Rating: 
Summary: Stop Looking - This is the best MP3 player on the market.
Review: Congratulations to Intel. They have successfully entered a fairly saturated market and blown away the competition with their first attempt at an MP3 player. I'm surprised this little device can't make international phone calls. I have had this player out of the box for 15 minutes and already I'm listening to a full 125MB of pure musical enjoyment. Of course, I have a few concerns about this piece of engineering, but I'll go with the pros first.PROS: 1. Compact size. This isn't the smallest player on the market and may be a pain to carry in your hand on long runs, but it comes with a belt clip and is light enough to clip to your shorts and not notice it bouncing up and down. 2. Price. Let's face it, the cost/benefit just doesn't get any better. I'm living in Japan and have seen all of the new products by Sony and Panasonic. Sony's NW-E5 (not yet released in the U.S.) Network Walkman has 96MB and the price? ... Sure, the NW-E5 is about 1/3 the size of the Intel PC, but for 25% more memory and a marginally bigger unit, I'll take [$] any day. 3. Functionality. The bass/treble functions are a much better alternative to Sony's "MegaBass" adjustment. The software is also very easy to use especially with the MusicMatch Jukebox. The range on the volume control is wide and able to accomodate the most demanding headbanger. 4. Ergonomics. If you're a righty or lefty this unit fits perfectly in your hand. All of the buttons are accessible and easy to use. No more calisthenics for your fingers - the buttons are perfectly positioned. 5. USB download speed. I'm using a 733MHz P-III, and I was getting about 1MB/5 seconds. That's a full playlist in 10 minutes. Not bad. It takes over 45 minutes to get 96MB onto my Sony NW-E5 because of mandatory conversion to Sony's ATRAC format. Sony, get over yourself, you can't control *everything* in the music industry. 6. Sound quality. Excellent. Crisp highs and deep lows. The hissing noise is negligible. Unless you're a dog with perfect hearing, you can ignore the other comments about an unbearable hissing sound. CONS: 1. LCD display. The font is a bit hard to read and certainly could have been modernized for the 21st century. Sure, the people at Intel can create the P4 chip, but they can't choose a font to save their lives. 2. Headphones. While the comfort depends on your head shape, the sound quality leaves something to be desired. I also agree with another reviewer, I'm not sure how I feel about wearing around headphones with the Intel logo on the side. "Yo man, those are sweet Intel headphones you're wearing!" As if. 3. USB port. Without a cap/cover, this port is exposed to dust/air. This may be a concern for people intent on keeping this unit around for several years. 4. No rechargeable batteries, no charger. This is where Sony gets it right - they always include these items in their MD/CD/Network Walkman devices. I would have paid the extra [$] for these in order to avoid having to place a separate order. After all the consumer surveying that went into this product, I'm surprised Intel couldn't come up with "rechargeable batteries INCLUDED" in their brainstorming sessions. 5. Only 125MB available memory. Is the advertised memory size ever what you get? Not usually. Intel is no exception. After deleting the 6 songs that came on the unit, I only had 125MB and change. I realize that's only 3MB less than advertised, but that's another song. 6. Silver aluminum casing. While this looks nice now, unless I treat this unit like a 3 month old baby, it isn't going to look this nice in 6 months. CONCLUSION: Is any electronics device ever perfect? Not to the opinionated consumer in search of the ultimate perfection. There is always room for improvement. However, unless you want to wait until the year 2020 to buy, this is your best bet for an exhilarating MP3 experience. This is the best portable music device I have ever purchased. Thanks, Intel.
Rating: 
Summary: Read this!!! Before you buy!
Review: Yes, listen here before you buy. I'll make it short but sweet. A week ago, I was looking for a good mp3 player for my sister as a gift, so I look around for reviews of mp3 players, people generally give high rating for this Intel Player; good sound quality, good interface, has a radio, has 128 megs. But after I brought this player, the only thing that was worth the bucks was the interface and the 128 megs. I thought the hissing wasn't that bad the way people taked about it, but when I turned it on, it's like turning on a TV with a bad reception. Ok, I was going to bare the noise. But that's until I tried to upload the player up to the rim. After I unpluged the USB and turn the thing on, it says "PLAYER ERROR Unable to Load Firmware" Then I was wondering why the hell??!! Then I found out that Intel uses about 2.5meg of space out of the 128 megs to store it's firmware. So the thing here is, you never know when you're going to screw up with this thing, try to fill it up too much may kill it. Plus, there is no re-downloading for the firmware what so ever, even Intel's website doesn't provide you with the backup firmware. So the only thing is I have to return this thing. I can't believe how people say this thing has good sound quality, the next that after the Intel Pocket Concert crashed, I ordered the Rio 800 128Meg ram, and this new player blows away the Intel in every aspect except for it has a radio, but the Rio has voice recording...and also (multiple)play list making/song deleting in the player, it also includes a casing/charger,NiMH batteries.... and it's also expendable. Oh haha, it's also cheaper than Intels by like 10 bucks. Oh and no hissing. Oh I'am finished :) So there you have it, my short and sweet story on this so called excelent player.
Rating: 
Summary: good but not great
Review: read a lot of review before I bought this mp3 player. I have to say I am a little bit dissapointed. well-designed outlook, easy-to-use software. But as a mp3 player, it lacks the most important feature, CD-like playback quality. Unless you turn up volume, you will find hissing sound very annoying. I don't know if this is because of decoder or output amplifier, I guess it's both. good for gym and jogging though, since you are not going to notice that in noisy environment. I was going to rate it 3 star, but think about the price and the memory, I give it 4 star.
Rating: 
Summary: Major league [let down]
Review: Well, I just got back from [a local store] and prepared to try out my [new] gadget. The software install went smoothly, though when I plugged the USB cable into my 4 port USB hub the software complained, not enough power. It needs to be plugged into a USB port that's part of the motherboard. I loaded 5 songs onto the device and plugged in the new ear bud Sony headphones that I just purchased. Garbled sound, actually sound on one side only. I messed with the plug moving it slightly out of the device and was able to get sound in both ears. It sounded great, but when I pushed the headphone connector all the way in I only got sound from one side. I figured it might be the connector on the Sony headphones so I connected the super cheesy headphones that came with the player. Same result. Now I have to waste my time taking this [thing] back for a refund. ...
Rating:
Summary: I love this little miracle
Review: This is my second MP3 player. I had Rio 600 before. Intel Pocket Concert is a lot better and easier to use than Rio 600. Intel Pocket Concert comes with 128 MB of memory, which provide you with 2 hours of quality music or 4 hours using Windows media files. The memory is not expandable but 2 hours is more than enough. Considering memory prices you are far better of going with Nomad Jukebox if you need something bigger than 128 MB. Pocket Concert is quite easy to use. It took me only 5 minutes to set up everything and start transferring files from my computer. Supplied software, Intel Audio Manager has "real" user friendly type interface. You do not need to scan you hard drive or search for files. It works just like Windows explorer, select the folder from drop-down menu and select files to transfer. Transferring files is quick and painless. It takes an average between 5-10 minutes to transfer 2 hours of music. I have only been using alkaline batteries with Pocket Concert, on average batteries last between 8-10 hours. Pocket Concert also comes with neckphones and very useful belt clip. Anyway, if you are in market for MP3 player, Intel pocket Concert is definitely something to consider.
Rating:
Summary: Great but Not fantastic
Review: I've been hunting for a portable mp3 player ever since god knows when. So when I saw the Intel player, I thought my prayers were answered. Over all I think it's quite a cool player but like most people, I find the hissing noise very degrading for the crazy price I'd pay for. It's such a shame that they couldn't have improved it. Also I was very dissapointed when I found out that nothing else came with it but the neck phones. At least give us the carrying case!! A little on the soft ware. I thought it was so so, but you can't save a playlist which really [is disappointing] just because.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent product, perfect to work out or commute
Review: I am comparing my experiences to my use of the Rio 500 mp3 player, which I recently replaced with the Intel Pocket Concert due to storage constraints. 1) Look/handling: I'm not one for flashy looking things, but the Intel unit is a good size and easy to handle. The belt clip is handy (Rio did not have one) but I do miss having a case for it, which I understand I have to purchase separately from Intel. 2) Plug and Play Ability: The set-up and installation of the unit was flawless. I was listening to the unit as soon as I pulled it out of the box (it comes pre-installed with a few mp3s and a walking tour of the unit). The Intel file transfer software is several thousand times easier to use than Rio's. My one complaint is that you cannot reorder the songs once they are on the unit. I haven't used MusicMatch Jukebox, which came packaged with the player, to upload files to the unit, but for now the Intel software is more than adequate. 3) Sound quality and usage: The volume on the Pocket Concert is incredible. I had problems with the Rio in that I couldn't get it loud enough to hear well over a train or city traffic noise, which is a problem, since I use it to commute to work. The Bass/Treble controls are adequate, although I miss having pre-sets, which the Rio had. The bookmark, random and repeat features are fine. The volume control is at the top of the unit, and separate from the scroll wheel which controls settings; I appreciate having it set up this way. It is much more functional than combining them all on the side of the unit, which Rio did. 4) Storage: I am getting 23-30 songs on the 128 meg internal storage. This is pretty much what I expected, since I was getting 9-13 on the Rio with mp3s encoded at the same rate (128 or 160). This is more than adequate for my commuting and exercising needs. 5) FM Tuner: I'm not getting tremendous reception on the Pocket Concert, even in and around downtown Boston where the signal is the strongest on any other walkman type unit. But I didn't buy this for the radio! 6) Battery life: This is the one downfall to this unit. It is eating batteries like crazy. I think that if the scrolling info on the face of the unit could be controlled, it would cut down on the battery drain. The Rio upgraded its firmware to be able to cut down on scrolling and the amount of data shown, and even on the amount of time the backlight was lit, and I found I could extend battery life quite a bit if I cut down these settings. I think this is definitely one area Intel needs to look at. I get on average about 6-7 hours on a battery, whereas on the Rio, it was over 10 and close to 12 or 13 hours on a regular basis. 7) That annoying hiss: Yes, I do notice it, but only between tracks and in a quiet room. If you're using this to work out, jog or commute (which I do) then you'll never know it's there. I would assume that it's fixable with a firmware upgrade, since several people on the internet have complained about and returned the product without a noticeable improvement. I look forward to firmware upgrades which I would assume are coming. As an Intel shareholder, I'm proud of this product, and haven't gone anywhere without it for the last 10 days!
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as I thought...
Review: I have read rave reviews about this player, so I had high expectations. For the positive side, the player itself has a good feel in your hand and appears sturdy. The button design is also well thought out. It is easy to control this player while jogging without looking. The player also has easy to use software and you can quickly download songs without effort. However, after using the pocket concert for a few weeks I have several reservations about it. First, there is a background hissing which is quite apparent with soft music. I have used multiple headphones with the same result. Part of the reason for using MP3's is a clear near-CD sound. Unfortunately, the hissing makes the songs sound like you are using a walkman. Another negative is the cost/value of this player. Rechargable batteries and cradle are not included with this player. Because of the lack of sound quality and accessories, I can not recommend this product.
Rating:
Summary: A satisfied customer
Review: I have had this mp3 player for about 2 weeks now and have no complaints what so ever. it's cute, fits well in the palm of your hand or clipped to your belt or waist band, with very simple and well placed controls. Right out of the box it was intuitive to use. I barely needed to glance at the instruction pamphlet included. The software for transfering files from your computer to the player was also intuitive, again, no help needed. The only thing I had to figure out was how to use the music match juke box with the the player and a little investigation answered this question. I have read reviews on this site that talk about a hiss at low volumes. I hadn't noticed this yet so I purposefully played a soft tract at low volume. I didn't hear anything--certainly nothing I don't hear when I listen to mp3s on my computer. Regarding headphones: mine worked out of the box, are comfortable to wear, and convey great sound. This was a great purchase. I'm more then satisfied. The lack of expadablity is not a problem for me. 2-4 hours of music is more then enough for me for the times when I use a portable music player and then there is always the radio which has decent reception. If you are intersted in more music hours then this, I'd recommend you look at the portable jukeboxes that are available with up to 6Gb of memory. The only reason I don't give this player a 5 is because I haven't tried out the other 128mb player by sonicblue...the rio 800. But honestly, after reading those reviews, I'm still more then happy to have this one and plan to get the accessory kit when it comes out. I want to play my mp3 in my car.:)
Rating:
Summary: Impressive, but flawed
Review: I've had my PC for 24 hours now. A few quick comments, first positive, then negative: [Note, it seems the first review I wrote never appeared. If it does, pardon the redundancy.] 1. The player is smaller that it may seem from on-line images. It's the size of a pager or small playing cards. Don't worry about it not being the smallest on the market. Anything smaller might get difficult to handle. 2. There is volume to spare. I like it loud, and I generally listen at 1/2 max volume. 3. The controls are very easy to operate. The scroll wheel is a nice feature and it's sturdier than I thought it would be. The volume control, however, doesn't allow for rapid setting changes. 4. Overall the sound it wonderful, BUT the hiss others have mentioned is a problem. (Actually, there is a hiss when a track is selected and then a purr or buzz when it is engaged.) During quiet portions of a track, it is very audible and likely annoying, depending how fussy you are about audio quality. It would be a big drawback for spoken word, or classical mudic, IMHO. I'd say that 95% of the time (listening to rock) the hiss/purr is undetectable. But boy, it's a real shame that they couldn't have gotten it right.... Based on it, I will likely at least try out other players. 5. The music management software is also dissapointing. There are two pieces: an Audia Manager and a MusicMatch Jukebox. the Audio Manager is not powerful enough. You cannot create playlists on it. It does not display enough file name info. The Jukebox is a general player (as if you ned another one) and is not well-designed for transfering files to an MP3 player. It was not designed by Intel and doesn't even mention the Intel player among the players it works with! It cannot read what's on your player nor delete files. It can't organize based on file names. In short, neither program can do the whole job, and they do not work well together. 6. The headphones are a waste. They are uncomfortable, ugly, and poorly designed. Fortunately, you can use any other favorite set you've accumulated over the years. 7. I found getting started very frustrating. If an old-fashioned instruction booklet would have helped a lot. In sum, the Pocket Concert has a lot going for it. Indeed, all the potential it has just makes its shortcomings that much more dissapointing.
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