Audio Analyst Mike Kobrin gives a lot of credit to MusicGremlin, Inc. for trying to design a Wi-Fi-enabled MP3 player despite its shortcomings.
The MusicGremlin MG-1000 holds 8GB, features a 2-inch color LCD, FM tuner, and an integrated 802.11b Wi-Fi radio. It works with Musicmatch, WMP 10, and Napster as well as WM DRM 10 to load songs, but it doesn't support subscription services like Napster To Go.
During his tests, he found that the MG-1000 lacks the basics such as repeat and equalizer/tone controls, and transferring songs from a computer is rather slow. Even connecting to a wireless network took several tries. Its output power is very strong, so he doesn't recommend turning the player's volume up high. In his own words, he found the player's interface not very quick: "it takes a couple of seconds for a track to begin playing when you select it, and there's occasionally a hiccup or garbled sound at the very beginning of tracks when they play sequentially."
The MusicGremlin Direct service offers over two million tracks for purchase, but a subscription is $15 per month (ouch!).
And how much is the player? A whopping $299 for a first try.
Read his entire review here.
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July 13, 2006 2:05 PM
I'm confused as to exactly how effective a portable media or music device that has promises of wifi could possibly be. Will it be able to connect to networks that are protected by WEP or WPA? Will you be able to type in network passwords and SSIDs, or will they be limited to open networks for ease of access and interface? I can only imagine typing in a 26 character password using a scroll wheel and an on screen keyboard, especially if there are special characters or if the password is in hex and you'll have to go between letters and numbers. Bleh. Sounds like someone wanted to beat Microsoft to the market with a device like the "ipod killer" they've been harping about lately, and to be honest, I'm expecting it to fall on its face...kinda like this one. Too many features, too little functionality, and way too complicated. But then again, I have definitely been wrong before, so we'll wait and see! The subscription-style-we-own-the-music-you-rent-it motif doesn't ring very well with me either. I'll choose iTunes where I buy the song and own it completely and can do whatever I want with it (even if that's to burn it to CD and re-rip it to mp3...) instead. And $299 for only 8Gb? That's just shameful. :(