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| Digitalway MPIO FL100 MP3/FM/Voice Recorder |
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| Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov | |
| Wednesday, 13 June 2007 | |
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Page 3 of 5
This is a shame considering there are now 512mb SD/MMC cards out there for a possible total of 768mb. Then again, at that point you're better off just buying an iPod. Choosing between the 128mb and 256mb variants isn't that simple. Maxing out at 384mb (theoretically) would be about $20 cheaper if you bought the 128mb model and purchased a 256mb card. However, when using the voice or FM station recorder, that information is stored on internal memory only in its own designated folder, so if that's your main concern you might want the latter.
This is because the controller is not embedded on the card and therefore an extra library would be needed, possibly causing some stability issues. On the side of the player are the headphone jack and a rotating ring for attaching the wristband. Once again everything is labeled. They even tell you which which way to insert the battery. The FL100 can be disassembled by removing the four screws, two up front and one on each side though I'm sure doing so would void any warranty.
The LCD screen is fully visible behind another clear cover. Can we say added protection? What you can't access are the battery, USB and memory slots. But most important (at least to me) is the rigid clip. This makes the FL100 perfect for running. You can easily affix it to your shorts/pants/whatever and then wire the headphones through your shirt so they don't dangle all over the place. The clip is so tight you won't be able to hold your finger between it and the case for long. Assuming you can pry it open enough. That's because the back of the case is supported by another piece of steel with the two bolted together.
For a while I was using a cheap $5 set of KOSS phones I got from Walmart until I ran in the rain and they never sounded right since. Well they never sounded right to begin with, but that's another story. Though you can't expect much from a pair of 6mW cones (12mW total output from both at max volume), I was pretty amazed. Though there are equalizer settings for each style of music, I like a lot of bass even in rock and pop. Lo and behold these little suckers deliver a discernable punch. Nothing to make you bleed, but a lot more than can be said for the three or so other pairs I've tried. Each earpiece is covered in rubber for some comfort (cloth actually hurts and plastic is the worst) and labeled left or right. A gold plated connector is used for better signal clarity. But what really got me was the comfort. On a regular basis I tinker with the phones because it's so easy to get used to them and forget they're even there. What's more, they don't even budge when running.
On the third line we have MP3, representing the format being played, followed by 128k (the bitrate). The looping arrow means all the music (in the current folder if you're using folder mode) will be repeated. This icon changes depending on the setting (such as if you desire to loop one song or shuffle). 00:37 is the current track position. And of course there's the battery indicator. Speaking of which, it's not totally accurate. It has four possible displays. Three bars means you have hours and hours left of playtime so no worries. Two bars is supposed to mean it's halfway used (at least to me), but that can vary. One bar usually means you have around half an hour at medium volume. No bars means it's about to shut off. Sometimes it'll flash right before it does so, other times it wont. The problem lies in how it's measured. According to MPIO's official FAQ, the FL100 indicates "residual quantity in LCD by detecting the current quantity at the one part in the internal circuit. In case when indication icon of battery residual quantity is decreased to one step, it may be changed by the minute difference of current. And in case of temporary charge that the backlight is turned on and off, the residual quantity may be changed." This basically means that once you hit two bars with no clue of how long you've been playing music, you might want to pack a spare battery. I tested this out with a drained battery which was actually shown with two bars, only to drop down to one and then shut off about a minute later. So long story short, this feature is somewhat unreliable. The last image shows the "key hold !!!" screen I mentioned earlier. The lock at the upper right corner indicates that the lock is engaged. |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 15 June 2007 ) |
