Rating: 
Summary: The BAD Things About the Compaq PA-1
Review: Ok, by now you've heard that this player pumps out some serious sound. Overall, it's a great portable MP3 player because of its size, provided memory, and features. But, here are things I don't like about the PA-1:1) PACKAGING: Literally, it took me forever to get the MP3 player out of the packaging. Looks like they shrink-wrapped it with thick plastic. Almost damaged the player and ripped a fingernail during the process. 2) FLIMSY LIDS & LACK THERE OF: The lid for the memory card slots is very flimsy and I'm sure during the life of the player, many will experience losing it. The lid that protects the battery compartment is a little stronger, but not as sturdy as it could be. The USB port lacks a cover and could possibly accumulate dust, lint, or even water, eventually damaging it. 3) BATTERY LIFE: Definitely does not live up to its 10-hour playback time at moderate volumes. Of all the times I've played back my music at the sound level of 2 out of 10, I've only managed to get 7 to 8.5 hours of playback. It sucks battery life like nothing when you're downloading music from your computer. Where did Compaq get 10 hours? 4) SLOW TRANSFER RATE: Through a USB connection, you're suppose to get somewhat of a speedy transfer rate, but on average, a 3 to 4 MB file takes about 35 to 45 seconds to transfer. I'm told that the speed of the transfer depends on the type of software you're using. If true, the RioPort software that it comes with is terrible. 5) WHY MMC MEDIA? These cards cost an arm and a leg. I've only found 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 MB increments and only a hand-picked few carry them. I know that the MMC media cards are smaller in size than the SM or CF media, but let's try to use technology that more accessible, Compaq! 6) ANNOYING BELT CLIP: The belt clip is an awesome feature, but in order to access the battery compartment, you need to loosen the belt clip with a coin or flathead screwdriver to turn the clip away from the battery door. As much as it drains the battery, I'd assume Compaq could design this a little better. 7) COMPAQ SUPPORT: If you're going to provide support for your products, make sure it's helpful. I called to ask a few questions about the PA-1 and every answer was, "it's in the manual." I don't think so. Hope this was helpful.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Little Player
Review: I read a lot of Amazon.com reviews before settling on the Compaq iPAC PA-1 MP3 player (my first MP3 player). I had some reservations, because all the players seemed to have quite a range of good-bad reviews. I've been very happy with this player. It is conveniently small. The sound is good, and it's easy to use. I bought a cassette adapter so I use the player in the car, as well as using the included ear buds for running. The battery life is not as bad as some reviews led me to believe, although I haven't timed the usage to give you an exact idea. It has been a pet peeve that when I format the memory cards I don't get quite as much memory space on them as I should. Not a huge big deal though. Two more minor complaints: the ear buds don't fit all that well into my ears. They don't fall out when I'm running, but they don't sit just right. The Play/Pause button is large for convenience, but you have to be careful not to bump it too, and pause the music. That said, I would definitely recommend this player.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Product But Easy To Lose
Review: This mp3 player is the best I have seen in terms of the different formats it can play. It is small and lightweight and easy to use. It is also a durable product unlike the roxio mp3 player.
Rating: 
Summary: iPaq VS. Other MP3 Players
Review: iPaq - OK its small, lightweight, and it has two MMC card slots, is skip-proof (well duh its an MP3 player), and I love it! Now I can play most sports (except football) with my music! Hey if you got enough money to buy this little sucker go ahead its worth it, but you should also buy like a 24-pack of AAA batteries because they eat'em up like little demons :( That's the only bad thing I've heard about it. Also, some people that aren't quite to good with computers will have a problem installing it because its quite a challenge for newcomers to install it. But that's only if you've like never seen a computer in your life. Other MP3 Players - Some are big, some are heavy, some have little to none memory, and some just cost too much! But some are better than the iPaq, but if you do want a good, small high quality with minor problems, but otherwise very easy and handy to use when you want skip-free music on the go get the iPaq, but if don't the choice is up to you. Hey I may only be a teen but that's even better becuase that shows that teens like me love it! BELIEVE ME ITS WORTH IT :)
Rating:
Summary: Had it a while but you know what..
Review: I had a [hard]time trying to figure out which mp3 player to get. I looked at the sony viao clip had the worst reviews I have ever seen! Also its not a real mp3 player. Lets talk about the Compaq.The first thing I have to say is when you buy this, GO OUT NOW AND BUY SOME RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES! Seriously I have spent hundreds (NOT JOKING) of dollars on batts. I get about 2 hours of playback if I am lucky(at volume set at 4 bass at 7 trebel at 6). My other complaint is that while going across a very very very large parkinglot And a cell phone store somewhere along the way I lost the memory cover, and customer service [was not good],I was on the phone for 2 hours they had me call more than 10 diffrent phone numbers some where the same that I had already called. I finally got hold of the MP3 customer service, they wanted me to send the whole unit in for the cover I could simply put it on. Rather than spend the $8.00 for a simple $1.00 part I went without! But I do LOVE THIS MP3 player. I have noticed that they aren't kidding when they tell you to not put an mp3 file from the net at more than a whatever bitrate. How I just figured this out the other day. If you do go over the bitrate it will start to play the song for however long and then go to the next song! That makes me angry but I just fast foward a little bit and its fine!I like this unit it is pretty cool, and people outher what are you talking about being able to just use WMP(windows media player), IT COMES WITH RIO PORT TO! which is simple, [heck] I am 14 and I figured it out all and all in a days time! O yeah it eats up your batterties when u load songs to FYI. If you walk and hate the stupid cd player skiping get the MP3 player. I replaced the headphone with sony the little sony headphones that go inside your ear(the earbuds it came with hurt my ears) and the sony makes the sound quality alot better(go spend the $10 on the sony headphones, you have gone this far). My main aim was when I went joggin not to notice this, which I don't, expect the PERFECT sound this provides!have fun crank up thos tunes and hey kids I do this, take the airbud headphones and put one in one of your ears and turn the volume down(do this in class he he) and tilt your head to where the teacher wont really notice run the wire threw your shirt! pluses is its lighter than my palm M100 and I love the belt clip! but DO NOT BUY A SONY, K? GO buy those batts b4 u buy this u will thank me! HAVE FUN AND BUY THIS! DO it all over again, ... YEAH! ~ANDREW AZZARITI~
Rating:
Summary: Great player overall
Review: Just got this player a few days ago and everything worked perfectly out of the box the first time out. Downloading is fast and easy and fairly simple to use/ However, the Rioport Audio Manager they ship with the player could be better. It only allows you to copy 50 mp3 files before you have to pay their "nominal" fee; otherwise, it provides unlimited recording in Windows Media files. It's a bit slow too. So I just copy my CD's using Real Jukebox (I can get rip rates up to 8x at 96kps, which is a lot faster than Rioport) and transfer them over. That has sped up the process quite a bit and I can still fit 28-30 songs onto the memory cards. Just a note: since the two cards are 32 megs each, if you have 2 megs left on the first card and a 3 meg song, you have to record it onto the second card so you won't ever really get 64 total megs. I took the player jogging with me and it worked great--it's especially light so I could just clip it onto my shorts with no problem. If you are a runner, this is the player to buy. I am extremely happy with it so far.
Rating:
Summary: Compaq PA-1 iPaq Personal Audio Player [MP3 AUDIO]
Review: Great MP3 player when it works. The sound quality is awesome and this is one small and very portable MP3 player. I have had it for about 7 months and have had quite a few problems with it. It is always a pain to put new music on it. The day after I purchased this PA1 I had to install a new driver and reformat the memory card on the mp3 player. The only way to format the media card is to download RioPort audio manager, which would be no problem but it is something that you have to buy after you use up your trial membership. Now I use Window's media player to download songs to it. The only problem is that media player often tells me that the card is not formatted, or tells me there is no media device present. I have removed and reinstalled the driver numerous times and I still get the same problems. Also Windows media player often freezes in the middle of putting songs on to the mp3 player, which means that I have to restart it and the task of putting music back on it. A great deal if you don't mind dealing w/the occasional headache.
Rating:
Summary: Best player for runners!
Review: Player works great! If you run, walk, or bike a lot, this player is for you. Depending on the sound quality you want, you can load up hours of songs and hit the road. Just make sure to get yourself a comfortable pair of earphones. Another bonus of this model over others is the capability of handling multiple file formats.
Rating:
Summary: Great player for the price
Review: I purchased this player based on a lot of research and it was a great choice. It is extremely small and light weight. Its simple to use, just unpack and plug in, start up Windows Media player and your off. The download time is a little slow but that is barely noticable. It sounds great, lose the earphones it comes with and pick a good sony or Aiwa pair. I use wma format and I can get about 20 songs or sixty minutes of music on one 64 meg card. (use wma format, it compresses much more than mp3 and sounds just as crisp) Battery life is great. With normal batteries I got about 14 hours of playback. ... Basically its great for someone who needs a player to workout with or use to and from work. Belt clip is fine for the gym and running. It comes off and the player is hardly noticable in your pocket.
Rating:
Summary: FABULOUS BUT NEW OPERATING SYSTEM LEFT ME HIGH AND DRY
Review: I can't say enough good things about the Compaq PA1. There's no bounce no skip, great quality. I listened to it while running 4.5 miles with beautiful results. So for problem free music-buy it. I purchased it when it very first came out with no regrets. Until now....
I recently upgraded my Operating system to XP and find that I can't get Drivers for the PA1. Therefore all of the great music I now have I can't listen to on my pA1. I am torqued beyond belief. XP Imcompatibilities ... not only strand me for this but all my music recording products. I'll end up spending hundreds for the privledge of "upgrading" my system to XP. ...
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