Samsung YP-U3JQB 2GB Touch Control MP3 Player (Black) by Samsung Electronics
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Digital camera reviews of Samsung YP-U3JQB 2GB Touch Control MP3 Player (Black)
Digital camera Review: Works great for me!
Summary: 5 Stars
I got mine yesterday and contrary to one other reviewer (shown below), my U3 was immediately recognized as a USB storage device.
I have a relatively new PC that's running Vista and upon plugging into the USB slot the U3 showed up as another device/drive. I 'explored' and found that they had pre-loaded it with four folders: Music, Playlists, Recorded, and System. There was no 'music management' software pre-loaded so I was immediately able to drag & drop a bunch of MP3's straight into the "Music" folder. I really like this ability to have total transparent control over how I load the player - as opposed to all the iPod stuff that forces you to use their iTunes software.
After letting it charge for the recommend 1.5 hours the screen showed that it was fully charged and I gave it a try. I think it works great especially for my purposes. I enjoy having music and/or downloaded radio shows (like "Car Talk", etc.) to listen when I run or work out in the gym. It's so small and light that I simply route the headphone cables underneath my shirt and put the U3 into a pocket of my shorts when you can't even tell it's there. There's no need for an arm band or other similiar gear.
I do find that the intutive controls (I didn't have to look at the manual to figure anything out) are very sensentive and so it's important that you use the 'hold' slide switch on the side before putting it into your pocket, or whereever. If you don't put it on hold then you'll undoubtably touch one and cause it to switch songs, etc.
There are plenty of custom set-up options, and I found that the defaults were already what I like. One of the features that's especially important to me is the ability for it to 'remember' the spot you were on when you shut it off and then resume from that same place the next time you turn it on. Often I'll only get halfway through a downloaded radio show when I'm done working out. With most other players you have to try and search around to get back where you were if you want to hear the end of the program. If you'd rather not have it operate in that way then you're given the option to turn that feature off.
This is a delicate piece of electronic equipment and will need to be treated with a little bit of care. For example, the built-in USB connector that pops out when you push a little slide switch is a little plastic prong that is thinner than a standard, full-sized USB connector and (I imagine) could potentially be snapped off if it were treated roughly. For me, this type of issue doesn't pose the slightly concern, however young kids and/or those who are harder on this type of stuff may run into trouble. I'm speculating here because maybe it's made of tough plastic that wouldn't be easily broken.
Anyway, bottom line is that I'm really pleased with every aspect of this player and can highly recommend it.
Digital camera Review: Nice try...but lacking
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm a little conflicted about the Samsung U3. The major problem I have with it is the sensitivity of the buttons. I like to listen to podcasts while jogging and it's darn near impossible to change the volume without accidentally touching the forward button and changing to the next item or if there's nothing next, restarting the current item. It's especially bad if I've been listening for a while and have to search for the place I was at.
If you're looking for an MP3 player that you just start, maybe put in shuffle mode, lock the keypad and let it go, then it's a fine little device and I'd rate it a 5.
If you think you'll have to change the volume or anything while moving, I'd look for something else.
Digital camera Review: Not a UMS storage device!
Summary: 1 Stars
"The U3 also functions as a flash drive. You can use it to transfer files from one computer or USB device to another."
This is a false claim. The YP-U3 is not a "USB Mass Storage" (UMS) device, and consequently, will not mount on the desktop of Windows or Macintosh computers as a drive. The device requires that you install software (Windows only) to manage the content of the device. Since I bought this with the intention of using it as a flash drive on my Macintosh computer, it's now useless in that capacity. I can't even use it on the Windows machines at work because it requires the installation of software on any machine you want to use it as a storage device with.
After doing a bit of research on the 'net, I've come to learn that previous generations of this device (U1 and U2) as well as *every other* similar Samsung device had this functionality, with the exception of the U3. Some folks recommend downgrading the ROM to a UMS-compatible version (the ROM download is, in fact, available from Samsung's site) but it seems this particular device is 'smart' and does not allow itself to be modified for UMS functionality.
I'm sorry to have to rate this product 1 star -- but flash drive functionality was the only reason I bought a 2GB device instead of some other player/recorder/radio with less memory. It's actually pretty nice, and I own 2 iPod's and an iPhone. The FM radio sounds very good, and the voice recorder is also nice.* The UI is very clever and only a tad more complex to use than an iPod. All around, a nice, tiny, device. Oh, and you can even turn off the LED effects, since out of the box, the default behavior is to flash bright LEDs every time you press a button.
Anyways, with regards to flash drive functionality: Buyer beware!
*With regards the voice recorder, it picks up the noise of your hands when you handle the device. So if you hold it while recording, it will record every squeak and brush of your fingers as it rubs across the surface. Very annoying. Fortunately, it has a clip that will let you tuck the thing in your pocket. So long as you don't move much, you won't pick up the extra noise.
Digital camera Review: Love it
Summary: 5 Stars
I was in the market for an mp3 player, but I didn't really want to shell out a whole lot of money for an iPod or its comparable competitors. Not only am I terribly tight, but I knew I wouldn't need a lot of the features: video, pictures, a huge screen, and so on.
I also knew I wanted an mp3 player that had enough space for what I planned on listening to: currently, I'm listening to a year's Bible study on mp3, and I needed enough space for at least the final 25 of 52 (I'd already listened to most of them while cleaning house and traveling). That is to say, I needed enough space for at least 25 hours of audio.
Of course, the young man selling me this item couldn't tell me how many hours of audio the mp3 player would hold, because that all depends on the audio compression. I tried to tally in my head how many megabytes each audio file was, but couldn't. I liked the Samsung best out of all the mp3 players, so off I went.
Likes:
--Two gigabytes is more than enough for my purposes (saying that makes me sound like I'm going to take over the world, but don't worry, I'm not like that). My entire study of 52 hours of audio at 32 kbps takes up about 690 megabytes of space on my hard drive itself, so I have plenty of space left. I cannot recommend purchasing any less than 2 gigabytes of space, no matter what mp3 player you buy.
--It doesn't have buttons on the front to get jammed or broken; you just touch the volume up/down track forward/back. (The power, pause, and hold buttons are actually buttons or sliders, though, and placed on the sides.)
--Its screen gives you a clear readout, mine in a very stylish blue. (I did not want a Shuffle with no way to see what I was listening to, especially when listening to a sequential study or perhaps in the future, an audiobook.)
--The voice recorder is pretty cool -- records in mp3 audio. I can't speak to how clearly it would record in a crowded place: I tried it at home, in a quiet environment. Of course, I didn't buy the thing so I could hear myself talking, so this is just a nice bonus.
--The radio was a feature I completely forgot about until I returned to the main menu. Works pretty well, at one point clearly picking up a station 50 miles away. Not so well in my building where I work (still got local stations, though), but that's okay. I didn't buy it for the radio. It's just a bonus.
--Easy to put music on it. Mine came with an installation disk for the Music Studio, but I didn't need it. (I'm one of those people who hates installing things on my hard drive.) I use Windows Media Player, which is compatible.
--No battery to change.
--The battery lasts ages. I was a bit peeved when it suddenly said, "Low Battery!"; I didn't realize that I'd already listened to almost 17 hours on it: more than I'd expected.
Dislikes:
--I would have liked more of a warning that the battery was going to die. Of course, I say that and then I think maybe it had already told me: I turned off the "beep" that came with each button push/pad touch, and I am uncertain whether or not that turned off any battery warning.
--"My mp3 player" is more time-consuming to say than "my iPod." So I named my mp3 player Troy. I'm just kidding.
--It's more lightweight than I thought it would be; a bit more heft would psychologically inspire me not to toss it around as much as I do. (I have a case for it; I'm just clumsy.)
--I was a bit perturbed with the USB connector. It doesn't rest as snugly in the USB port as I would like; it feels quite loose. Even as I write this, it's charging in the port, and I can visibly lift and lower the player. I'm just afraid it will break off.
All told, I'm very pleased with this purchase. Its ease of use and excellent audio quality far outweigh its shortcomings.
Recommendation: If you're prone to breaking things, this is probably not the mp3 player for you. However, if you're careful, and if you don't need bells and whistles, I really do recommend this mp3 player.