Ripflash Trio. Terrific fit, finish, and programming.
Written: Jan 09 '03 (Updated Jan 09 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
|
|
| Portability: |
 |
|
| Battery Life: |
|
|
|
Pros: Many advanced MP3 record/encode features. Upgradeable firmware. Compact. Light. Great sound. Gorgeous.
Cons: Only 128mb. No SmartMedia socket. No WMA record/encode.
The Bottom Line: This is a slick unit for amateur recording, and the playback is good to excellent for those who rip their own CDs to WMA or MP3.
|
|
|
| kabamm's Full Review: Pogo RipFlash Trio (128 MB) MP3 Player |
The above pictured product is the Ripflash Plus. The reviewed product is the RipFlash Trio. This is a sensational product. Must haves include MP3 playback, WMA playback, built-in FM receiver, FM MP3 recording, MP3 voice recording, rechargeable battery, USB connectivity, upgradeable firmware, and a built-in speaker. You'll spend a bit of time with the manual to understand how to use this great little unit. Each of five Modes gives access to submenus and settings.
Handsome details include a compact, and I mean tiny, aluminum and aluminized plastic case with expensive looking hologram logo, shiny chrome buttons, blue backlight, and a cocky blue recording indicator in the center. The one I received has a terrific fit and finish. It's beautiful.
The sound is rich and full, but won't be loud enough for those who like LOUD BASS. Recording quality is superb with both the internal omni microphone and the included lapel/directional mic.
The Firmware update I'd like to see is a Mode enhancement so that volume control resumes separately for each recording Mode of the recorder, but that's not a major drawback and maybe it's in one of the menues somewhere...
There is no provision for a belt clip -- however, it easily slides into pocket or purse and provides hours of play and you can add hours of MP3s and WMAs using the USB connection and the sturdy simple file manager on the provided CD. There is no ripper included in the software to make personal copies of your own CDs to MP3 or WMA [wink], so you'll have to get that separately. Of course you'll download the updated firmware and drivers from pogoproducts website...and buy a second battery for a fully-charged backup.
128mb is a big improvement for built-in memory, enough for my needs, but 256 would be better and there is no SmartMedia socket on the Trio. Also the input and output jacks are an unusually small size. They must be the new thing. There is an included adaptor.
Overall a great product, lacking in a few advanced features (such as WMA encoding capability) offered by other RipFlash products, but it does have the FM receiver built-in -- not as a part of some crappy OEM headphones like competing MP3 recorders.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
kabamm
|
|
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.