Panasonic Sv-SW30S Silver Digital Audio Player 256mb

Rating:
Summary: Best flash player for exercise
Review: Shopping for an MP3 player is truly a daunting challenge. There are hundreds of brands and models to consider, each with countless features and capacities. The really bad part is that most of the time you can't really handle or operate them before your purchase. And given the large capacities, limited display and controls, how the thing really operates is of utmost importance, at least to me.

The choices get easier if you can be honest about how you're actually going to use your player. If you're the kind of techno-wannabe jackass 'early adopter' who thinks its just too hip to walk around downtown with a pair of white iPod earbuds hanging off your empty head, you probably don't normally spend a lot of time carefully considering your purchases and thus, this kind of question is not for you. For me the clear answer was, 'while exercising', so a more reliable, no moving parts, flash based player was the inevitable choice. It wasn't easy to accept though, the incredible size of the hard drive based players at only a minimal additional cost was tantalizing. I drooled over the thought of ripping my hundreds of CDs and carrying my entire music collection in my pocket. For instance, while I consider the iPods too expensive, not to mention the lack of a replaceable battery, high capacity players such as the Creative Jukebox offer 30 GB and up starting at $200, that's only $20 more than my 256 MB Panasonic. Therefore unless running is on your agenda, I'd go with the disk based player.

Although there are 512 MB flash players available, Panasonic didn't make one, and none of the others had the right mix of features I was looking for. So I decided this was enough space. At 128-bits I can fit about 6-8 albums on the player, which is pretty darn good.

In general I'm not much of a brand snob. However, when it comes to consumer electronics, I am a strong believer in Panasonic gear. I have a phone, VCR, two DVD players, TV, and CD discman that have all served me unusually well. Obviously you can't argue with the quality of Apple built iPods, but I keep coming back to the stupidity of the battery situation. Otherwise the field is wide open, everyone from Dell to Sony to companies you never heard of are making players. I personally started out at Panasonic, but then wasted a lot of time comparing others, only to end right back where I started. Many of the other players I looked at had many complaints about battery door covers that break off, headphone jacks that failed, and buttons that broke off. I just didn't feel like taking a chance on quality at this price.

So here are the final features that made the ultimate decision for me:

* Removable Battery: this is a serious problem in my view with the iPods and other disk based players from the likes of Dell. It just shows how insane Mac zealots are that have bought the iPod that the inability to change the battery for no good reason was not a deterrent. That or the iPod is just that good, your call. Mine uses a single AAA battery, a NiMh rechargeable that cost $8 a pair. Its worth noting the Creative disk based players have removable Lithium Ion batteries which is a major bonus if such a player is on your list, but if your going flash, its really a non-issue.

* Waterproof: whether sweat or rain, a player used during exercise is bound to get wet, so a water resistant player like the Shockwave is a must for me. Its also has heavy duty shock resistant casing. Some feel the disk based players can stand up to running, but I just don't think so.

* FM Tuner: a no brainer to me, yet still absent from iPod, what gives? Digital tuner and 20 presets on mine, although setting them up was a bit confusing.

* Drag & Drop File Transfer: basically, you plug the player into your USB port and it shows up as a removable drive, you then copy files over using Explorer, I like this simplicity. Most other players require some software to accomplish this. Though this may be comforting to noobs, I just consider it a waste of my time and a hassle. Plus, if you're away from your home computer, you're screwed unless you carry around the installation software if you want to transfer files.

The players blue backlit 4 line display is nice and simple. I do wish it provided the ability to navigate subfolders, because as it is now you have to track forward and back though the entire contents of the memory, which can be a real chore if you're trying to get to song 98 out of 99. I can live with it though.

The player includes a set of wrap-around earphones which have excellent sound and are very comfortable, a USB cable, a plastic belt clip carrying case, and a really nice elastic adjustable arm band - by far the best I've seen on any player. I also bought some tiny earbuds for incognito use, and a pair of running buds with little support arms that grab your ears. They work ok, but slide out sometimes and allow too much wind noise. I think the regular wrap headphones included, while bulkier, both sound better and stay on your head more surely.

So that's about it, the Panasonic player gets my recommendation. No complaints so far.

Rating:
Summary: WORST player ever!!!
Review: this outdated player may look great with its OUTDATED features, but I am warning you that it's not as great as it looks.
multi file format-->It's been featured on Iriver and even iPods years and years ago.
storage???-->256mb, that's not enough. These days, flash memory based mp3 players come up with at least 512Mb of memory to 2Gb of memory.
10hr battery???--> even iPod, which is a hard drive mp3 player, tops that. iriver's battery lasts 40hours.
small???--->compared to iAudio or samsung yepp items, this isn't even near "small".
water resistant-->I have to admit. this is the only original idea that panasonic has brought up with. but a lot of better players come with water resistant kits that allows you to take the player when you are diving.