Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is one of those frustrating devices that could have been so much better. For one thing 2GB is an obsolete size. Actually it is only 1.6 GB as there is a 0.4GB overhead. Do not even consider this 2GB size. The 4GB is even too small but at least approaches a more reasonable size (8 GB or larger would have been still better). This is a revised version of my review. Initially the problems that I had (described below) caused me to only give the unit 3 stars, but since then I have used it more and its positive features have caused me to revise my thinking and give it four stars (but only for the 4GB version).
Assuming that you are getting the 4GB unit, instead of this 2 GB unit, then how good is it (assuming that the 2GB unit that I am reviewing and 4GB unit is identical except for the storage size)?
WHAT I LIKED
-The size is compact and easy to use (when you figure out how).
-It comes with enough straps to enable it to be worn on the wrist, the arm or on a belt.
-The screen is small but legible.
-The sound is good, but I have inexpensive foldable earphones that I like better because they give a richer base tone.
-The FM radio works and the tuner is OK. (I would not consider a version without the radio).
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
-The software is very difficult to use. It took me more than four hours of reading the manual, putting the unit aside in frustration and then trying again, to finally figure things out. You must load songs onto the unit from the library, which was not made clear enough for me. I was inadvertently working from play lists and the queue. I feel that a better manual would have enabled me to avoid this problem. When I finally figured it out I was able to load my music, but loading was very slow.
-The computer tells you when it prepares to load music, but not when it is finished loading, and if you interrupt the process (which I did) you can lock things up. You can only tell when the loading process is finished by looking at the screen on the unit, which is very difficult to do using the three inch USB cable that comes with the unit. Fortunately, I had a longer cable so that I could leave the unit where I could see the screen on the unit while it was loading music.
-The manual did a very bad job of describing what the buttons on the unit do and learning to travel through the menu items was a learning experience that I am sure I will forget between the times that I use the player.
-Songbird is a resource hog. With normal priority (the default setting), everything slowed to an unacceptable crawl when it was on. I was able to speed things up by putting it on the lowest priority (through the Windows task manager). Songbird is meant to be an organizer of your music and a vehicle to buy music from Phillips. However, since it slowed down my computer I only use it to install songs on the unit.
-All in all I spent the better part of a day, on and off, working with this device, when on similar ones I was able to get up an running in less than an hour (often in only a few minutes).
IN SUMMARY
-If you are interested in this unit only consider the 4GB model.
-Be prepared for quite a bit of frustration because of a poor manual.
-However, if you have patience you will be rewarded with a compact unit that works as advertised (when you get it to work).
-As stated at the beginning of this review, initially the difficulties with putting music on it resulted in a 3-star rating, but upon further use (and with these initial frustrations behind me), I am raising my rating to 4-stars (for the 4GB version). All in all, the unit is handy, compact and useful.
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4GB Sport, 1" display, FullSound, FM Radio, Voice Recorder, Songbird software
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