Reasons It Rocks:
-- Sound is great-- Doesn't skip-- Holds 70 songs on 64 kbps quality MP3s (which sound fine)-- Has radio-- Great battery life - around 10 to 15 hours
Reasons Not To Buy:
-- Only if you have poor judgement will you not buy this
I have read so many reviews trashing players but I think the reason it doesnt work for them is because they didnt read the instruction book before they used it!!! Thats probably it!
AESTHETICSOkay, I can't help it but I expect products that I purchase to be visually pleasing--call it the curse of being a gadget designer/monger.Firstly, when the Yepp arrived, I'll admit I was a little dismayed to see that it was slightly larger than I expected it to be. Having seen the Mini Yepp (and having previously tried out the Sony MP3 stick player), somehow I was under the impression that the Yepp would be smaller, more svelte, more...desireable. Instead, it appears to be a dorky looking box which I guess is some geek's idea of cool (to be fair, the Intel model is pretty geeky looking as well. Guess companies are unwilling to invest in design). However, this fact is offset by the fact that the player still remains quite light. I guess pragmatics wins out over aesthetics in this case, but that doesn't keep me from hiding it under my t-shirt when I use it at the gym. I've also chucked the tuner portion (something that had actually factored into my decision of buying the Techno Yepp!) since it's not only a battery hog but the tangle of lengthy wires and tuner unit flying around on one's chest are distracting to say the least.
BUTTON LAYOUTOkay, yes, the buttons are easy to use...but do they make one iota of sense if you're not actually looking at the thing? The layout is seemingly arbitrary. Some buttons are stuck on the front side, some near the LED, some on the right side, some on the left side...and perhaps most infuriating, some buttons need to be lightly tapped, and others need to be held down for a long time to make them work. I often find myself with the player strapped to my running shorts, my fingers fumbling around and randomly punching buttons hoping that one of them will do what I want it to do, as I simultaneously try to concentrate not falling off of the stairmaster. Also, if you forget to hit the "lock" feature, the power buttons is very easy to engage simply by just pressing up against something. I've accidentally turned it off mid-favorite song many times.
VOLUMEI would have to concur with others about the volume control--the maximum volume level is just enough to hear your music at a "normal" level if there is background noise (I thought perhaps I was having hearing problems until I read other people's comments). Sometimes you just want to rock out a bit to your favorite part, but if the Yepp is competing with any other noise, you'll just have to shout out the words if you want raise the volume anymore.
OVERALLI have to agree with other reviewers who say that the software and loading up music is easy. Also, the sound quality is decent, though the 3D effect is nothing special. Having 128MB is dreamy...and the Yepp has made my workout experience a lot more pleasant. I hope the next model improves upon this one though.
I'd give this 3-1/2 stars.
