Digitalway MPIO FL100 256 MB MP3 Player

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Manufacturer: Digitalway
Price at amazon.com: List price $199.99



Product Features:

• 256 MB built-in memory
• 3-line, backlit, full-graphic LED display shows track information in several languages including English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese
• Features built-in FM tuner and microphone for voice recording
• Includes manual, set-up CD-ROM, USB cable, earphones, AA battery, carrying case, and hand strap

Product Description:

Average Customer Rating:

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Comment: Super Small and expandable Rating:
I took a while before choosing the mpio fl100 player. I checked out all the players out there, including the iriver players. The small size and the ability to be expanded was the biggest plus for me. I bought my player about 4 months ago. I have the 256mb version and dropped in a sandisk 256mb sd card. So I have a total of 512mb. Thats a lot of room. I play both music at 128kbps, and audio books/radio shows at 32kbps. Both play great. There is a bookmark option that allows you to play where you left off when you shut down the player. Real important for audio books. Also low bit rates can be played easily.

Transferring songs and other files is easy using the included software. The battery life is somewhere between 7-9 hours. I think the included earbuds are decent quality. The included carrying case is a little too tight, and probably needs to be very carefully trimmed over the volume controls (be careful not to cut all the plastic off in this area).

The only things I don't like is that its shiny side is really easy to mark up and I would guess scratch. And the battery life is just average. But all the positives make these minor. A great player.

Oh and the FM radio is great. The recording feature works, but the quality is only fair. But its a nice extra.

MPIO is very good at making upgrades to its firmware, and adding features. So this is a big plus.

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Comment: Excellent MP3 player with Voice recorder, FM, und SD slot Rating:
I found this player for $... US on Amazon.com and at that price there really was no comparison for all the functionality. I tried the iRiver 390T first ($...), but returned it because it couldn't pickup most stations on the FM receiver. So far the MPIO can pick up about 90% of the stations my car can get.

The included headphones are fine for the average consumer, although they were a bit too big for my ears. Some reviewers have complained about weak bass, but most audiophiles won't be using them anyway. The player sounds great with my Sony MDR-V600 headphones, but also sounds nice with my Sony $20 in the ear sport model.

The unit does pick up smudges/fingerprints easily, but it's so cool looking and small you won't care. It's easily the smallest player on the market today. Pretty solid construction except for the USB cover which seems a little thin.

The software gets the job done. You won't be using it as a replacement for Windows Media Player however. The plugin for Windows Media Player works well for copying music, but I couldn't use it to create new folders. If they fix that I won't use the MPIO software at all (except for firmware upgrades.) Be sure and update the software and firmware to the latest when you get the unit. The CD was an interation behind.

Voice recorded works well. Great for taking quick notes for those of us advancing in our years quicker than we would like.

Updates to other reviews:
- The much maligned case has been fixed! It's actually quite nice. No need to cut wholes or anything. It has a belt clip, and comes with a wrist strap and also a neck strap (with detachable clip.)

- Also, the USB cable is easily replaced, just get the 4-pin mini-USB not the slightly more common 5-pin. Still easy to find.

Overall I'm very pleased with this model. Add a 256MB SD card (only $... at COSTCO) and you've got a lot of CD's in a really small player. Enjoy!

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Comment: bravo with a caveat Rating:
This is an excellent little audio player. Unlike other reviewers, I am impressed with the audio quality, the bass in particular is strong and rich, but only with different headphones. I am using some of the $50 Sonys. Battery life is also amazing, typically more than a full day with volume up high. My unit turns itself off only when the battery is low. My caveat is that tech support is non-existent. The player's LCD broke in my briefcase, and although the unit still plays as well as ever, I can't read the display. The voice/radio record function should be handy, but the file format is unusual and I can't play the low bitrate wave files on my computer. Hence I can't save a lecture or meeting notes for example. With all that, I would buy another one, with as much memory as possible.

Posted at November 11, 2003 07:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)