MPIO 20GB Audio Player Memory Hard Drive - HD300 20G

Product Details

Product Manual [9.32mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• ASIN: B0006DPW68
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,661 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

The ultra slim design of this MPIO hard drive allows you to carry it in your purse, briefcase, or your front pocket. Features 20GB hard disk drive; touch sensor button; graphic user interface; SRS sound; direct encoding; FM radio; MP3, WMA playback; plug-and-play; 8-line full graphic LCD display; Philips sound and 6-preset equalizer; built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery with 12-hr. playback; and more. System requirements: Windows 98 and above, Mac OS and above. Available storage capacity may vary. Imported.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poor Documentation, great HD player, December 29, 2004

By 

Segamil "M.A." (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MPIO 20GB Audio Player Memory Hard Drive - HD300 20G (Electronics)

The HD300 sounds as good as it looks but it's a bit of a bumpy road to get there. I just got one for Christmas and it took me nearly an hour to figure it out, but now that I have - I simply can't leave home without it. The design is simple and sleek, not too big and not too small and it's very attractive. The sound is rich and vibrant with good highs and lows. The FM tuner picks up stations better than my car radio and the voice recorder is definitely a plus. You can also patch it to a cd player or radio and it automatically encodes the files to mp3 format. It also plays all the music formats I have.

But as much as I love this MP3 player, I do have several complaints: The first is documentation - It's poorly written and lacks detail. Second it ships with an installation CD that does not even include the right software or utilities. the original firmware is buggy so if you buy the HD300 - make sure you download and install the latest firmware (1.20.03 fm/on) before you start building your music library. It's available at www.mpio.com. It's not explained very well but to upgrade the firmware you simply add 4 files to the system folder and restart the player. If it doesn't take, use a paper clip to reset the player and start again. I had to make several attempts to install the new firmware but once it was done, it's been virtually problem free. You simply drag and drop music files into the music folder, then use the MPIO utility to scan the files so it can create artist and album lists. The touch scroll is intuitive but also very sensitive. You'll need to practice a light tapping motion to navigate between music files and longer ones to access other functions. The player basically functions as a removable USB hard drive so you can use it to transport any kind of file. Another minor complaint is that even though the brushed aluminum casing feels sturdy the mirror finish on the frontface does pick up a lot of fingerprints, otherwise it does everything you would want an mp3 player to do. I give the HD300 an 8 out of 10. It would have been higher if Digitalway had a more user friendly website, better firmware documentation and a better written user manual. If you don't have qualms about initial setups and are willing to enter a learning curve, it's a great sounding, great looking piece of technology. I used to adore my friend's 20 gig IPOD but after listening to mine, I definitely wouldn't trade.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars better than an iPod, January 26, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: MPIO 20GB Audio Player Memory Hard Drive - HD300 20G (Electronics)

My main criteria in searching for a new mp3 player was the fact that it is NOT an ipod. therefore, i of course had a huge list of players to search through...on a limited budget. I saw this in best buy and immediately took a liking to it. The player is much more solid than an ipod, the whole casing is aluminum. The interface is very well developed as well, and the utility included with it scans the music you put on it and makes playlists automatically...This caused a few problems because i didnt have my ID3 tags updated...simple fix though. The touch sensors are amazing, i love being able to know where everything is without taking the unit out of my pocket. It's true, the original firmware is horrible, but once it's updated it works perfect. Sound quality is amazing, however the headphones included with it flat out stink. I'd also like a real carrying case for it (the package says "carrying case" but means "belt clip") as for features, this thing is second to none. Extremely satisfying, and my ipod owning friends say its "sexy".

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent customer service, May 14, 2008

By 

Da Cunda Irene - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MPIO 20GB Audio Player Memory Hard Drive - HD300 20G (Electronics)

I bought this MPIO 300 in 2005, in an airport in Argentina. It fell of the counter last year and stopped working. It took me a while until I got in touch with the customer service by e-mail, my fault. Then I sent it by mail and got it back in a few weeks fully recovered. Thank you very much. Overall I find it easy to use and great relation cost-value.