Rating: 
Summary: worst radio in history!
Review: I have ordered about 5 of the same pogo crap radios and have had to send them all back! They all have worked great for appoximately a month. Then they just stop recording!! What is up with this crap radio?? Don't buy it, you will hate it too! It should be called the experimental boomerang radio!
Rating: 
Summary: Best on Market for Certain Specific Uses
Review: I heard about this device here on Amazon, but they don't carry the 128 MB version, so I bought mine from the Pogo! company itself, which is in Brea, CA, an hour from where I live. (Can also buy from their website.) I was so happy to hear about such a device, I couldn't wait for the mail! I had originally purchased an RCA Lyra, but it turned out not to have the features I needed for talk radio and lecture listening, and also the rewind button didn't work properly on my unit. It always sent you back to the beginning of a file, most frustrating for listening to talk.I have not been at all disappointed with the Radio Your Way. Most everything about this little gem works beautifully (with one exception, which I'll address below). It is well-crafted, and feels in your hand more like the solid electronics of yesteryear than the cheap plastic models of today. At the same time, its appearance is up-to-date and attractive. I had no trouble at all installing the software on my Windows ME platform, and found the interface to be intuitive and user-friendly. I hardly needed to refer to the manual to figure out that I merely needed to find and highlight the MP3 file I wanted in the "Radio Your Way Explorer" window (which works a lot like "Windows Explorer"), then click "music" (signifying an MP3 file), then click "download." A 16 MB audio file took a mere 50 seconds to transfer from my computer to the device. I did not buy this product to record radio, so cannot speak to that function. Others on this site have said it works well, as long as you buy the adapter. (An adapter comes with the 128 model.) I bought it because the talk radio guy I mostly listen to (Dennis Prager) is now putting MP3 files of all his shows on his website. They are accessible for a small monthly fee, so now I can throw away my three tape recorders and timers and merely download and listen any time I want! Also, I will use the voice recorder function for lectures and other purposes. (It's very simple to switch between functions.) The best features of this product, for me, are ones that are rare or non-existent on most MP3 players, but essential for listening to talk: expandable memory through SD/MMC cards; a true pause mode; a "Resume" feature; and separate buttons for rewind/fast-forward and previous track/next track. It is really aggravating to be halfway through a lecture or talk show, miss a phrase, hit the usual single rewind/previous track button a little wrong, and have it take you back to the beginning of the track. That's not a problem with this baby. But the "Resume" function is what really sold me, as I often don't have time to listen to a whole radio show or lecture at once, and want to be able to turn the machine off and come back later, picking up where I left off. You can do that with current versions of this machine (beware: not older models), and Pogo! products are the only ones I could find on the market with this feature. (I was told the Pogo RipFlash has it as well as Radio Your Way, but it lacked the separate rewind/FF buttons, which I really wanted.) Only limitation: you can't stop a track, listen to radio for awhile, then go back and pick up where you left off in that track. Using the "Resume" feature necessitates turning the unit completely off, and then resuming right away when you turn it back on. Otherwise you will lose your place. Oh, one more cool thing: From "Stop," it fast forwards and rewinds REALLY fast, while from "Play" it does so considerably slower, which makes finding a specific segment easier. So you get to pick how fast to go. The sound through the headphones is just fine; the external speaker is small but adequate if you don't need to listen to it from across the room. (External speaker would also not be adequate for music listening.) The only problem I found with this product was that radio reception on AM stations left something to be desired, but turning the player helped. (Still had a very light hum in the background, though.) Could be an issue in recording radio. Reception was quite good for FM stations, if you use the headphones, but poor without use of the headphones, which apparently double as an FM antenna. Probably if you wanted to record FM, you'd need to leave the headphones in place, and string them upward somehow, like the FM antenna wire that comes with a lot of receivers. In short, for what I needed, which is mostly downloading and listening to talk radio and lecture files, this unit fits the bill perfectly. No other unit on the market would have, from what I could find. I'm guessing probably more and more talk radio hosts will be posting their shows in MP3 files, so the usefulness of this unit is only bound to increase. Phone tech support at the company (714-671-1854) is friendly and helpful; I called ahead to make sure this had the features I wanted. Hopefully in the future, they'll be able to improve the AM radio reception, but apart from that, if you need to record radio and don't have to have absolutely perfect sound quality, I don't think there's anything better out there at this time.
Rating:
Summary: NO GO for POGO
Review: I love the concept of having an "all in one" device and I was especially excited about the ability to record am talk shows, however I could NOT have been more dissapointed. The unit was cumbersome, and often froze up. The controls were awkward and the instructions for use were confusing. The software had multiple glitches and was difficult to use. You had to have a separate memory card to hold more than 3 or 4 songs on the mp3 (an additional expense). My advice: WAIT...this concept will be improved in the future but it is not there yet.
Rating:
Summary: Ripped off! Do not order!
Review: I ordered this from www.radioyourway.com and emailed a day after receiving to ask a question (they do not have a contact phone number) I was ignored. I then tried again about 10 days later and finally received a response, rude at that. I spoke with Ron Rosberg who advised me I waited too long to return it, that their site clearly states no returns after 7 days, I advised him that I tried to contact them a day after receiving it but never heard back and from that moment on felt they were a shaky business. He finally found the "lost" email and gave me a RMA number to return the item. Now he states that it took to long for him to receive the item back and is both KEEPING my item and NOT refunding my payment and there is nothing I can do about it. I highly suggest to not purchase this item.
Rating:
Summary: Save your money!!
Review: I own many MP3 players and even two other Pogo products, namely the Ripflash (yes I have 2) that has been great except for the horrible PC software. Well this time Pogo has outdone them self with a neat idea and poor implementation. The idea of a VCR-like MP3 recorder is attractive to anyone who likes radio shows but cannot listen to them while at work. The Radio Your Way has many problems that make it a "poor" purchase. I'll get to the problems right away. 1.) Horrid PC software (again). If you have Win XP you must put it into Win98 compatibility mode to work. 2.) Saves files in a silly compressed RYV format that requires the above PC software to convert to WAV and then you must convert it to MP3 (stupid) 3.) The Chinese week days must be MONDAY-SATURDAY because that is what you get when you try to set the RYW to weekday record. Oh-I am told by Jesse at Pogo Support that I can have this "bug" fixed by sending my RYW back to Pogo and paying $10.00 to have the thing re-flashed. Yeah, right! 4.) Poor battery life- get an adapter right away. 5.)Only ten recording slots available. You'll use those fast to get around the above bug. 6.) Pogo support doesn't care...pay to have it fixed or quit whining. I recommend waiting for Archos to add VCR-like recording to their great products.
Rating:
Summary: reception/range
Review: I purchased the Pogo to record NPR programs (Prarie Home Companion,Terry Gross Interviews, BBC) when my schedule does not coincide with broadcast times. The NPR station is located 90 miles from my Pennsylvania town. The FM reception (with antenna) was unacceptable. Acceptable with a headset from another radio. The recording was terrible ...static, undiscernable. And to get there, we deciphered the documentaton -- User booklet. Try to find "On" reading the book. Try to follow other directions. The size and concept are ideal. Given my experience, Pogo needs to specify range (reception and recording) and improve documentation (user instructions).
Rating:
Summary: Radio Listener
Review: I purchased two of these and neither works satisfactorily. I have been trying to get resolution of the problems for three months with no luck. 1. Neither unit is capable of recording correctly on the SD disk. The internal memeory is ok, simply too small for more than one program, but one unit jumbles up the files on the SD disk and the other freezes up about every third recording when accessing the disk which prevents any further recording until the power supply is disconnected and the unit re-programmed. I have tried several disks of different brands and sizes and none works correctly. 2. The software locks up when trying to use some features. This is a great concept, I just wish it worked.
Rating:
Summary: Simple and easy, works as described
Review: I read some reports saying the pogo was okay, but behind the curve. I purchased mine, and am completely satisfied with it. I wanted to record some weekly talk show items, the programing was easy, and the playback is great. Not sure what some of the other folks were talking about. I did purchase the expanded memory version, and then bought a 256 card. Since I have the card, the expanded memory was a waste, save your money. I purchased the AC adapter and am very pleased. If you like to listen to a program on the radio, but miss it due to whatever, I highly recommend this unit.
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC!!!
Review: I read with trepidation the other comments, but decided to buy anyway so that I could record the radio show coast to coast am every night on my local AM radio station while I sleep. I bought the 128 MB version only available on the pogo site!
This thing is GREAT!!! You must read the manual..So...I think It took
me 20 minutes or so to get through it. Controls-you can stop, pause,and take up where you left off.
ear phones are good...I just do not get these negative comments.
To download music files from PC, buy a $20 dollar SD card reader and simply copy from windows media the wma files onto the card, then insert it into the pogo...I did not install any software and it takes only seconds to accomplish..256mb card holds hours of music...maybe 100 songs or so. simple, fast and songs are great..built in EQ is good too. I have never reviewed anything before in my life (way too busy) but had to stop the nonsense about this device because I want more like it to be brought to market!! Pry from my cold dead hands!!
Oh yeah, 128MB version comes with several asccessories like ac adapter, ext mike, line out wire, ear phones and detachable necklace and the device is really small and light.
Rating:
Summary: A very poorly designed product
Review: I really wanted this to be great, I really did. I don't like listening to music or audio books or whatever while working out -- I like listening to talk radio (okay, okay, I know, big loser). Problem is that the shows I want to listen to are on while I work, and by the time I work out there's nothing good on. So I loved the idea of a "tivo-like" recording device for radio,... Had to get it. What a disappointment!!! For those of you who are thinking of getting it, be advised of the following limitations: 1. Its recording capabilities are like a VCR circa 1985: recording is cumbersome, complicated, prone to error. To record something, you have to be in the right "mode," then click Timer, then enter a time on a 24 hour clock, then hit Timer again, then enter a time again. Throughout this time, you're using the "play" and "forward" buttons to work the clock, and there's no indication on the screen as to what you're recording. 2. The recording is unreliable. It stops recording apparently without any reason, I think because of battery problems. But I'll set it to record for two hours, and get a fifteen minute segment. 3. Playback is a big pain. When you have in fact managed to set up a set of recordings, it's impossible to identify them. You can't label them -- they're identified only by the length of time of the recording. You don't know the station, the date of recording, anything. Even worse, when you're playing it back, the fast forward and rewind are verrrry slow, not helpful in skipping commercials. Even WORSE, when you play it back, if you stop to skip to, say, listen to live radio for a moment and come back to the recording, you'll start at the beginning. So if you recorded a three hour show and listen to an hour before stopping, you'll have to 'slow forward' through that hour (which will take about 7-8 minutes) to get to the stuff you haven't heard. 4. Battery power stinks. If you record on the battery, be prepared for cut-off recordings and the need for a new battery. My advice? Figure out how to attach an AM tuner to your PC (if such a thing is possible), record directly to the PC as MP3 files (if such a thing is possible), and then buy an IPOD. The real insult of the device is that it really is NOT designed as an AM/FM recorder. It's designed as a voice recorder, onto which they jerry-rigged an AM/FM radio and decided to refocus the marketing. For example, the "modes" for the player are: AM, FM, MP3, and VOICE. It's the "VOICE" mode that holds the AM recordings. Clearly, Pogo came up with a digital voice recorder right around the time that phone companies started giving them away, and had to do a quick turnaround on the product. They should toss this design and come up with a fully-integrated AM/FM digital recorder from scratch.
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