I recently ordered this product off of Amazon and I am extremely satisfied.
First I will give you a run down of what equipment I use this with. My laptop (Entertainment HP, 2GB RAM, with Vista), my surround sound (Phillips Hi-Def), my Sony PS3 (not the PS3 itself, but the charger for the controllers), car stereo, & iHome speakers.
When I was browsing potential MP3 Players my main concern was playlists and if the player could hold up under pressure (aka being on my arm while jogging, being dropped, and tossed around in general).
I have put songs on it (mostly MP3 & WMA format) from Windows Media Player on my laptop. In order to create playlists, I first put them as a list in Windows Media Player and then right clicked on the list in order to send it to the player. All of the songs were in the exact order I put them in (in the past I had experienced a problem with the MP3 Player jumbling things)! The menu is easily to scroll through using the navigational keys. The player also remembers where you left off in a song and in a list. If I turn it off during the middle of the song all I have to do is scroll to "Now Playing" in the menu to pickup where I left off. It came with a disc to install it, but all I had to do was hook it up to my laptop with the usb cord. No installation was necessary (although my computer did have me name it). No additional software was necessary. Windows Media Player was enough. I have not found a way to delete songs off of the player without hooking it up to the computer, but this is not a huge deal for me since everything else is perfect.
The volume goes up to 31. I generally do not put it over 16 or 17, which is plenty. The battery life has varied some. I think this has to do with the days when I am constantly scrolling through songs as opposed to days where I select my list and let it play. This makes it generally 7 to 10 hours, respectively.
It holds up while I am jogging. I always prefer to purchase electronics that can take some abuse since I am clumsy. This player has held up under my treatment (which is saying a lot)!
To charge it I did not purchase a charger. I use the charger I bought for the PS3 controllers. It works just fine and does not take forever to charge. I also like that there are no batteries I have to replace.
I also hook the player up to iHome speakers so I can "jam out" when I am doing laundry or some other house chore. It also works well with the surround sound system I have. All I have to do is plug it in with the usb cord.
I highly reccomend this MP3 player if you're looking for something that works with the rest of your electronics. In the past I have purchased players that have had serious compatability issues and it drove me nuts trying to figure out how to use them. Next I am going to purchase one for my nine year old. He already can use it perfectly! So, if you're looking for compatability, user-friendly features, and durability, look no further!
Update as of 10/4/08
I dropped the mp3 player off the upstairs deck at my house and thought I broke it, but luckily there is a reset button on the lower back of the player. You have to use a small point (I used a thumb tack) to press the button. It was a total life saver.
Update as of 1/8/09
I noticed when I was updating the playlists that the playlists already on the player that had less than 18 songs on them were jumbled. All of the playlists in which I had placed 18 or more songs on them remained perfect and in the order I had originally specified.
PS. I would highly advise buying different headphones.
Update as of 1/1/2011
After almost 4 yrs (I wrote this review awhile after starting to use it) it's time to purchase another one. I used it for, on average, about four or five hours per day (sometimes more). The hold button no longer works without having to tape it down. It is difficult to add/delete playlists without having to hit the reset button on the back a couple times. Coby 4 GB Flash Video MP3 Player with FM Radio (Black)
This is a fantastic product! It's about the size of an Apple Nano (the older one); holds a tremendous amount of media; is very durable; and costs about 1/3 of the cost of a Nano. The best part is not having to mess with the
I purchased this to replace my last Coby mp3 player. Coby is a gem in the rough. Many people don't know about this company. They put out a quality product at a much more reasonable price.
There are only two small down-sides. You can't delete the file from the unit. You have to plug it into a computer. Also, the controls take a little getting used to. Even though it has a circle, it doesn't have the feature of scrolling by tracing the circle with your thumb as Apple does.
Transferring files is very easy. You can either use software like Windows Media Player, or open the files yourself to give complete control. You can't as easily do this with Apple. The battery lasts a long time as well. The best part is you don't have to mess with proprietary software with Apple that restricts your capabilities to add music for a cheaper price than iTunes. - 4gb - Fm Radio - Cheap Mp3 Player - Coby'
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