http://www.gadgetspeak.com/gadget/article.rhtm/751/4081/article.html

Inovix Digital WMA/MP3 Music Player IMP-33 

Image of author
The title only covers part of what this unit can do, it can also record and play .wav files as well as having an FM radio, so far it has stubbornly refused to make the tea.

The unit is tiny – about the size of a lipstick – at 7cm long and a little over 2.5cm across the weight is well under 50grams with it’s single AAA battery inserted. There is a 4x1cm LCD display that carries a multitude of information including ID3 tagging so whatever information you transfer with tracks from the PC is displayed.

On both sides of the LCD are three buttons and another the on/play button at the right side. There is a single sheet for a Getting Started Guide this could be better as in one diagram it lists by number 12 buttons and points on the unit. Only by trial and error reading the rest of sheet does it describe 8 of them. However the symbols on the buttons are fairly self explanatory. There is a manual on a CD-ROM, also a driver but this will only be required by Windows 98 and 98SE users.

The end of the unit has a mini USB socket and not only is a USB to mini USB lead provided but also a neat USB to mini USB socket plug and if you have front facing USB sockets the latter is all you are likely to need.

Plug in the device to a USB port and Windows installs a driver, you then have an extra drive in My Computer. You can drag and drop files to the unit very quickly and should it be required you can also use the unit as a mule to transfer files between PC’s.

A reasonable set of earpieces are provided on a lanyard that also contains a FM radio, these are never great and rather directional but this one was better than others I have used. Should you wish to use your own earpieces or headphones they work just as well but only on the main unit as the FM radio is part of the lanyard with the earpieces.

The voice recorder is remarkably sensitive and I placed it in a room and talked across it to someone else and both our voices are clearly audible. These files are recorded at a low wav rate, but it is great for easy note taking. In round figures a four minute conversation takes around one megabyte of space. As this is a 256MB recorder you could in theory record well over 17hours of speech at a single time.

As an MP3 player I transferred 260minutes worth of tracks and they sounded great both through earpieces and a set of speakers. In theory WMA take half the space and are meant to be the same quality, that would be over 500 minutes of tracks.

A single AAA battery lasted around 450 minutes in my tests. You could use a rechargeable battery but as AAA batteries tend to be low power in comparison to AA offerings you would not get much time from them.

As an MP3 player this is good, as a voice recorder excellent, plus an adequate FM radio and earpieces and the bonus of being able to use it as a mule. The price is £79.99

Link : http://www.theupgradestore.co.uk/digital/product_page.asp?id=MP3 > select PA-33 256MB

Follow us on Twitter!!

add to del.icio.us Digg this review
StumbleUpon
Reddit

Reviews by related category


If you like this article then why not link to it from your site!

Use a text link, or download an image

 

Our current Free Prizedraw!!

Why join GadgetSpeak?

Well - there are lots of reasons to join, depending on you and your interests :

  • Member prize-draws
  • Real reviews - by real people
  • Membership is free
  • Email summary of the weeks reviews
  • Share your product feedback with others
  • Keep in touch with all that's new in gadgets
  • Full of great ideas as the Christmas deadline looms!

Convinced? Come along and join in the fun!

close

Invite friends and family to GadgetSpeak

Why not invite friends or family to join in the fun?

Help us make GadgetSpeak the place to come for free and impartial reviews of the latest gadgets!

Start inviting your friends along!