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Samsung YP-55V 256 MB Digital Audio Player with FM Tuner

Samsung YP-55V 256 MB Digital Audio Player with FM Tuner

List Price: $249.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: bad finish...
Review: The sound is great, with the surround sound, but there are two things that really pisses me off.

1. I bought this, just opened it, held it in my hands, looked into the display... What? Is there dust inside the display? How did they do that? U gotta crack it up to fix that.

2. The unit scratches easily, like all Yepp units.

These are the cons, but if U dont care about how the player looks, U can buy this as a great buy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: awesome!
Review: The top reason I bought this player was because of its feature. I wanted both player and FM tuner. The reviews I found in Amazon.com were very helpful.
If you don't like the orange color, it also comes in all silver which I have.
After using this player for a week, I am very happy with what I got. I use it when I go rollerblading as well as when I work at home. I just hook up the player with my speakers and it's ready to go. FM reception is not bad either.
It comes with a installation CD, but with my Windows ME, I found that I don't need to use the CD. Just connect a USB cable - or a direct USB adaper, to the player and turn it on. Then insert it to my USB port and my PC took care of the rest.
One tiny grumble. I have some Japanese songs and when I download them to Yepp, it didn't recognize the Japanese font, of course. I'd be happier if they upgrade the firmware to be Japanese compatible so that I don't have to rewrite songs' tab information.
Overall, I recommend this product.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: This device was really a disappointment from Samsung. Let me tell you about the issues of this product:

The 'jog switch' which you twist to fastforward and rewind at
one end of this cylindrical unit takes some getting used to. Mine was loose and so was my friends!. The case is horrible! Because of this switch, once you put unit into the case, you cannot fastforward or rewind because the 'jog' switch, You need to be a lefty to use it comfortably. If you hold it in your right hand to use your thumb and forefinger to operate the fastforward/rewind, display will be upside down. Plus, the volume then would be uncomfortably unreachable by your thumb, unless you want to use your middle-ring-pinky fingers to operate volume. Controls felt clumsy even when using two hands. Trying to use the tiny menu button needs a fair push with your fingernail, especially if you have soft fingertips. The volume switch also served as a menu selector, although it too felt awkward. I often found myself skipping over two options when I only wanted to move to the next one. There's a sensitivity setting in the menu, but that did not help. It was the physical operation of this control, not it's electronic sensitivy that had to be adjusted. Accompanying earphones are very poor quality.. The cable is very short! The rubber USB-port cover was loose on mine. Voice recording was poor quality. My voice was audible, but muffled and scratched sounding. I turned on the TV to a regular volume to record it. The menus were arranged very poorly and not user-friendly. I'm pretty quick at catching onto how menus are arranged, but this was very difficult especially for even an expert! Even when you get 256 Megs, no expansion slots to add additional memory.

I am an expert at gadgets and I figure things out very well, however, this product was very difficult to understand, poor quality and was immediately returned...

This product was not thought out at all!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best flash-based player on the market
Review: This is one solid gadget. Unlike most portables in this size range, it's made largely of aluminum and feels more resilient. The overall form-factor is much more rounded (and snag-free), and though the controls seem a bit odd at first, they become second nature after a bit.

Other reviews have mentioned problems with loose controls, but I've been using mine actively for awhile now, and have not seen these problems. It could have been that there were issues with the first round out of the factory.

So, why get this instead of the iRiver? First off, the general construction is alot more sturdy. Second, this one runs on a AAA battery and still gets better battery life. Including alot of time draining power by transferring files, one battery lasted me roughly 14 hours. Not shabby at all, especially considering that I had the surround-sound and bass boost on the whole time.

On that subject, this unit has a surround-sound emulator called SRS which actually *does* provide nice spatialization, and the bass-boost is firm but not overpowering. Do yourself a favor and throw out the included headphones-they stink, but then again so do the ones included with *every* other portable out there. Even the Creative NJB3, which is the paragon of sound-quality came with dreadful phones. That said, even 128kBs files sound good through this thing, and more than adequate for portable use.

As far as the included software, blah. It wouldn't even install correctly on a stock WinME box, so I ended up skipping it, and lo and behold, this player doesn't need it anyway! Plug it in, and it's immediately recognized as a generic USB drive. Same goes (thank goodness!) for Linux. No special steps needed to transfer files or mp3s, and no DRM hurdles. Unlike the iRiver, this player will accept mp3s from any source and gladly upload them back to the computer without problems and without the extra layer of software, which makes it great as a portable drive. It also includes a nifty USB plug in addition to the cord so it can be plugged directly into a computer ala the MuVo.

The player reads Id3 tags to some extent. It'll pick up and display Artist and Song Title (as well as time), but it won't read track numbers or albums from the tags. The easy workaround is to simply transfer each album in its own folder. The player will separate out the folders as individual albums. There's no "Music Library" of any sort, so just make sure your filenames have numbers at the beginning or it'll play them alphabetically. Shuffle and repeat features work just fine. The player adds a *slight* gap between files, though it's not as bad as some, and if there's not a gap between tracks, the player simply adds a split-second of silence rather than the annoying "crack" that many players do.

Practically speaking, the unit seems to hold 254.9Mb. Just under 1 meg is for the settings file, but with 128kBs files, I can get 3:49:22 worth of music on here at once with a bit of space to spare.

As far as the controls, the unit only has four actual buttons, with a novel twist-cap mechanism at the top, so each of the buttons has to perform several functions. It's not the most intuitive thing at first, but with time, it becomes second nature. A word of warning, though: some of the more advanced functions have to be accessed through menus three layers down, which can be a hassle while walking. Forward and rewind functions are handled by the twist-cap and really aren't confusing as long as you remember that clockwise is forward. They work especially well for track-seek operations with one hand.

For $, not a bad deal at all, and I'm very happy with mine. The Nomad Jukebox 3 has replaced my home stereo, and now this has replaced my Walkman. Be sure to factor in the cost of better headphones when considering this (or any other portable), though. I've got a pair of Sony Ex-71s that sound great, but they'll set you back another $. One last caveat: I don't know where the orange-themed one pictured here came from, but all the units I've seen for the US market are a simple nondescript silver-and-black deal.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Comes in Silver Not Orange
Review: This player rocks. I use it in the gym....walking the kid, etc. 256MB is a ton of music and this thing is so small (and cool) that it gives me over 2 hours of tunes when working out. I love the FM recording funtion too. Cool aluminum case.

ALso, I stored some powerpoint presentations and was able to leave the laptop at home on my last trip. I like hte mini USB adapter. Great for file storage. Just drag and drop the files in windows. But make sure you bring the insall disk or you will have to go to samsungusa.com to download the USB drivers (which I had to do in a hotel with a 28k connection).

All in all, best 256 piece with all of its cool funtions out there for the price.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The IPOD Hype
Review: This Samsung yepp player is the real deal so i just had to opine-

if you have a pc - the ipod is not for you. it requires high speed usb ports and several costly accessories for a trendy and bulky item.

i've owned this YEPP for almost a year and thought the IPOD with eye tunes was supposed to be great - so needless to say i bought one and the first wouldn't charge; the second charged and let me download songs - then would not stay charged for more than a couple hrs.

the third one just shut down one day after i disconnected it during a DO NOT DISCONNECT phase. it would not even do a hard reset.

stick with the yepp - it works with media players (yeah - i know WMP can be funky sometimes) but if you have a late model PC and want to copy files quickly...run to this and don let the Apple fall on your head. I have NEVER written a review before so I hope that this at least helps someone. My wife won't beleive me because she is SAVING UP for an IPOD.

disgusted in DC

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Great player-----for 3 weeks
Review: This seemed to be a really great player at first, with solid construction and great features (FM radio and line-in encoding with autosync) with the only drawback being that it does not support folders. However, after 3 weeks of very gentle use the USB port on the player has stopped working properly. I need to push it in AND hold it in hard for it to be recognized by any PC and if I let go or move it slightly is disconnects!!
Having bought the player in the US but living in the UK I doubt that I will be able to get it replaced....:(. I now own a very expensive FM radio....

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Solid! Fine Fine Fine player!
Review: When I buy something, I bought it for a reason...I liked it. So I always
notice first all the things I don't like. So that's how I present to you:
Cons:
1) The cyndrical 'jog switch' which you twist to fastforward and rewind at
one end of this cylindrical unit takes some getting used to. Mine felt
loose, but I think it's supposed to be that way.
2) Flawed accompanying case. Because of this twisty switch, once you put
unit into the case, you can not fastforward or rewind because the

fasteners in the case 'fasten' onto this switch.
3) Because of this 'jog' switch, You need to be a lefty to use it
comfortably. If you hold it in your right hand to use your thumb and
forfinger to operate the fastforward/rewind, display will be upside down.
Plus, the volume then would be uncomfortably unreachable by your thumb,
unless you want to use your middle-ring-pinky fingers to operate volume.
4) Controls felt clumsy even when using two hands. Trying to use the tiny
menu button needs a fair push with your fingernail, especially if you have
soft fingertips. The volume switch also served as a menu selector,
although it too felt awkward. I often found myself skipping over two
options when I only wanted to move to the next one. There's a sensitivity
setting in the menu, but that did not help. It was the physical operation
of this control, not it's electronic sensitivy that had to be adjusted.
5) Accompanying earphones/plugs suck. Never used them. I hate these

kinds that have one short cable, and one long cable to reach to the other
side of your head. The weight of the hanging cable is then all put on the
one plug in your left ear, which would always pop out first. Don't know
how they sound; did not test them.
6) The rubber USB-port cover was loose on mine. I plugged in the USB
cable to upload songs, then when I tried to close it, it would not right
away. It was bent into a position to stay open, and had no 'snug' fitting
to keep hold it closed. After a few minutes of trying to get it to stay
closed, it finally did, but I could tell it would be a future situation to
really bother me. Maybe it was only my unit.
7) Voice recording was so so. At arms length, my voice was audible, but
muffled sounding. I turned on the TV to a regular volume to record it
(for me, my sis always complains the TV is a little too loud), and the
playback was muffled as well, but hearable. You would just have to turn
up the volume on the unit to hear recorded voice better.
8) Can't give you specific details, but just for me, I did not like the
way the menus were arranged. Maybe with time I could get a handle on it,
or maybe it was just the clumsy-ness of the controls that made me cringe
internally when I had to access the menu. I'm pretty quick at catching
onto how menus are arranged, but just something kept me from doing so with
this.
9) FM tuner reception was just okay. From where I was sitting my concrete
walled apartment, I turned the unit one way, and it lost reception, turned
it another way, and got it back. Auto set picked up some static as
actual stations...hmmfh...
10) Like all highly portable (pocketable?) flash players, no expansion
slots to add additional memory.

PROS:
1) Size. AAA batteries are small, AA a little larger. If there was such
a thing as single A battery, this would probably be it! I mean, really,
it is such a great size for all the neat features/functionaltities it has.
2) Solid! The I-River, feels like if you drop it, bye bye player. The
plastic on the I-River felt way cheap. The Creative Muvo is a nice solid
player, but little to no additional features. This Yepp felt solidly
built, like I did not have to baby it at all.
3) Battery charge display. It's divided into thirds and is tiny, but at
least you have some indication of battery life!
4) 256 megs! Good. Can store a lot of music!
5) Snug USB connection! I bought the I-River, and returned it because the
connection on the unit to the USB cable was not so deep and was LOOSE! I
nudged it while it was connected, and then my computer reported that the
I-River device "went away/lost connection". No problems with this unit.
It looks like it actually uses the same USB cable that Sony uses.
5a) Comes with a USB cable, but ALSO with a tiny USB connector so you
don't always have to carry your cable around with you! Reminds me of the
ease of use with the Creative Muvo.
6) Sound settings! GREAT! Read the specs online.
7) Voice recorder. Has one, but read my CONS above.
8) FM tuner. Has one, but read my CONS above.
9) You can capture output from someone else's player into an MP3 file on
your player with the accompanied line-in cable! COOL! AND, you can just
let play/record, because if you use the "autosync" setting, the unit will
detect gaps in the music and create separate MP3 files for each of the
songs being recorded...AWESOME! AND you can select the bit rate at which
you want to make your recordings (feeling faint right now...whew!)
10) Supports WAV/MP3/WMA, maybe others, but I did not care. Check
the specs...Every player should at least support these 3
formats! My Muvo can only play one format at a time. That is, if you
start off playing WMA, it will skip all other formats and only play the
WMA files. This will play them all one after the other.
11) You can easily use Windows Explorer to drag and drop files!

12) Music can go in the root directory. On a whim, I created two
miscellaneously named folders, and copied music into them. The player
found them and played them.
13) Line in MP3 recordings are kept in one specially named folder. Voice
WAV recordings are kept in another specially named folder. FM MP3
recordings in another specially named folder. Great thing is
you don't have to stick to these formats in these folders. You can mix
and match different formats, and actually use these folders like 'albums'.
Like stick rock music in one, house music in another, mellow music in the
next. Through the menu settings, you can set which folder will be the
default folder to play music from. A bit clunky way to do things, but it
works.
14) If you need space in a pinch, menu options allow you to delete files,
or format unit altogether, wiping it all clean.
15) Has a display! Blue lighted even! You can set up to 10 seconds the
display light time.
16) You can also set the amount of time, up to 25 secs, to leave the unit
on while doing nothing. Otherwise it shuts down. Set to 0 means leave on
regardless.
17) 20 FM presets. It has auto FM tuning. Can auto set the first 20 FM
stations it finds. Unfortunately, it picks up on some stray signals and
thinks those are stations. Better to do it manually.
18) Easy one switch recording anytime with a dedicated switch! Just
remember that if you are on radio, you will be recording the radio and not
voice.

Why I returned mine:

The loose USB cover was why I returned mine. I wanted to exchange it and
get another, but they were out. If next one is still loose, then maybe I
can add some "shoe goo" to add some "rubber" to its end to make it more
snug, or something. Or get a Circuit City/CompUSA extended warranty and
get the unit replaced once the cover becomes too loose.

This is one fine fine fine player!

The clumsiness of the controls, I could adapt to.
I could also adapt to the menu arrangment. Just takes time.
I don't plan on using the case except to just transport the unit.
I won't record lectures or people far away, and if I do, I could always
pump up the volume during playback, or use some audio editing tool.
FM is not a make or break thing with me.

I give it a 4 out of 5. Not perfect, but awesome nonetheless!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great little mp3 player!
Review: Wow, I chose this model over all the other mp3 players offered on Amazon because of the reviews. It's very WYSIWYG, small, functional, portable, and for the best 256mb player for the buck.
It comes with everything you need, including a battery. The carry case is economical like the player, small and not much room for anything else, I end up winding my ear buds around the closing flap to keep all my things together. It feels like a sturdy player, I love that you twist the end to move between songs and the bright blue scrolling display, everything makes it feel like a quality product.It ofcourse comes with so-so headphones that I don't recommend using, and you really don't have to install anything, you just plug and drop things in. I use it mainly for work, it's plenty loud and the sound quality is great, all the dynamics and you get a very rich and full volume out of a tiny thing. Battery life is better than expected, a new AAA will last you as advertised 15 or so hours, I recommend rechargeables for environment's sake. The few buttons you see do all the work, you do need to flip through the manual to get a feel for the unusal functions of each button, particularly the volume slider which does most of the work. If you have big big fingers it might take some more effort, I have small hands and I still need to use my nail to dig in sometimes...you do have to remember that you are buying a very very small product! It dissapears in my hands and easily into pockets, it's very cute and it's not orange like you see in the detail photos, but just silver. The FM radio wasn't great from where I tried it, so I can't say much about it yet, voice recording is so so but I don't see myself using that function any time soon. Recording/encoding capabilities though is pretty nice.
In all I recommend it to everyone who's looking to not spend too much on a HD player like the 20GB iRiver iHP-120 which is the best rival to an iPod out there just yet. I think the only thing left to be desired is a FF function and it wouldn't hurt to include one or two more buttons in future models.


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