Customer Reviews

Intel Pocket Concert 128MB Digital Audio Player

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I am comparing my experiences to my use of the Rio 500 mp3 player, which I recently replaced with the Intel Pocket Concert due to storage constraints.

1) Look/handling: I'm not one for flashy looking things, but the Intel unit is a good size and easy to handle. The belt clip is handy (Rio did not have one) but I do miss having a case for it, which I understand I have to purchase separately from Intel.

2) Plug and Play Ability: The set-up and installation of the unit was flawless. I was listening to the unit as soon as I pulled it out of the box (it comes pre-installed with a few mp3s and a walking tour of the unit). The Intel file transfer software is several thousand times easier to use than Rio's. My one complaint is that you cannot reorder the songs once they are on the unit. I haven't used MusicMatch Jukebox, which came packaged with the player, to upload files to the unit, but for now the Intel software is more than adequate.

3) Sound quality and usage: The volume on the Pocket Concert is incredible. I had problems with the Rio in that I couldn't get it loud enough to hear well over a train or city traffic noise, which is a problem, since I use it to commute to work. The Bass/Treble controls are adequate, although I miss having pre-sets, which the Rio had. The bookmark, random and repeat features are fine. The volume control is at the top of the unit, and separate from the scroll wheel which controls settings; I appreciate having it set up this way. It is much more functional than combining them all on the side of the unit, which Rio did.

4) Storage: I am getting 23-30 songs on the 128 meg internal storage. This is pretty much what I expected, since I was getting 9-13 on the Rio with mp3s encoded at the same rate (128 or 160). This is more than adequate for my commuting and exercising needs.

5) FM Tuner: I'm not getting tremendous reception on the Pocket Concert, even in and around downtown Boston where the signal is the strongest on any other walkman type unit. But I didn't buy this for the radio!

6) Battery life: This is the one downfall to this unit. It is eating batteries like crazy. I think that if the scrolling info on the face of the unit could be controlled, it would cut down on the battery drain. The Rio upgraded its firmware to be able to cut down on scrolling and the amount of data shown, and even on the amount of time the backlight was lit, and I found I could extend battery life quite a bit if I cut down these settings. I think this is definitely one area Intel needs to look at. I get on average about 6-7 hours on a battery, whereas on the Rio, it was over 10 and close to 12 or 13 hours on a regular basis.

7) That annoying hiss: Yes, I do notice it, but only between tracks and in a quiet room. If you're using this to work out, jog or commute (which I do) then you'll never know it's there. I would assume that it's fixable with a firmware upgrade, since several people on the internet have complained about and returned the product without a noticeable improvement.

I look forward to firmware upgrades which I would assume are coming. As an Intel shareholder, I'm proud of this product, and haven't gone anywhere without it for the last 10 days!

I've been looking for an MP3 player for a while now. I knew I didn't want an MP3/CD player, but I wasn't sure about any other specs after that (Expandable/Non-Expandable, internal batteries,etc.) I stumbled on a review for this one and everything was highly favorable. So, I pre-ordered and patiently waited. It finally came last night, and man, am I glad I waited. This thing is phenomenal! I didn't even have to crack open the instructions. I installed the software, and away I went.

The transfer rate on this is REALLY fast. I mean, you can dump 128 MB in about three minutes. I haven't messed around with the MusicMatch Jukebox yet, but the Intel software is ridiculously easy to use. It reminds me of an ftp program, just drag from one side to the other. Great.

Other features: FM Tuner. This was another feature that I hadn't thought I needed until I read the review. At my gym, they have TVs all over the place, but the sound is channeled to a low-power FM antenna. You need to use your personal stereo to tune to an off station to get the audio from the TV. The equalizer is also a very cool feature. Most personal stereos may have an EQ with a few presets, but the Intel's EQ allows you to tailor your EQ settings to a degree of +/-8. The only thing is that to my knowledge there are no EQ presets. This is something that could probably be added with a firmware upgrade.

How does it sound? Terrific. With one exception. When the Intel is connected to your PC (via USB), there is some hum that is picked up. I'm not sure if that's because the USB also provides a power source and is creating interference. When not connected to the USB, this sounds perfect. As with any MP3 player, the quality of your MP3 files is going to be most important. The included headphones were decent, and they're those new-fangled wraparounds everyone's wearing. In my opinion, not the best for working out, but in any other application, cool. Of course if you can spend some money on a decent set of cans, it'll sound even better.

Other things: The battery life is decent (ten hours MP3, 16+ radio). The thing even comes with batteries! The controls are also laid out very well. Intel doesn't try to cram all the controls on a single side of the player. The volume control gets a side all to itself, as does the menu button and scroll wheel. Not likely that you'll accidentally press the wrong button. One thing that I didn't like about the buttons, however, was the fact that the action assigned to that button (volume up, set, etc.) isn't actually executed until you press and RELEASE the button. This is a minor point, but one worth noting when you'll have to click-click-click to increase the volume instead of just holding the button down. Another great feature is the bookmark. They implemented this with audio books in mind, since you can't scan the tracks and there is no resume function. You can set a bookmark and then come back to it later. Maybe a future upgrade could include a resume function. Something akin to the bookmark function, but one that is done automatically instead of having the user activate it.

Bottom Line: I love this thing. I'm glad I waited for it. It's priced competitively if you consider all the features. Granted, it doesn't come with any sort of expansion capabilities, but how many of us are going to drop another 80-100 bucks on expansion memory for an MP3 player anyways?

Think of every feature you expect in a portable music player: sound quality, features, ease of use, size, weight, construction quality, software support, value. The Intel Pocket Concert (PC) has it all.

Sound quality: Highs and lows are faithfully reproduced through the powerful 11mW amp. Contrary to what everyone has been saying, the included neckphones are fantastic. I've given up earbuds for the first time in my life. Another first for me - the maximum volume on the PC is actually louder than my ears can take. This beats every Sony portable device I've ever owned.

Features: My #1 requirement for any MP3 player is a properly functioning shuffle feature. Some players don't have one, or implement it poorly. I am happy to report that the PC has a great shuffle & repeat feature. ie. It can play all your tracks in random order (without repeating one until they are all heard), and then repeat this process again in a different order. Perfect. The PC also includes a bookmark feature, which is great for saving your "place" in an audio book. Treble and Bass can each be increased or decreased according to your style of music. Let's not forget the inclusion of a fabulous FM tuner with the PC. Note that the reception is increased with the use of headphones, such as the ones included (it uses the headphone cord as an antenna). The PC can remember up to 10 FM channel presets. The PC can also play WMA encoded files, as well as MP3. IMHO, WMA is not a "near CD quality" encoder, and my recommendation is to avoid encoding with WMA. However, if you don't mind low quality WMA sound, save your money and buy a cassette Walkman (which will sound better).

Ease of use: The player has 3 large main buttons (Rewind, Play, Fast Forward). Easy. It also includes a jog dial to scroll through song lists, and allows one to set up options, such as Random/Repeat and Bass/Treble. I didn't even bother reading any manuals. I just opened the box, installed the included batteries, and listened to the pre-installed MP3, which describes the basic usage of the PC. Perhaps a user manual could also have been included, describing the more advanced features. The fast forward/rewind feature is quite "slow". For every second you hold the fast forward key down, it jumps ahead only five seconds. So if you want to skip ahead 60 seconds, you need to hold the fast forward key down for 10 seconds! IMHO, this is the only major problem with the PC. Luckily, a firmware update could easily fix the problem (should Intel decide to release one).

Size: The unit itself is much smaller than it appears in photos on the web. I was under the impression that it would be Walkman sized, but it is actually smaller than a cassette tape.

Weight: I clip the unit to my sweatpants when I go for a walk or jog. Surprisingly, the unit is light enough that it doesn't bump around or weigh my pants down. This is key, as most music players are so heavy that they require you to wear a belt to stabilize them (ie. CD & hard disk based players).

Construction Quality: I was worried about this since CNET mentioned that the headphone jack on their unit broke easily. I tested the jack out, and it is quite stable. CNET must have received a defective unit. The hardware feels quite sturdy, and the only piece that feels breakable is the battery door. I get the feeling that I will need to be quite careful when replacing the batteries each time.

Software support: My #2 requirement in an MP3 player is the freedom to load any MP3 file I want into the unit. Thankfully, SDMI and similar nuisances are absent from the PC. Instead, Intel included a simple application, the Intel Audio Manager, where you choose the file you want to load, and then click "Load". Simple. The file then copies to the PC via a fast USB connection. A 5 minute song takes about 25 seconds to transfer. Intel also includes a great MP3 ripper/encoder called MusicMatch Jukebox Plus. Unfortunately, the included version (5.1) is a bit old compared to today's (6.0). Still, free software is always good.

Value: The PC comes with 128MB of flash. What more is there to say? If you want a "solid state guaranteed not to skip" player, this is the most memory for the money. At roughly a minute/MB, the PC gives you 2 hours of CD quality music. Similarly priced units only provide 1 hour. Extras include a fabulous pair of headphones, a belt clip, two alkaline AAA batteries, and the MusicMatch software. I only wish Intel had included a pair of rechargeable batteries and a docking station. Instead, you'll have to buy those separately, via their overpriced "audio accessory kit".

Overall: 128MB flash, loud, small, light, easy, no SDMI, fast USB, FM tuner. Nuff said.

I've been shopping for an mp3 player for over a year, but never found one I thought was worth the money -- that is, until I discovered Intel's Pocket Concert. Here's a list of what I especially like about this wonderful device: * Reasonable price for a device with 128MB of memory * Excellent construction - nothing flimsy or cheap about it * Well designed controls and readout * Well thought-out options, including bass & treble settings, random & repeat play, ability to set a bookmark, etc. * The sound quality is fantastic, with the included headphones or a better set * Unlike many other mp3 players, you can really crank up the volume -- Pocket Concert is really honesty in advertising * Uses 2 AAA alkaline or NiMH rechargeable batteries * Transferring music from the excellent provided MusicMatch software to the Pocket Concert via a USB connection is easy and very fast -- in my experience, about 7 minutes to download about 2 hours of music (sampled at 128 kps) * With the optional accessory/docking kit (not available yet, but I'm getting one as soon as I can) you can play music from your Pocket Concert through your home or car stereo.

I was initially skeptical about buying an mp3 player from Intel, but now I have to admit they really got it right. In my opinion, there's not a better player available. If only all my other techno-toys were so delightful!

I did some very heavy shopping around for a new MP3 player and believe this is it. I'm never without a portable player and I use one quite a bit, so the basics that I wanted were: something that could hold quite a few songs, something that was reasonably priced, and something that was lightweight without a whole lot of unnecessary gadgets -- and that's what this is.

First of all, the sound quality of this is incredible. Not only did I feel like I was surrounded by the music with fairly simple headphones, but I had control over the bass and treble as well. INCREDIBLE quality that actually moved me. Second, this has the ability to switch over to radio which actually swayed me towards buying this player over the others -- I really don't know of a decent priced player with this capability. I'm also able to read the songs I have on my player rather than randomly hitting "forward" on the player searching for the song and I simply scroll to the one I want. It's outside cover is made of aluminium which is a little more solid than a plastic exterior (I dropped my old one and the battery compartment snapped, the retailer wanted $100 to fix a plastic TAB.) Plus, this player's endurance is for a person who wants quality over "fashion" i.e., I could care less if my snap-on face plate matches my outfit.

The only bad things would be the fast-forward takes a bit to get used to, because it skips ahead first by 10-15 seconds and then by holding it down does it start rolling. The second would be the headphones, which are okay, but I really don't want to fumble around with these metropolis-like awkward neck-phones when I can just slap on a normal pair. Any other headphones are applicable to the player. As for playing songs in a specific order, you can load them one by one in the order you want, or simply go ahead and bookmark them, which can take a couple of minutes. Download time isn't bad. Upgrading the memory isn't applicable, but I felt 30 songs was good enough for the whole day.

I picked this player because most others are unbelievably priced, especially the Rio. Whereas Rio isn't too bad, the quality doesn't match up and I didn't like the idea that memory upgrade was limited to THEIR product at over $150. If I bought the 64MG player and snapped on another 64MG, it would have easily added up to $350, which I thought was ridiculous. Sure, they have another player with a huge amount of some 360MG, but I thought: Who would feel okay walking around with a player worth $600? Plus, after days of research and surfing, Amazon DOES have the best priced Intel around (all others seem to add on $50.)

Other than that, the player has a number of add-ons that are really great. The car adapter is fairly simple, coming with a cassette adapter (this stuff is separate, but pretty good) AND the player can be dropped into a charging dock (with rechargeable batteries,) to simply recharge the whole player. No more fumbling with the batteries in and out of the player to recharge. Just place the whole thing in the charger! Excellent.

I highly recommend this player as a MP3 user who has really done her research on players. This one is probably the best in all areas and I feel was a great purchase. If you're a previous MP3 player user, it will take minutes to get a hang of. New users, just read the easy instructions. Go for it -- you won't be disappointed.

I'll start with this players good points.

1) Excellent Sound Quality- This player sounds great. Most of my songs are encoded at 64kbs WMA these sound almost as good as cds. When I recorded at 128kbs it sounded just like a cd. Some people mentioned hearing a hiss. I heard no such sound even on a quiet track at the lowest volume.

2) Space- With its 128 megabytes you have space to spare. So far I have loaded on 24 songs and I have just over 50 megabytes left.

3) Controls- Overall its a well laid out player. Buttons are easy to reach and the player can easily be operated with one hand.

4) Features- The bass boost, hold function and random or repeat play are all very usefull.

5) Upgradable Firmware- This is good because you can upgrade your player to play new audio types as they come out.

The Cons

1) The FM tuner is awful.

2) Software- I had many files from cds that I had ripped using Windows Media Player. These files transfered over to Music Match Jukebox but the program would not transfer them to the Intel Pocket Concert. In order to get these files over I had to re-rip the cds using Music Match Jukebox. This was a pain and prevented me from giving the product 5 stars. If you are using MP3 files that you have downloaded over the internet this will not be a problem for you.

3) Compatibility- A few of the songs I had downloaded did not work with the player because of some "digital rights managment" thing. I hope that Intel will release a firmware upgrade to solve this problem.

4) Headphones- You're going to need a new pair!

In conclusion I found that the Intel Pocket Concert was an overall good player. Once you get it to work it works extreamly well. Getting it to work can be a little tricky but it didn't take too long to figure out. If you are looking for an MP3 player, this is the one to get.

In reading the other reviews of this product I decided to write my first. This is a pricey item so everyone should have good data to go on (and I benefitted greatly from other customer product reviews).
--First and foremost, this thing has one of the highest memories out there (128) and it is TINY. I can wrap my hand totally around it, and it is extremely LIGHT!! Just what I was looking for.
--My main draw to the product was the fact that it had a radio. Like other people have mentioned, it is not a great radio. It does not work in my gym (although my other walkman works with great reception there) and doesn't even work in the basement of my house. Outside it is fine, but if you want it for the gym--be careful.
--Others have mentioned that the connection between the player and the headphones is very tempermental (connection goes in and out). That is true, but it doesn't happen often enough to really annoy me (yet?)
--One thing to be careful of is the Volume button. With the quality of MP3's (especially downloaded ones) so varied, it is sometimes necessary to turn the volume up nice and loud one some songs where the quality is less than perfect. Unfortunately, the volume control is digital instead of a manual dial, so when a great quality MP3 plays next, and the volume is about to burst your eardrums, you have to wait several seconds for the volume to go down (Instead of a dial where you have TOTAL control over the volume and the speed that it is turned up or down)
--I haven't found the battery life to be as bad as others have mentioned. It doesn't seem drastically worse than other walkmans I have had, and there is an battery indicator on the display so at least you know it's coming.
--I really wish it has an armband starp like other small radios. This has a belt clip and it's not very condusive to running or other activities with a lot of movement.
--The software to download your songs onto the player is easy to use and the display scrolls the song information while it's playing. I especially like the way it shows you (via a bar along the bottom) where you are in the length of the track.

Overall, this is a great little player, and I am very impressed with the size and the weight. If you are not sure if this is the time to buy a player, I might almost wait for Intel to make a few improvements before purchasing (especially to the headphone connection--that should not happen on a new unit). But if you are determined to get one, this is a nice player. I recommend it.

If you're buying this player because of the included FM tuner, don't. Every FM station's signal that I tune in with the Pocket Concert is weak and noisy, while other radio tuners in the same location pick up a perfect, strong signal.

Fortunately, I didn't buy this device for the FM tuner - I bought it because of its support of Windows XP and the Windows Media Audio format. Setup was mindlessly simple, I followed the clear directions, installed the software, connected the device and my Windows XP notebook recognized it immediately.

A quick trip to the Intel website and I downloaded a fresher set of XP drivers and a firmware upgrade that greatly improves the function of the FFWD and REW buttons. I was blown away with the ease-of-use. The upgrade also allows for direct support of Windows Media Player. You can manage the files on the device directly from WMP without needing to use Intel's included manager.

Other than the FM tuner quality, the only problem I have with this player is the absence of direct DC adapter support. Battery life is 2xAAA = 10 hours or so. The Intel accessory pack's docking cradle is the only way to have audio playback without draining batteries, though, while connected to the PC, the player is powered by the USB.

The Intel Pocket Concert was my third MP3 player in a week. Yes, you read that right. The problems I had with the Rio 600 and the Kazoo made me very leery of low-end MP3 players, so I decided to hit the big time and pony up for the Intel Pocket Concert (aka IPC).

I'm very glad I did. The IPC is a superior product, delivering excellent sound quality and portability with fewer hassles than any piece of electronic equipment I've ever owned. I especially like these features:

* full-bodied, rich tone

* wide range of sound levels, from barely-there to ear-blasting

* comfortable, high-quality headphones that don't leak sound

* large built-in memory

* tiny enough to fit into a purse pocket

* supplied Musicmaker software easy to use

* aluminum case sturdier than cheap plastic

The only real quibble I have about the IPC is that its FM reception is abysmal. Purchasers in desperate need of a good FM receiver should look elsewhere.

It's also not easy to find the accessory pack in Canada (even at shops selling the IPC) - and retailers who sell the accessory pack online (including amazon.com, oddly) won't ship it to Canada. Outback.com will ship the accessory pack along with the IPC, but not separately! Lord knows why this is the case, but fill yer boots, there it is. Canadians should either buy the accessory pack separately at Amazon and have it shipped to a US address, or buy the IPC bundled with the pack from an online retailer like outback.com. (The accessory pack includes rechargable batteries and a dock/recharger, as well as a car converter and a carrying case.)

But these are quibbles. The Intel Pocket Concert delivers superior sound (superior to most home stereo units, in my opinion) and a large memory with small size and durability. I highly recommend it.

This is my second MP3 player. I had Rio 600 before. Intel Pocket Concert is a lot better and easier to use than Rio 600.

Intel Pocket Concert comes with 128 MB of memory, which provide you with 2 hours of quality music or 4 hours using Windows media files. The memory is not expandable but 2 hours is more than enough. Considering memory prices you are far better of going with Nomad Jukebox if you need something bigger than 128 MB. Pocket Concert is quite easy to use. It took me only 5 minutes to set up everything and start transferring files from my computer. Supplied software, Intel Audio Manager has "real" user friendly type interface. You do not need to scan you hard drive or search for files. It works just like Windows explorer, select the folder from drop-down menu and select files to transfer. Transferring files is quick and painless. It takes an average between 5-10 minutes to transfer 2 hours of music.

I have only been using alkaline batteries with Pocket Concert, on average batteries last between 8-10 hours. Pocket Concert also comes with neckphones and very useful belt clip.

Anyway, if you are in market for MP3 player, Intel pocket Concert is definitely something to consider.