Product Review: MP3 player
Pros: Great sound
Cons: Tiny screen
Price: €149
Thursday April 03 2008
The Samsung S5 is the answer to your over-stretched earphones and bruised noggin. This sleek, black, touchscreen music player slides out to reveal a 1.5-watt stereo output, which is great considering how tiny and lightweight the device is.
This is the sort of MP3 player I would have if I wanted to show off new musical purchases to friends, or maybe shut the office door and blast out a bit of relaxing classical music to wind down after a long day.
However, I must admit that I was reluctant at first to give this device a go because I had got used to a certain touchscreen, wireless internet-enabled, widescreen device with web browsing and YouTube functionality. However, there is more to the S5 than meets the eye.
The touchscreen function is a bit confusing initially and, unlike the iPod Touch, it is not overlaid on the screen. It rests below and has a play button, along with directional arrows, a back button and a sub-menu button.
The built-in FM radio is a nice addition with easy tuning abilities. There is also an audio recording function so it’s a bit like having a dictaphone as well: great for all those ‘memos to self’.
What really appealed to me, however, was the Bluetooth functionality. It’s surprising how under-rated this technology is but it really is fantastic for easily connecting devices and transferring data.
Pretty much all mobile phones have Bluetooth functionality these days, so I was able to pair up the S5 and my phone and transfer some pictures over.
Then I moved onto my MacBook notebook, which also has Bluetooth. I was able to send over MP3s, video clips and even eBooks. The only drawback was the S5 model I was using had just 2GB of storage. Don’t expect to store much content with this but there are also 4GB and 8GB models available from Samsung.
However, the screen is so small that I don’t know if I would bother watching any video on it.
All in all though, I was pretty satisfied, and then I stumbled upon the ability to pair the S5 with a mobile phone and turn the MP3 player into a speaker phone.
These are the little touches that can make up the mind of a consumer confused by the huge array of MP3 players out there.
The S5 also has a few simple but fun Flash games included and the ability to add more, a feature that could help while away the minutes spent waiting for the train.
I can see the S5 appealing to the professional person aged 35-plus. While this device has modern, touchscreen abilities, it also appeals to a slightly older demographic with the voice recorder and FM radio.
Besides, it makes good use of Bluetooth, which most people, tech-savvy or no, are comfortable with from using it on their mobile phone. So there’s no need for cables or connecting to your PC if you don’t want the hassle.
© Silicon Republic Ltd 2008
All content copyright 2008, Silicon Republic Ltd — all rights reserved
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© Silicon Republic Ltd 2008
- Marie Boran
