The best MP3 player no one talks about
Written: Jun 03 '03 (Updated Jun 02 '04)
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Pros: good sound, tiny, upgradeable, easy to use
Cons: smartmedia on the way out, so-so recording, could be a bit louder
The Bottom Line: A very nice MP3 player that does most everything very well.
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| natemes's Full Review: Mpio FD100 (256 MB) MP3 Player |
The Digitalway MPIO FD100 is a very nice MP3 player.
The sound is, overall, quite good, As with all MP3 players, the quality of the file makes a big difference. No, the FD100 doesn't sound as good as my serious stereo gear in the living room, but if you have reasonable expectations, the FD100 sounds pretty darn good. Using good sound files, I don't find the sound problematic at all. I don't use the available EQ features, but they are there if you want them. I've been reading the Yahoo MPIO group since it started (when a number of us got rid of our disappointing Archos Ondios--my review is here at Epinions.) Some people want more bass. I find the bass-treble balance to be just fine--I can imagine if you wanted to listen to very bass heavy music, i.e., rap or hip-hop you might want more. For pop, rock, classical, folk, and spoke voice, I find it to be just fine.
I do ageee that the volume could go a bit higher, being on a plane can make it hard to hear quieter files. This can be solved by making the files "louder" when converting them to MP3 or WMA.
The FD100 plays WMA files, and I am very glad it does. I now convert most of my music to 96 kbs WMA files and find the sound quality very good for using a third less space than the usual 128 kbs MP3 files. Between the 256 on-board and a single 128 mb smartmedia card, I can get 8-10 hours of entertainment--lots of music, and some spoken word (books on tape, comedy, misc lectures) recorded at a lower bit-rate. More than enough for my purposes-I don't need to have hundreds or thousands of songs whenever I am out.
The FM radio works well, and you can label the stations. You can also seek out the strongest stations in the area--a nice trick when traveling.
Battery life is excellent. MPIO claims 24 hours. I've never just let it run to check but I can use the MPIO for weeks between battery changes. I don't listen to it every day but often enough to make the battery life impressive for one AA.
Th remote is useful but not really necessary.
Replace the stock earphones with a decent pair.
Recording quality is fine for meetings, etc. Don't plan on recording music--get a Minidisc player if you want really high recording quality.
Transfering music is very easy either with the included software (Mpio Manager--a little clumsy but perfectly workable) or third-party stuff (FPIO)
The player is almost identical to the FL100, the only significant differences are the shape (square vs. rectangular) and expansion media (smartmedia vs. SD/MMC)
The unit itself seems quite sturdy. The display is clear, large, and nicely backlit. The controls are easy to use.
New firmware is easy to install and comes out regularly--providing updates, bug-fixes, and new features.
I will update/epxand this review soon--out of time for now.
Bottom line--if you are considering a MP3/WMA player, you can't go wrong with the FD or FL100.
UPDATE: A year after writing the review, I am still quite satisfied with the FD-100. I was certainly right about the slow death of Smartmedia cards. I now own an iPaq PDA and have a number of SD cards which I wish I could use with the MPIO. That said, I continue to be happy with the MPIO and use it on longer trips even though my PDA plays MP3s. The MPIO gets amazing battery life compared to the iPaq and so is small and useful addition to the travel gear. If I were buying today I would at least get a player that takes SD cards, and maybe a hard drive based one. I still like the sturdy nature of flash based systems.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
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Epinions.com ID:
natemes
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Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Reviews written: 75
Trusted by: 0 members
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