philips act215 - mp3 player

SUMMARY:
I got mine as a Xmas pres, not my initial choice, but as I didnt buy it I aint gonna complain (yet!) It is used for my 2-2½ hour daily total commute time.

PC Loaded the software ok, though I tend to use RealJukebox as the interface as it is MUCH easier than the one supplied. Havent yet upgraded the firmware (currently v1.15) and looking at other reveiws I dont think Ill bother if the memory split problem is the result!

I would like to get the 340MB backpack, yet cannot find any mention of this on Rios site, nor can I track down any mention of this anywhere on the web :-( Even Rios own on-line shop shows product not available for the 64MB or 128MB backpacks!

I like the shape and use and can get approx 35-40 tracks (mp3s @ 64kbps) onto the 64MB memory. I am using my preferred (better) earphones than those supplied - musical quality is very good IMHO - and I play a wide range of musical styles (classical, rock, punk, folk). Buttons are a tad fiddly mind.

What does pee me off is the way it eats batteries - Rio alledge 11 hours from a single AA - yeah right! if the volume is at setting 1 perhaps! I rarely get more than 3 days use (approx 6-7½ hours) out of a Duracell AA.

After having the player for 2 days, Im very impressed. It sounds excellent, feels durable and is easy-to-use

The LCD is clear and very impressive, and the included carrycase with belt clip is excellent.

Ive put an assortment of everything from 64kb WMA to 192kb MP3, and 64kb WMA, while sounding awful on the PC, sounds undistinguishable from 128kb MP3. Sadly, 192kb MP3 sounds incredible, but for any serious length of music is unusable (a sad drawback of only 32mb storage - i definately plan on purchasing an expansion backpack). however, with the good-sounding 64kb WMA, one hour of reasonable-quality music can be crammed on. Perfect.

The included headphones, while uncomfortable, are funky, and dont sound too bad.

Firmware updates and USB transfer are both excellent and easy.

Unofrtunately, as a windows XP user, Ive found the included software a buggy nightmare. However, after downloading support files for Windows Media Player, I dont have to use it, and the transfer is hassle-free

*Small, lightweight *No Skipping *Decent sound quality (the above apply to pretty much any portable MP3 player) *WMA Support *USB interface for fast transfer of songs *Future support for 340MB IBM Microdrive *Possible future AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) support *Low price

Cons: *Rio Audio Manager software is extremely cumbersome to use *Supplied earphones do not sound good and will have to be replaced *You cannot distinctly discern by touch what button youre pushing on the round pad. Youll end up stopping or pausing tracks when you want to skip to the next track. *Only 32MB RAM standard with no upgrades available at this time *Larger than previous model Rio 500 *No belt clip *No recording for FM tuner

The Rio 600 is your basic MP3 player. WMA support is nice, but because of Digital Rights Management, the WMA format is difficult to deal with and Im not going to convert all my MP3s to WMA. Someone should have tested the Rio 600s button pad for usability. You cant feel what button youre pushing and because the Rio 600s body is curvy, its hard to discern up/down/left/right without looking at it. You also have to use your fingernail to push the tiny center button or youll accidentally press on of the up/down/left/right buttons as well.

As of right now, I would recommend the Rio 600 over any other MP3 player currently available, not so much because its so good in itself, but its good when you compare it to the others. The things I most wish it had right now are memory packs and better software. Im not sure how much the memory pack upgrades will cost, but Im hoping that a 32MB memory pack will not put it in the ballpark of a Rio 800 which will come with 64MB standard and have recording support.