Battleangel | Personal

No flash Digital Audio Player (DAP) that is. I felt really close the other week but then I read some more reviews and got cold feet again. I’m no “decider” that is for sure. So, realistically, what are my options right now given the set criteria? (which I posted over a year ago!)

The updated Iriver T10 (now with radio and a 2GB option)? Or will a dated player like the Iriver IFP-799 (realistically out of the picture due to noise and poor firmware, makes you wonder about the T10 …) or IAudio 5? Or will I eventually have to drop the AA / AAA battery requirement and settle for a proprietary Lithium Ion option or something? The horror, the horror.

And even then, there isn’t much to choose from. The new Sansa line from Sandisk (E250/60/70) failed to impress. Plus, you just know you’re buying something of substandard quality and you just can’t get that idea out of your head. What about Samsung’s new YP-Z5 and YP-F2 then? Well, the latter has a meager 12h of battery life and besides, I just hate the way they’ve shrunk it. The former seems nice, but like the loathsome iPod Nano that is mimics, it sorely lacks features. Would it really kill Samsung to include a radio and voice recording? A better alternative then is the somewhat dated IAudio U3, neat, brimming with features and with 20h battery life. Meizu M6?

I thought I’d append an updated wish-list as well:

• Build: I wouldn’t mind a player that is a little larger, heavier, sturdier and made for “manlier” hands.
• Price: As I pointed out a year ago, I got away with $80 for walkman once and I’m not willing to pay more than twice that now. Regardless of features and brand.
• Interface: Clean, minimalistic and grownup.
• Output: Must be at LEAST 10mW and at LEAST be able to power open headphones like the Koss Porta Pro. No noticeable hissing or background noises.
• Battery: AAA or AA cells. Second choice would be user-replaceable proprietary, if one can ascertain beforehand that the manufacturer has replacement batteries at reasonable prices and has come through in the past. The sort of battery scam that Apple is running is obviously unacceptable. Battery time would have to be specified at more than 20 hours if built-in (considering fatigue and overly optimistic specifications). A player with replaceable batteries could be rated as low as 15h, but only if the unit allows for charging or the battery hatch is extremely sturdy (unlike some Irivers I’ve seen). Preferably though, battery time should be upwards 30 or 40 hours.
• Storage mechanism: Flash memory. No debate. Hard drives suffer too much from mechanical damage, skipping, and like the built-in battery, act as a virtual death sentence for the player. So, to put it another way, Apple wants you to buy a new player at least every year, I want mine to run for 5-10 years.
• Charging: Preferably using a variety of sources, like USB, wall socket etc. It would also be preferable if one didn’t have to remove the battery, given that the player in question sports AA or AAA cells.
• UMS etc: A proprietaty software solution like Sony “offers” is just unacceptable. Unit MUST support drag and drop at no speed decrease. Unit SHOULD preferably function like a USB stick in that it can store any type of file in a pinch.
• Basic features: Radio if it works OK. Radio and voice recording when applicable. Don’t waste my time with image slide shows, video support or text reading capabilities. Focus on ID3 cover support if you must. Would also be nice if it at least handled OGG files, preferably also MPC.

The only thing that remains certain is that it’s anything but iPod!