iAUDIO 4 256 MB Metal Black MP3 Player w/FM & Voice Recorder

Rating:
Summary: SUPERB !!!
Review:
I usually don't write comments on a product. But I must tell
ya, this product deserves an accolade.

The sound (audio out) and recording qualities are impressive.
And they are all adjustable (e.g. you can change the setting
to 96 kbps for voice recording). Here are the things that I
did w/ it:

(1) Listened to mp3 and wma files
(2) Recorded lectures (voices)
(3) Listened to radio
(4) Recorded radio
(5) Installed firmwares (i.e. "software" for mp3 players)
(6) Put my picture (pixelated binary image) in the startup screen
(7) Exercised (w/ its armband) while listening to (1) thru (4) above
(8) Used it as a usb storage device
(9) Set different colors for MENU, PLAY, RECORD, RADIO screens

What else do you need?!!!


And here are the things that you should expect after buying
this product(iAudio 4):

(1) It comes w/ a carrying cover(case). Most of the times, the
player will remain in that cover in order to avoid getting
scratches.

(2) It comes w/ a set of headphones. Its size is bulky and the
sound quality is marginal. This is quite unfortunate b/c you
don't get to fully experience what the player can offer. So get
a better set of headphones. (I have Sony In-ear headphones,
and yes they are great)

(3) It connects to the computer using USB 1.0. Bit slow in
transferring files. Also it comes w/ a "small" USB connector
and a USB cable. That is, one of the (external) connectors is
required in order to transfer files.

(4) Expect to use the "colored backlight" feature sparingly to
avoid wasting battery power.


Well that's all about it. Overall I'm extremely impressed w/
this product. My only problem with this thing is that now I
cannot live without it!!!

Anyhoo, good luck w/ your quest to find the best mp3 player.



Rating:
Summary: The iAUDIO4 - I'm lovin' it!
Review: I know that McDonald's slogan sounds really cheesy, but it is so true for my iAUDIO4. I have literally fallen in love with it and I don't go anywhere without it.

Let me explain to you why I love this device so much:
First of all the accessories that come with your iAUDIO; it's all there: Your armband for sports, the carrying case, the headphones, line in cable, battery, manual, portable USB port and the USB cable. Admittedly, this doesn't make a great player, but it helps.

The body of the i4 is amazingly small and nearly completely made of lightweight aluminium. It feels and looks extremely durable. The unit is basically built around the iAUDIO's massive screen. Its 4 line LCD display is the biggest yet on any flash based mp3 player around. The screen also has 124 different backlight colours to choose from that give perfect readability in the dark. In direct sunlight, even though the backlight colours are no longer visible, the display is easy to read.

Sometimes I wonder how Cowon managed to fit all the following features into the iAUDIO's little body: line-in recording, voice recording, FM radio, FM radio recording & an mp3, wav, wma player. Even though the recording functions are all limited to a maximum of 128 kbps mp3s they all function well and have excellent sound on playback. The FM radio receiver is extremely powerful and can receive a lot of stations, although I live in the middle of nowhere.

Concerning the most important aspect of any audio player: The iAUDIOs sound can only be described as being extremely good. It's clean as hell and has more body than e.g. the iriver 700 or 800 series. The equaliser is also awesome (5 band; each band has +/-28) and the BBE is great! Altogether there are over 1.6 Trillion possibilities of setting the iAUDIOs jetEffect settings. That should do for pretty well everyone ;-)

Uploading songs to your player is easy. Just connect it to your PC and it will automatically register as a removable storage device (it shows up under "my computer"). Now all you need to do is drag'n'drop your songs and you are ready to go.

Navigating on the iAUDIO is simple. It takes a bit of getting used to, but should be no problem for non-techy people. If there is something you really don't understand you can just consult the manual.

Battery life on the iAUDIO is not outstanding, but for AAAs it's good. I get a little more than 9 hours from my Sanyo 800 mAh batteries and 12-13 from alkalines.

So I have been praising the iAUDIO all the time, but there are also some minor negative points: There is a slight gap between 2 songs (find me a flash mp3 player that has gapless playback :-p ). The device only operates on USB 1.1 and not on USB 2. Transfer rates for the iAUDIO are roughly 0.75 MB/s which is fully utilizing the USB 1.1 standards. Don't let yourself be fooled by false advertising of USB 2 being up to 40 times faster for flash players. To date the fastest USB 2 transfer rate on flash players is 2-3 times faster than the iAUDIOs USB 1.1.
The headphones that come packaged with the device can be too big for some peoples ears so you might have to buy some new ones. Also people with really big hands (I'm talking massive here) might have problems operating the iAUDIO4, because its controls are slightly on the small side.

The bottom line:
The iAUDIO4 is a good looking, tiny, really high quality device with excellent sound. Don't let yourself be put off by its trivial faults. The iAUDIO is awesome and I am sure you will love it too.

Rating:
Summary: Does this company actually exist?
Review: They lost my order but did not forget to charge my credit card. It took 4 different numbers to actually find someone who said they worked for the company...there would be less go betweens in a drug deal...If I were you I would avoid this at all costs. Unless of course you don't mind sending your money into the ether...I think of this as a charity contribution to some nameless, faceless, guy laying out on his yacht who obviously needed my money more than I did.