Customer Reviews

Iomega 31311 HipZip Digital Audio Player (with Two 40 MB PocketZip Disks)

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I've owned a HipZip for about a month now and am extremely pleased with it. I bought it because 96MB of memory in my Rio500 was not enough anymore and additional 64MB memory cards were too expensive. For a bit more than a new memory card, I got a HipZip plus 80MB of memory on PocketZip disks. A pack of 10 more disks (400MB of memory) runs around ($) on the web.

The first thing to note about the HipZip is that it's both a portable MP3 player AND a portable USB PocketZip drive. Not only can you download and play MP3, WMA, and (promised) Audible formats, but you can move any type of file from PC to PC with it. That's a bonus.

The best things about the HipZip are: 1) Sound quality is stunning through the right headphones. The sound through studio quality Sony headphones is just phenomenal. I didn't know MP3 could sound this good. It's not near-CD quality, it's CD quality at 128 KB/s encoding rate. Wow, I didn't expect this. 2) Cheap 40MB media ($-$) hold 40-80 min of music depending on whether you use MP3 or WMA format. 3) 12 hour battery life 4) Doesn't skip. I can jog with it. 5) Durable. I've dropped it several times and it still works. The case pads the player. 6) Player shows up in Windows as just another disk drive. Files can be moved, added, and deleted FAST using Windows Explorer. USB transfers are just seconds per song.) 7) The player seamlessly plays MP3 and WMA format files in any order on the disk. 8) Dadio operating system is extremely stable for a first generation product. One crash in a month. I reset the player once with a paper clip. 9) Great display. Backlit. Song titles scroll by making it easy to find songs and skip around. 10) Free case...and it's a good one. I never take it off. You can operate the player right through a clear window on the front of the case. 11) Musicmatch jukebox is bundled with it. That's another ($) you don't have to spend. HipZip is integrated as a "send to" device right from Musicmatch. 12) It's plenty loud with the right headphones. 13) Firmware upgrade at ... was really slick.

Wait...there must be something wrong with it. Nothing does everything right, so here are the reasons not to buy this. 1) The tiny earbud headphones that come with the player don't do justice to the sound. I threw the headphones away and use the best sounding headphones leftover from years of walkmans. 2) The battery is not replaceable. It's Li-Ion which means it holds a 12 hour charge and will probably last for years, but it bothers some people that they cannot replace it. I expect that the players are going to be cheap enough in 1-2 years that buying a new player will be a better deal than replacing the battery. 3) I had to read the "manual" to understand some of the finer points of using this. Gasp! This unit is for people comfortable with computers, RIOs, Nomads, etc. The disk adds one more layer of complexity over a flash-based player. My HipZip started skipping and Iomega customer support said the disk was probably bad. They were right. I read the "manual," and learned how to reformat the disk and everything is fine now. 4) The current firmware version does not play Audible files and it doesn't have "bookmarks" so you can start up where you left off. This makes it a bit clumsy for listening to audiobooks. I'm waiting for Audible compliance, which I hope will add bookmark capability also. 5) Check ... for other complaints. 6) Do not buy one if you are a parent and have kids or teenagers in the house. They will each want one and you will have figure out how to come up with ($) for a HipZip for each kid. That's my biggest problem right now.

An impressive piece of machinery, the Hipzip is a dream come true for me. For a scientist/music buff, the Hipzip is a dual purpose device : e-data storage and two-way transfer; mp3 playback (WMA, WAV are also compatible).

For an mp3 player with some moving parts inside, it is surprizingly sturdy and ergonomic. Very nice to look at and a beautiful carrying case I might add. Its USB link is so fast, that I upload 4 to 5 MB songs or files within 5 TO 8 seconds! Unlike some other industry driven Mp3 players, this player allows two way transfer of all files up to 40MB at a time using your explorer to dragg and drop selected data and/or mp3 files onto E drive (letter assigned to the hipzip). You may also automatically execute all file types through your computer and thus listen to music through your computer's sound card output!

Don't forget that The Hipzip comes with MusicMatch, although I prefer Winamp's simplicity. Nevertheless, MusicMatch is a powerfull ripping and encoding software that comes in very handy.

One important reason I'm sold to the hipzip : the 40 MB funky looking disk called pocketzip is today 10 US$ when you buy a pack of 10, while the 64MB flashcard is 200 US$. How does that compare? At this price, you can even afford to lose a pocketzip or two!

One final note : despite what Amazone claims in the Hipzip specifications area, the hipzip allows random, repeated and random repeated playback modes.

So it's a multipurpose device, which will make you respect Iomega for being so considerate of our integrated/integration needs.

You can bet that Iomega is working on a 80 or 100MB pocketzip. When that baby comes out, and considering the excellent (Li ion) battery life, the hipzip will be the mother of all singin' zipdrives...

Cheers Iomega!

I recently went out looking for a solid MP3 player and after much research I decided on the Iomega HipZip. I know I made the right choice. I'll go over the pros and cons:

Pros:

1. Cheap memory: The player comes with 80 MB, which is about 8 songs in 128 bit MP3s. This is better than 64 MB as in most others. Plus, memory is much cheaper. Memory is about $10 for 40 MB, other than "Memory Sticks" which is like $70 for 64 MB.

2. Great software: Easy to install, easy to use, no more to say.

3. Skip-less: I have tried so hard, and I cannot get this thing to skip. Shaking it, hitting it softly with your hand, driving with it on the floor on a bumpy road, this is un-skipable.

4. Good sound: After using some new headphones (Jensen curved-style) the sound was perfect.

5. Clear display: Nice LCD, nice backlight. It displays the song title, artist, time (etc.) beautifully.

6. Nice Case: 'nuff said.

7. Rechargable battery: Great feature, saves you hundreds on batteries.

Cons:

1. A little heavy: This is one of the heavier players on the market, it doesn't make a big difference, but it's not easy to jog in.

2. Shut off: The shut off after 30 seconds of stopping is a bit annoying. This is something I'd like Iomega to change.

3. Horrible headphones: Everyone says it, so will I. But, you can get a good pair for $7.99.

So that's it. I think that this, overall is no doubt the best player you can buy. I'd suggest this over Rio, Compaq, Nomad, anything!! If you need a good, reliable player, get the Iomega HipZip.

I purchased this not as an MP3 player ('cause my Jukebox has that job locked up tight), but as a player for Audible.com, which is a downloadable, audio book service. I have had other Iomega products and so I chose the HipZip from the list of compatible players because the other Iomega products I've owned have been good. The HipZip is no exception. It is well-packaged, sturdily made, intuitively controllable (I don't recall having to look at any manual) and has very nice sound (the 2 40meg disks it ships with have some mp3 files preloaded on them, like demos, so I have heard it reproduce music & text). The software & USB set-up was a breeze and the recharger, while not the most portable design possible, is fine. That there is a built-in, rechargeable Lithium Ion battery is a major plus. The BodyGlove belt-clip case is really well made and fits, well, like a glove. The earphones, however, you can keep. I have ordered a car charger and a cassette adapter and some more 40 meg disks, which when viewed in dollars-per-megabyte terms, are extremely reasonable (about 1/4 the price of other, popular removeable media). All in all, I am really pleased.

First off, let me begin by saying I was very weary about purchasing an MP3 player of any sort. They all seemed too expensive for the musical value(i.e. storage capacity) you got in return. And expandable memory cards are very expensive. I had a cd writer and could burn my own cds which I primarily used when I worked out in the gym. However, I got increasingly frustrated by the amount of skipping from my supposedly skip proof cd player and decided it was time to look into a decent MP3 player.

Boy am I glad I did. The Iomega HipZip is a great MP3 player. Despite having moving parts, it is completly shook proof. I have tested it out driving in my car, jogging, and working out in the gym, and the HipZip just won't skip. I also love the fact that the music files are stored on removable zip discs which are much more economical than flash media cards. On the audio side, I found the sound quality on the same par as my cd player when using a good set of headphones. The control setup is nicely laid out and very user friendly. The display screen is relatively large and you have a backlight option you can use when in dimmly lit areas. The built-in rechargable lithium-ion battery is a great feature and should save me alot of $ in battery costs (well that is if it lasts the 5-7 years Iomega says it should ). Aside from song playing capabilities, the HipZip also works great in playing other forms of audio such as audio books which are obtainable through sites such as ... and functions great as a portable zip drive for any type of file.

I have heard complaints that you simply can't hold that many MP3 songs on a 40 MB disc (roughly 9-12 songs). My advice is to use the Musicmatch or Windows Media Player software (provided to you with the HipZip)and convert your cd music into wma files which are half the size of regular MP3 files with the same audio quality. There is also a plug-in for the Windows Media Player (available for free from microsoft)that will allow you to make a wma file copy from your existing Mp3s. This will double the amount of songs you can hold on a disc.

I traded my Rio 600 (after a static shock fried it for the HIPZIP). The good things are that it has excellent sound! Sounds a lot better than my Rio ever did. The headphones that come with the HIPZIP (KOSS) suck! They are terrible so you will have to use some other headphones. The display is nice and well laid out with plenty of information on the screen with a ticker scroll of current song information. This guy has a rechargeable battery on it that last for 12 hours on a single charge (or at least a long time for me 5-6 uses)! The buttons are nice and easy to use and the carrying case is very handy. My RIO 600 never had a clip or a case so you had to have pockets in order to take it with you unless you wanted to hold the thing in you hand the whole time. One of the really cool things about the HIPZIP is the memory. "Clik"'s are cheap (well $10 a disc but cheaper than other MP3 memory systems). They hold 40mb and you can get a bunch of them to make a collection of music discs you can just swap out on your player real quick. Reminds me of MD technology. IT doesn't skip at all (I tried really hard to skip this guy. It is like a MD play but it would not skip, Iomega did a great job on this feature). The really cool and the best feature I liked about this product was how fast and easy it is to add songs to a "CLIK" disk and delete, really smooth!

Now for the challenges the HIPZIP has. The pause function is worthless! If you pause a song and leave it there for 30 seconds the player turns off. Why? When you turn the player back on you have to start from track one again. My RIO would remember the place you pause so when it went to sleep it would come back on to where you paused last. Plus I could set the amount of time on the RIO before it went to sleep (1min, 2min, 5min....never). You cannot program the HIPZIP. One thing I liked about my RIO was it had a Clock (so I could tell how long I went riding or running) on it, no clock on the HIPZIP. One thing that annoyed me was the fact that going from one track to the next there was a .4-.6 second load time from track to track. This is really a long time that your ears can detect and I did not like this. Its really annoying to have this stop and go affect in your head as you are working out or even working. One thing I don't know if I like or not is the 40mb "CLIK" disk. Yes its cheap, cheaper then memory flash cards, it holds more than 32mb which is what a lot of the MP3 players have now a days, and they don't skip like MD. But I don't want to carry around a bunch of discs. I would rather spend the money on a huge memory card (128k) and that would be enough for me! Maybe if the "CLIK" held 80mb it would turn my opinion. And my last challenge for Iomega is make this guy smaller. It is the size of a Walkman. The other MP3 players out there are almost half the size of this guy and a lot lighter. I bet 2 of my old RIO 600 would almost equal the weight of one HIPZIP. And get some new headphones! I think I am going to try the RIO 800 or the Nomad II MG next.

I've been looking for an MP3 player for quite some time, but was turned off by the price of extra memory. Now, iomega releases a player that takes that problem and chucks it right out the window.

It's a little bigger and heavier than other conventional MP3 players, but (as stated above) it's also a clik drive. It wont' skip no matter how hard I shake it, and the controls are simple and streamlined.

Do you want the smallest, lightest player out there? Go buy a Sony "mp3" (snicker) player. But if you want a product that's solid, reliable, and affordable to upgrade, the Hip Zip is the one for you.

I was looking for the best MP3 player with good sound quality with good usable features. Based on the reviews of sound quality, I was considering between Nomad II MG, Rio 600 (or 800 when it comes out), Compaq PA-1 and Iomega Hipzip. I bought the Diamond Rio PMP300 when it first came out, but I have never been happy with its sound quality, nor its build quality, and never considered buying smart media card since they tend to be expensive.

The Hipzip offers the following advantages over other players currently in the market:

1. Excellent sound quality - Player should have both good quality sound and be able to play reasonably loud. Only Nomad II MG qualifies here.

2. Low cost changeable media - No other player offers 25 cents per MB, let alone changeable. Who knows which media (compact flash, smart media, MMC, SD flash, Dataplay, Memory stick, MagicGate Memory stick, you get my point) will die out in the next few years, but knowing reputation and success of Iomega, they should be around for the next few years at least and the media is cheap enough to buy a few and stock up now.

3. Works like a drive in Windows Explorer - No quirky software to deal with. Again, no other player offers this. You will hear a lot of people complaining about various quirks of using software like Rioport manager, Realplayer G2, and Musicmatch to manage MP3 files with a portable player.

4. Built in belt clip with the included case - Other than the Compaq PA-1, Rio and Nomad do not offer belt clip for running or even walking. May seem minor, but you won't realize you need this until it's too late.

5. Solid build quality - Rio has serious issues with build quality as everything about them feels cheap. There are also various people who damaged their Rio 600 players by static electricity which shows hardware weakness of Rio players.

6. Good ergonomics of buttons and display - Nomad II MG fails miserably here. The buttons on the side simply do not offer usable ergonomics. Too many accidental pushes of deleting or switching tracks.

7. Doubles as a USB backup drive for files between work and home - No other player offers this. Get a PC Card drive and you get almost instant file transfers if you have a laptop.

Some people complain about 40MB capacity (carry a few more disks), delays between songs (Hipzip is still faster than a normal CD which we are all used to), no voice recording (get a tape recorder!), no FM tuner (get a walkman! Nomad II tuner is a lot worse than an average walkman), no clock (get a watch!), etc., but these are minor points for buying an MP3 player.

Think about why you want a MP3 player: Good sound, Fast file transfers, and Expandability. Hipzip gives you all these and more! Go out, Buy one, and Enjoy!

I have owned the hip zip for about 3 months now, and it is absolutely fabulous! Before I purchased this player, I owned both, the sony mzr-70 mini disc player and the rio 600. The minidisc player took way too long to record a disc, and (though it was very difficult) it could skip. I then bought the rio 600 and thought it was amazing. However, when I tried to upgrade the memory, the entire thing froze up, and I couldn't get it to work. Instead of trying to get it fixed, I got rid of it, sold the memory upgrade, and started looking at the market again. I looked long and hard at all the mp3 players, and researched very carefully. The hip zip sounded like the best player for the long run despite it's higher starting price. The ckick discs are very affordable, and large. Having owned a mini disc player, I was concerned that the hip zip (with it's moving parts) would skip. Let me tell you, IT DOESN'T!!! I could not get the thing to skip. At the begining of every song the player spins and (i'm guessing) loads the next song into its memory. I thought for sure that if shaken during that time, it would skip. nope. Though the hip zip doesn't have some of the lugury features that the rio 600 did, it is a much more practical player. I have read reviews saying that rio makes some of the best sounding mp3 players.....well, obviously those people haven't listened to this player. I have what I would consider good hearing. I've been tested, and can tell the difference between cd quality (don't know the compression rating on it), 128x128kbs compression, and 96x96kbs compression. The hip zip sounds just as good as the rio, if not better. The hip zip also has fabulous bass (much better than rio), and more memory!! I was lucky in that, I have a friend that had click disks lying around his house doing nothing but taking up space. So, he gave them to me. I now have 480mb for the price of the original 80mb. But even if i didn't, at $.. you can't go wrong. The iomega software was easy to set up, and i had the player (partially charged) up and running within 5min. I don't use the supplied mp3 player, instead i use soundjam. Yes I have a mac. This player is much easier to use than the rio, and has never had an error....the rio was very buggy. Another thing I was concerned about, is the size and weight of the hip zip. Though slightly bigger than the rio (only slightly) it is still very small, and fits very well in the palm of your hand. The supplied belt clip makes it very portable, and I take it running four miles with me. A lot of people complain about needing louder mp3 players....well if this player isn't loud enough for you, than you are in desperate need of a hearing aid, because, wow, it can be REALLY loud. At a compression rate of 96x96kbs mono, i'm able to fit about 15 songs, and about 55min of music onto one disc. I don't mean to bash the rio, it was a very good player, its just not in the same league as the hip zip. I do have a friend with the 128mb rio 800, and he loves it, and it has fixed most of the bugs i had with the 600. But this is a better deal for the money, if you are loaded, or someone is buying the player for you....than the rio 800 should be looked into, but if you're smart, go for the hip zip. I hope i've answered any questions you might have about this player....it really is great. In case you're curious at what age group this view point is taken from....i'm 16.

I bought two of these units as gifts for my teenage children. The controls are easy to maneuver, the software very easy to use. Unit cost for memory is downright cheap compared to flash so your not constantly erasing and re-recording the "Music selection of the day".

Be aware of the following problems and/or observations.

1. The headphones are uncomfortable to wear and the sound quality is only fair at best. I recommend purchasing a pair of Sony headphones to go with the unit. We've done this and the resulting sound is awesome.

2. The headphone jack portal does not fit well on either unit we purchased...The headphones do not seem to "click" in place when attached to the unit so they always seem to be loose fitting. This has resulted in the music wavering in and out as the connection is made...and lost. This has occured on one unit so far (the most played)...but I'm expecting this to happen on the other unit at some point as well.This apparently is a design problem as I've seen it mentioned several times in different forum groups.(SEE WARRANTY SERVICE BELOW)

3. The rechargeable battery works wonderfully. It seems to last approximately as long as Iomega has stated without recharging...HOWEVER... again, the charger tip does not fit into the unit very well. It seems very loose and does not appear to fully insert. We haven't experienced a problem yet...but I'm leery.

4. The case fits the unit well and doesn't impact the controls BUT the holes for the headphone and recharging jacks do line up very well which makes it difficult to plug in.

5. This is the killer>>>WARRANTY SERVICE<<<<<<<

Once I started having problems with the headphone jack, I called IOMEGA for Warranty service. I was told that as a service...and in order of expediency...they would ship me a new unit, via 3 day UPS, if I gave them a credit card number with my promise that I would return my defective unit when the new unit arrives (or I would be charged for the new unit). I agreed and have been waiting for 3 weeks.I was given a case ID# and an RMA# (neither of which show as being valid on their website) and have made 4 phone calls to their customer service dept..each time being told that it HASN'T shipped but would be "tomorrow".

There service has been HORRIBLE. I just hope that it's been the exception and not the rule.

If these concerns are cleared up...and my unit(s) are just a bad "batch"...I will highly recommend the player...but if you purchase a HipZip...check the connections well for a good fit. If they don't fit well...return the unit and look into something else.