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May 24, 2005
Digitalway MPIO FL300 MP3 Player Review
The Bottom Line
Digitalway's MPIO FL300 is an attractive piece of eye candy which doesn't quite have all the nuts and bolts it needs to make it worth its weight in gold. On the upside, the music quality is cool (especially with the dynamic sound boosts), the voice recorder actually captures your voice clearly and the LCD is easy to read given its small size. The albatross though comes from a tough control navigation setup, less then advertised battery life and slow file transfers.
Manufacturer's Site
Pros Quality sound for such a small player
Hip look
Easy to read LCD
Cons Navigation scheme a little tricky
Lack of USB 2.0 support means slow file transfers
Playback time not quite up to 10 hours
Description
Dimensions: 1.1" x 1.9" x 0.5"
Weight: 0.9 ounces
Available memory configurations: 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB
Body colors: Blue, Red, Violet
Supported Audio Files: MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV (voice recording feature)
Primary Features: Music playback, voice recording, storage of non-music files
Secondary Features: Alarm clock, upgradeable firmware
Compatible operating systems: Windows: 98/SE/ME/2000/XP, Macintosh: Mac OS Version 10.2 above
Guide Review - Digitalway MPIO FL300 MP3 Player Review
The FL300 came with 128MB, with varying sizes of up to 1GB available in select markets. The overall look is best described as pretty, meaning it has a nice, shiny pendant like size and design, which appeals to those looking for great eye candy.
Weight was almost nothing, clocking in at less than an ounce. It has an easy to read LCD which displays lots information for being so small. The button layout is simple, though a little tough on people with big fingers. Figuring out how to use the buttons to control what functions onscreen is tricky also.
Adding songs to the FL300 is a snap. After connecting to your PC or Mac’s USB port, you drag and drop MP3 or WMA music files into the player’s folder on your computer’s desktop. Windows Media Player transfers are also supported. Transfer time was a little slow, owing to lack of USB 2.0 support.
The FL300 held approximately 25 MP3 songs, recorded at 192kpbs and with an average length of four minutes, and pumped out a great sound. This was highlighted by the five presets of the equalizer and the four dynamic simulated environments (i.e. concert). Voice recording is another audio feature of the FL300. Tests recording high or low quality WAV files produced easily understood conversations and memos.
Playback time on the rechargeable battery did not quite hit MPIO’s 10 hour watermark, averaging 7 hours instead.
A nice included accessory is the armband, which comfortably holds your player in its protective case as you exercise.
Posted by mp3fan at May 24, 2005 10:25 PM