K-Byte Red 128MB MP3 USB Storage Recorder

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0002U2XO4
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #323,896 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 10, 2006

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really not as bad as these people say, February 17, 2005

By 

Lucky Strike (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: K-Byte Red 128MB MP3 USB Storage Recorder (Electronics)

Lets start by saying this is a really inexpensive player. I got this on the street, on-sale marked "Clearance", for quite a bit less than what it costs regular price at retail stores/sites.

It does exactly what it's supposed to. It plays MP3 (8-320kbps, VBR too), WMA, and WAV.

You plug it into an available USB port, and copy (any) files to it the same way you would copy files to a hard drive, Zip, floppy, or USB flash drive. Windows recognizes it as a USB 2.0 Mass-Storage Device. It does not require any drivers or special software of any kind to use in Windows XP/2000 or MacOSX.

The interface is pretty straight forward. You navigate using the mode switch, which also "clicks" like a mouse. There is also play/pause button, which powers the player on and off by holding it down. There is also a hold switch to avoid activating the player accidentally inside a backpack or your pocket.

I tested the voice recorder out by recording class lectures, which turned out at least intelligible. The files are by default 32Khz WAV. There is probably a way to change the sampling rate, although I'm not sure how yet. In any case, the recordings are easily playable using the player itself, or Quicktime, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, etc.

Supposedly this device also contains an FM tuner, although I myself have not seen any proof of this. No luck so far accessing it, or a firmware update. If I find one, I'll post the link here. Stay tuned! (punn intended)

Lastly, the device requires a single AAA battery (included) for power. It draws power from the USB port when connected. It also includes necklace-style earbuds, a USB extension cable, a somewhat useless manual, and a CD which I didn't need.

I recommend a nicer pair of earbuds, like Sennheisers, and some good tunes to go in it.

The only complaint I have is the lack of an English-language website (so far) for firmware updates.

For the price I paid, you can't go wrong.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Spend a little more, you'll be happy you did!, February 24, 2005

By 

B. Dow "Bdj9194" (NH, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: K-Byte Red 128MB MP3 USB Storage Recorder (Electronics)

Spend a little more, you'll be happy you did! My wife ordered this MP3 for my 13 year old son and he was quite excited to get it... after waiting a week to get it, we opened the box and while the unit itself is sleek and looks fine, the instruction manual was so small we actually needed a magnifying glass to read some of it.. and it made NO SENSE! This was the worst instruction manual I have ever seen.. we could not figure out how to use this thing at all! It is not plug and play for Windows XP like it claims.. my computer just kept telling me it could read the new hardware and when I decided to download the Windows 98 driver they provided just to try it, I got an error that stated "No find MP3 Player"... even the error message was in broken English! After 2 very frustrating hours with this thing, we put in it back in the box, printed out a return label and returned it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You get what you pay for, December 10, 2004

By 

Amazonite (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: K-Byte Red 128MB MP3 USB Storage Recorder (Electronics)

In general, I agree with the other review (1-star). I give it 3 stars only because of the very low price and I guess low expectations. The fact that I did manage to get the mp3 onto the unit and can play them satisfied my simple needs. I had no interest in the FM. The user guide that is provided is laughable -- it's as if someone was playing a cruel joke with the English language. K-byte does have a support site, but doesn't mention this unit -- it may be too new? Anyway it's at www.kbytememory.com