Digital-Audio Reviews

I've owned this handheld for only 1 week, have graduated up from an older, different brand handheld.

This device is very relaible, deependable, and intuitive in its functionality.

The device comes packed with software features, downloads programmes quickly from the net, operates seamlessly with my PC, and is surprising fast during processing.

This is a huge jump for me from a visor(palm os), as long as you like windows os you should be really happy with this pda. it is fast, has plenty of storage for apps and the colors are beautiful. it has multimedia, music, video and jpgs. with windows xp, the device appears as a networked resource when synched, which is very neat. i find that i am able to read books on this device, because the graphics are so good, unlike my palm. i have used the bluetooth capability, and it was moderately difficult to configure on my network. it does seem to suck up power, but i have never experienced powere loss. i have had it for 6 months now, and have only had to reboot the thing once, and it was the result of some crappy shareware.

cheers...

I bought these to replace/upgrade the default speakers that came with my Gateway at work, and they're much nicer. They will NOT replace a 3-speaker system, however. I compared them to my Yamaha set at home (2 satellites and a subwoofer) and there is NO contest - if you're used to subwoofer sound quality, don't downgrade to 2 speakers. If you're used to 2-speaker quality, these are pretty good! My biggest gripe: there is NO tone control, not even a simple High/Low dial. Volume control is the ONLY knob you get!

I bought a Sony computer this summer. The computer is great, but the speaker is terrible!! Hence, I would like to replace them with an acceptable multimedia speaker.

I am a fan of JBL speaker. After seeing this beautiful JBL duet and this low price in Amazon, I decided to order this special JBL Duet. Finally, I have terrific computer speaker to enhance the multimedia ability of my computer. The sound is clear and the bass is great! Nice for DVD and music!

Thank you, JBL! Thank you, Amazon!

Being an active person, music is a very important part of my life. If you are looking for a decent mp3 player, the philips jordan mp3 player is a safe bet.

One of the quirks i do have about this player is that the rechargeable battery that is included has a life of about 10 minutes. Well not really, but you would apparently think so after using it.

A plus side to this mp3 player is that you can also save word files on this player. Not too bad for the active man on the go.

The equalizer buttons are a bit tough to press at first, but i am sure that this will get better as the mp3 player gets worn in.

All in all i believe this to be a quality product and you get what you pay for with this product.

Hello, I decided to get a MP3 player for the gym since I've taken up longer distance running. I consolidated my needs to a list of a few things:

1. I prefer a non-harddrive based MP3 player. While the tradeoff is less music capacity, I have the piece of mind knowing that high impact activities won't damage my investment.
2. A MP3 player that didn't rely on proprietary software (falls under ease of use). I hate RealOne and having experience with removable drives, copying and pasting is a lot easier than having a "middle man" program interfering with something that *should* be very simple.
3. Durability and compact design.
4. FM Tuner and the ability to record wasn't important. I don't like listening to radio stations because commercials have me changing stations, so there's no use for the option. Also, it seems a lot of people complain about the FM tuners on most MP3 players not working too well.
5. MMC card slot wasn't needed. While it's nice for expandability, I think 1 or 2 albums worth of music (192 bitrate) is enough music for a gym session. I'd rather work out than flip through songs.

As far as the player itself and all it comes with, I'll say the pictures of this thing do it no justice at all. The chrome finish is very nice (doesn't seem scratch proof at all though) and it was very impressive looking out of the box, size is perfect, and the headphones work great.

Accessories: I only considered needing an armband, which was provided, but the extras were appreciated. While shopping I was only concerned about player specs and not the accessories, I'll have to say that the including the rechargeable battery and recharger was a really great surprise since it basically cuts down on future costs. Armband works out great, and the PSA comes with a magnetic clip to keep lose headphone cord from dangling around.

Setup: I run Windows 98SE and setup was pretty easy and straight forward. I work well with computers, so I anticipated a problem with Removable USB Storage devices. It isn't really a problem, just a feature that windows 98 didn't have built into it. You go through control panel and do a little setting up. READ THE PDF file that comes on the disk. You shouldn't have any problems if you follow the instructions. The disk installs MusicMatch (you can uninstall later), running the install does install drivers you need for removable storage devices if you're running windows 98. You can always uninstall musicmatch afterwards. I've used it before and it's "OK," it has decent enough CD ripping software which is very user friendly in my opinion. Use of this program is optional and is NOT *needed* to transfer files to the PSA. Once I had everything setup and my battery was charged, I updated the firmware (comes with the software) and started transferring files. Drag and drop, easy.

My cons?

- Opening the battery door on the back is a lil tricky, but once you've got it it's pretty easy. Slide your thumb across the back and it should pop up.
- The headphones don't have any padding on them, so they are kind of hard. But, I guess sweaty pieces of foam on your ear wouldn't feel too good either.
- Also, I think people with larger heads might have a problem with size, I'm 5'11, but I don't think my taller friends would be able to use the headphones that come with the player.
- Output is only 5 mV. With no EQing, volume doesn't get that loud. But if you use the eq, volume isn't an issue. I use a custom setting of +2, +3, +4, +3. Other mp3 players I was looking at had the same output wattage too, so it pretty much on par.

I found all of the things I was looking for in the Jordan PSA. Let me admit that I was initially considering a price point of $ while considering 128 MB mp3 players, but I'm a fan of Jordan, so I spent the extra $ for the 128 MB and the look. (I figured resale value would be a little higher if I ever wanted to sell it in the future).

The main things I liked is the ease of use and it's build quality is top notch. I recommend it if expandability isn't an issue and this isn't your main form of music listening. The mp3 player was built with an intended use in mind, and Philips has definitely held up their end. With that, I'd have to give it 5 stars for getting exactly what I paid for.

Other info: The other players I looked at were the Philips Key Ring KEY005 (you can find it on amazon and ..., but it's discontinued), Rio Cali (software, build quality), Verge 256 (circuit city exclusive, build quality issues), Rio Fuse (software, juggle stick looked flimsy) and the Nike PSA.

Why buy an entry level home theater receiver when for just a bit more, you can get this great sounding Pioneer Elite unit? This receiver is well made and has Pioneer's newly revised owner's manual that makes setup far easier than other receivers. The unit's sound is smooth without sounding bright. Also, the remote's buttons light up when pressed and the receiver is THX Select certified-indicating a powerful amplifier section that won't wimp out on loud movie soundtracks! Highly recommended for the money.

This reciever has to be best I have ever heard for this price. Don't be fooled by the specification sheet where it says "90watts a channel"; there may be amps out there with up to 120watts per channel but only at 1000hz which humans hear the best, when the Pioneer will do 90watts across the entire audio bandwith 20hz - 20000hz which will sound very warm, rich, and twice as loud as a normal reciever. You will never find a THX certified reciever at this price for a very long time! The face of this amp is acually made out of a copper plate, not cheap shiny plastic which a lot of people think. It has a nice on screen display which makes it very easy for beginners to setup. It has everything you will need for both music and home theatre like, DTS, Dolby Digital, DSP, Pro Logic, and six channels for future upgrades. The only downfall I see about this reciever is looking at the higher Elite models and the flagships LCD remote control.

with out it alot of your HDTV componets will not hook up because the industry standard is not close enough to be compatible with all brands

Several years ago I bought a RCA DCT 100 Hi Def. receiver in anticapation of my future upgrade to a Hi Res TV. I just purchased a Sony 32in. Hi Res TV. I hooked up the adapter and WOW HDTV in all its glory.

Audio quality very good: noise-free and detailed. I recommend using higher-quality earphones. FM reception very good, remaining stable in challenging locations, however tuning and preset processes require some getting used to. The memory is limited to the onboard 256Mb, and is not "expandable" as claimed in Target's product description. Display is very clear, but the orange-blue thing isn't used to advantage. Navigation is snappy and easy (again, a learning period is required) and can be done while the unit is playing. Loading files is very easy and the unit behaves well as an external drive. I'm stuck with USB 1.1 so transfer rates are a bit pokey. A firewire and/or ethernet connection would be a welcome addition. Mic recording is good for voice in proximity to unit , but the quality is poor for area or ambient sound recording, including live music and natural sound. The max bit rate for recording of 192kB/s really shines on line input recordings. Although the manual suggests a max bitrate of 320kB/s, the actual unit can be set no higher than 192, nor is there any adjustment for gain in either recording mode. iOps uses a subminiature input jack for the line in connection, so don't lose that adapter cable!! I would prefer a regular miniature jack for that connection which could be internally switched between line or mic level as a welcome step toward perfection. Still, the concept is sound, functional, and so is the player. Build quality is very good, and the player is a pleasure to carry and use. It looks great, too, but the silvering along the edges of the mirrored panel was somewhat deteriorated in the unit I purchased. Would love to have gotten the 1GB version, but that's only available in Japan right now. This unit is a diamond in the rough, that, with a little polishing, could become a true gem in the flashplayer game.

This is a great player. Vorbis playback is flawless. It is small and light. Great FM recpetion and recording quality. I am glad to have the player that I have been waiting two years for.

As a music junkie, this is a must own. I've had the iHP-120 for about 2 months now, and I go everywhere with it. Record sounds/speech thru it's internal mic or plug in your own mic, the recorded sounds can be saved in mp3 or wav format at a quality level set by you. Playback files of ogg, mp3, wav, wma format. The internal firmware that controls the player is upgradeable from iRiver.com.

If you only need the basic features and like something sleak and stylish, the iPod is probably a good bet, though i have honestly scoured the net for reviews b4 i chose my player, and i have read a lot of complaints about the iPod malfunctioning or breaking down.

A huge plus of the iRiver is that you can just plug it straight into your computer and it'll read as an external hard drive, no hassle with installing dodgy music management software. This machine fully deserves to be called the iPod's leading competitor, and in my humble opinion, it should be considered the benchmark for all others.

What can I say about the IRiver, it's simply the best. The combination of features, storage size, and ease of use makes it hard to beat.

The player comes with a leather case, headset, headset extender, a/c charger, USB cable, and a terrific remote. The remote is very easy to operate, and costs $35 to buy seperately. But it's included with the player.

The FM tuner works great. There's upgradeable firmware, which is good to have. All the sorting and organizing features are easy to use, and the menu is simple and precise.

20GB storage size, you already know what that means. But what's great about this player is it's ability to act as a true storage device. Transferring songs to the player is so simple, no MusicMatch or any other software needed. It's a true drag and drop system, like any other hard drive or storage device. You can use your own folders and simply drag them onto the player. The transer speed through USB 2.0 is lightning quick. And you can use winamp to create up to 200 playlists, can't get any easier than that.

This is what a high capicity mp3 player should be. The design is convenient. It looks great. It has a multitude of useful, easy to use features. Buy it, and you won't regret it one bit.

I have had my iRiver for about three weeks and I absolutely love it. I have nearly 1000 songs and still have nearly 17GB left. I love that it can read OGG files which are good quality and space saving. From what I know of other mp3 player I have found that this is by far the best because it has an internal and external microphone and a FM radio. The only things I don't like are that once you put a song in it you can't gain space back once it is deleted (kind of obvious but still disappointing) and (this is why you shouldn't buy this product) that iRiver is coming out with the H300 series in America soon (is already released in Japan and Europe) which is nicer looking, a color screen, same space and I think that it will be the same price. The other thing I wish it had was the ability to create a play list anywhere with no host computer but that doesn't bother me much. Overall this product is great and I love it, but once I can get the H320 I will buy that.

The product was shipped quickly. But now I cannot get the Pocket PC to connect to any PC. I have emailed the seller numerous times about this and they will not respond to me. Amazon is abolutely no help either, they will not do anything to help me. If I ever do get the problem fixed, I will change the bad rating for the seller.

Having had extensive experience with both WinCE and Palm handheld devices, I have to say that in the past I continued to lean heavily toward Palm -- not because it offered anything particularly cooler or better, just that it met my requirements: 1) must be stable hardware & software; 2) battery had to last up to 8 hours at a time; 3) had to have applications that met my needs (now and in the future!); and 4) it had to be "sexy" (yes, I'll admit I'm shallow). To date, WinCE handhelds & palm-helds have had a hard time making inroads in my mind on several of these key requirements.

My new HP Jornada 548 Pocket PC has changed everything for me. The color is sharp and clean (yes, even with the notorious 12-bit vs. the advertised 16-bit technology), the software seems to be extremely stable, and the look of it is way sexier than even the Palm V! But probably the biggest change is the software availability that comes with the Pocket PC and from 3rd party developers. Including Pocket Word, Excel, Money, AvantGo (can't live without it!), Pocket IE, Reader (I'm in the first half of "Timeline"), and support for POP3/IMAP4 email in addition to the included Outlook Inbox -- and still leaving me nearly all 32MB of memory I started with is AWESOME!

Notice my focus on applications? That's no coincidence ... a palm-held PC has become more and more important to me, and it MUST do more than just show my contacts and appointments (something I hear a bit too much from other Palm users). My Pocket PC has become an integral part of my computing day; and will continue to be even more important over the next few years. So having top-notch applications available that are fast, user-friendly (still getting used to the new spot for "Start"), and seamlessly integrated with my desktop PC counterparts is critically important for me.

My heartfelt congratulations & thanks to the teams at HP and Microsoft ... way to go!

I started with a Compaq CE 1.0 device some years ago. Shortly after I upgraded to a Palm III, then moved to the Visor Deluxe in March, 2000. I really enjoyed the flexibility of the Visor add-ons, but felt limited on the software side. The Jornada has been wonderful! Syncing capabilities are right there with the Visor, though the option settings aren't as clearly defined as they could be. Writing recognition is head & shoulders above the Visor, the word completion option is a tremendous time saver. The display doesn't hit the 16 bit category, but it is still impressive. Outside it is difficult to view without fiddling with the settings. The display catches a lot of attention from onlookers. Software is a huge advantage. Pocket Word & Pocket Streets have been a huge help(this critique was written in Pocket Word). Small display size makes the Excel version difficult to use. The inclusion of Outlook 2000 is an added bonus. I look forward to adding Pocket Powerpoint. I was very concerned about the lack of flexibility on the power system (the Visor uses AAA's), however the Lithium Ion battery holds it's own very well. I am getting well over six hours of operation time between charges. I installed a 56k modem and the results have been great. Setup was a snap & operation speeds have been impressive. Power adapter is pretty much required with modem use. There is a noticeable lag in program opening compared to the Palm OS, but nothing that's going to cause me heartburn. Though there are a few disadvantages with the HP and CE 3, they are far outweighed by the long list of advantages. It is a definite buy.

My wife liked my Nokia 3650 so much that she switched chips with me and is carrying it.

My favorite features:

1. Speaker Phone. Nice when driving or multitasking. Good audible range. I slip it in my shirt pocket and speak into the air. Works great!
2. Display is very good for its size. The camera takes 640 x 480 color images. I bought a 32 meg card to increase storage. I recently used the phone as my principle camera on vacation to the Smokies. Worked great.

3. Contacts is a nice feature that can pull your chip's phone numbers and store them. Just add email addresses and you can send the camera pics to any email via the multimedia option.

Disadvantages: The blue lighted round keyboard. In low light it is hard to see. This can be a problem when text-messaging or adding contact details.

I'm buying a 2nd phone which will be another Nokia 3650. (...) :)

well, I owned this phone for 10 months now and its too big.. all the features are great. really a great phone...but kinda too bulky and heavy.

also that circular dial pad isnt comofrtable. thats why they changed it for the new 3660. overall its a nice phone.

I bought it from Amazon.com with T mobile Service plan. I stay in minneapolis and T mobile service is awesome here.
Things that i like about this phone :
- Excellent color display which is reasonally big compared to cell phone standards.
- novel keypad, although it took some time to get adjusted.
The Central scroll key is really cool (esp while playing games :)
- Camera is awesome. Colors of pictures are rich, sharp. Good 640 x 480 resolution (i set image quality to highest and the pics were awesome)
- Excellent security ( Can set an optional code, so that u need to enter it when ever u switch the phone on. Also, u can set a code when ever SIM card changes. So, even if somebody steals ur piece, i guess they cant use it )
- can work even outside US ( Europe and Asia ).
- I never used SMS before, but this cell has it with predefined/customizable templates which really reduce the burden of typing and we can send text messages any where in the world. (for sending multimedia emails u need to subscribe to t zones ..which is well... hmm...pretty cheap)
- T mobile has given a default email id(yourphonenumber@tmomail.net) to every piece with which u can send text based email from your piece using SMS.
- Can link to local bluetooth, infrared enabled devices. My laptop has an infrared port and i downloaded all the pics from the camera.
- Can act as a wireless modem to connect ur laptop to internet.( I didnt test that )
- can download any J2ME based Java applications. ( i didnt test that )
- has Calendar, calculator, sound recorder(which can record conversations), ring tone composer ( u can create ur own ring tones and set them) & loud speaker.
- Handsfree is given for free.
- can add pics to every contact in the list of contacts.
- classify contacts into groups and send group SMS messages, group emails.
- can play recorded/downloaded video clips using real one player.
- Although its a PDA, camera, video camera cum cell phone, the battery lasts pretty long.

Things i didnt like :
- a bit bulky, but the good features shadow it.
- built in ring tones(except for a couple or so) are not that audible in crowded places. The ones that i created were good.
- Good cases are readily not available. I had to buy a Bodyglove's neopreme cell case from circuitcity :( )

Well, bottom line is... i feel i bought(Got) an AWESOME piece for FREE !!

I've also got a Creative Nomad, and the HipZip player [is better]. I've been eyeing [another product] for a while, but the price on the HipZip pretty much blew that out of the water ....

Pros: -The HipZip has fairly inexpensive media -The display is easy to read and shows everything you need at once -Well organized button placement -Ease of swapping media.... -Ease of transferring files of ANY type to media (does not store the OS on the media,... so you can fill it completely) -Full compatability with other Clik/PocketZip drives -Longer battery life.... -The software is minimal and painless (Iomega's sw is all-in-one) -It came with an AC adaptor (not a separate cradle) and you can get the car adaptor for only $10 from Iomega which is great for road trips

Cons/Wishlist: -I REALLY miss the radio from my Nomad -Since the display is so large, it should have a clock -It could probably be a little smaller -The 40mb size of each disk is a bit limiting, but I've read that the PocketZip disks will be available in 100mb some time this year (anyone else heard this?)

Some people have complained of the noise... It makes the same whir-and-click noise that my old Zip drive made, but it's not nearly as loud. If you're listening to music with the headphones, you wouldn't really hear it unless you had the player right up to your ear. It also has some memory built in as a buffer. I haven't been able to find out how much, but it will read the disk and throw it into the buffer so it isn't constantly reading the disk.

It does exactly what I expected. I have had no problems with the device as of yet. I take it hiking and biking and it does the job.

However, now that I have it, it would be nice if the disks were double if not triple the storage space. It's kind of a drag to change the disk in such short intervals. But again, I knew how much data they would hold before I bought it. This also means I carry about 6 disks with me at a time to make sure I have plenty of music.

It's a trade off. I didn't really want one of the bigger jukeboxes and still don't see the need. I don't want to manage that much music when I'm trying to enjoy what I'm doing. With the hipzip it's like playing a mixed CD everytime you stick one in so music management is cake.

With the improved paylist and bookmark capabilities of the newer releases of the HipZip, not to mention the $50 rebate, it's just a great value. As a Clik drive and disk user for a couple years already, I found the HipZip a natural fit for me and rarely if ever use the USB port, but just copy the MP3 or WMA files directly to the Clik disk through the Clik drive in the PC card slot on my notebook computer. The other advantage is that I can use the USB port to connect the HipZip to my desktop at work to use a drive for transferring files between my notebook and desktop. Finally, something to use all of my Clik disks with.

I would throw out the Koss earphones, don't even use them. I just plugged in my earphones from my portable CD player. Great sound with decent earphones. Very happy with the unit overall. Great software, I have used both the Windows Media Player software and the MusicMatch Jukebox software and both are easy to use. I get about about 40 minutes of play time per 40 meg disk.

Great for running and skip free.