Compaq iPAQ PA-1 (64 MB) MP3 Player

Pros: Sounds great, easy to use, upgradeable, small size, 64 mb
Cons: Not cheap, $200. after rebate, no built in memory

WHAT IS THE IPAQ PA-1 Personnel Audio Player?

A personnel MP3 player. The key features are:
64 mb memory in the form of 2 X 32 mb multimedia cards (good for ~60 min music)
Supports MP3, WMA, AAC formats, upgradeable as formats...

Pros: Size, 64 MB (two 32 MB MMC cards), USB, Allows upgrades to play future formats
Cons: Horrible product packaging, USB drains battery, Support, Uses expensive MMC cards

AT FIRST GLANCE:
I’d been using my trusty Sony cassette walkman for over a decade for my workout routines. I also own a portable Sony CD player, but it’s pretty big and also has the tendency to skip during my workouts. I was amazed at how...

Pros: Small size and great sound makes this ideal for workouts
Cons: Limited capacity and a voracious appetite for batteries

It seems bizarre to see names like Compaq and Iomega up on the shelf of MP3 players where you'd expect to see Sony and Panasonic dominate, but these pc veterans have put together a great consumer electronics product.

I was looking for a simple...

Pros: Light, Compact & Great for Running
Cons: Poor Battery Life; No AC Adapter Capability

To get to the point - in my opinion and for what I use the Compaq MP3 player for, its a great product and there isn't anything else on the market that I would rather have. Why? Because...

* Very light and compact

* Belt-Clip that...

Pros: Small and light, belt clip, USB, 64Mb
Cons: Lightweight construction, ungated ports, sucks batteries for xfer

Those who read this review to the end or have read it before will know that I initialy could not get the PA-1 to work with Windows 2000. It seems like I wasn't the only one. Anyway, just when I was about to break down, return my PA-1 and buy a HipZip I...

Pros: Small, easy to use, good sound quality.
Cons: Rioport software, cost of additional memory, small screen, belt clip battery life.

About a month ago I decided to finally pick up an MP3 player and I did the research and finally decided on this little player. My main considerations were: size (I wanted something unobtrusive when I go bike riding), sound quality, expandibility (I knew...

Pros: Small size, expandability, simplicity of use
Cons: Flimsy memory cover, awkward software, nonstandard storage

I was planning on buying a portable MP3 player eventually, but then a friend bought me this as a gift for my birthday, so I was suddenly thrown into the world of portable digital audio without doing any research, so I don't really know what else is out...

Pros: Small and extremely lightweight Upgradable (hopefully) Great Sound
Cons: Packaging Headphones (Minor) Memory door (Minor)

I recently was in Hong Kong, which electronics are released prior to the US and was amazed at the various mp3 players. So much that I had to have one. So upon returning home, I began my shopping only to discover some of the models they offer aren't...

Pros: Sound quality is Excellent, Small, Upgradeable.
Cons: No Win2000 support, fragile, terrible support.

I purchased the Compaq I-Paq about a week ago after comparing similar products from Diamond and Sony. I was looking for a digital payer because CD players are big and so are CD's. I wanted something unobtrusive to my daily routine.
What I liked...

Pros: Well built, easy to use controls, expandable memory, upgradeable
Cons: pricy, memory is more $$ then Compact Flash, software interface is poor

The short version is that Compaq has made a very nice audio player. No moving parts, backlite screen, removable memory cards and quality construction all make this player a joy to use.

Battery life has been pretty good and the audio quality...

Pros: Extremely small, Great capacity, Great Sound.
Cons: USB means no NT4, Fair battery life.

Capacity: I wanted an MP3 player with minimum 64MB, and potential to expand to 128MB; the PA-1 has it! The minor problem is to get to 128MB, you have to toss your original two 32MB MMC's for two 64MB MMC's; that said, a 64MB MMC has dropped to $115....

Pros: size, sound quality, simplicity
Cons: software

Wanted this product to get solid sound quality in a miniscule package.

Speaking of package, I managed to get it out of its packaging in less than ten minutes without any collateral damage -- I feel fortunate for that (a strong pair of...

Pros: Compact size
Cons: "Buggy" software and "purple" trim

I bought the Compaq iPAQ PA-1 after months of scrutinizing the top MP3 players. The reason I chose the PA-1 is largely based on its size (pun intended.) While it does lack some features that other players in its class possess, such as an FM tuner,...

Pros: small ,great sound, easy to use
Cons: no internal memory

This is an excellent MP3 Player. It is amazing that such powerful, incredible sound can come out of this tiny gadget. The player is well made (although the slot for the memory is a bit flimsy) and a delight to carry. It is handsomely designed and looks...

Pros: WMA support, Sound, price, 64MB, size.
Cons: No room to expand memory. An FM tuner would be nice.

I bought this player because of its 64mb, $200 price, and support for WMA media(instead of MP3, this new format takes up half the space as an equivalent quality MP3). The NomadII was my 2nd choice- but the IPaq is smaller and cheaper.

I was...