Customer Reviews

Samsung Techno Yepp 64 MB Digital Audio Player

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

 

 

To start things off, the yepp' player came bundled with a SmartMedia Card case (which is compact enough to hold 2 cards, yet still fit in your wallet), a carrying case (which adds protection to the player, though I do not find myself using it), a belt clip (which I did not use at first, but now it seems it is a necessity to me), and stock earphones (more details later).

Software and File Transfer: The only software you really need installed is the Yepp Explorer (Real Jukebox is optional). The software installed quickly and easily. Data is transferred through USB, and actually transfers data faster than the product specs claim. I really found the `drag and drop' feature of the explorer application very useful. The explorer opens in a heartbeat and will only function/transfer while the Yepp player is turned on.

Sound Quality: Sound quality really varies with variables such as the bitrate of the mp3 and the source of sound (earphones/speakers). I prefer listening to 128-bit mp3's because they offer the best sound for the smallest filesize (meaning more songs on the player). I use Sony Fontopia earbuds and have no complaints about the sound quality of the player. I have connected the player to my home stereo system, and was extremely impressed with the quality of the sound. I played an mp3 entitled "The Ultimate Bass Test" and was blown away with the bass response. The mp3 also featured surround sound pans and treble sounds, which were equally impressive. I was also impressed with the sound quality when I connected the player to an auxiliary input jack in a car stereo.

Voice Recording: I was surprised to see that this player supported voice recordings. Upon read, I expected this feature to be an "on-the-side," useless, and overall low-qual attribute. I was surprised. The recording gets input from a small microphone on the bottom right of the player. It records crisp, clear, and is pretty sensitive. It is very useful for making short personal notices/reminders, or recording long conversations or lectures. When transferring voice recordings (saved as an *.sc4) file to your computer, you have the option to transfer it as a *.wav. Then, you can share that file with friends.

Battery Life: The stock batteries that come with the player do not live up to the life that the specs claim (over 8 hours). I had the same experience with other low quality batteries (off-brand). Although, when I experimented with a well-known brand battery (Duracell/Energizer), the player easily lived up to it's 8+ hour claim. <b>::EDIT::</b> I had recently gone out and bought rechargeable batteries and a charger. Even though alkaline batteries last a good 8+ hours, I would find myself getting tired of constantly changing batteries every week. I got Rayovac NiMH (nickel metal hydride) and the Rayovac charger.

Ease of Use: The player is extremely easy to use. The software is extremely easy to install and use. The button configurations on the player itself, in my opinion, are very well laid out. For one, I love the look of the player, with the navigation buttons on the side. It gives the player that "hi-tech" look. The buttons are very sensitive and easily accessible (which I find to be GREAT), which is where the "hold" switch comes in very handy. The buttons/player and software are very straightforward. I sometimes wonder why the player even came with an instruction manual.

Misc. Features: The player features repeat(1), repeat(all), shuffle, and intro playback, which would not be a complete player without them. The player has 4 preset equalizers (normal, classic, rock, jazz), which are each complemented with a 3d sound (normal 3d, classic 3d, rock 3d, jazz 3d), making the 8 presets that the specs claim. Honestly, these presets do nothing for me. Yes, I <b>can</b> tell a difference between each eq preset, but the change is so small that I don't see the point in using them. I just keep the preset at "normal." The stock earphones are ugly, uncomfortable, and are downright poor. But that is a norm in most stock earphones (at least with my experiences). I would love for the player to have a backlight in the LCD display. It would make things so much easier during the night, but there isn't THAT much need to look at the display when you are listening. The player is very compact (2.8"×3.5"×0.8") which is smaller than your average wallet. It gives added meaning to the word "portable." With absolutely NO moving parts in the player, you never get a skip or a jump when it is shaken or dropped. I have admittedly and absentmindedly dropped the player a couple times, but it has never malfunctioned or skipped.

The Samsung Techno Yepp 128 MB Digital Audio Player is a great MP3 player, especially for its price...

Setup was bascially flawless. I can't speak for people who own Macs, becuause I don't own one, but if you have a PC insert the supplied software CD first, then, without running any setup programs, connect the player to a free USB port with the supplied cable. THEN run the programs. There shouldn't be any problems, there weren't for me.

The player has good sound, once the earbuds that are supplied with it are replaced with decent headphones. The 3D effect tends to distort the sound a bit, but the equalizer settings work wonderfully. The Techno Yepp also has a built in voice recorder, which seems to work well. The player is easy enough to use, although it takes a small amount of time to get used to where the buttons are. The player seems to be pretty durable, I dropped it once and it continued to work just fine.

Overall, I'd reccomend this player to anyone looking for something good that has a budget... with 128MB of memory and a voice recorder, you can't go wrong.

PROS: Intuitively arranged buttons. Good design.
CONS: Eats batteries in less than 7 hours. Complicated file transfer software (unlike other players, which can be accessed as a hard drive letter in Windows Explorer). And worst of all... Secumax! It prevents the transfer of mp3 files from player to PC, allegedly to discourage piracy. I work around this problem by renaming the files by its initials to make it less recognizable by the software. After renaming, files may be copied to the PC. I wonder if a standalone USB media reader could bypass this protection too. Nonetheless there are other players in this price range, with similarly good build quality, which offer friendlier features.

Like some other reviewers, I was disappointed with the lack of remote control and FM radio. But for the price, I believe this is a very good piece of electronic machinary. The controls are intuitive, sound is clear, and the software is easy to use. However, there are a few things that kept it from a 5 stars. First of all, the fact that this player can only accept up to 64mb of flash memory is a disadvantage. Secondly, the earbuds that came with the player isn't very comfortable and isn't of high quality. Despite some of the flaws, I think this player is one of the best ones you can get if you are on a budget.

This is a great player. Too bad that the model that is being advertised here is NOT the correct one. The model that was sent to me from is an older one (YP-NDU) that doesn't have the FM controller or a backlit display. I checked with Samsung myself with this as well as, and found that the technical specs are incorrect and that this should be advertised as the older version. I'm really surprised to see this is still there. Otherwise, the player is awesome and sounds really clean. The software that it comes with is easy to manage, and it uploads to the player pretty fast.

I just returned mine because the player doesn't come with 128 built-in flash memory and an FM radio tuner remote. The player actually has a 64 MB built-in flash memory with a 64 MB add-on smartmedia. So you can't go above 128 MB at a time. The user interface is almost the same as the original NOMAD, but the sound quality is not equal. Yepp is also a little larger than the original NOMAD.

It's okay. The sound quality isn't amazing. The main problem is the very poor shuffle program that shuffles about 4 songs and play them over and over. I think for the price it's a good deal, but personally I would prefer something with better performance.

When, I ordered this mp3 player the first time, they sent me the wrong one. I called up Amazon.com and tried to get the model advertised, and they sent me the same model again. The model sent (Samsung Yepp yp-NDU28E I think) has only 64MB built in memory and a 64MB smart media card. Also, it did NOT have a remote or an FM tuner. I was thoroughly dissapointed twice. The model sent was ok, but I really wanted it for the built in memory. I probably wouldn't have minded that so much except the fact that this model can only take up to 64MB of expandable memory at a time. Actually, it was a good thing that they sent me the wrong one twice, (a sign from the gods) cause I got to looking at minidisc players. I ended up getting a Sony... I would recommend it to anyone looking for a portable digital music player to consider minidisc players. Why? Well, you're getting 10 times battery life off a single battery, and it plays many other formats including mp3 and wma. And each discs holds way more than a 128MB smartmedia card at $2 bucks each instead of $60 for the media card. If you're concerned about skipping, this model has skip protection. I have yet to receive the minidisc player, but I think I should be satisfied with it since I was mainly concerned about memory expansion. In Conclusion. Go minidisc. 10 times longer battery life. Cheaper media. Wider support for music formats. Supposedly, much faster music downloads. I hope this experience has helped.

Rich

This Mp.3 PLayer is So...I BoUgHt ThIs ItEm ThInkNg iT wAs A GoOd dEal aNd It wAs. It'S sO EaSy tO uSe aNd Is So PeRfEcT WhEn eXcErIsIng Or DoInG aNyThInG u NeEd To dO, ThE ExTrA sMaRtMeDiA cArDs ArE So...aT LoW pRicE I woUlD rEaLlY eNcOuRaGe YoU tO BuY tHiS iTem.