Very Good Product, but Look for Better Values
Written: Jan 24 '01 (Updated Jan 24 '01)
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Pros: Lots of music for the price, great battery, and usable for more than music.
Cons: New Archos and Treo players might be better values; no car adapter available yet
The Bottom Line: I enjoy my HipZip, and it was the best value available in early December 2000. It may not be any longer.
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| jameschandler's Full Review: Iomega Hipzip 31311 40 MB MP3 Player |
I wanted to get an MP3 player in time for my vacation -- my wife and I went to northern California for two weeks in December -- so I could take some of my large (500+ CDs) music collection with me, especially on the plane. Players like the Diamond Rio and the Creative Nomad II have, at most, a capacity for a couple hours of music.
So I looked into the hard drive-based players. Unfortunately, at that time all hard drive units had at least one of the following defects:
* expensive
* too large / heavy
* short battery life
* software that does not allow the user to upload MP3s from the player back to a computer
Why I love my HipZip
Unlike the hard drive-based players, the HipZip is small enough to carry when exercising, has a decent battery life (9-12 hours, with only 2 hours to fully recharge), and the price is reasonable. Using Clik! (now called PocketZip) disks, the HipZip can hold about 40 minutes of music at CD quality. Additional disks cost $10-12 each -- much cheaper than CompactFlash and other media cards that run over $100 for 32MB. These disks are small, so carrying a few around is no big deal.
Once I installed the included software and charged the battery for the first time, I found the HipZip quite easy to use. Downloads are fast, the disks snap into place without a hitch, and has quite an attractive design. I have even dropped it (not recommended!) a few times without any noticeable effects.
My favorite features are:
1. It can be used to carry any type of data, not just music files -- easy data transfer from office to home, for example.
2. When downloading Windows Media or MP3 (it can play both), you can resample the music at a lower rate. this allows you to record MP3s at the highest quality rate on your home PC, but sacrifice a little quality to get more music on each PocketZip disk. This is what I did for my vacation (except for one disk of JS Bach) and I noticed very little sound quality difference. For someone with a more particular or well-trained ear might notice these things better than I.
3. The HipZip uses USB for faster download times. And the HipZip will work with Windows NT 4.0, which does not otherwise support USB (nice for me since that's my OS in my office).
4. The included case protects the HipZip well and yet it does not detract from the device: it looks nice, and the screen is still easy to read.
5. The battery is a rechargeable, internal Lithium Ion. This is an advantage over other rechargeable batteries because there is no loss of charge over time (called memory loss; rechargeables such as NiCad or NiMH over time last less and less with each charge). The only disadvantage is it is not removable; Iomega claims it will last 5 years.
Features I wish Iomega had included:
* armband
* am/fm tuner
* voice recording (ok, not a big deal for me, but I can think of many people who would like this feature)
Complaints:
1. Only stays in pause mode for a few (30?) seconds before shutting down. So the pause feature is almost useless.
2. Unless you choose random play order, songs will play in the order of the playlist. Jumping around to a specific track can only be accomplished through hitting the forward button. Cumbersome and slow.
3. The battery indicator only indicates full or half power. Nothing in between ( I have not yet seen it less than half, so I don't know if it warns of impending doom before it shuts down.)
4. All the reviews I have read about the HipZip mentioned the lousy, tinny sound from the included earbud wraparound headphones. I cannot comment, because the damn things would not stay on long enough for me to hear through them! I tossed them aside and used the decent Sony Walkman headphones I already owned. Then I went out and bought a nice pair of earbuds and a converter that allows two ear phones to plug in at the same time so my wife could listen along. No noticeable loss in quality or volume with two headphones plugged in.
5. The only way to activate the backlight is by hitting a button (any button).
6. It seems easy to hit the wrong button on this device, especially with the included protective case.
7. At this time there is no car adapter available.
Competition
Two 6 gig hard-drive based players may soon make the HipZip irrelevant. The Archos Jukebox, which is now available, is probably better (if the review I have read are accurate) than the HipZip for about the same price if you buy the extra PocketZip Disks as I did. The Treo Player, promised for Feb. 2001, should compete nicely with the Archos. Both have good battery life and are small enough to carry around comfortably.
I certainly would not buy the Creative Jukebox, for the following reasons:
1. You cannot upload songs from the Creative to any computer. This means it cannot serve as a backup for your MP3 files and you cannot gather songs from friends and put them on your PC.
2. The battery life is meager (3-4 hours).
3. It is much larger/heavier.
Price Notes:
I was able to buy the HipZip in December for $256 through buy.com, with free shipping (it arrived in less than 2 days!), and an extra 2 PocketZip disks (for a total of 4). I then ordered direct from Iomega's website an extra USB cable (so I can leave one in my office) and 10 extra disks for $119 before a $20 rebate.
Conclusion
For my needs, the Iomega HipZip was by far the best choice of products available. It fits its in between niche of people who want more music, portable, and at a reasonable price. I am very happy with it. But the Archos Jukebox and (though not yet available) the Treo Player may be better choices at this price level.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 256
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Epinions.com ID:
jameschandler
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Member: James Chandler
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
James designs websites, plays golf, and hangs out with his wife Nicole.
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