Customer Reviews

Toshiba MES60VK Gigabeat 60 GB Portable Media Player (Black)

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I can't really give a review yet on the battery performance or say much on all the features as I have only had this 1 day so far, but I like what I see so far... I should mention that I bought the Black 60 GB model...

I took it out of the package and set it up to charge, it took the 3 hours that it says it needs to fully charge. I went to install anything to my computer (laptop with windows XP MCE 2005), and it says to install mediaplayer 10, even if you already have it as the install would also install a few other items that the player needs to work with the Gigabeat S. I have the latest version of Media Player 11 on here, and I didn't need to do anything else (no installations of any kind) to get the Gigabeat working with my system and Sync properly. I also already had the latest updates for MCE 2005 and so I am assuming that if you have the automatic updates turned on, that you would have everything needed as well.

I had never used Media Player for anything but music before (used it to sync with my -now old- Dell DJ 20 (2nd Gen)), but it was nice to see that it would take my files (video and tv) and automatically convert them before transfering/syncing them to my portable. I love the portable's MCE style, and it's great to use in combination with a MCE computer, though I think anyone with even just windows XP would find it pleasant to use (very easy, as you can't go wrong with "My tv", "My music" etc) even without ever having seen the menu system before.

If you are like me and have your MCE using a TV Tuner to record TV shows/movies, then you will love the nice easy way that MediaPlayer 11 (can't say about 10 as I never used it much and only for music) takes control and adds your files to the player, converts them for you if needed, and then syncs them, and the visual quality is quite good. I am sure that it could be better, but I was able to watch a "dark" show on the gigabeat with the brightness at 3 (out of 5) and it was not half bad, much better with the brightness up higher though but then you also will have to deal with the added battery loss (just turn it back down after you are down watching to help save battery power again). And might I add that my TV Tuner has an Antenna Source, though I tend to forget it most of the time (except for anything recorded on FOX as it is difficult to get in clear where I am) as the TV tuner does a great job and it shows in the conversion as well. So if you have a bad quality file to start off with, there's probably not much that can be done about that, but otherwise, considering the device and size of the screen, you really couldn't ask for much more (well, you could, but you wouldn't need much more).

I have been constantly syncing and adding new items to my Gigabeat in the past 24 hours, and I have only had 2 music files show up with an error and that couldn't transfer. I took these 2 files, converted them from mp3 to a higher bit rate WMA file (used a free trial version of some program downloaded from CNET) and on the next sync, they managed to transfer over as well.

The audio sounds great, though I am using a previously bought pair of Sony earbud headphones (the kind with the round rubber removable earpieces that fit into your ears for a nice fit) instead of the ones that come with the gigabeat, and these are great to use as they will bring out that sound quality for you to enjoy, are comfortable, and keep the sound going into your ears and not other peoples... So I would suggest to get these or something else a bit better quality (than the basic ships with ones) if you don't already own some decent headphones.

So I really haven't said much about the portable player, and I will do so after I get a real chance to test it out, but as of now, it seems great to me, and I have not been having any of the problems that some of the other people were having, and with the prices coming down so much... as low as ($260) even for the 60GB model... I would say it is worth it to get it and try it out. I would recommend buying from a place that has a good exchange policy, as even though it ships with a sheet saying to not return it to a store, if you do have problems and don't want Toshiba to just "fix" it for you, you can always return it (to Amazon if bought here).

***Edited on 11/20/2006 @ 12:53 AM***

So I have now had my Toshiba Gigabeat S for just over a month and a half (it seems like it has been so much longer, like almost 3 months) and all I can say is that it is great. I haven't had any more problems with transfering songs (though the re-coding into another file type did work nicely for those stubborn songs that just don't want to transfer on their own) and I have had no problems with the battery life (when compared to what it's specs should be, not by what I would like it to be...) and people should remember that there is that little switch to turn the battery on or off (for if you are not going to use it for a good amount of time and don't want the battery to drain during that time it is turned off). Turn the gadget over, look at the back, down on the bottom... See the "BATT" with "On Off" below it... Look on the bottom edge where the USB plugs into, it is next to that, to the right, above the little screw. Hold player so you can see the back of it and the bottom edge, the "On Off" show where you need to switch the switch (hah) to turn the battery on and off - the "hole" in the plastic piece is your current position...

Again, the battery life could be better but is pretty much standard for most players, the audio and video qualities are also standard, if not more so... Just remember, you need decent/good quality ear/headphones to be able to hear the *real* sound quality from the player, and you should also watch out for the type of media format you are using (listening to) as this has a big impact on the overall quality as well (I try to stick with wma formats as they can get *much* better quality into a file of approx. the same size as a lower quality mp3. If you LOVE sound quality and don't care that it takes up more space, always convert to wma 128 (MIN) or up to 192 -or is it 196? Dealing with too many numbers, though whatever setting that is around 164 makes a great common ground for size and quality, and this is usually set at 44,000Hz - or is it MHz? Again, forgive my tech details as it is late and I keep getting things mixed up in my head).

Overall, *still* great after 1.5 months and counting. Maybe some people got bad products, it does happen, or ones with faulty batteries. Also, check your music files, to see that they aren't what is causing you problems, and keep it simple.... Stick with Windows Media Player 11. Newest version is non-beta now and I have no problems with the software at all and it is the easiest way to sync your files and Auto Convert those video media files if you haven't done so before hand.

Prices are cheap, when I bought mine, the price dropped the day mine shipped, and then dropped *again* 2 days later. Amazon was nice enough to give me a refund credit for the $54.19 that was the difference. Now you can find the Black 60gb one for around $254 or so from some of these Amazon 3rd party Merchants... So go ahead and try it, if it has a problem, just return it to Amazon (if bought here) and either give up or get an exchanged product and if that second one is still not working for you, return it, get your money back and buy something else. If the product is not giving you problems, then you should only find slight disappointment with some areas of it, which I am sure you could probably live with. If you are not sure about the style/menu/etc, try and find a store that has a working model (as a sampler/tester) to check it out first. I don't think Toshiba has a interactive working model online (which I think they should have), they might have something that shows a bit of the product, I used one of those for my Sony Ericsson cell phone that I bought, and after using it 2 times in 3 days I fell in love with the phone model (the K750i -unlocked International version) and ended up buying it 2 days later from TigerDirect. So always look for online interactive models, where you can click on the different parts to mimic you using it, or at least watch a video clip of it if they have one on the website as you will get to see more of what it looks like through the menus, etc.

***UPDATE***

Seems this product is now old enough to not be readily sold (as new) on Amazon... I have had this product for almost 2 Years now, 1 yr 9 mo. I think. While I actually no longer use this item (I bought an Archos 705 Wifi back in December 2007), I did give it to my roommate/friend to use (like I do with so many of my other "old" and unneeded electronic gadgets), and he has been using it constantly since then with absolutely no problems or issues of any kind. He uses the device with his Windows XP Home desktop computer, using Windows Media Player 11, and everything has been smooth. He doesn't use it for video much, and I only used it for a while with video (Amazon Unbox items worked totally fine on it, just like my Tivo Transfer items), but it *has* gone through most of it's capabilities/uses just fine other than the odd now and then error due to a corrupt file, and the battery life (while it was never REALLY great to start with) has stayed quite good over the past (almost) couple of years...

A great place to get a case for it, especially the silicone ones which are great for products like these, is with one of the Amazon 3rd party stores ("Bestpricecenter" if I can remember correctly and they actually show the name for me), and it was about $10 if I remember correctly about this too. This is where I got the black silicone case for the Toshiba Gigabeat S right before I gave the product to my roommate (when my Archos showed up). He can be quite klutzy at times, and this "case" has been good to him and the Gigabeat S (it still works which can't be said for some other items he has received in the past)...

So if you are looking to buy this item new or used (or refurbished), I would say that this would be a great item to get, *as long* as you do not get one of the "bad" inventory items that someone might sell to you (like the ones that most people who gave a bad review of the item must have gotten). So I would say it might be better to purchase "Refurbished" from a reputable store etc instead of through ebay or craiglist for example, just to give yourself a better chance of it working correctly and for a decent amount of time.

I purchased this item 3 weeks ago and can honestly say that I am very pleased with my purchase. I was a little hesitant after reading some of the mediocre reviews about battery life and loss of files. Well I already experienced the later issue with loss of files. This occurred on my second day of use with the player. I was attempting to sync with WMP 11 and the computer would not connect to the player. I then clicked "reconnect to the device" and when this completed all my files were gone??? Well I never did figure out why this occurred and I have not experienced this issue since.

Now on to battery life... I have not had any issue with battery life. So far I have received continuous playback for over 6 1/2 hrs and 8 1/2 hours during a trip from NJ to VA and back. After the 6 1/2 hr trip the battery indicator was only 1/4 of the way down and after the 8 1/2 trip back it was 1/2 down. The player was connected to my car stereo, via cassette adapter, and the volume was at level 10. (I can't rate how much more I got out of the battery after the trips because I used the player to show off video and pictures, which uses much more battery) A very important thing to remember about getting optimal battery life is to limit the amount of time that the backlight on the screen is used. Prior to my trip I created a playlist of music that would last over 11 hrs and then shuffled the music and hit the road. I'm a little concerned that everyone who rates the battery at 4-5 hrs or less are manually changing songs, using the screen and draining the battery. The unit ships with the backlight to remain on for 1 minute, this should be changed to 5 secs or 15 secs at the most. There is a reason that the player only gets 2.5 hrs of video playback and 12 hrs of audio playback, but to get the benefit of 12 hrs audio you cannot continually use the screen. I'm not saying that there are not defective units, just trying to keep expectations in order. By the way, the sound quality on this player is incredible and once a song is done the next song is started without delay. (My old MP3 player would take 3-4 seconds to start the next song)

Other features.... Now here is the great thing about this player. WMP 11 makes it so easy to add music, video, tv, pictures (takes a little while to get used to)(even better if you have Windows XP Media Center Edition). Video and pictures on this little guy are very impressive and look extremely sharp. It's great for sharing video taken with a digital camera with friends and family.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this purchase. The only thing that concerns me is that if all the songs disappear again. I have over 30 gigs of music, video, and pictures on this and would be very disappointed if I would have to sync again. By the way, music transfers are less than a second per song, very fast.

I've had my unit for about a week now and I am very happy with. I didn't have to learn anything new. It's Windows Media Center interface! I have loaded all my music (about 10k songs) and my playlists into it and about 3 tv shows I recorded and I still have about 20 gigs left. Ear buds are just decent. Will probably replace with better ones soon. One complaint I have is there is no case for it. Not even a cheapie one. And of course, it being so new, there are no aftermarket accessories for it yet. Also, Toshiba said 20 hours of battery. LOL. It doesn't even come close. But overall, I love it.

For all you windows operators out there, if you're looking for a competitor that blows the i pod out of the water this is it. If anything it may equal the i pod in many areas, but still my personal choice for space, interface, and software. Instead of just listing pros and cons, I'll go in depth with all categories I can think of.

Overall Quality
Very well built. It's a solid piece of technology and will never fall apart on its own. The original was ridiculous and was practically glued together. This one is bolted together and tightly sealed. If you're a stickler for looks though, i would get a case. It can dent or scratch rather easily, but you really have to try hard to harm the actual device. It also still has a strap attachment.

Size
Incredibly small and lightweight. it's so much smaller than the ipod and is no where near as bulky as it's predecessor. It blows my mind how you can barely notice it in your pocket.

Interface
I have to say this is one of the most easy and creative interfaces I've seen on any mp3 player to date. You can scroll through literally everything with the cross buttons, which are now actual buttons by the way. The dedicated buttons on the side make it very easy to pause/play switch songs and volume in any menu. It seems a more applicable version of windows media center has been installed on the actual device. Everything is very clear, and selecting is a breeze. It includes a few nuances like the letter guide that shows up while scrolling quickly down the menus. Unfortunately a few of the good little stuff is from the gigabeat F is not on the gigabeat S, such as the delete from device option, and some other features i would have like to see stay. There are still other new settings and features

Software
Works incredibly well with windows media player 10 and up. Songs and videos transfer within half seconds. The device is also very open with windows media player. You can go to any menus and edit anything. Try that with a windows ipod.

Audio
i never use the headphones out of the box, but I've always used sony wraparounds and it sounds fantastic. Just not as many equalizers as the original. Personally my favorite is "electronic" is the perfect balance for me, but that's completely subjective. It uses alot of different file formats, and unless you're doing some wacky stuff with file types, you may never have a problem. It takes all file types windows media player does and probably more. All in all, it sounds great

Video
Although i haven't much use for the video mode, i have experimented a little, and people who are expecting FANTASTIC video support will not be thrilled here. It still plays video and the quality is still good, but audio is sometimes a bit tinny and file types can be a bit of trouble sometimes. DivX must be converted simply to .wmv or .avi. While the video and picture quality is still pretty good, it's technicalities need a little fixing. The aspect ratios can be switched from 4:3 to 16:9 (letterbox). Plus the screen size is about 2 and a half inches. it's great for clips and music videos, but i'd love to meet the person with the patients to watch a 2 hour movie on that screen.

Picture Quality
Obviously will hold alot of pictures, and it takes almost all file types. For still pictures, it is great quality. So if you're really concerned about picture storage, don't worry about it.
There are plenty of options for album art. Not only is there a picture for every album in the menu but, the actual play sub menu has 5 other menu styles within it. One which is nothing but the album art.

Battery Life
It says about 12 hours but can be even more if you edit you're screen options. Put at like 5 seconds for the screen to turn off and you shouldn't have any problems. For video however, there's about 3 hours there and maybe even more depending on how often you charge it. Again people who watch 2 hour movies on a small device will have a tough time. Personally, the battery has never run out at an inappropriate time.

Other Features
Because it has windows media center, you can also get other downloadable content from it if you're connected to it. The "My TV" feature works kind of like podcasts except windows lets you record your own tv I believe. This may give a little more lasting appeal as well.

Space
the 60 gigs feels almost infinite, a personal must for me because i listen to a lot of music. Even with loads of videos I can still can't see it getting too tight.

Price
The s60 is pretty steep at msrp $500. But if you are buying it of Amazon at 250 or less it's a steal.

Summary
A great product. My choice over ipod. Battery life and video file types are the only things I could see as down points. I would definitely agree it is a better mp3 player than an overall media player. But you will still be able play videos and audio comparatively well for such a small device, and the interface right now I believe is unmatched. For such a small device, it is very powerful.

I cannot help but spread my enthusiasm for the player - the 1-stars seem to rely heavily on download-services which do not play a role for me. If you search a player that

- runs smoothly with your music collection (mp3, wma, etc)
- has a brilliant screen
- plays movies without complaining (even divx after conversion)
- shows fotos that can be put on the player directly from the camera

the Gigabeat is your device at a good price.

At this point, accessories are a big minus for sure - there is one single manufacturer that has carrying cases (Noreve St. Tropez), but they cost 40EUR ($51) a piece excl shipping (they are handmade, though ;-)

I am afraid for stands you will have to wait quite a bit (if not forever), car adapters should be easy to find, though, since you can be safe to assume that the player will run with the standard stuff you find at radio shack

however - I have to say how great the player is and how it is worth the hassle to get it (at least it was until july). it is intuitive, the sound is excellent, even divx-movies are converted, the screen is brilliant and the hook-up with the tv runs smoothly (movies are like watching a dvd, seriously).

all in all a great buy - the ipod would force you into itunes and cost way more considering all the "accessories" (i.e. radio, tv-out, foto-transfer, etc.) ipod-people have to pay big money for.

I had my gigabeat for about a week when the screen cracked in my pocket, i rang up toshiba and they got it repaired free of charge, even though it was used outside of its warranty. This gesture shows that they do care about customer satisfaction.

I think the best feature of it is the radio. The unit itself is practically the same size as the ipod, and with this feature if u get bored of what you are listening to and want to hear something new. I feel this separates it from the ipod. Other pluses include the video and picture quality. I heard there is some way of getting full-length movies on to it, but i havent succeeded in doing so, but the screen is big enough to watch them.

The biggest disadvantage, i feel, is the lack of accessories out. Like no protective covers. However as it is new im sure that this will soon be rectified.

I would definately recommend this gigabeat. It is value for money, considering that its basic counterpart is the ipod video.

I've been using flash players to organize my moods and activities with music in combination with Windows Media Player, but recently a change in our household setup provided an opportunity to download our whole music catalogue onto one player.

I selected the Toshiba 60 Gigabeat. It's solid, easy to load and works as promised, and at a very reasonable price, too. My concern surrounded the "video" feature. Why would anyone watch video on a 2.5" screen? Silly idea.

And yet. Programs from the TIVO Series 2 download automatically to our computer. From there it's just a moment to download programs onto the Toshiba and there are many, many programs which work nicely on a handheld device. It's probably not satisfying for displaying an action-adventure, but your favorite series and talk shows are vividly presented. The crisp picture offers bright, saturated color, even to my old eyes.

I considered the Zune, but with half the storage and the unnecessary wireless feature (unnecessary to me), the Toshiba seemed like a more practical solution.

11.26.06 UPDATE: I still give it 5 stars. Love this thing. Not that some experiences aren't unfortunate, but I can see where some people might run into trouble. Consider:

Depending on how your Windows Media Player (or other software) is set up, some files on the ToshGB might 'disappear.' If files don't exist in the 'home' list because they were moved or deleted, then those files might be removed from the player unit when next connected. Check the 'synch' options in your media software.

Battery problem? Maybe -- just maybe -- you have the unit plugged into an outlet that is operated by a light switch. If the switch is off, no power to feed the player (hey, we've all been there). Not the player's fault. Or possibly you are charging the player via USB on your computer? If the computer goes into sleep or hibernate mode, then power charging stops.

Just two issues that might help.

Husband watching the game, I'm watching Jon Stewart. In our particular home space, hooked up to a Tivoli, it delivers beautiful sound for two solid days without recharging. Simple to operate. Lovely to look at. Done.

05.05.07 UPDATE: Still works. Still holds a charge. Still accepts downloads after upgrading to Windows Media Player v11 and Vista software. It continues to be a very fine bit of technology and I enjoy using it very much.

I've now had my S60 about two weeks and am getting to know it well. I'd have to say that while I think it is better than the equivalent iPod for Windows XP users, living with the Media Player software is not fun.

First time I plugged the S60 into the PC - drivers install, everything happy - device manager says all is good. Only one problem - no S60 visible in Windows explorer or the Media Player. Consult the Microsoft Knowledge Base, and when I can eventually figure out the key words to get a useful search, I find the answer. I end up editing a couple of registry key security permissions and then every thing works fine. Registry key permissions! This is like being told you won't be able to start your new car until you've modified the wiring under the bonnet.......

Media Player 10 is functional but limited. More importantly the MTP drivers it installs give very limited drag and drop capabilities - and won't let you use the S60 for transferring data files. If a file name doesn't have an approved media extension you can't copy it (but just changing the extension seems to work!).

Media Player 11 is much more functional. With newer MTP drivers included, Windows explorer can see more of what's on the device (but not everything....), and depending where you copy files to, will either let you copy without limitation, or warn but not prevent you copying a non-media file.

My main use for the S60 is to play mp3 files. As such all my problems have been in the Media Player. eg. ID3 tags say artist is John Doe. Media Player, twice only so far, ends up with "Artist" is John Doe, but "Album Artist" is Doe, John. S60 handles this by giving you two entries for the same album. So where does Media Player get "Doe, John" from randomly? I can only guess it snuck off and retrieved bad info from the internet.

Other pet Media Player peeves:

- edit an album or artist name starting with say "S", hit enter and wham you're back at "A", scrolling down to find the album again.
- set the device option in media player to maximum quality, 192kb/s, and any mp3 it finds below OR ABOVE 192kb/s will be converted to 192kb/s WMA format. Leave the device set to auto quality, and it doesn't seem to interfere!
- can see the mp3 files on the player and delete or copy them, but can't access them for editing tags.
- can't even see the player in other applications, only the Media Player and Windows Explorer.

The S60 itself looks good, feels solid, and is a breeze to use. It comes with the ability and cable to download photos off most cameras, a plug pack, and FM radio, so you don't keep paying for extras like with iPods. While the supplied headphones are utter rubbish (come on Toshiba - it doesn't cost anything more to provide a usable pair), the player gives excellent sound with a good pair.

Video conversion time is typically slow, but (unlike others???) I've had no problems with the six or so I've transferred to the S60.

Oh - and I do like the buttons on the side too (unlike others!!!).

Things I don't like about or could be improved on the S60 include:
- volume control only has 20 increments, I'd prefer a finer resolution.
- display is hard to read in daylight even at max brightness.
- can't delete files from the player itself.
- needs the ability to play files by folder.
- desparately needs the ability to change backgrounds and colour schemes. Windows default - yuk!
- needs a case and these aren't so common.
- generates quite a lot of internal FM interference, particuarly around 101MHz, until the CPU goes to sleep in about 1.5 minutes.
- and of course the same old file type groans (give us DivX, m4a etc support) and the battery life/charging behaviour groans.

At the end of the day I cannot understand why we can't just have a media player that works by dragging and dropping in Windows Explorer. Aren't any of the manufacturers listening to us consumers? I don't want proprietry lock down, I don't need autosync anything.

I bought my gigabeat based on the review by PC world, who gave it flying colors for sound, ease of use, and bundled accessories. I recommend looking up their review for a good run down of the unit.

Like some other users here, i ran in to an issue syncing my library for the first time. The upload of my library to the 60 gig player took -8- hours, about 5 seconds a song, with the battery dying just at the end. Now, i'm using a custom built machine, with Vista beta, on WMP11 - so the quirk of a slow sync didn't suprise me, nor did the quirk of the unit either not charging fast enough, or just not charging, on the USB port it was using.

Either way i've learned that after adding media to the unit it must be disconnected from the computer before the unit will index the new media. If the unit dies before indexing, you'll have an empty library but the unit's hard drive will be full. A reformat of the unit from My Computer cleared the space, and i synced the unit from a different USB port, and had no trouble. I do not know if it will lose the index after the battery dies, down the road.

Aside from having to wait another 8 hours to get my music back on the unit, i've got to say compared to my previous 20 gig ipod, and my 8 gig microphoto, the gigabeat is the end-all of portable mp3 players.

It's ( relative to the ipod and zen M ) small size and clean corners make it comfortable to carry, and the interface is very fast and easy to use - it is designed perfectly for handling a large library. In my car, the volume on medium, 10, is loud and clear. The music clarity is excellent, and its very snappy and responsive. Even pictures look good on it.

All players advertise the three easy steps to use your player: 1. charge battery 2. install software 3. plug in unit. But the "plays-for-sure" Gigabeat really only has those three steps.

The ipod and zune have you download the latest copy of their proprietary software, then update that software, then create an account in their music store, then convert your music to their proprietary format using their proprietary sync cable - well the gigabeat is only three things. Charge it. Plug it in - WMP10 or 11 picks it up with no set up, no software download, and just one question: What do you want to name your player? After that it just works.

I have an Urge subscription, and there was no file conversion necessary. During sync, WMP automatically downloads your usage rights and uploads the file - without having to stop and wait. Easy.

I highly recommend using WMP11 - for a large library it is hands down the best player, and it's very easy to manage music on a portable device.

Lastly, unlike other reviewers, i have not had battery trouble in the few days ive had the player. I set my screen to shut off after 15 seconds, and i'm getting a full day's use from the unit. I'm very pleased.

Why not 5 stars? I'm worried about what will happen next time the battery dies. I dont want to spend another 8 hours picking through my library and uploading music. I'm also not a fan of the headphones it is bundled with - very uncomfortable. I'd also have liked a soft bag or case for the unit.

I got my Gigabeat less than a week ago. Right off the bat, I was thrilled with the ease of the interface- I greatly prefer the nav ststem to the iPod's click wheel, I love the fact that it actually has a power button, and getting around was really simple and intuitive.

I loaded about 5 gigs of music on it, set some radio stations, and took it on a road trip.

The first half of the journey? Fantastic. Coming home, I got the low battery signal, and the player shut off by itself. I hadn't recharged it, because I had been going by the specs for battery life. I had only used it to play music, and I would estimate that the battery lasted about 75 % of the advertised time.

Still, I loved the product, until I fished it out of my purse and read an error message that it needed to be hooked up to my computer to update or reset the Portable Media Center (and to read my owner's guide for clarification.)

I looked in my owner's guide, and looked some more. Finally, after doing a search on "reset" (nothing useful came up with "update" or "Portable Media Center") the manual just advised to sync the Gigabeat with Windows Media Center.

I attempted to sync at least 10 times. More errors- I kept getting the "not working at this time- try again later" popup window.

I called Toshiba tech support, and they were at least friendly and helpful- but the best they could come up with was that the Microsoft software was corrupt, and they're sending shipping labels to FedEx it back . They said turnaround would be a week or so, that I'd have it back by Christmas. I don't have a lot of faith in this, primarily because of the negative stuff I have read here, but we'll see what happens.

I guess that if I have any other residual probs with it, I will just ship it back to Amazon for a replacement (or maybe a refund? I notice that the Gigabeat is $10 cheaper this week!), or maybe I'll just suck it up, give in to iTunes, and get another iPod.

12/07/06: I spoke to Toshiba on Monday, it is now late on Thursday night, and the FedEx Shipping labels that were promised to me have still not arrived. If I do not get them tomorrow, I am contacting Amazon for a replacement player. This is ridiculous.

12/11/06: Finally rec'd the tags from Toshiba in the mail- my husband convinced me to wait a week, and it took...a week. Ugh. Repackaged the unit and sent it in.

12/20/06: I have heard nothing thus far. I call Toshiba, and speak with Gary, who looks up my player by phone #, then puts me on hold for about 20 minutes (never a good sign). He comes back, says he's having a hard time locating my player, and that someone will call me back "sometime in the next two days." Which to me, seems pretty unacceptable, but there's not a whole lot I can do about it. The attitude is generally dismissive, and I definitely get the "dumb girl" vibe from him. Jerk.

My husband gets tired of my ranting and calls back, and somehow produces a more competent person, who has no problem producing the status of the device, and informing my husband that an e-mail was sent this morning with the status of the device. He forwards it to me. The diagnosis is "DEAD (intermittently) UNIT. TOSHIBA WILL EXCHANGE."

So presumably, I am getting a new one. At this point, I am just wishing that I has sent it back to Amazon, where I would have gotten a replacement unit within two days.

12/27/06: I got my replacement player this evening- brand new box (so I now have doubles of all the connectors, which is good, as well as a backup set of the abysmal earbuds, which is not so good.)

Loaded music back onto the player- everything looks great.

I am taking the 'beat on another roadtrip this week, and if it manages to survive, maybe I will up the star rating to the 5 stars this device deserves! In the meantime, I am adjusting the backlight setting and utilizing another tip from CNet- switching the harmonics to off- and I will see if that impacts battery time.

12/28/06: You've got to be kidding me!!!!

Right after I posted the update above, I picked up my Gigabeat to adjust the settings. I clicked the button a few times. There was NO POWER. Nothing. I checked to make sure the device wasn't locked. Maybe I had inadvertently left it on overnight and drained the power? So I plugged it in, and immediately noticed that there was no "battery charging" indicator. The unit was dead. I hadn't even LISTENED to it yet, just charged it and loaded some songs onto it, then scrolled through my music library. Then I turned it off and went to bed. The unit sat on my desk overnight, and that's as strenuous as it got.

Called Toshiba, spoke with Darla. They had me toggle the reset switch, etc, and finally agreed with my diagnosis (the words "expensive paperweight" may have been used.) They want me to send it back. They assure me that my experience is "unusual." Okay.

In the interest of science, I am going to send it back. At this point, I am curious to see what happens.

12/29/06: I slept on it, and decided to return the product through Amazon. That way, if I get another non-functioning player, I am dealing with their returns/refunds frogram, and not waiting a month for Toshiba to cut me a check.

I called Toshiba to explain that they didn't need to send the shipping labels, and spoke with Ray, who said, "Well, they've already been sent, so when they get there, just hold onto them in case you have more problems." Way to inspire confidence in your product, Ray!

Seriously? If I have a problem with the third one? It's going back to Toshiba in pieces.

1/2/07: A new year- a new gigabeat! Amazon got me my new one this afternoon. (Hear that Toshiba? THREE days, including the holiday weekend. Love Amazon!)

Moral of the story? That little slip that comes with the gigabeat, that says, "STOP! Don't return this product to the store!"

Yeah. There's a reason for that, and having experienced both Amazon and Toshiba customer service, I can say this with confidence. Go through Amazon. Toshiba customer service is strictly a 5 days a week, 8 hours a day operation, and the turnaround time is weeks, not days- not to mention, if you want a refund, you have to jump through a bunch of hoops (also weeks.)

So. I charged the gigabeat up, then loaded about 5 gigs of music onto it. Nothing has exploded or spontaneously combusted. (Yet.) I considered updating my WMP to 11, but decided not to chance it. I also didn't delete any of the pictures or music that came on the player, because at this point, I am superstitious. Can any of you blame me?

To cut to the chase, I uploaded stuff, and it still works. I am rocking out to Concrete Blonde as we speak. I am *cough cough* "cautiously optimistic". And yes, I am knocking on wood as I type this.

1/3/07- Ironically, the tags sent by Toshiba arrived today (the day after Amazon got me my replacement unit.) The new unit is still working perfectly, so it's already far exceeded the less than 24 hour lifespan of Gigabeat #2- hopefully, I won't have the occasion to use the return labels this time around. I am glad I have stuck it out this far, because I am loving Gigabeat #3!

2/5/07- Gigabeat #3 is still going strong. It is my constant companion through the day. With the harmonics off, and the screen switching off in a few seconds, my battery is lasting easily all day, which is great!

Judging from the shift of comments on Amazon lately, I am thinking that Toshiba has worked out some major bugs, because the most recent comments are overwhelmingly favorable. It took me awhile to get a functional gigabeat- but I have to say, it was worth the wait!