Customer Reviews

Samsung YP-Z5QB 2 GB Digital Audio Player (Black)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm a mac user (99% of the time). I've been using iPods since they first came out. Then, I discovered Rhapsody which, unlike other music subscription services, is avaialable also for the Mac users as streaming-only music. I decided to upgrade my service to, "To-Go" so that I could take my music with me. I used to buy tons of music from the iTunes store and thought getting this "To-Go" service would save me some money. I wish this feature was available to Mac users but it's available only to PC users (though I haven't tried it on Virtual PC on a Mac). Now, I have 2 desktops running under my desk. You MUST have high speed USB2, Windows XP and Windows Media Player 10 to operate the Z5.

I did some research and went shopping for a device that I could use to download and listen to subscription-based music. I found that most of the new PC-based portable music devices that are coming out have "Plays for Sure" logo on them- that,they should be recognized by subscription based services like Rhapsody (as well as Napster, and Yahoo). When I got to the store, there were quite a few more new portable players that I haven't read up on. I guess as an iPod user, I was drawn to this Samsung player for its looks and slim size. I decided to give it a shot.

YP-Z5 vs Nano:

Packaging: Strikinlgy similar to the iPod Nano in design, size, and varnish finish. (tied)
Earphones: Give Samsung earbuds a shot, I think they perform really well (even better than my 50 dollars Sony EX81 ear buds.)YP-Z5 wins here.
Display: Nice and bright display. Larger screen than Nano but slighlty inferior resolution (more pixalated type face/font display but larger font size and not-as detailed album art). I prefer the Nano.
Navigation: Once you get used to the sensitive "touch pad" navigation becomes easier. iPod touch (jog) wheel is still better. Sansung shares a very similar menu as the iPod. What I find nice on the Z5 is that it displays a small album cover on the side of the screen when you scroll through albums.
Sound quality: Playing MP3 files @ 192kbps, output sound quality is almost identical. But, using Z5's equilizer (3D sound) adds a slight improvement over the iPod sound quality. HOWEVER, iTunes Apple Lossless quality (and music bought from iTunes store) sounds noticeably better than "to-go" non-purchased WMA-DRM10 files. I have yet to purchase any music from Rhapsody so my comparison is a bit unfair.
Overall: I think it'd be hard to find PC-only-based, "Plays-for Sure" flash music player better than the Z5. Getting a play-for-sure device with a subscription service is the way to go if you love listening and are constantly exploring (and buying) different music. I hate to admit this-but, if Apple iTunes music store becomes subscription based, I'll be back on the iPod, no doubt. I would love to hate the iPod (for gross advertisement campaigns, annoying little white earbuds that don't even sound good, and all the over-priced accessories made for iPods), but, I can't deny that I haven't found anything better.

I was looking at my sister-in-law's Ipod Nano and decided that I would get one. I went to Best Buy and saw the Samsung z5 and was curious about the difference between them. After researching, I found the Samsung to be superior to the nano. Here's why:

1. They both have the same amount of memory, however WMP compresses the music which makes it smaller so that you can hold more songs. Ipond Nano does not.

2. The battery life is amazing. Samsung z5 can work up to 35 hours. Nano can only do up to 14. One of my biggest complaints in the past with MP3 players was the battery life but not anymore.

3. The screen is huge compared to the nano and I personally really like having wallpaper that I can choose.

4. The nano gets scratched up so badly and so easily. Samsung put some thought into it and made it out of material that will withstand scratches better.

5. I played with ITunes at my sister-in-law's house. ITunes is horrible. Using WMP is much better.

Some people complain that the Samsung doesn't have some features that IPod has like games and a date book. First, the screen is so small on Nano that you have to squint to look at it. Also, the games are not very good. For me, this was a zero factor.

The other major complaint were the buttons compared to Ipod's wheel. I do like Ipod's wheel and it is the best thing out there. I do not like how you control the volume with the wheel however and Samsung did a great job in putting a volume button on the side. The buttons were weird at first but after using it for about 5 minutes, it feels so natural that it really isn't an issue for me anymore.

I've had a couple MP3 players and this is by far the best and I can say that it is better than the Nano because I've played around with it.

The iPod's really great with the best design and software out there, but then I find it limiting that the iPod will only work with iTunes and vice-versa. I think the Z5 is a really great alternative to the iPod with more options when it comes to either music purchase or subscription without sacrificing its looks, especially that it doesn't scratch as easily as a Nano. I actually got it the first day it came out and have had no problems with it. Battery life lasts over 30 hours and sound quality in my opinion is much better than an iPod. Best of all, I don't have to be an iPod zombie anymore! The iPod was cute when it first came out, but now with everyone having it, it gets a bit annoying.

Bought the Z5 even though I haven't been crazy about Samsung's previous players. The large color screen and long battery life convinced me to take a chance on it. I've had it for a week and I'm very happy with my purchase. I've owned several mp3 players over the years--yes, even the ipod nano--but I think the Z5 might be the easiest to use. It's really responsive and the navigation really makes sense.

I wish the Z5 did video, though. Seems like a shame given the Z5's sharp screen. And the name really sucks.

My friends actually think the Z5 looks as good as a ipod nano, but I think my nano beats the Z5 on looks. But it doesn't do subscription music like the Z5.

I recently bought one of these for my wife. I am no audiophile, but I find the sound excellent. It looks pretty sharp and appears durable too. I chose it because Amazon and others advertise it as an ogg vorbis compatible player. If you are looking for an ogg player too, you should know that Samsung does not support ogg files and says so on its website. But that's OK. Whether the company officially supports ogg or not, the engineers do, and the YP-Z5 plays them perfectly. And ogg compatability has been improved with successive firmware releases. You can get ogg files onto the player through Windows Media Player as described in the manual if you download a third party ogg plug-in for WMP first. But better yet, you can drag-n-drop them as long as you don't try putting them in the "Music" directory (put them in "Other" and the player will still play them). But wait, it gets even better! Get the latest firmware from the Samsung website and you can turn off the WMP-based interface entirely and your PC will treat the player the same as any flash drive (no file restrictions for the "Music" folder). Organize your music with Windows Explorer just as you would any set of files. I at least find that a lot simpler. The best result of this is that it becomes cross-platform compatible. I can manage the music on my Linux machine by mounting the player as a USB flash drive. It should work on a Mac too. I can also create playlists in XMMS (a Linux media player) and tweak them to be saved and used on the YP-Z5. This should work with Winamp as well. Wow.

All in all, much more than I expected. I wish I had one of my own, since once I have loaded it with her music, I will need to give it back to my wife. I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because I wish all this stuff should be described in the manual and officially supported. If you're like me, this is how you think a music player should work.

I won't repeat what good had already been said about this player - it's all true, but... here's what I didn't like about it:

1. Proprietary USB cable. USB connector on the player side is proprietary, that is you won't be able to use standard USB cable to charge it or transfer files. You'll have to carry one more cable around and if you lose or brake it, you're screwed.

2. Re-charging only possible via USB. Wall charger is not included.

Initially, I gave it 3 stars because the manual led me to bilieve that the player did not support USB Mass Storage protocol (only MTP) and would not work with anything other than Windows XP. If fact, the player does work with Windows 2000 and is recognized as a mass storage device alowing you to drag and prop files. Under Windows XP though, it shows up as MTP device, but you still can do drag-and-drop thing. So it's not as bad as I thought. :) And yes, it works with USB 1.1 too.

So, my final verdict - ****, with one star taken off for the proprietary connector.

The Samsung YP-Z5 is a well balanced MP3 player, despite having a relatively small HD space. For the price, the user gains a relatively easy to install interface for their PC (The player uses windows media player exclusively, which most users will already have loaded on their computer), decent quality headphones and a well sized player that does not seem to have any glaring flaws.

The player itself is small and comfortable to hold for the most part. While it is composed of a metal that could easily smudge and show finger prints, the usability of it could not be better. It features a touch pad that is similar to the Ipods, although it uses a more rectangular touch pad than the Ipod's circular version. The volume control is on the side, and thankfully it is not a roller wheel (which in the case of the Rio Carbon is a peripheral that could easily break off.) The player also has a hold button, which will be useful when the user does not want the player to cut on while getting bumped around in their pocket. The screen itself is rather sturdy and will take a decent amount of punishment, so scratching is not that big of a worry for most users.

As far as performance goes, the player has a lengthy battery life that for the most part lives up to it's claim of 35 hours. The only advice is that the user should diffidently charge it fully and let the player sit before they actually start using it. The sound quality itself is very good and has plenty of bass. There is a slight annoyance however when it comes to the equalizer on the player. The user cannot do any custom EQ settings, but it does come pre-loaded with several configurations that should work well with most users' music preferences. The device also allows the user to load photos and customizable background wall papers onto the device, so it can double as a photo sharing utility. Sadly it does not provide video playback, but with only 2 gigabytes of storage space, that is understandable. While on the subject of the storage space, 2 gigs might be a little small for a player that costs anywhere from $150-200, but you are paying for a quality player after all. The player also has a color screen, and the quality of the color is none too shabby, so it is a step over the b&w/gray screens of yesterday.

As far as charging the device goes, one will need to plug it into a PC. I have not tested it yet with a USB power outlet, and it might not even work with such a device, so it is not recommended to go with that route (judging from the accessories available for the device, one might have to purchase a charger that plugs into the audio port). The device seems to P&P rather quickly with any windows media player friendly computer however, so charging it should not be too big of a problem when you are away from home.

Overall the YP-Z5QB is highly recommended for a music listener who wants quality and can stand to have a HD player that does not have extremely high HD space. 2 gigs should offer enough amount of space to put probably 10 CDs worth of songs (depending on the MP3 quality) on the player. The player itself is easy to use and can take a decent amount of punishment, and it thankfully is very well sized.

I was planning to give this player 3 starts, but since I had to pay for it, I think I am still trying to be optimistic about it.

I got this player as a warranty replacement from Best Buy. Originally, I'd bought a Rio Carbon, but after 6 months of not so much use, the poor thing started to freeze on me, it'd take for ever just to load or delete songs, and it was automatically syncing songs I already had in it, so it was doubling my memory usage.
Since Best Buy didn't carry that player anymore, I was told to get another player of similar price and pay for the difference. First, I tried a SanDisk - Sansa 2 GB, but I didn't like the fact I had to manage my music Through Rhapsody. Also, I didn't like the fact that the spinning wheel feels kind of loose, and the screen display turns off almost immediately after the last time you touch any button. Then, I decided to go with the Samsung YP, and it's been a fair experience so far.
Here's what I happen to find frustrating about this player: It's a pain trying to create a playlist. I can transfer music easily, but creating just a playlist, such as my favorite music when running, or a different playlist for when I lift weights, it's something I haven't been able to do, so I have to set my music on shuffle, and pray for it to play my favorite tunes so I don't have to skip to the next song, specially if a new song starts as I'm in the middle of lifting weights.
About not including an AC charger, I don't care about it. Usually, I just work out an average of 1 hour per day, so it's not an inconvenient for me to plug it into my laptop once or twice per week as I do my homework, or surf the net. If you are too much into sound quality, you'll find disappointing that you won't be able to customize an equalizer. Instead, they have different sound options loaded, but you can't make any changes. Also, the earphones included aren't the best. They are comfortable, but they don't provide a great sound quality. I think I get better sound quality from my Verizon Wireless music phone. Also, I find it 100 times easier to create playlists on my phone, instead of on my own MP3 player.
Overall, it's a nice product, but I think Samsung has some things to work on with this player.

Update as of April 14, 2007. I recently bought Zune and Zune just like IPod does act as a hardrive (You have to use through proprietary software). Since Samsung does, I would change the two stars to three stars. The screen in Zune is nice but there are no movies in the Zune Marketplace which seem like a waste. Overall, if this little player could do video and had better navigation buttons I would give it five stars.

Original review:
This is my second Samsung (I had two ipods before Samsung). I loved the the first Samsung. Why did they have to change good things about it such as the software or navigation controls? The nice screen is a waste since you can't use it for video. The controls for scrolling up and down are frustrating since you have to press them very lightly. The only reason why I am not giving it one star is that the external design is beatiful.

I originally bought this because of the styling and the price difference between this model and other companies' MP3 players. It has been nothing but a waste of time and money. The battery life was fine during the first cycle and after four subsequent recharges ended up lasting no more than a few minutes. I sent it in for service. They charged it and sent it back to me. The same problem started happening again. The company refused to send me a new model or give me a refund. Instead, I had to ship it back to Samsung for yet another go at fixing it. Like the first time, they charged the battery and sent it back to me (after six weeks!). I received it yesterday, and only half of the battery is left after turning it on for the first time. The company also erased ALL of my music and picture files. I just called customer service, and the office is closed. What company does not offer 24 hour customer assistance? Overall, I do not recommend the YP-Z5 model, and I don't think I will buy Samsung products again.