Customer Reviews

Centon 1GB USB 2.0 Digital MP3 WMA Player Voice Recorder Flash Drive

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First of all--yes, I'm glad I read the other reviews before purchasing. They were exactly right--a completely worthless manual, not even worthy of trying to figure out. But for me, the use was kind of intuitive. First thing you want to do after installing the AAA battery (included) is turn the "hold" button away from the arrow; the hold button is basically a "lock" that keeps you from switching settings while it's in your pocket. Then you push the round button on the front to turn it on, and an icon menu comes up the functions that this thing performs: music, recording, playback, FM radio, or storage device. It's not that intuitive, but then, it's not completely un-intuitive either; just understand that the kind of "mousy" button on top can be pushed left or right to scroll, and then down to select. Apart from the volume button, that's about it.

It's easy to drag and drop music onto this device; just plug it into your computer and off you go. Note: this thing does NOT take MP4 music--only MP3--but if you have Itunes, it will do the conversion for you, provided that you didn't buy the music from the Itunes store. There are instructions on how to do it on the web here and there. If you only have Itunes music, you can buy conversion software. Otherwise, just stick to your MP3s.

Playback quality is very good with Apple earbuds, but is pretty bad with the included earphones. I did a little voice recording, and played it back--the playback quality was surprisingly good. The internal mike captures a lot. Will also record directly off FM, if you ever need such a thing.

Overall--for the price I paid (less than 20), a real steal. If it's much more than that, forget it. Believe it or not, I saw this exact same thing in Uganda (Africa)--it is all over the world, from China, and CHEAP. So if some USA reseller is trying to rip you off, give it a pass.

Just plan on diddling with it a while before you get the feel of how it works. If you aren't a diddler, this thing may be a bit tough to crack, so have your techno-friend who just can't let it go nearby, and s/he'll get you sorted!

The impressive feature is the large storage capacity of this player. It has 1 GB capacity at super bargin price. A flash driver at this capacity could cost this much, and I got a free MP3 player. I got over one hundred of my favorite songs into it (maximum 240). Plus, I also store files into the drive and take home with me to work over the weekend. Forgot to mention, the quality of songs are superb --
I mean it compares quite well with the sound system in my Mercede-benz. Nowadays, lots of upscale cars has MP3 links -- don't
need to take a big case of your CD's. It is all there. Another big
plus is that you can play more than 10 hrs without stop on one battery and a AAA battery is cheap. Do I have anything against it? I played with FM radio, it is O.K but certainly not impressive and the reception is subject to directions. I have not tested with voice recorder which anyway is not what I am interested.

I actually have a four GB one of these, and I love it. With a boosteraroo to boost the audio these are just great, and you can fit hundreds of songs on them. They also offer the flexibility of being user friendly. You can just pop out the battery yourself for replacement. You can also record directly from the FM radio, from the voice recorder, or plug it into your USB port for information storage. I only wish it came in either pink or camo.

The instructions are horrible is an understatement. They tell you nothing useful!
It took two of us, two days and nights just to figure out the basics. There are many features that I have not found out how to use. An internet search for instructions brought up nothing.
So one helpful thing I can pass on to those of you who do end up trying their luck on this product - press down on the toggle switch to get it to do anything. A very helpful hint the instructions didn't even bring up.
Had I known how difficult it was going to be - I would have passed on this one.
It would not talk to my Mac & when I took it to my sister's to use her PC ... it was still a difficult task to get it working.
That being said - if you do have an IT degree, go ahead and order it. The parts of it I could get to work - work fine.

Everything on it works well but the voice recorder sound pickup and the earphones. To pick up sound you'll want to hold it quite close to the source or else it will be a very faint recording. And the earphones would make knocking noises when jogging with it. Otherwise it's a great unit.

Well, I've never had an Ipod, so I too don't really have much to compare against. But I'm not worried about having headphones jammed in my head the 18 hours I'm awake everyday! This is a good mp3 player! I didn't like the headphones that came with it so I went to walmart and bought some marshmellow soft ones. 20 bucks and make listening amazing! And you don't have to blare them or buy a booster because they block out sound quite well! Save your hearing...buy marshmellow earphones!

I'm happy with the amount of space in the 1GB drive. I recommend, as others did?, taking out the battery when not in use. For whatever reason the red LED light will somewhat flicker and flash for no apparent reason. I think it is supposed to do that whenever you push on the big play button (power) but when you just let it rest it will come on half-lit to full to off and repeat, etc. I don't think I read the directions but it definitely took me a little while to figure out how to play the music. Using the hold function also works well especially when riding a motorcycle...that and work were my reasons for buying this product and I'm happy with what I bought. Hope you will be too!

EDIT>> 4-5 years later, I still use the same one I bought. I use it on rides, pretty much during all yardwork, and not much else. A few years ago I shattered the plastic face and just stuck a piece of clear tape over it. haha. I don't see how these break for a lot of people? And I pretty much always remove the battery and the life of the battery lasts me a long time! and keeping the volume around 10-15 makes it last a lot longer as well. couldn't ask for a better & cheap player! very happy with this one!

I read a lot of bad reviews before I bought it, but it works great. Sure if you dont know much about mp3 players it may take some getting used to but works great.

The device does not keep tracks in proper order. A new AAA battery will be drained when uploading music. A new AAA battery will be drained when left in the product overnight, in the off position.

Horrible costumer service. Just an email address, no phone contact. Looks like a shop out of someones NYC apartment.

Waste of money!

i bought this player a few months ago, and within a couple months of minimum use, it was already broken and unusable. one of the buttons got pushed in and stuck and i was unable to fix it. until then, it was a pretty nifty little thing. however, had i known it ran on batteries, i would've passed on it because i had to change the batteries about twice a week. a pain and expensive. this is good for people who rarely use their player but still want one, or good as a back-up player.

For 16.99 I guess it is ok. BUT prepare for very short battery life - less than 10 hrs. So about one AAA a day. Funny thing is that batteries drain even when the unit is switched off. Only way to avoid it is to remove the battery when not in use. Menu's as others have pointed out are not great but manageable. My 7 yr old has it figured out. At the very least it is a 1MB flash drive.