Customer Reviews

Intel Pocket Concert 128MB Digital Audio Player & Accessory Kit

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This was my first purchase of an MP3 player and I do admit that the ease of installing software and downloading music was nice. The 128K memory was favorable too. The biggest disappointment came when I wanted to listen to my downloaded music. The headphone jack connection was so unstable that the only way I could get a good connection was to keep everso carefully jiggling the jack until I could get dual sound and then sit perfectly still as to not lose the sought after connection. This totally defeated the purpose of being able to listen to tunes while exercising -- that was practically impossible. I took the player out for it's first jog and it quickly turned into a turtle paced walk as I was constantly re-adjusting the earphone jack desparately trying for a solid connection. I even attempted using higher quality headphones, without success, same poor connection. I figured this was just badluck and because I liked the other features, I'd give Intel a 2nd chance. Unfortunately the 2nd player had the same results.
How hard is it to design a headphone jack?
Since the basic concept of the player revolves around delivering music for one's listening pleasure I'm sorry to report that I'm not a 3rd chance kind of gal.

As often as I shop at amazon, I never wrote a single review. But buying this product was the biggest investment I made online. So I thought I should write something incase anybody who is interested in purchasing this player cares about my opinion. I did some research, but never owned another mp3 player to make a close comparison. There were plenty of other alternatives such as the hip zip or the archos jukebox with 6gb of storage space.

So far, I can say that the Intel player is easy to use, has decent battery life (was about 8 hours with the way I used it), and charges in less than 2 hours. I felt that the 128MB of built-in memory (actually 125.5MB) should be enough considering how fast it takes to transfer files. Personally, for "on the go" purposes, I didn't think I need more than 2 to 4 hours of music. One exception I can think of, that would make me lean towards the archos jukebox (with 6gb storage), is if I travel or exchange a lot of files with friends etc. But when I travel away from home for a long time, I usually carry a laptop anyway. As far as the hip zip goes, I wasn't sure how shock-resistant it is compared to the built-in memory. But so far, I haven't heard hip zip owners complain about skipping problems. I think the slightly smaller size of the Intel Pocket Concert was more appealing to me than having two 40mb disks, (which is less than the built-in 128mb in the pocket concert anyways).

Intel's player also sounds pretty damn good for something that gives out some hissing noise (yes...the other reviewers weren't lying). And this hissing noise is the only thing that bothers me. Even though it isn't noticeable during play, I think it could annoy people who listen to tracks that have many quiet intervals. I felt that intel couldn't have left a problem like this alone. But I guess they did. The hiss should take off 1/2 star. I just gave it 5 because it doesn't bother me with the type of music I listen to. But for recommendation purposes, I guess the hissing should be weighed a little.

I didn't bother to include the headphones in the rating criteria (it would be another 1/2 points off). I knew I would be getting a much better one. There's nothing wrong with how they sound (pretty close to sony's behind the neck headphones MDR-G72 which sounds very good with it), but they aren't as comfortable or light as the sony. Another thing that might be worth mentioning, is that it doesn't fold like the sony or some other headphones with similar designs.

The Audio Stereo Dock and rechargable batteries are convenient accessories. I recommend getting the player and accessory kit together IF you must buy this product. I'm glad I did. If the price of the player with accessory kit package sounds like a rip-off (and it probably is), I think the nomad 2 is a better alternative. The memory is expandable on the nomad2 as well.

Oh, and lastly, I read many reviews regarding how fragile the headphone jacks were. Well, I didn't have this problem. In fact, it snaps in snuggly and never caused any problems with the channels. I couldn't tell whether I was lucky or Intel fixed the problem. Anyhow, I'm very satisfied with this player. But is it worth over 320 bones? Nope..

This is my second MP3 player... I went cheap the first time and bought an I-Jam. I week after I bought it I lost one of the MMC cards and had to replace it. Add on memory turns out to be not that attractive. The Pocket Concert takes advantage of that - save the cost of "upgradeable" memory and build it right into the player. 128 megs - WOW! The sound quality is excellent. Especially since with all that memory you can use higher bitrates. The headphones are good, though nothing beats a pair of noise canceling headphones. Definitely worth the money!

I really like my Intel Pocket Concert. It was a hard decision to make between it and the Rio 800 128. I finally went to Intel for some important reasons. One, it has a stereo dock! Since the computer with the cable modem on it is down in the office, I can easily put songs on my Intel and have them playing with EXCELLENT sound quality on my home stereo. Two, the stereo dock, can charge NiMH rechargable batteries. (I like having the two AAA bateries because if I go for a long trip and the batteries die, and can just pop in some new ones. With the Rio, I'd have to wait until I was in a place to recharge it for 2.5 hours). Three, trying to upgrade the Rio is a joke. It almost... (when I checked) to get a new 32MB backpack! The Intel has 128MB and that's just fine. I have 30 songs on here with room to spare! The USB transfer is fast, and the sound quality is great. The only thing you will need is maybe to get a new pair of headphones (the ones that come with the Intel are cool but do not fit everyone).

Very good player--best in class if you ask me.

Just make sure your headphone jack works. If it doesn't, send it back. Litmus test--jog. :+) 128 megs capacity for about 2 hours of quality music, plays .mp3 and .wma files and will play other formats in the future, good sound quality. Overall the best bet. Buy the accessory pack.

IF YOU ARE THINKING OF BUYING A PLAYER WITH CHANGEABLE MEMORY CARDS, RETHINK.

The cost ratio is way too high to actually keep dedicated music on those things (at least a buck a minute for music right now) and switchable cards are more of a pain than they are worth.

I checked the Intel website-all PocketConcert players have been discontinued. Intel will no longer support the player.

So there I was staring at the remains of my old Diamond Rio after my dog destoyed it... How did he know I had an Air Supply song on there? Anyway I shopped around and the Intel MP3 player seemed to be the best value. I also like that it was software upgradeable and I figured I could trust Intel to stand behind their product and actually deliver on the upgrades. (I base this on the fact that I just downloaded a flash upgrade on my five year old Intel motherboard from their web site.)

So far so good. I use it everyday and have had no problems and the sound quality is execellent. Way better than my Rio which sounded tiny. I even hooked it up to my stereo and blasted the dog with bad rock music from Finland.

The interface is easy to use and the bundled software is pretty decent. I can also afford to listen to better quality music now that I have 128MB and it still holds 4X as many songs as my old player. I don't use the radio feature that much but it seems to work fine. It feels solid and well built and has survived a drop from my desk at work without any problems. I know plenty of people who have nothing but hassle with their players so I think I made the right choice.

Excellent Product. Had the RIO 128MB for 6 months. Intel product is much better for several reasons:

1. It works (sent RIO back once and battery never charged fully)
2. Accessory Kit is excellent addition
3. Easy to Use
4. Alot of memory
5. FM Tuner so you can listen to TVs in your workout gym

Sound is excellent on both products.

Yeah the headphones on the Intel are funky but my focus is the quality of the unit itself and the ease of use...

This is a great MP3 Player for any purposes..from work-outs to cook-outs this thing performs beautifuly. It doesn't skip in the least bit, and it holds alot of songs. The accessory kit is a pretty important thing to buy cuz it allows downloads to the MP3 much quicker. The carrying case is great and so are all the extra hook-ups. A over-all INCREDIBLE MP3 player, I recommend it to all!

I was initially quite skeptical of getting a portable MP3 player, as I already had a portable MiniDisc player, but the Pocket Concert put my fears to rest. The two main reasons I think this player is great are the memory and the amplifier. First, the 128 megs of onboard memory holds a good 2 hours of music at a really nice bitrate. This proved to be perfect for me, as I use it mostly while walking or going to the gym, which is usually an hour and a half activity. 2 hours is the perfect amount of storage time. Second, whatever little amplifier they used in the Pocket Concert, it's *great*. The sound is totally clear, and you can really crank it up with a decent pair of headphones and it comes out loud and clear, the sound doesn't go flat at all. There's very little background noise as well, it comes through very clean. The unit is well constructed, quite small, and I also like the docking station that comes with the Accessory kit (i've got it hooked into my living room stereo so I use the USB cable for the computer). All in all, this is an excellent player, and in my opinion well worth the money. I never looked twice at any other player, and i'm completely satisfied with this one.