 card in your computer)
No FM tuner.
No decent User Guide.
As FLASH based devices (solid state electronics) continue to get cheaper, those device designs will ultimately replace "Hard Disk" drive units like the Dell DJ because FLASH units are not prone to shock and vibration damage to the same degree. For the next couple of years, if you want lots of capacity for the cheapest price, this is the way to go.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199 Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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