SEARCH iPHONE & iPOD CLEARANCE: |
 |
|
WE ALSO BRING YOU THE BEST SITES ON: Electronics; PDA, Laptops, Digital Cameras, HIFI, Mp3, Ipod Accesories, Cell phones and the new Electronic Books... Why pay more
if you can access to the best deals while being at home? Search, look
and compare prices. You can also read the comments from previous buyers
to make sure that you have find the perfect seller for your interest. Also, Gifts, Apparel,
Baby, Books, Health & Beauty, Grocery... Also or
the Home and Garden, Jewels... Buying online through Clearance Products
and Promotions at CLEARANCE.ES. Find Bargain Products and Promotion Sites such as 65% or more. Most of the sites offer you FREE SHIPPING and SECURE PAYMENT PROCEDURES. |
| We have analyzed the technical features, battery life, resistance to
continued use and the quality of the headphones and comfort of four
media players, you can listen to MP3 music and watching videos on their
tiny screens. In terms of ease of use and management have studied the
graphical environment (call interface) and the menus of the players and
programs. Finally, we stopped in additional accessories included in the
package. Review for four different media players: iPod Nano, Blu: Sens
P28, Creative Zen V Plus and the Samsung YP-T9. |
BEST: Its aesthetic appeal, usability and resolution of your screen to view videos.
WORST: The absolute dependence of iTunes.
The new player introduced by Apple is the third generation Nano model. This model has a thickness of just 6.5 mm. Thanks to its thinness, it is very convenient for storage in his pockets without anyone noticing its weight or an awkward bulge. In general, it was so comfortable to wear as the phone, not appreciated the difference. The front plate material is aluminum. It is easy to clean material and its surface does not leave tracks or dirt, so the player always looks nice. However, the control wheel of the iPod Nano is very easy to scratch. We tried the edge of a coin and a nail, and found that both methods are able to leave a slight mark on its surface. The same actions were performed in the back of this player, made with stainless steel. A few days of using this model, the board already had marks and scratches on its surface, as well as finger marks in handling the device.
The iPod Nano headphones were placed on the ear easily, but after an hour of use, the specialist began to feel pain in your ears. The sound quality was good: we must bear in mind that the device has a built-default volume limiter to avoid damaging the ear. This limit can be disabled by the user in order to increase the volume. The display of outdoor and indoor video was very good, with high resolution in the reproduced content. However, it has the disadvantage that to play a video file to convert previously there by Quicktime (or another similar application can be downloaded from the Internet) to the appropriate format for playback on such devices (MOV, natural Quicktime). In tests, a 90-minute film required 40 minutes of re-encoding and transmission from the computer to the player. And besides, if the video file is original DivX format, you will need to find a? Codec? (add-in that allows a computer playing a video format or sound) in the network to adapt it to Quicktime. This is a disadvantage because DivX is the format of choice for sharing movies online. This, however, is a feature present in all players who have studied video and reproduce. In fact, such conversions are uncomfortable for the time lost in changing format.
Regarding the battery, according to tests performed on continuous playback duration and average sound volume is about 27 hours when playing audio files and five hours when it is played a video.
Usability of Apple iPod Nano The iPod Nano features a graphical interface that divides the screen into two. On the left presents the menu as a list, which means the wheel you can navigate through the different sections of options. The right part contains additional information about some of the menu options have been selected either automatically displays random and some photographs, record covers and videos that are included in the player. This division of the screen is a great contribution in the menu interface, beyond the aesthetic, and even come to be uncomfortable at times, since remains usability and ease of navigation of certain menu options. Still, we found it easy to move through the different options after a couple of minutes in which we test the different buttons and basic actions.
One option that we have found most striking about this model is the inclusion of a navigation covers called 'Coverflow' to select the song or album you are looking through the display of the cover. The inclusion of album art along with the album has to be done through the iTunes application installed on your computer. To do this, as for many other benefits related to the iPod, you can not use other programs than iTunes. You must be registered with the Music Store (including leaving the number of credit card, but not pay anything) to directly download the album covers that are in the library. The iTunes store can purchase music, videos and games to synchronize content with Apple's player. The other system is to make the covers look the picture in JPG format on Google or Yahoo! and put under the heading 'Labels' of each song. The speed of the search mode 'Coverflow' has improved from the first version of the user interface in this model. However, the covers of some albums that are correctly classified are doubled or tripled in the 'Coverflow', hampering the search.
Finally, a comfortable option for this player is that? Are there? the time when the user leaves the playback of content, to return to the same point in playback when reused. Playback Software The application used to transfer information from your computer to player is the iTunes software, versions of which are available for Windows and Mac OS platforms, but not for Linux. Even if an iPod was used first in one of the two operating systems (eg Mac OS) should be formatted again, or restored for use on other operating system environments. This represents a drawback to consider when you have different architecture computers (eg laptop and a desktop Mac with Windows) and want to travel with the iPod media information above. If you use two computers with the same operating system need not be completely reformat the player, but it will disappear all the songs are stored in it.
Using this application are centralized all actions that can be performed with the device. Import music from CD to organize multimedia library. Once connected the player to the computer via this application you can easily perform a synchronization tasks of the library of music, videos and photos. In fact, the synchronization between the computer and the player is the fastest of all players tested. To perform the synchronization is necessary for the music and video library is available on iTunes. Thus, if songs are recorded on an iPod will double the library of songs on your computer, because iTunes keeps a copy of the songs in a library that bears the same name. This is a factor to consider because if the user does not delete the songs that changed regularly, eventually you will find that iTunes? Come? much of the hard drive that may wish to have available for other functions. However, in the case of audio and video podcasts (audio or video broadcasts periodically downloaded from a web page), the duplication of copies can be very useful, since the application can be ordered automatically download new episodes emissions are from websites, and later transferred to the same player and delete the previous episodes that have already been heard or viewed.
All are equipped with memory storage of type 'flash', and have a capacity between 2 and 8 gigabytes. Its retail price is moving between 129 euros and 190 euros Creative Zen V Plus
BEST: Its size, its additions and functions such as radio or VCR mode.
WORST: The screen size and resolution.
The size of this MP3 player is the lowest of those tested. However, its thickness is greater: 15.9 mm, more than double the iPod Nano. The plastic material which is made from the whole surface is resistant to daily use, and placing in his pockets is to carry other everyday items like keys and coins. It has been found that although the surface is cleaned well with a rag, you can purchase easily sweat and dust from the perspiration of the hands, so the device is somewhat slippery and it can be uncomfortable to hold as much to handle. The Creative Zen V Plus comes with a holster and a belt as additional accessories for transportation. The cover, which can be used to clean the surface of the device has enough capacity for your player, headphones and other small items without doubt a great advantage when you're in the street and not have time to go looking for every thing pockets.
Although we believe the sound quality is very good, the supplied headphones cause discomfort came to us when we use them steadily. These wear a pad on each handset to cushion the impact on the ears. However, because they are a great size, we tested for over an hour without interruption and we produced some pain in the ear, a problem that has been detected in all samples. Regarding the screen, due to its size, it offers a good resolution for viewing videos. Certain items included in the general plans of some movies were invaluable, which is interpreted as a resolution that is far from optimal in comparison to the display, for example, the iPod Nano.
The battery life in audio playback continuously, according to tests carried out, is around 20 hours, about seven less than it takes in the same mode of use on the iPod Nano. Versability of the Creative Zen V Plus. The device incorporates a selector type 'joystick' in the center that allows browsing through the menu options that appear on a list. On the surface also includes two additional buttons: Play-Pause 'button and return the menu. Incorporates buttons on the sides to raise and lower the volume as well as direct access to a recorder function (available in all the models except the iPod) and the power button and key lock. These buttons are very useful outside easily handle the device because it enables the manipulation of the volume of the device without removing it from the pocket, a move that could otherwise be cumbersome.
As discussed, Creative Zen V Plus features a voice recorder in WAV format with a built in microphone or through an audio input built. The quality of the recording with his own microphone is good and the subsequent reproduction is clear and apparent background noise. As detailed, the Creative Zen V Plus includes a cable for recording from another audio source (tape, record player?). The outdoor features a button to initiate an audio recording, regardless of the actions or views active at that time from the user interface. Another remarkable aspect is that this model also includes FM radio which, as in other digital devices that include this option (not the iPod), the headphone cable acts as antenna. Playback Software This player comes with a use application from the computer designed only for the Windows operating system. Resigned to use it only on our PC, it needs to have installed the player software on your Windows Media Player version 10 or higher for the Creative program works.
Through this application you can convert video and audio files to the appropriate format for playback on the Creative Zen V Plus. Without this application can also upload files to the device manually, like an external hard drive, but according to tests carried out manually only accepts up to 50% capacity. Also emphasizes the application ZENcast Organizer, which allows you to subscribe and sync podcasts listed in web directory of Creative Zencast.com, although the download time and synchronization is much higher than required by iTunes to the same episode of a podcast multimedia players: iPod Nano, Blu: Sens P28, Creative Zen V Plus and the Samsung YP-T9 The best options, the iPod and the Creative All are equipped with memory storage of type 'flash', and have a capacity between 2 and 8 gigabytes. Its retail price is moving between 129 euros and 190 euros Blu: Sens Q28 BEST: It works equally on Windows, Mac OS and Linux WORST: The little consistency of software use, the incompatibility of their plug 'minijack' headphone and poor usability Physical aspects
The Blu: Sens P28 is the largest player of those tested in this comparison, but still find it comfortable to wear on the pockets. In particular, the size and thickness of a mobile. Regarding its surface protection, the anterior plate is covered with a translucent plastic that hides the action keys on the main menu. These keys, although they are installed beneath the cover, very responsive to touch. The problem is that the plastic will stain easily with sweat from the skin of the hands, and need to be constantly wiping it. The back is made of aluminum, which supports either the daily use and with no apparent scratches. However, the headset that includes not have the sufficient degree of quality that is needed: it's built in hard plastic and does not incorporate any type of cushion or protection to suit your ear. Of course, we test and after one hour of continuous nuisance made it preferable to stop using them.
Another negative point is that the Blu: Sens P28 incorporates a headphone jack (audio output) 'minijack', so if we want to use headphones with a standard plug, so get rid of? Torment? in our ears, we will need an adapter. Just for this detail and not worth buying choose from our Blu: Sens P28. Another feature of the Blu: Sens P28 is the ability to record voice in WAV format. However, although the quality of the recorded sound is good, it incorporates an annoying background noise. Its recording quality, therefore, has been the worst of the three models discussed in this feature. The battery life for audio playback on a continuous basis, according to tests carried out, is 11 hours, while video is nearly two-hour use. A short time compared with the other three devices. For recharging, the device includes a power adapter, along with the USB cable, for connection to the computer. The recharge through the USB port can increase the time until eight hours, though time is considerably less if you use the power adapter. Is also negative picture viewing. These must be pretreated before being transferred to the device via third party applications to reduce its resolution and therefore its weight as 200 kilobytes photographs are delayed excessively open in some cases while in others it is impossible to this operation.
The size of the screen is larger than the rest of the tested devices, but low-light videos are displayed on screen too dull and dark, possibly because of lack of power in the backlight. Usability Blu: Sens Q28 The graphical interface is very poor and its navigation is done via the same keys to control reproduction, which is a drawback if you want to perform several functions at once. Playback Software For the file transfer is necessary to have Windows Media Player 10 or higher and a computer with Windows XP operating system or higher. DRM files can not be played on operating systems like Windows 98 or 2000 and are also incompatible with Mac OS X and Linux. As software installation contains the free application to perform the MediaCoder video compression prior to transfer to the player, with a resolution of 320x240 pixels. The embedded application is not easy to use for novice users because it allows many configuration options of technical parameters. To this were added to the language barrier to find the software only in English.
The installation CD also includes a program for software update Blu: Sens P28, although we have been able to install on our PC, because the installation system could not find a file on the CD needed to complete. Moreover, when connected to your computer (keep your operating system), the Blu: Sens P28 is identified as a removable hard drive, being able to manually transfer audio files to appropriate folders. So, you can use Windows, Linux and Mac OS. FLAC, highest quality digital music This is a lossless compression format popularized thanks to broadband and higher capacity hard drives Is today the only way the MP3 music sharing online? This is a compressed format but rather the audio files, this process loses quality. The reality is that there are alternatives to reduce the space occupied by files but without loss of fidelity, in order to get the same sound as the original disc, and one of them is FLAC. The progressive increase in bandwidth and higher capacity hard drives could play in his favor.
If you use FLAC, to decompress all data obtained from the original, with the same sound genuine disc FLAC is an acronym in English of a lossless compression format, whose initials correspond to 'Free Lossless Audio Codec'. The great asset of this type of compression formats for the popular MP3 or extended at stores that sell downloads of songs (AAC or WMA) is that they can reduce the file size without losing quality absolutely nothing, as if were a ZIP or RAR specially designed for music. That is, if you use FLAC, then get all the original data, with the same sound genuine disc. Thus, the user forgets the loss of quality (almost imperceptible to an untrained ear, where it is encoded) to carry the MP3 and its successors. Several bands have chosen this format as an alternative way to distribute their work, such as Pearl Jam and Metallica FLAC (which is free software) is increasingly present in P2P sharing networks and forums specialized in music. At the same time, several bands have opted for this format as an alternative way to distribute their work. For example Pearl Jam and Metallica, who recorded all his concerts and then sell them anywhere.
Even some sites like Archive.org or Internet radio, they sound different material available to its users for free in FLAC format. A very compelling format Of course, the main drawback of using FLAC lies in the space occupied by a file in this format. Although its creators claim that in tasks of compression and decompression of files is the fastest in its category, since, according to their data, obtain a reduction of about 50% of the area of the original song, the result ' weighs' much more than MP3. The main drawback of using FLAC lies in the space occupied by a file in this format So, if one takes into consideration a song compressed into MP3 5 minutes, its size will vary between the 4.6 and the 11.5 Megabytes Megabytes, depending on the rate of kilobits per second (which is known as bit rate ') to be encoded (between 128 kilobits per second, the minimum to get a sound similar to CD, and 320 kbps, the maximum quality of this format). However, the same file compressed in FLAC exceeds 35 megabytes. Quality or compression
For this reason, each user must calibrate if you bet on the compression of MP3s and derivatives or the quality of FLAC. On the one hand, if using MP3 users can store a larger number of songs on your hard drive and at the same time ensure portability, because most portable players allow the use of compressed music. Yet this is not a standard format for portable players On the other hand, listening FLAC format ensures identical to the original disk, to the delight of discerning music lovers and also a way to make a backup completely identical, useful if the disk is damaged. Now, all this in exchange for reducing the capacity of hard disk storage and mobility with a much smaller file because it is not yet a standard format for portable players. How to listen to FLAC? To listen to a FLAC file on your computer you must add a supplement to the usual media players (Windows Media Player) or opt for those able to read it natively, such as VLC Media Player or Winamp.
If you want to listen to the format for portable devices, existing market players that support it, as the Rio Karma or the Cowon iAudio, to name two of a score of devices capable. Even the most sophisticated can install a firmware that allows the iPod can play, even at the risk of Apple's warranty on the apparatus. Likewise, there are also audio equipment designed for the home and even equipment for the car that accept FLAC, so it is expected that because it is a form of free software, is implemented on other devices soon. Some audio equipment designed for home, and even for the car, accept FLAC On the other hand, it should be noted that FLAC can also be found inside the Ogg container, an open source format, which as FLAC, also develops and supports Xiph Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes the adoption free software in the media.
Ogg FLAC is more oriented to audio and video editing, so the files take up more space than the standard FLAC. In case you want to convert songs from CDs to FLAC, there are several programs that automatically perform.