joe-uncool's Full Review: Dell DJ (20 GB) MP3 Player
The Dell Digital Jukebox comes to save the day from iPod domination.
Style and Durability: 4/5
The Dell Digital Jukebox is a simple yet durable unit. On the front side there is a nice 2-inch LCD screen with a powerful bluish-green backlight. This backlight overpowers both my cd players and my old iPod. The simplistic design on the front is made up or a scroll unit in between a back button(left), and a “Home” button (right). Under those buttons are (from left to right) a skip backwards, play/pause, and skip forward. To avoid clutter you hold down the skip buttons to fast forward and rewind with the song. Unlike the iPod the Dell Digital Jukebox has buttons on the left side. The buttons from (top to bottom) are power, volume up, volume down, voice recorder. I will explain these buttons later, but they are in a perfect position for a left-handed person like me, because your thumb is in easy access of the buttons. Although the engineering is great, and the Dell Digital Jukebox is very durable, it has some style problems. With a big black band wrapping around the sides, the silver plated metal front and back stick out. The colors match, but does not look as uniform as the iPod does. The front is my biggest criticism, the buttons, scroll button, and LCD screen are placed in a polished metal rectangle that is plopped right in the middle of the silver color. It doesn’t look as stylish as other mp3 players, but its durability makes up for that. I have dropped this thing many times, and it still works it is amazing. Well one time when it broke it was my fault, but that wasn’t the Dell Digital Jukebox’s fault, so I will not count it against them. Overall, what the Dell Digital Jukebox is lacking in style, it makes up in durability and simplicity.
Ease of Use (Design): 5/5
The Dell Digital Jukebox is very simple to use either in the day, at night, or with a remote. Similar to the iPod the keeps the majority of the buttons on the front of the unit to keep button searching to a minimum. With only the power, volume, and recording switches on the side all playback buttons are centralized on the front console for ideal and easy use. The “Home” button is one of the best features for the user-friendly unit. If you every get deep into your Red Hot Chili Peppers and don’t feel like hitting the back button 8 times, just one tap of the “Home” button and you are back to the main menu. The scroll component just rotates in place so that ones thumb does not have to unnecessarily have to extend to search for music.
My test in the dark went well for the Dell Digital Jukebox, it passed with flying colors. Using its bright bluish-green LCD lights all the buttons on the front console light up (except the scroll component), and this allows for nightly use. Also the power button is illuminated all the time, so there is no trouble turning off the unit in a dark scenario.
Another test was when I was taking a ride up to my lake house in the Adirondacks, 5 hours away. I used the handy remote supplied with the unit to go through my playlist. With the accompanying play/pause and skip buttons, I was able to surf through my Motion City Soundtrack playlist with ease. When relatives in the car began to sing I just grabbed the remote, which was attached the my belt at the time, and cranked up the volume to drown out the sounds of “We are the Champions”.
Both tests went extremely well so the Dell Digital Jukebox scored a perfect grade for ease of use.
Speed of Transferred Music: 4/5
While not as fast as the iPod’s Firewire line, the Dell Digital Jukebox comes with an extremely more compatible, yet slightly slower USB 2.0 cord. The port on the Dell Digital Jukebox is a 5-prong USB port that is adapted to a 2.0. Basically all computers come with a USB port, (old – USB 1.1, new – USB 2.0), for mice, keyboards, joysticks, and some digital cameras. While slightly slower than the iPod I just let the Dell Digital Jukebox run its course over dinner. I usually only put on 4 albums at a time and this easily finishes in 15 minutes, so this is still quick for transferring around 50 songs. The compatibility for the USB cancels out the slightly slower transfer, which makes the Dell Digital Jukebox a safe pick for transfers.
Sound of Transferred Music: 5/5
The quality of sound coming from the Dell Digital Jukebox is amazing. Along with the iPod, it has the same majestic album quality like a brand new record right out of the case. This comes from Dell’s Musicmatch Jukebox software that rips albums to almost perfect quality. The Dell Digital Jukebox even has a built-in equalizer, that even my stereo doesn’t have, so I can change the sound levels of each musical section or to any genre. I have a custom setting for translating songs into sheet music for me to play with my friends. I actually feel that the Dell Digital Jukebox may have a better sound chip than the iPod because after listening to the Dell Digital Jukebox it made the iPod sound like my old school JAMp3 from elementary school. This rich sound can be changed from a classical preset equalizer to many more ranging from jazz to pop to vocal to rock, and more. This feature can accentuate the sound of the music to please the listener as much as possible.
Size and Navigation: 4/5
The Dell Digital Jukebox is a sizable mp3 player at 20 Gigabytes of free memory. At album quality this beast of an mp3 player can hold 5000 songs. Analogous to the iPod the Dell Digital Jukebox can be used either as a backup drive for your computer or a way for transferring information. Since the computers at my school don’t have an A: Drive (floppy disk drive), I have been using my Dell Digital Jukebox to transport big papers and projects that I have not want to write on my laptop. This feature has been very helpful and with the abundance of room you can fit many files onto the player. The Dell Digital Jukebox and the iPod use almost identical firmware in their products. On the main page there are six tabs:
Music Library
Now Playing
Play Mode
Recordings
Settings
Information
each of these tabs goes on through other pages to sort and navigate to help you find exactly what you want. To get to my Thrice collection I just hit: Music Library - Artists - Thrice, it is as simple as that. This easy navigation makes the product easily used by both seniors, young children, and technological inept people like me.
Battery Life: 5/5
Containing a hefty Lithium-Ion Polymer battery this is what gives the Dell Digital Jukebox its larger size over other mp3 players. This robust packs a charge that will shock the iPod out of the competition. With a battery able to last up to 20 hours of solid playback, the Dell Digital Jukebox never ceases to amaze me on how many albums it can play in succession. I have played it all night as a test and then look in the morning to see how much battery is missing. I wake up and look at the Dell Digital Jukebox and expect it to be dead, but behold it is on the second round through my 75-song playlist. “It only lost 25% battery all night, what is going on?”. I turned the Dell Digital Jukebox off and on again, thinking it was surely frozen. When the unit turns back on still 75% battery. “Wow” my envious iPod owning friend said to me. My Dell Digital Jukebox never ceases to amaze people and this was one of the major selling points on this unit for me and others I know with the Dell Digital Jukebox.
Bundled Accessories and Software: 4/5
Accessories:
Headphones: It seems to be a trend with all mp3 producers that they need to incorporate a pair of ear buds with their unit. Along with the iPod ear buds I totally disregarded these minute humming machines as a realistic piece of equipment and then bought a nice $12 pair of Philips headphones that accompanies my Dell Digital Jukebox quite nicely. Overall, I really don’t count the ear buds as an accessory because I never use them and they just collect dust in my room.
Remote: This is an accessory that should come with any portable device. The remote allows you to tap into the headphone jack and control the playlist from a little handheld remote that can clip to your pants or belt. In the car this is invaluable, because instead of my Dell Digital Jukebox sitting on my lap, I can keep it in my pocket and turn the volume or change the track, by this handy silver brushed metal remote.
Case: Unlike the iPod I purchased the Dell Digital Jukebox came with a padded leather case with the Dell logo branded into it. With plush and thick pieces of leather on the bottom, front, and back, they are holding the Dell Digital Jukebox with strong yet flexible elastic straps that secure your Dell Digital Jukebox for the roughest of rides. Protecting your Dell Digital Jukebox from harsh encounters with wood, concrete, and linoleum is an invaluable asset to your prize possession.
Power Adapter: Without a doubt the most important accessory is the power adapter for the unit. With a twenty hour battery I don’t need to charge the Dell Digital Jukebox’s as often as you would think, but when I do the power adapter zaps the battery to a full charge in 3.5 hours flat. Unlike the iPod the Dell Digital Jukebox’s power adapter lays in between two cords, one to the outlet, and on to the component.
Software:
Musicmatch Jukebox:
The Dell Digital Jukebox comes with Musicmatch Jukebox software for ripping, burning, tagging, and transferring. Although this software works very well I don’t like the menus and tabs as much as my beloved Tunes. While you still must transfer and make your playlist in Musicmatch Jukebox, it has a great setup for managing a portable device. Overall, Musicmatch Jukebox is great for all Dell Digital Jukebox users that are not as picky as I am about their track listings and quicker rip speeds.
Price: 5/5
One of the best features about the Dell Digital Jukebox is that it has components just as good, if not better than the iPod for almost $100 cheaper. When I said “Do your research!” in my other review this is what I meant. Without paying for the iPod name you can save $100 and get a leather case. I will never regret the decision of paying $250 for the Dell Digital Jukebox. It was one of the best choices that I have made in my days of being a music lover. For those who do not care to be hip or groovy, this is a great price for an iPod alternative.
Customer Service: 5/5
The Dell Digital Jukebox allows you to purchase an extended warranty that lets you exchange your unit if there is a hardware or firmware problem. This came in handy when I put my Dell Digital Jukebox down on the floor, while picking up my backpack for school. I lifted my backpack quickly not knowing my Dell Digital Jukebox was on the strap. When the backpack came to my shoulder I heard a thump at the bottom of the stairs. It was my Dell Digital Jukebox laying there “lifeless”. I called Dell and they tried to fix it. Unfortunately it was broken beyond repair, so Dell sent me a new unit the next day, and had me send the broken on back to the factory. This transaction was smoother than a baby’s bottom, and I give Dell all the credit in the world for sticking by their product, and standing up for their warranty. This customer service was amazing and I will never be cautious about Dell’s customer service again.
The Verdict:
After having a bad experience with an iPod I purchased this masterpiece after my friend got one for Christmas. I have never let go of it since, and hopefully will never have to. With already about 1000 songs on this machine I have enough music for any road trip. This maybe be one of the best heavy duty mp3 players on the market for the price. With all due respect to Apple, “I think Dell took the cake on this one”.
SCORE: 4.55 Rounded Up to 5 Stars
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250 Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
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