do i need toothpicks to choose my song?
and a screen that small i need to be squinting at it, geesh, i dont have a mp3 player, but i rather have one i can click and navigate and not look with eay buttons i can feel than be subjected to that TORTURED interface.

As a professional designer with over 10 years experience, a color scheme of red white and grey? it looks like it belongs in a First Aid kit.

We have all heard of the scattergun effect but this goes one further, it actually looks like one. Samsung have been known to produce some acceptably designed products but it seems they have more recently, like most other eastern producers, decided that design really isn't anything worthy of the effort. Long may they be so deluded its the one real advantage the West has.

Spy

the battery.

I would like to see this player with a rechargeable AA battery outperform the iPod's overpriced battery. With this Samsung player, you can change the battery in seconds! Any non Apple-certified technician can do it!

I feel sorry for the Mac fans who'll take trips to the produce stores and weigh these players on the scales in order to compare the difference in ounces to an iPod.

that the iPod has a rechargable battery? You don't need to change it, at least not for a long long time. With the Samsung you have to buy and replace batteries continuously throughout its life. (And, btw, the weight given is without the battery. An "AA" battery weighs around 25 grams, so double their advertised weight.)

YEPP!

Looks like a cheap bit of plastic which will begin to fall apart after a couple of months. Maybe it won't, but that's what the design conveys to me, at least. Sorry, Samsung, but I am afraid you haven't quite got it with that one...

Sure, it won't win any beauty awards compared to any current Apple players, but it is still a gizmo that wants to be the Swiss Army Knife of the mp3 players. It has all those extra features that Apple's competititors are so certain we want bad enough to merit purchasing a non-Apple mp3 player.

The big thing I see here though is the battery. How long does a rechargeable AA really last in it? Will it matter on how bright you make the screen? Can you even dim the screen down to save on the charge? How good is the microphone (I wouldn't expect much, but hey, if it is really good, a podcaster might think to get one)?

I am really unsure about what I prefer when it comes to a battery. I love my Shuffle and Mpio both of which have rechargeable Lithium Ion (or whatever) batteries, but I also worry about when they will have to be retired because I've spent the battery out. I know a Shuffle can get a new battery, but I've seen the process, and it looks like a major pain in the a**.

However, I have a digital camera that uses two AA batteries, and it drives me freakin' nuts. First off, if you don't use good rechargeable batteries, forget it. The camera takes ten pictures with the viewfinder on and they are both dead. With the rechargeables, I get at least a whole thirty some odd pictures before I have to switch them out. That's the problem. I never use my mp3 players for more than eight hours at a time. I always have an opportunity to recharge the battery, and I usually have to get new content on them before then anyway. My camera with the two AAs runs out when it decides to, and I usually don't have much control over it. I don't take the batteries out and recharge them each time I get home, and I rarely have more than one replacement set at any given time. I also have been known to be walking around with a whole mess of uncharged batteries too.

Right now, I consider the internal, long-life, rechargeable battery the better deal. Of course, I say that now because neither of my players are dead yet.

Plus, sorry Samsung, but the #1 reason I got a Shuffle - integration with iTunes, something no other player has or is even bothering to attempt at.

The only hope I have is that with all the companies making accessories for iPods, there will be at least one of them smart enough to come up with a docking station/speaker system for burnt-out Shuffles. A nice little retirement home for my music player.

Oh wait, I don't think I ever noticed that the Shuffle also resembles a tombstone! I could get the date of birth and death engraved on it and then I could start a little graveyard for all my old Shuffles! Oh wait, time for medication.

Quote

swtzrs wrote:
My camera with the two AAs runs out when it decides to, and I usually don't have much control over it. I don't take the batteries out and recharge them each time I get home, and I rarely have more than one replacement set at any given time.

See, I prefer the rechargable AAs for my still camera. I bought 8 batteries very cheaply and I can go out for the entire day and use them. My sister's camera has a removable battery, but buying a second one would cost $100, so she never has. So when her camera dies, I can keep going all day with my $15 of extra batteries. I love that I can do that and do it cheap.

"With this Samsung player, you can change the battery in seconds! Any non Apple-certified
technician can do it!"

Just like any non Apple-certified technician can change their iPod's battery in seconds. Your implication that it isn't possible is a complete and total lie. Thanks for playing.

"I feel sorry for the Mac fans who'll take trips to the produce stores and weigh these players on the
scales in order to compare the difference in ounces to an iPod."

First of all, I've never seen a produce scale sensitive enough to measure something that light. Second, why compare just the weight? For example, it supports less formats than any version of the iPod, while it has an FM tuner it's been proven for quite some time that FM tuners are irrelevent when it comes to wooing consumers away from the iPod, same thing with the voice recording, and the scroll-pad looks absolutely tiny with squared off edges and sunked into a small pit, which will probably cause a whole lot of accidental presses of play/stop/track forward/track backwards.

So in comparison to an iPod, it's ackwardly designed, packed with features that consumers have shown about zero interest for coming standard with their MP3 players, and since this word gets thrown alot by people spreading FUD about Apple, it's also more closed than an iPod. Oh, and it's bigger than a Shuffle. I think that's better then just comparing the weight.

I agree it looks like an interface nightmare.

One thing in particular based on the picture, it appears it will be difficult to operate with one hand. For the thumb to easily control the buttons on the right hand side of the player means that the screen will not only be positioned in a vertical direction, but also will probably be partially covered with the hand... so, I have to hold with my left hand and operate the controls with my right hand. Geesh! This must certainly finally be the "iPod killer".

Battery life is a big concern with these players, but what about the longevity of the storage media?

Does flash memory ever poop-out? I haven't heard of that happening, but I also didn't hear about CD Roms flaking away until I'd already built up a rather large archive of stuff I figured would last a few decades.

Granted, the battery on a Shuffle is bound to lose its charge before the flash memory does, but would a battery based player provide a noticable boost in the lifespan of the device?

This question could also be asked of the iPod hard drive. I've got hard drives that are well over a decade old and still spinning, but I've also got some that just decided to give up the ghost. What would be an acceptable life span for these devices? Five years? Ten years? I don't expect my VCR or DVD player to last more than five years under heavy use. Should I expect more from my portable music player?

(oh yeah, it might be worth mentioning that the Shuffle also has the battery pack add-on so it isn't like this new player has the Shuffle completely beat on that front - my only question is will the Shuffle run on batteries after the internal battery is spent)

I think this looks cool, but will it work with iTunes? I've bought a lot of songs from the Apple online music store and I would want to make sure I could interface this with iTunes before I buy one. Anyone know the answer to this?

I think this looks cool, but will it work with iTunes? I've bought a lot of songs from the Apple online music store and I would want to make sure I could interface this with iTunes before I buy one. Anyone know the answer to this?

Quote

Anonymous wrote:
I think this looks cool, but will it work with iTunes? I've bought a lot of songs from the Apple online music store and I would want to make sure I could interface this with iTunes before I buy one. Anyone know the answer to this?

Yeah, the answer is "no." Even if this thing plays AAC files (which I don't know) Apple hasn't let anyone else play the protected versions you buy on the store. They have no reason to do that yet since iTunes and the iPod both have the biggest market share in their fields.

Once they've got most people hooked on iTunes I'd bet you'll see other players allowed to support iTunes music, but for now Apple wants to build up as many users as possible so that probably won't happen for awhile.

Quote

Guest wrote:
I think this looks cool, but will it work with iTunes? I've bought a lot of songs from the Apple online music store and I would want to make sure I could interface this with iTunes before I buy one. Anyone know the answer to this?

No, it will not work with the songs you buy from iTunes Music Store (iTMS) unless you first burn them to a CD and then re-rip them. Only iPods will work with the FairPlay DRM that iTMS songs are encoded with.

And...do you REALLY think it looks cool? Honestly?

All over the country Mac Militia is studying, scrutinizing, weighing and pushing the buttons on this new competitor to the much loved and vaunted iPod.

Apple can only add so many buttons and features "traditionally no more than "one". The features are starting to add up and soon the scales of economy will tip in favor of multibutton and features.

Pay close attention oh ye Mac shoobabones. Cause ya know when it come to competing Apple sooner or later will start to fade out of yet another market. You guys know it and that is why these products get so much fanfare in the Mac Town Hall meetings.

I would trade all this hoopla over the iPod for some good healthy gains in Mac Market share ..any day, yes, any day. Firewire and the many good Apple innovations fall by the wayside. The sheer numbers take a toll..1.5% market share does not good justice do to the Mac technology, as in where are the developers? No peripheral support technology.

You guys know exactly what I mean, so fess up.

Power Mac dual 2.5 Gig = 5 Gigahertz of inefficient clock cycles. Hyper threading is going to take its toll on the Gigahertz Myth.

OK lets hear what you guys have to say. Stop dawdling and step up to the plate.

Cheers,

Googie the Great

Using any player other than an iPod with iTunes isn't major issue, but there are some annoying factors to deal with. I've heard that iTunes will play nicely with some of the non-Apple players, but I've seen no evidence of it.

Here's what I have to do with my MPIO FL300:

1.) Make sure all my music except for the files bought from the iTunes Music Store are in mp3 format - not ACC

2.) Create a random smart playlist that maxes out at the size of the player and doesn't include any ACC files

3.) Delete the contents of the playlist each time I want to refill my player with a new random set of songs

4.) Select and drag the contents of the playlist to the flash drive

5.) Run an Applescript I wrote to remove the resource files from the flash drive

It could be worse, but there is no question it could be easier. Hence, I bought a Shuffle for music and keep the MPIO for podcasts. Sure, I could burn all the songs I purchase through iTunes to CD and then rip them back as mp3 files, and I could erase the resource files for my mp3 files on my Mac's hard drive, and I could extend the Applescript to actually do steps 1-4, but it was just easier to buy a product that was designed for my system.

uh oh, I sense a "That's the problem with you Mac users! You just spend more money instead of learning how to make your machines work!" coming up.

"The features are starting to add up and soon the scales of economy will tip in favor of multibutton and features."

The features are starting to add up because Apple's competition in the MP3 player market is helpless and confused. They don't have a clue why iPods are popular. They don't even understand how to compete. So they just pile extra features into their MP3 players and make a press release saying that they've created an "iPod Killer". People won't start buying MP3 players with extra features just because more and more of them hit the market, they'll only buy them if they WANT MP3 players with extra features. And as the market demonstrates, there's a very, very low desire for them.

"Cause ya know when it come to competing Apple
sooner or later will start to fade out of yet another market. You guys know it and that is why these
products get so much fanfare in the Mac Town Hall meetings. "

There's only one market Apple faded out of, and that was the consumer PC market. And since Steve Jobs returned, they've been steadily fading back in. These "iPod Killers" don't get so much fanfare because they'll knock Apple out of the market, they're getting so much "fanfare" because while they obviously don't have what it takes to compete, clueless CEOs like Chris Gorog and Sim Wong Hoo stand up and say they're going to displace Apple overnight.

"The features are starting to add up and soon the scales of economy will tip in favor of multibutton and features."

The features are starting to add up because Apple's competition in the MP3 player market is helpless and confused. They don't have a clue why iPods are popular. They don't even understand how to compete. So they just pile extra features into their MP3 players and make a press release saying that they've created an "iPod Killer". People won't start buying MP3 players with extra features just because more and more of them hit the market, they'll only buy them if they WANT MP3 players with extra features. And as the market demonstrates, there's a very, very low desire for them.

"Cause ya know when it come to competing Apple
sooner or later will start to fade out of yet another market. You guys know it and that is why these
products get so much fanfare in the Mac Town Hall meetings. "

There's only one market Apple faded out of, and that was the consumer PC market. And since Steve Jobs returned, they've been steadily fading back in. These "iPod Killers" don't get so much fanfare because they'll knock Apple out of the market, they're getting so much "fanfare" because while they obviously don't have what it takes to compete, clueless CEOs like Chris Gorog and Sim Wong Hoo stand up and say they're going to displace Apple overnight.

"Here's what I have to do with my MPIO FL300"

You have a MPIO FL300.

Just doesn't roll of the toung, does it?

One look at that color schema, and I had a sense of deja vu. Where did that orange, grey, and white come from? Ah ha! Star Wars! I'm no Star Wars aficionado, but weren't the Rebel's vehicles (from the original movies) those same colors?

Gotta love the retro-futuristic look!

Edit: I looked at the pictures on the Engadget site, and I see it's red, not orange, so they don't look so Star Wars-ish after all. They're still fugly, though!

is 42 hours on this thing. Buy two rechargeables and you are set.

Quote

Guest wrote:
is 42 hours on this thing. Buy two rechargeables and you are set.

Which is precisely 41 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds longer than I'd want to have this hideous contraption in my grasp!

42 hours? That seems rather long for a single AA.

I'm not calling anyone a liar here, but I couldn't find that anywhere on any of the pages about this mp3 player.

Could the guest who found this out post the link to the page that has this info?

...

Okay, well, I checked out the stats for Apple's battery pack for the Shuffle, and it gets 20 hours off two AAAs - don't know if that's for regular or rechargeables though.

Maybe 42 hours isn't wildly long then.

I am a ham radio operator that uses many types of portable electronics and I have had considerable experience with different types of batteries and battery configurations.

Apple’s MP3 design with a proprietary battery that is not user replaceable is a major reason not to buy an iPod of any sort. The replacement battery is another revenue stream for Apple but the reason that they chose the non replaceable battery was to ease their design problem of making the unit as slim as possible and not have a more costly to manufacture case. Look at any PDA (like a Toshiba) with a non replaceable battery compared to one (most of the others) with a replaceable battery. Which is slimmer and lighter in weight?
The Toshiba - hands down!

That said there are other design factors such as ease of use that clearly make the iPod the choice of many. I am sure that a good number of these would reject the iPod if they knew the truth about Apple’s policy on battery replacement.

What is so bad about getting a replacement battery installed by Apple? They DO NOT send back the same iPod you may have been carefully handling for years. You get someone else’s iPod which may have scratches and definitely doesn’t have your music on it. This isn’t so bad with a flash player (you have your music backed up on your computer using ITunes don’t you) but a major downside to owning a HD based iPod. Hard disks in portable electronics are subject to damage do to G-shock every time you drop it. Driving down a rough road in a any vehicle with a stiff truck like suspension will also damage any iPod’s hard disk. Taking it to the gym and jogging also introduce shock that will damage it over time. A user who is aware of this can mitigate this type of damage by being careful where they use the iPod and it will last a long time past the warranty period. Others may try to escape the consequences of their abusive actions by sending their iPod back for a new battery knowing they probably will get one in return that hasn’t been abused. Pity the poor sheep that gets the abused iPod only to have problems begin to surface as they use it. The iPod may lock up as it gets confused reading data from a damaged area. It may not even write data correctly when syncing with ITunes.

From this you can see it is not desirable to carefully maintain a piece of electronics only to have it given to someone else since you can not control unit the replacement battery stream. For most hams this is a non issue since we would open it up and perform the battery replacement ourselves. That is what I would do.

The average consumer is better off with user replaceable batteries like the ones used in cell phones and PDAs.

WHY OTHER MP3 PLAYERS USE AA OR AAA BATTERIES

Most of these other MP3 player choices are feature rich compared to an iPod. One feature in particular is a battery killer, the ability to record! This takes a lot of current and recording kills the battery about four times faster than just playing back files. This is especially true if you are using the FM radio feature as the source for your sound file. I record lectures that are broadcast locally in the same room on the FM band for the hearing impaired and these come out perfect using a tiny flash MP3 player like the iRiver (Korean) or the Vibe (Chinese). If I notice that the old battery is getting low I can slip another AA (iRiver) or AAA (Vibe) battery in between speakers. I use alkaline batteries as they have the most energy density for this application. These are cheap when bought in quantity at the local drug store while they are on sale. They can be bought anywhere on a moments notice so I never miss recording what I need. A discharged built in battery would be useless until recharged.

I also use rechargeable NMHI AA batteries but they do not last as long as Alkaline. MP3 players have a user setting in the firmware to indicate to the player if you are using a rechargeable battery or a non rechargeable battery as these have different discharge characteristics and the player needs to know how to calculate the remaining charge.

Cameras with a high current draw need to use Lithium batteries which are much more expensive.
Alkaline batteries do not last long in a camera as another observed.

I have tried AA Titanium Lithium batteries while recording and they are not worth it because of their high cost while only delivering about an hour more time.

A single akline AA battery in a Korean mp3 player lasts from forty to fifty hours before it has to be replaced. It lasts a little less than ten hours if you are using it only to record all day long. The Korean MP3 players are iRiver, Samsung, and Cowan.

Seriously, why does anyone even care about yet another flash player with a non-descript name ('YEPP YP-C1'... MAN, is that ever catchy, lol) hitting the market?

Its the same old tired formula... mediocre design, FM tuner (who cares? I can't even get good FM reception inside my gym), mediocre looks, thicker and heavier than an iPod Shuffle. Who cares?

I have yet to see a competitor to the iPod Shuffle that makes me look twice. I'll be buying my second Shuffle in a couple of weeks, for the girlfriend. Samsung (and all you other commodity flash player makers without a clue), work on it.

"Apple’s MP3 design with a proprietary battery that is not user replaceable is a major reason not to
buy an iPod of any sort. "

Battery ignorance hurts iPod owners? No. Battery ignorance hurts you.

http://www.boingboing.net/2004/09/08/ipod_battery_swap_su.html

iPod batteries are very easily user-replacable. Nice try spreading lies, though, mister knowledgeable ham radio operator.

does any no howw to delete the files on it i cant figur it out some one please help me

willit work with a MAC? I can't find a definitive answer anywhere? are there any 1gb players that work with a mac except the ipod?