Cons: Eat Buds hurt, doesn’t remember location when turned off.
The Bottom Line: Lowest Cost, with the features I wanted. If it has the features you want then purchase it. You may want a machine that is compatible with your legally purchased music.
jckatz's Full Review: Memorex MMP8500 (128 MB) MP3 Player
This is what I told the sales person at Circuit City.
I have never downloaded MP3’s off the Internet so I don’t need a 20 GIG hard drive . I download files from iTunes® so I would love something that was iTunes® compatible but that isn’t happening since only iPod’s are compatible.
I only listen to my portable radio at the gym, at the gym they have TV’s that broadcast via FM and I tend to listen to NPR until 7 PM. So the only time I would need an MP3 play is if there is nothing on TV and its after 7 PM. Therefore my MP3 NEEDS to have a GOOD RADIO.
He was a little shocked at how detailed I was in my needs. So he showed me two models.
The Biomorph™ and the Rio Cali the Rio was $129.99 after $20 rebate (what I was EXPECTING to pay), while the Biomorph™ was $89.99 with no waiting for a $20 check in the mail!
I asked one more question. Returns? No questions asked 30 days.
I’ll take the cheaper one thank. Purchased it, installed the batteries and tested the radio. It worked.
The Device
Installation was easy. Plug the USB into your computer install the CD-ROM and you know are the proud owner of a REMOVABLE HARD DRIVE. In my case, HD G.
To put files on your Biomorph™ drag and drop just like you would to put files on a hard drive. And don’t worry want to put Word Documents on your portable device to transfer it to another computer? Not a problem.
The CD comes with RealPlayer 8 but not RealPlayer 10. This means if you purchased any Songs at the new RealPlayer 10 music store you can not play them.
Playing your purchased music
OK you were a good boy/girl or transgender person and purchased music from Napster 2.0, iTunes, or Real Player 10 (did I forget anyone?). Now you want to play them somewhere away from your computer… TOO BAD!!! You have to purchase an iPod, and Napster compatible Player, and a Real Player 10 compatible player. To the best of my knowledge there is no player than can do all three…
Here is what you do. (this may violate your user agreement)
Burn the songs to a CD-ROM, then RIP the CD back onto your Hard Drive. Then move the files to your MP3 player.
Sounds like a PAIN the BUT??? Yep it is.
I have been told that there is SOFTWARE that will do this straight with out the burning to a disk first. I have not found this software yet and since I have 100 CD-R’s that I purchased for $2 after rebate I am not too worried about running out of media.
RADIO
So I purchased this for the radio so how is it? Reception is fine (better than my $50 SONY® radio it is replacing.
BUT….
The Searching for a station is SLOW… It crawls between the station numbers at a rate of 0.1 MGhtz per second it seems… and then when it finds something it takes forever to “TUNE” it. The good news is when it does “TUNE IT” being digital it sticks.
Thank goodness for PRE-SETS. It has 10 memories.
MP3 or WMA
It will only play MP3’s or WMA files (Microsoft’s version of MP3). Both files sound OK, the higher the sample rate the better the quality. My files are all 3rd generation by the time the reach the Biomorph™. The original is located somewhere in California I will assume. It was converted into iTunes format, I then converted it into a CD format, and then converted the CD into an MP3. It goes without saying that the quality is less than perfect by the time it reaches my ears but I still can’t hear any problems.
That being said I did do a test, I played a 30 second sample of iTunes, Real and Napster and I liked the SOUND of Real the best. (This could be because Real is a better audio player or because the Real format is better. Unless I was willing to purchase $3.00 burn all three songs to a CD and play it on a high quality machine and compare it to the original recording (another $15), then copy all three to my MP3 player I will never truly know how good the audio quality is.
Portability
It comes with headphones with very long cord (so you don’t have to bend your head just to listen when its clipped to your belt). But the headphones are the EAR BUDS. IS there anyone in the world that finds those things comfortable. I purchased new headphones.
It also comes with a strap. The strap is a peace of cloth with Velcro around it, so you can make it any size you want. It can be big enough to wear on the OUTSIDE of a winter jacket!!! And I own a nice comfy down jacket!
DISLIKES
My biggest dislike is this. I am listening to a 1 hour long program and I have to stop… If I pause it, I am wasting batteries. If I turn it off, I loose my place and have to Fast Forward to the place I left off, if I remembered what the time code was.
PAIN!
This is of course not a problem for most people. If you are listing to your favorite Britney Spears CD (then you have a problem) it will start at the CD you turned it off on. But for me it is a true problem…
ALSO as I said earlier I purchased it for the radio yet MP3 Player is default. If you turn it off while listening to the radio it turns on to MP3 player.
If you to selection MENU go to RADIO TUNER just to get back to where you left off.
One last feature
Don’t ask me why but it comes with a stop watch.
Not a clock, just a timer…. YIPPY!!!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 89 Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym
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