Customer Reviews

Good Technology SoundsGood MP3 Audioplayer Springboard Module for Handspring Visor

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I purchased this puppy for my new Visor Prism - Color. Overall, very impressed with this MP3 Player:

Here are the Pros/Cons:

Pros: Awesome sound quality(better than the Rio 500 I own), Small Size (fits flush into Visor), great user Interface (in color) for the Visor, excellent desktop client software (again it kills the RioPort software)

Cons: No add-on memory, earphones included are weak

Highly recommended

This product is an amazing move forward over existing MP3 players out there. The unit is tiny, and doesn't increase the visor size at all. I think the company is coming out with an independent energy source for the unit in November, which will really enhance the functionality. The sound quality also is much better than my Rio.

The sound quality is great and the desktop software is very easy to use. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly my MP3 files downloaded. The fact that it disappears into the visor is a big plus because I don't have to carry around yet another thing.

I just got my Soundsgood mp3 player for US$149. I hadn't bought it before, since I thought the US$ 269 price was a bit excessive. I was amazed with the sound quality. And even better: the desktop software. Is the easiest and fastest interface for transferring files to an Mp3 player. I also have the Philips Rush player, and using RealJukebox (the software it comes with) is not as user friendly and fast as the Good Desktop software. The size factor is also amazing: you can use this product with your standard visor cases. I'm very happy and I would strongly recommend it. If you have a Visor, don't bother getting any other kind of mp3 player: get this one!. And now even the price is perfect!

This is simply one of the best products I have ever enjoyed. I already loved my Handspring Visor, but this addition makes it an incredibly useful and enjoyable constant companion. It makes airline travel far more enjoyable, because it is so easy to work on your Visor while simultaneously enjoying the music from the SoundsGood audioplayer.

The software is extremely easy to use. I change my listings of songs each week for the next round of travel, and it is simply a breeze to move songs between my computer and the AudioPlayer. As for the sound quality, it is excellent. My son has the Rio 500, which I also like very much, and the sound quality of this SoundsGood AudioPlayer is just as good if not better. It is just so convenient to have one single device rather than a PDA and an MP3 player. The other very nice feature of this unit as opposed to the MiniJam product from InnoGear, is that it fits flush with the Visor. You can play the AudioPlayer while the Visor is fully enclosed in its hard front cover and inside the leather carrying case -- a great convenience.

All in all, I am as happy with this particular product as any other that I have ever purchased in the electronics arena. I recommend it very strongly to anyone who wants both a PDA and an MP3 player.

If your thinking of purchasing the SoundsGood Player, stay away. GOOD Technology no longer supports it's own player and have gone on to the two way pager systems business(i.e., Blackberry clones). So if your looking for s/w upgrade you'll be seriously out of luck. I've had the Sounds Good Player for about 2 years (being ultra busy), I have reserved my judgement until now. First off, I had problems from the start because I did not have a USB port or Windows 2000 (so the unit was unused for about 4-6 months). Once I got a new pc, it worked for a little while but was very buggy. Freezing during transfers and random blue screens of death etc.

I even upgraded the Palm OS a couple of times (for the Visor prism.) The player hardly plays at all and gets hung on the device everytime I try to play it. The only time it may work is when I synch it with my pc and then listen to it immediately thereafter. The whole purpose of this device is to be PORTABLE and not chained to the workstation. I recommend this item as a door stop!

I started looking for an MP3 a couple weeks back for my Visor deluxe and it appears that my only two choices were the Innogear MiniJam and the Soundsgood MP3 Module. The MiniJam, which is advertised everywhere that one would think it's the only one out there, sounds like the obvious choice at first glance. In addition to playing music, it has an MMC slot for added storage. But then I had forgotten that MMC isn't the same as CF memory, which I own a few of. So that negates any advantage for me. The Soundsgood module, unlike the MiniJam, fits flush into the visor and the cover fits on front or back. That MiniJam looks like a mushroom the way it sticks out from the top and forget about putting the cover back on. On top of that, the Soundsgood also sells a separate mini encasement "The EnergyClip" that will allow the module to play W/O THE VISOR!! HOW COOL IS THAT!!

To make a long story a little shorter....I picked one up as well as the mini case and I am completely and thoroughly happy with it!!

Soundsgood, No Brainer of a choice!!

Z!

This product is one of the best gifts I ever got. It has an excellent memory capacity, and can store a lot of music. One of it's best attributes how it is flush with the handspring. I love the external buttons and volume control. The software is good, and the transition of music from computer to Visor is fairly quick. Some of the cons are that it drains the batteries, and the headphones that come with it didn't fit my ears and the sound was so-so. Overall a wise investment.

I was debating on Innogear Minijam or SoundsGood AudioPlayer. After reading other's review, I decided on this one. Nice form factor. Sound is incredible! Comes with easy-to-use instruction and software. Well worth the price.

Battery life
Good battery life. I've noticed a slight increase in battery usage while the module was in use. Somewhat more than other Springboard (SB) modules such as memory expansion modules. Also, when the module is plugged in, it seems to affect the reading of the battery gauge, making it seem like there's less power than there should be. As a result, you may get a low battery warning sooner than you should. This is normal, but if you're using rechargeable batteries, you may want to swap fresh ones, since they have less capacity per charge than normal alkalines to insure you don't lose handheld data. The gauge returns to normal when the player is removed from the slot. My suggestion, if you use your Visor a lot and/or foresee using this player a lot as well, it may be worth your while to spring for nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries. You'll swap batteries more often due to its lower capacity per charge, but you'll get your savings back after a month of usage.

Sound quality
I'm no audiophile, probably nothing to brag about, but the sound quality is good enough for me. Very close to the sound you get on a PC with "average" speakers and sound card. I can't put my finger on it, but the provided headphones sound "tinny", so using a better quality set ought to take care of that. Max volume is more than enough in quieter places, but on a "rickety" subway like the older NYC trains, you'll be almost hard pressed to hear much of anything.

External controls
There 4 controls: play/pause (technically play/stop, as when you DO "pause", it actually turns off while remembering where you last were), skip forward one track, skip back one track, and a volume jog dial control. The first turns on and plays the player, or pauses and resumes play. The next two are self explanatory, but further adding that reaching the first or last track will wrap around to the last or first track respectively. Unlike many CD and mp3 players however, there is no search mode available (done by pressing and holding these buttons). The last controls volume, but also can be depressed (like the wheel of a scroll mouse), which will automatically bring up the control screen regardless the current state of your Visor. The jog dial gets you to your desired volume setting after a few flicks, but the controls are just rounded knobs, so you'll have to press hard or use your nail. Also, you may accidentally lift and pull out the head phone jack (mine plugged in wasn't snug, but a little loose) when you try to press the button next to it. It has it's faults, but is still a nice alternative to having to whip out your stylus and cover just to control the audio. One thing I do like about this is the play button will light green (dim or bright) if you set it that way. This takes more battery power, but I recommend it so that you can tell if the unit is on or off, without having to turn the screen on or plug in headphones to listen and potentially draining your power without knowing it.

Software interface
It's simple and intuitive. Similar to Winamp minus the skins and fancy equalizer. You can bring down a pull down menu of all the songs you've loaded, there's an simpler equalizer where you can adjust bass, treble, and general frequency settings (none of which I really used), sliders for volume and track position (volume adjustable through the up and down keys as well), options to view details of mp3 tracks, and set modes of play (repeat, shuffle, etc.), as well as oversized standard buttons for play, stop, etc.

Loading music
Easy enough. All you need to do is ensure that all your music files are indeed mp3 format, drag and drop, and your next hotsync op will transfer the songs over. On the desktop software, it even tells you how much space you've got left before you transfer. Takes about a minute to transfer the full capacity. Pretty reasonable considering it Is USB 1.1.

Stability/reliability
Reliability has been good. I've never needed any tech support, and the thing's never broken down on me before. There have been times where upon plugging it in, I get "module was inserted improperly" or "Module seems hung, please try again". I sometimes get that once or twice in a row. The only time I get it 6 times in a row was when I left it in the car for weeks, in 35F degree weather, which I guessing was due to the cold.

Tech support
N/A as far as I'm concerned. The company is still there, but they've changed their business model. I tried calling them up about months after they changed their ways (this was approximately around summer of `02) and only one guy was there who had a decent understanding of what this product is and does. He wasn't able to answer my question though. Don't count on getting ANY tech support. IMO, this product is well made, so assuming there's nothing wrong with your Visor, tech support won't be needed.

Other notes
First, you can play games, take notes while the music is playing simply by hitting the home button. You actually need to hit the `stop' button either internally or externally to actually turn it off. You could also leave the screen off to save battery. Next, you don't have the option of rearranging your playlist on the handheld. You need to do that before you load the music on there. Finally, only 64MB of nonexpendable memory? That makes this best suited for workouts, grocery shopping, and "low-end" users. 128MB would've been IDEAL. 4.5 stars is my actual rating, since there are some trivial issues with this, but it does deliver what it says smoothly and acceptably.