Rating: Summary: Perfect MP3 player to use while running Review: The Nike-Philips psa[128 mp3 player is perfect to use while running or working out. It's sweatproof, straps comfortably onto your arm, doesn't get in the way, holds about 2 hours of near CD-quality music, and plays back music skip-free like a charm. The headphones are a compromise between great quality sound versus letting you hear that car coming up behind you. If this compromise doesn't suit you, you can always use a different set headphones you like better. The player uses flash memory for the firmware, which means the player is upgradeable. As with any flash-memory device, if you are not careful about how you connect or disconnect the player to your computer, you can corrupt the flash memory and the player will stop working. The Nike-Philips website ... provides detailed instructions on how to restore the flash memory if this happens. The reason I rated this player a 4 instead of a 5 is because it doesn't have a couple of features that might surprise you. First, there is no shuffle playback option. Second, while you can change tracks before the music starts to play, you can't skip tracks once playing has begun. I understand that Nike-Philips opted to omit these features in order to keep the unit simple and reliable. In any case, neither of these limitations is a problem for me, but some people might wish that these features were available. The MusicMatch software that comes with the player is a decent MP3 music manager. Not everyone likes it, but the upgrade available for purchase is quite a bit better than the older, limited version that comes on the installation CD. Bottom line: This MP3 player is perfect for use at the gym or while running. I personally use it every day and absolutely love it.
Rating: Summary: Neat Little Unit But You'll Want Better Headphones Review: Picked up my player yesterday and got it up and running in 10 minutes. Follow all of the instructions (e.g., install Music Match, install drivers) and then use Windows Media Player. Had some playlists already and copied them over right away. I personally find Windows Media player a lot easier to use than Music Match. Fourteen songs transferred over to the unit in a few minutes ( a little slower than I expected as a first time mp3 user). Went cycling this morning and found the supplied headphones very annoying - they kept coming out of my ears everytime I moved my head. Ordered some Sony Ear-Buds which appear to have some great reviews. Overall the build quality and feel of the unit is excellent. Like the arm band and the magnets are greeat ideas to keep from getting tangled in the wires.
Rating: Summary: Wow, Nicely Done! Review: Okay, don't use the included MusicMatch software. Install it like the directions say, and then use Windows Media Player to transfer files to the player. THis is 100 times easier, and you can use existing playlists without doing anything or using your brain at all. Just plug it in, click "Send to Device", and you're done. The build quality impressed me. Usually little tiny electronics feel cheap and like they will break quickly. I played with some mp3 players in the store and they felt really cheap (like the creative muVo). This one feels like it is a quality product. It sounds great. The headphones aren't for everyone, same story for the magnets. The armband is fantastic. Very comfy and quality materials ensure maximum life. I would definitely recommend this player for anyone who exercises. I also recommend using WMA files instead of MP3, the files are way smaller. I have all my files in WMA format, 128 kbps, and I can fit 30 songs on the player with no problem. The only negative I have found so far is the difficulty in setting the player EQ, the buttons are smaller and the menus go back to battery save mode in like 2 seconds, so you have very little time to remember which button does what. But you really only need to set it once. Buy it. It is worth the extra $$$ over the sonicblue player, unless you need to expand the capacity, in which case, you probably are looking for something to use outside of working out. If that is the case, you shouldn't be shopping for this kind of product. This product is easily the best of it's type.
Rating: Summary: Facny design, poor performance Review: I have had several MP3 players. This one is perfect for exercise, but it doesn't last long. First, its software installation caused me longer than other products to install. Not to mention its driver isn't Microsoft approved. So I spent some time to make it work on Win XP.(after searching information on websites to locate problems) 2. Phillip doesn't provide enough customer support even though Phillip made it. You'll get email from Phillip saying "go to find Nike, we can't help you." -- and Nike says "We don't make electronics." 3.its parts will be lost easily even though they look durable. BE CAREFUL magnet parts. You'll lose them on the first day of use if you don't pay attention. 4. You'll have to pay more if you want to use its music software after you install it on your computer. All you get is basic functions while other MP3 player softwares provide full functions.And this software is still slow on my advanced computer, also hard to understand its functions. The only good thing I like about this MP3 player is its design, but it lasted only few months-- then it died ...
Rating: Summary: Great Player and Just Enough Space!!! Review: It's great!! I was able to fit 30 songs in MP3 format on 128MB. The software, MusicMatch is easy to use, to rip music of CD's and transport the tracks and MP3's to the device easily. Comes with a rubber case attached to an arm strap for those excercise buffs!...This device also come with a remote but the downside is you have long wires everywhere so it really is useless for those who don't like tangles, but is a cool feature! The backlight is orange, unlike my other player which has a really neat blue-indigo light. The colors of the player pictured here on Amazon are much lighter than it really looks; its a little darker, not like this Easter blue color they have here...It's a pretty good deal. It has these buttons that may be frustrating at times 'cause sometimes you have to press it hard occasionally, but most players have this problem. To turn it on you have to hold the play/pause button for about two seconds, same way to turn it off. It has four equilizers...off the top of my head: three are funk, rock, and hip-hop, and they also have one extra one you can customize. Another downside is (comparing it with my other player) that it has no menu so you can't delete or change settings, or shut down the backlight to save battery life (which is appraximatley 4-5 hours). It doesn't come with a manual but you can download the PDF file off the [web]site or off the CD that comes with it...it came with three magnets...I'm not sure for what reason, but I think it is so you can attach the remote to your clothes...This also comes with a cool looking battery charger and a rechargeable battery (takes 4 hours to charge one). I think that is it...I will add more if I remember anything else...GO AND BUY IT!! RATING: 4.5
Rating: Summary: Caution: Mac no longer supported Review: I love the looks of this player and as a runner, its a joy to use. The headphones work for me, but they do come out of your ears easily if you turn your head abruptly. Im glad the remote was not hardwired into the headphones, because I found the buttons too small to use while running, and the "wire management system" (via clever magnets), totally unnecessary. The biggest disadvantage of this unit is the reliance on 3rd party software. The more contemporary players today simply plug into a Firewire port and allow you to drag and drop music on an icon. Clean, fast and brainless, no drivers or extensions to load. As a publishing professional I use both Macintosh and Windows, but I prefer Mac and that's what I use at home. From the Mac users point of view, I feel deceived. This is hard for me to write because Ive been a runner and Nike loyalist for years. In Nike's owners manual (which I read before purchase), it states "software upgradeable and will support future playback formats and software extensions will be made available on www.nike-philips.com," and under system requirements it stated Mac OS9.X. I thought cool; my OS of choice is supported so I purchased the unit. During the install the software automatically took me to the Musicmatch web site, (the software that interfaces with the unit), which informed me that they were no longer supporting Macintosh. "We apologize for any incontinence." Shouldn't this apology come from Nike? And why are they still selling this unit with such claims? I guess Mac users constitute such a small customer base, a class action suit is not likely. Bottom line for Mac users, this unit is not supported by any version of iTunes, the software shipped with the unit (musicmatch) is no longer supported, the MP4 format is not suppored; which means music downloaded from Apple's music store can not be used, and needless to say OSX uses need not apply because the musicmatch software will not run properly in the classic environment.
Rating: Summary: Broke for no reason after a month of use!!! Review: Don't buy this thing!!! It broke down on me for no reason barely a month after I bought it. One minute it was fine and I was loading new songs into it from my laptop, and the next minute it just went dead completely for no reason. Other cons include a lousy 128 MB of storage space (whereas other models like the Creative Muvo2 (4GB) gives you 4GB of storage for only about $199!) and an extremely poor battery life (I gave up using the rechargeable battery that came with the player and ended up using a regular AAA battery instead). The only (minor) pros the player has are that it looks pretty cool and sporty and (at least during the few short weeks while it was still working) it was indeed a great companion for running and exercising. But given the above cons, it is a TERRIBLE deal.
Rating: Summary: Novice to Digital Music Players gives thumbs up. Review: I've been wanting to get into the MP3 music craze for awhile, and use it while jogging, since CD Players take to much attention away from the run. I read some reviews and decided to buy this Nike/Phillips unit since 128MB was plenety enough space for a 1+ hour jog. I agree with some of the others about Musicmatch. Don't bother installing it on your windows PC. If your PC is at all current, then you already have Windows Media Player, which has the capability to convert any WAV file to a WMA file (not sure about conversion of MP3. Again, I'm a novice to all this). I'm told WMA is better soundwise than MP3 format. So just load the CD and get the USB drivers loaded, but remember to do a complete format(not just a quickformat) of the Player. Go ahead and whip out your CDs and convert 'em to WMA. Then once you have enough WMA files to your liking, just click copy to device. Find the files on your HD and drag them into the Playlist side, and click Copy. The Musicmatch program included is so old and not worth the hassle, and after laying out cash for the player, I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in updating (and paying extra for) a program to be used on a player I've not even tried yet. I feel like that's a bait'n switch. But I guess everyone's trying to cash in. Overall I am pleased with the look and feel and sound coming from this unit. The only change I would wish for, is a built-in clock and stopwatch like on the Rio S35S.
Rating: Summary: Horrible Product Review: One trip in light rain - Dead Software doesn't work and locks up computer constantly. You can't purchase tracks from Napster and download onto device. I have owned 2 of these units (shame on me for the 2nd time), and really wanted to love it. However, it is complete junk. Do not waste your money on it.
Rating: Summary: Good, but could be better Review: This MP3 player is good for people who are looking for one to take to the gym. Along with many people I was confused as to how to get songs onto this thing. Here is some helpful info. 1. Dont use musicmatch, dont even install it-you dont need it. 2. Plug the player into your computer and open windows explorer. The Player will show up as a removable drive. 3. Open my music folder(or whatever you keep your songs in) then simply drag the song you want over to the drive and drop it. The file will then show up in your player. 4. Continue to do this with all the songs you want, it will automatically tell you when the drive(player) is full. When you want to remove a song simply open that drive and delete it. This way is much simpler than musicmatch(I still dont even know how to do it through music match) As far as the player itself, it is good but if I had to do it again I would buy the Rio Cali because it has expandable memory. Hope this reveiw helped you! Lift weights, Bodybuild, ANIMAL Strength and Honor
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