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Digitalway MPIO FL100 MP3/FM/Voice Recorder |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Wednesday, 13 June 2007 |
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Page 5 of 5
For one thing, you're told to create a 128x48 image, even though the highest setting is 128x64 pixels. Basically you create a bunch of bitmaps (frames) and then open them with the editor, which in turn creates a log for each image, finally saving the animation as a .DAT file. You can preview the introduction and the conclusion on the left, while organizing frames in their appropriate windows. All of this seemed to work fine until I actually saved the animation to the MPIO, at which point I got an image which resembled nothing of what I created. I tried different sizes, time delays, loop settings, etc, all to no avail.
On a more positive note we have the ID3 tag editor which allows you to add information about a track, such as the artist, album, year, type, etc. This is only reflected in the FL100 if you choose to display ID3 tag information (as opposed to the filename), though the only other thing displayed besides the song title is the artist. However, this isn't something new. You can do all this through Windows simply by right clicking on your music file and going to properties > summary > advanced. This just happens to be a more integrated form of doing so.
And last but not least we have the FM station editor. Once you have your presets created, hook up the FL100, fire up MPIO Manager and run the editor. Here you'll be able to add comments (aka station name) to the corresponding frequency. This will be displayed on the third line of the LCD screen once you're in preset FM mode. If the current station doesn't have a name you'll see the the frequency of the next station on the third line.
After all is said and done I decided to do a firmware upgrade and see if anything changed. As the first picture shows (all taken after the upgrade), the latest release is 1.21. Several things have been changed/added. When recording, you're now given two options, low rate (33kbps) or high rate (89kbps). When scrolling through music you can now see songs on all three lines (as opposed to seeing the songs on the last two lines and the folder which contains them on the first). In MP3 mode under the system category a new fade in/out option is added.
What this does is fade music in and out when you start/pause/end playback. The official release says USB "connectability" is improved and power management is optimized. While I can't comment much on either (I'm not getting 20 hours out of one battery all of a sudden), I haven't noticed anything unpleasant so either it's for the better or the same. But the fact that the FL100 is capable of firmware upgrades means than once you buy the player, you might get some extra features on the house.
As if all those functions weren't enough, the FL100 also works as a portable flash drive. Non-music files don't show up on the screen but they are seen through the MPIO Manager software. Unfortunately it's not very practical, as you need both the custom USB cable and the software to move files around (Windows doesn't detect the player as removable drive). To put the nail in the coffin of aesthetics, a blue backlight is present. It actually appears to be side illumination much like Enermax's UC-A07FATR2 panel, though not nearly as bad. I was surprised at being able to read the display clearly from all angles. The glow around the border is some of the light shining through the grainy paint. Now all we need is a cell phone and a watch with the next firmware upgrade :) Then we'll have the ultimate gadget.
Pros
- Good packaging
- Extensive bundle (carrying case, wristband, etc)
- Unbelievable aesthetics (mirror coating, backlit display)
- Great button layout, easy access
- Very compact, lightweight and expandable
- Great headphones/sound
- Very easy to navigate and use
- Multiple functions: MP3 playback, voice/FM recording, FM radio, data storage
- Powerful MPIO Manager software
- Highly customizable with ID3 tag, FM station and logo editors
- Firmware upgrades = free extras
- Well worth the price ($150 for the 128mb version)
Cons
- Limited expandability (only 384mb regardless of stock internal memory)
- Somewhat unreliable battery life indicator
- Confusing/poorly documented/nonfunctional logo editor
Although this is my first MP3 player and therefore I have nothing to compare it to, the FL100 impressed me in more ways than one. Yes, there are MP3 players out there for well under $150, but you'd be hard pressed to find one that has so many extras (voice/FM recording, FM radio, data storage) and looks better than any iPod. Not to mention the powerful software bundle and firmware upgrades. I don't want this to sound like an advertisement so I'll wrap up. Out of the listed negatives, the only thing that gets me is the battery indicator. Other than that this is a nearly flawless piece of art. Once again I'd like to thank Merconnet for sending over this MP3 player/FM radio/voice recorder and if interested you can get yours here. Thanks for reading and enjoy the site!
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Last Updated ( Friday, 15 June 2007 )
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