Customer Reviews

K-Byte Red 128MB MP3 USB Storage Recorder

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

 

 

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.

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.

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

This product is terrible. Let's get started with my complaints: I purchased it from Target through Amazon. This product is from "K-Byte" but has no customer support, no company website and NOT even a PRODUCT NAME on the player, manual or box it came in. The manual was not written by a fluent english speaker and does not make any sense. This product is not supported by Windows 2000 or Windows XP, although they claim it is "plug and play"- it is most definitely NOT. This product does not play FM radio without some form of software upgrade. You can connect the player, but it is treated as a USB Mass Storage Device by Windows 2000 and Windows XP. That means you can put MP3s on the player, BUT the player CAN NOT upgrade its software. There is no software or driver available for this product- I would have found one by now if there were. This is a cheap knock-off mp3 player that IS NOT worth the money. Also, the necklace-headphone cord broke after 1 day of use. I hope Amazon and Target will discontinue the selling of this item. Get any other Flash MP3 player than this one.

I can see why my "friend" sold it so cheap - the manual is horribly written in terrible English. For example "Live:Below the function elucidation divides the A type is two kinds of with the type of B, if inconvenient understand please." Make sense to you? It goes down hill from there! I happen to have Windows 98 and thought "great! it will work with my old system" NOT!! Anyone know where I can get the Windows 98 driver for this before I throw it in a box and toss it in a corner for a life lesson?

If you are thinking of getting it, save your money - or better yet, buy mine!

I bought one for each of my boys. I will be sending them back to Target/Amazon on Monday morning for a refund. NO product installation information. Small user manual is NOT "user friendly", and makes no sense whatsoever!! Would not recommend this to anybody, and very disappointed that this product would be sold under the Target name.

Poorly written user manual, unable to download songs. Definitely would not buy this unit.