Rating: Summary: Another good review Review: I bought the PA-1 a week ago, so I can't talk about its reliability; but its features have surpassed my expectation. It is pricy at $249 but luckly the $50 rebate was extended until June 2001. It is small, yet the buttons are large enough and layed out well so it can be operated without looking at it. It comes with 2 32meg Smart Media type MMCs. There are 2 card slots and since you can swap the cards you can carry extra cards, programed with more music. I can fit 1 CD on each card recorded at CD quality. Recently on a buisness trip to Ireland, the airline disallowed the use of CD players. It can be hell having to listen to the airline's tastes in music. This player will be great for those long trips. I did buy an extended warrenty because I don't trust the reliability of any new, expensive, electronic device. I don't think I will need it but for $45 it is good peace of mind. I didn't have any problems with the software but they could have made it simpler. Other players use only 1 AA battery but this one uses 2 AAA batteries. So it may be a little more exspensive to operate (I believe the AAA batteries allow it to be smaller). Here is how it could be improved. They need to put a cover or door over the USB port. It is exposed and over time will probably get dirt or pocket lint building up. Actualy, the whole device could use a case. It shuts its self off when there is no activity for a few minits even if it's connected to the computer so if you don't check it before trying to access it you will get a "no device found" message and you need to re-establish the USB link. One more way to improve it is by supplying it with one 64meg MMC inplace of 2 32meg MMCs. This way you can upgrade the memory by buying one more 64Meg MMC. I haven't found out if you can use different size MMCs at the same time; Nor if it will allow for larger MMCs that may come out in the future. Bottom line: I love this divice, it sounds great, and it is worth the money.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Review: I've read a lot of other reviews, and frankly, they are long and redundant. Simply put, the iPAQ is probably the greatest bargain out there in terms of MP3 players. It's size speaks for itself, it has good memory capability, nice interface and good battery life. It's probably the easiest player to use and the quality is amazing. My one complaint is the software, the RioPort software isn't wonderful but it's easy to use and so far has not given much trouble. I would definitely recommend this MP3 player to anyone looking for ease of use, quality, and convenience.
Rating: Summary: Great player, terrible software Review: The PA-1 is one of the smallest, and best looking players on the market. The sound is good, the memory is as good as most comparable players and the features are well designed. However, the software, RioPort Audio Manager, is worse than worthless: it may be impossible for you to install and will almost certainly cause you headaches. In addition, Compaq has designed their web site in such a way as to almost make it impossible to contact them for support for this product. Think twice before buying the PA-1.
Rating: Summary: Pretty good little machine Review: I just got the ipaq and i found it easy to install the software and d/l music into it. the ear phones are pretty good, better than some i've seen on cd players...it's also very small and light, making it a delight on the subway. the only real complaint that i have is that the volume even at 1 is a little loud for me and that the mmc cards are only 32 megs each. so you really don't have enough memory to d/l more than like 5 songs per card. and the mmc's i've seen so far cost a lot! but as i paid just ... for mine after the... rebate, I think it's a pretty good bargain. go for the nomad if you have the money but this is a pretty good alternative if you don't. (the reason I had almost... off is b/c of gift certificates and the ... purchase also:) )
Rating: Summary: Tricky Package, But Worth It Review: I just bought my new iPAQ and I love the sound quality. The earphones turn out some great sound, although they become rather bothersome after a while of being in your ear. They are not very ergonomically shaped for my ears at least. But they do sound great, so I will stick with them. The software is relatively easy to learn. I was up and running in 20 minutes (10 of which were spent getting the little sucker out of the plastic casing, where i scratched the bottom of the player, inflicting cosmetic damage to it's cool looking exterior). The downloading to the iPAQ took a little longer than expected (about 45-55 sec every song), but I have never had a MP3 player to judge that against. I love playing golf with it, playing some mellow songs to help the tempo of my swing. And when I'm doing some shopping, I like listening to my rap and my rock, people looking strangely sometimes! I see here on some of these reviews that people aren't satisfied with the battery life, but I find that since the headphones pump out some mega-sound, I only use about 30% volume. I guess that helps alot of battery life. I give it four stars because I had a heck of a time just getting it out of the casing. Also, the headphones, while sounding great, cause a little discomfort. All in all, if you love music, then you will love having a great little player like the iPAQ.
Rating: Summary: Madd Nice Review: This is a nice sounding, lightweight mp3 player thats pretty good with batteries. You may want to upgrade on the headphones and be careful when you open the box it comes in. (I made a slit on my player tryin to open it)
Rating: Summary: NO help from customer service support line Review: I bought this mp3 player for my husband based on everybody elses wonderful reviews on the product. He loved it, but had trouble with getting songs to record. We have WINDOWS 2000 (which the booklet says it IS compatable with. When my husband called the "help line" for help, the guy claimed that it was Not compatable with WINDOWS 2000. Turns out the guy didn't know what he was talking about because my husband finally figured it out on his own. Another downfall-- he took it up skiing yesterday, and it stopped working. (It started working again when he came home). We are wondering if altitude or temperature affects its ability to function. ??
Rating: Summary: Pretty damn nice! Review: Hi, I just got this MP3 player yesterday, and it rocks! It's my first MP3 player, and I'm in heaven. A couple of bad things though. 1) The battery life is pretty small, as mentioned in the other reviews, especially when downloading. 2) The packing it comes in is a terror to open, I got pretty scratched up. Otherwise, it's great! No sound skipping, no same ol' CDs, and you can download MP3 files, or convert your existing CDs to MP3 files, which basically combines your whole collection to be at your disposal when you want to put it on your iPaq. Overall, you gotta get it!! :)
Rating: Summary: highly recommended Review: If you are searching the market for a good MP3 player, I highly recommend this one. It comes with two media cards, that go into the two slots in the side of this little machine. I have been downloading songs over and over again, and have not had any problems! The buttons on the front of the player are VERY simple, and it probably took me a couple seconds to figure them out. The program that comes on the CD to download songs is also VERY simple, and I was downloading songs onto the player in minutes of actually having the player in my hands. I HIGHLY recommend this player, since it is very easy to use. Wall Street Journal has rated this player the best value and best overall player out of all of the ones it has rated. So get this player if you are searching for one, and great for teenagers (like me)!
Rating: Summary: Good little player ... Review: Hey hows it goin?? Well i got this player for christmas and i am very impressed. The sound is great. The Back lite screen makes it easy to see in the dark. Really easy for people who haven't ever used one before. Software is very nice. Battery life is ok, could be better. Earphones are nice, but hurt your ears after a while. Very small and durable. Buttons are easy to press. Has a lock on the buttons so don't worry about switching tracks while its in your pocket. Doesn't skip. Comes with belt clip. Also comes with batteries. Good little player for those who are new to mp3 players.
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