Rating: 
Summary: Great Player
Review: I did a lot of research before making this purchase...spent hours reading the pros and cons of a variety on MP3 players before deciding on the MPIO. It has not disappointed me. The unit is easy to use and holds a ton of songs. The WMA option was a big sell for me since I can get nearly double the number of songs loaded (as compared to mp3) Whether you import WMA or MP3 files, the sound quality even at 96kbps (which I use) is great. It has nice features like the ability to listen to FM radio, a lock which holds the buttons in place so a station or song doesn't change when you are biking or running. My only complaint is the manual is terrible and the headphones (earbuds) are very uncomfortable and should be tossed. The battery life so far has been ok...but you should keep spares with you. You won't get more than a couple of hours or so. Overall, great unit..I am very happy with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Keep looking for another one!!!
Review: The only positive quality I can think of is that it is priced very competitively. Other than that, I wouldn't use this player/recorder again even if I received it for free. The actual way you navigate through the software is NOT as outlined in the instruction manual, and does not interface well with RealOne player. The control buttons do not respond well to the touch, and using them to navigate through the functions is very confusing. Also, the battery life is grossly overstated; I was killing a AAA battery a day. I highly recommend a Sony Minidisc player/recorder. A bit more expensive, but definitely worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent MP3 player
Review: Update....original post with 128mb unit
My second month with this and it's still working great. I like it so much that I purchased the 256mb one a few weeks ago and plan to give the 128mb to my daughter who is 10 yrs old as a christmas present (she doesn't know I got a second one). It's so easy to use that she has no problem with it. If you have two units, make sure that you close out the Manager2 or FPIO program before you connect the other unit to your PC or your PC will not recognize it. When I got my second unit and tried to connect it to my PC, it did not work. I thought it was defective and was quite upset. But then I tried it on my laptop and it worked. Thinking about why it did not work on my PC, I realized that I had previously connected my first unit and then connected my second unit without closing the programs. So when I tried connecting it again to my PC, it worked. Now I just close out the program, connect my MPIO and restart the program. I can load music to both with ease.
I would have purchased another 128mb but I got a great price on the 256mb (one hundred and thirty-five).
Other pointers...
1) I bought the Koss "THE PLUG" earplugs and it makes the world of difference. These earplugs are very efficient. After normalizing the music to 95db (see below about normalization), if I use the supplied earplugs and turn up the volume to 30 it's loud, but with the "The Plug", it's loud at ONLY 15. These PLUGS will save you on battery life as you will not need to increase the volume and waste electricity. The Plug also has a deeeeeep bass. And it will isolate you from the world when you wear them. PLEASE Read up on them before you buy. Just remember that these are canal types of earplugs and they go INTO your ear and not over them like the one supplied. The price of these range from fifteen to twentyfive. I got it for fifteen at Tower Records but they also have them at Target for the same price.
If you like the supplied plugs, I found out by covering the ear plug with a foam ear plug cover, it helps the sound and helps keep the earbuds from sliding out of your ear. You can buy them at any electronic store.
2) Correction...the website do give you info on the updated
firmware 1.32. Do update the firmware as it makes the unit even more friendly.
3) I use NiMh rechargable batteries as the Alkaline only last about 8 hours. It's cheaper to recharge than constantly buying.A very happy owner of two MPIO. ---------------------------------------------------------------- I have this for about a month and it's working great. I've read all of the reviews from this site and others and here's my conclusions:
1)The sound complaints - The sound on this can be increased when you downloading it onto the MPIO by using NORMALIZATION. Yes, it's a bit low when you just download a MP3 song but if you use FPIO (a freeware third party software) and increase the db level to about 100, the sound is pretty loud. The included software does not have this feature.
2) The firmware - Digitalway is constantly upgrading the firmware. It shows committment from the company. The company is supporting this and if there are bugs which all players have, the company is committed to their products. The lastest firmware is Ver 1.32. It enhanced some of the existing features and added new features. The only problem is that the company does not tell you what changes the new firmware offers. I think this is their 4th upgrade. I recommend you upgrade your MPIO to the lastest version as it will enhance your MPIO.
3) XP compatible - I've loaded their software to four different PCs and I had no problems. The only issue is that you need to load their software in order to load music. It's not like a flash drive where you can just plug it into your PC.
4) MPIO Manager2 - The software is very easy to use. You will need to use a cable to connect - USB A / flat mini USB B 4 pin connector cable which is supplied but also easy to purchase from any electronic store. You can create folders within folders so that you can organize your music.
5) Third party software - FPIO is a freeware that works great with this. It's only for the music part of MPIO. Any other functions, you'll need to use the included software. I recommend everyone use FPIO, it even upload music from MPIO to the PC. You'll find this very useful if you like to move music around. The only drawback is that you'll need to load both software in order to use FPIO but you can download the programs.
6) User group - there's a good user group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MPIO/message. Check it out before you buy and you'll soon be placing your order.
7) The user manual - it's pretty lame and out dated with all the new upgrades with the firmware. Even their site does not have updated user info. There will be features that you will not know you have as the manual will not have it to explain. You just need to play around with it or read the user group posts.
8) Expandable - You can add more memory with a Secure Digital or MM card. You are not limited to just the internal memory like most (99%) other players. I use the cards like a cassette.
9) FM radio - I live in NY,NY and I have great reception. You can preset 20 stations.
10) The ear plugs do need to be replace as the sounds is "tinny". I use an airline headset and it sounds great.
11) The case it tight but so what. It's very functional; it clips on to your belt. These are the things that I read mostly or impressed me about my MPIO. I recommend you do your homework, go to their site and download the user manual and read the features. You will be as happy with this as I am.
Rating:
Summary: very nice
Review: We bought this for my dad for Father's Day -- he can't stop talking about how much he loves it. The sound quality is amazing -- my dad has a pretty severe hearing loss in both ears, and he has been hearing parts of the music that he hasn't ever heard before. I found the menus and settings to be pretty straightforward, although my dad had to be shown how to use it. Do NOT count on the manual to help you learn this, unless you already have a good electronics-sense .. the manual was so poorly translated that I read it aloud, and we all had a good laugh. The headphones that came with it aren't bad, either. Built in radio gets great reception -- single AA batteries are very convenient, and they do last about as long as they are supposed to. Expansion slot is also very nice -- we just got him a 256mb card for his birthday (it's so easy to buy presents for my dad!) Overall -- great purchase!
Rating:
Summary: Great for college
Review: I got this as a birthday present before heading back to school and I really love it. The software is easy to use and the carrying case is great because it protects it from scratching. I use mine daily when walking to class, on the bus, studying or working out. My only complaints would be that the neck pendant thingy is hard to attach and that the earphone are uncomfortable at first, however my mom borrowed them and had no complaints. The voice recorder is good, but I don't use it that much. One thing that impressed me is how much battery life you can get out of 1 AAA. It has a sleek design and simple controls, they did take some getting used to at first. Also the hand strap, makes a great arm band (which is what I thought it was at first), if you have small arms. Overall it is a great product and I have had no difficulties with it.
Rating:
Summary: Works great for me, but don't like the earpieces
Review: This is the first MP3 player I've bought and have had no major problems. I run on a treadmill while listening to it, and it's worked great. I've been told I have a fat head, but my ears must not be proportionate, because the in-the-ear headphones were uncomfortable. Once I switched, there was no problem. The FM mode radio works great (no AM). Learning to load the MP3 files was pretty easy. More than enough memory for my needs.
Rating:
Summary: mp3 player
Review: researched out all the mp3 players and this was my choice. never bothered to read the manual. simple download process. battery life sucks and you need to take the battery out when not in use. think i pulled out 4hrs, way below stated battery life. player looks good, but buttons made out of cheap plastic, which could be a concern for durability. earphones are average. i use this thing on the treadmill daily. all in all very functional and small. to be honest signed up for amazon credit card and that saved me 30 dollars and the free shipping from amazon was also a good deal. for 89 dollars it cant be beat.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! This is great
Review: I have this and one other MPIO product. Both work incredibly well. They both use a single AAA battery and last a long time. But the best is the sound. The unit is really sleek looking with a mirror finish. The display is bright blue and very easy to read. The best feature is the ease of use!! Not only is it so easy to use once you've downloaded, but the set up is the easiest I've seen. I didn't need to use the manual. Downloading music was a piece of cake. It has an expandable memory slot and the earbuds are really comfortable and sound great.
Rating: 
Summary: Great hardware; no support what so ever.
Review: The hardware works well, except that you must have the USB drivers to install the FL100. Well, I lost the CD that came with the FL100, and now I can't install the thing at all! The USB drivers are not available for download from MPIO's website, and my repeated emails as well as phone calls have been unanswered for a month! This company provides absolutely no support at all for their product. Consider this before buying....
Rating:
Summary: Don't think any further!
Review: I did the search just like you. But the fact is Digitalway MPIO FL100 is the one we've all been looking for. It is light, easy to use, carry around. You might be thinking if 128 MB is going to suffice for all your favorite songs. And it will, surely! In fact, you'll have a couple of more MBs, which you won't know what to do with. You might also be thinking whether the transfer from the computer to the machine will cause any problem. Nope! It takes about 90 seconds to download all the songs. One AAA battery is enough to get you going for 8-9 hours. It may sound bad, but actually it isn't when you consider how often you go to running after all your job, school or whatever. I know the consumer psychology as I'm a consumer myself. Buy this one and just let it come to you. It's good, and I mean it.
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