Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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162 of 163 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great job Iomega!, November 6, 2000
By A Customer
I've owned a HipZip for about a month now and am extremely pleased with it. I bought it because 96MB of memory in my Rio500 was not enough anymore and additional 64MB memory cards were too expensive. For a bit more than a new memory card, I got a HipZip plus 80MB of memory on PocketZip disks. A pack of 10 more disks (400MB of memory) runs around ($) on the web.The first thing to note about the HipZip is that it's both a portable MP3 player AND a portable USB PocketZip drive. Not only can you download and play MP3, WMA, and (promised) Audible formats, but you can move any type of file from PC to PC with it. That's a bonus. The best things about the HipZip are: 1) Sound quality is stunning through the right headphones. The sound through studio quality Sony headphones is just phenomenal. I didn't know MP3 could sound this good. It's not near-CD quality, it's CD quality at 128 KB/s encoding rate. Wow, I didn't expect this. 2) Cheap 40MB media ($-$) hold 40-80 min of music depending on whether you use MP3 or WMA format. 3) 12 hour battery life 4) Doesn't skip. I can jog with it. 5) Durable. I've dropped it several times and it still works. The case pads the player. 6) Player shows up in Windows as just another disk drive. Files can be moved, added, and deleted FAST using Windows Explorer. USB transfers are just seconds per song.) 7) The player seamlessly plays MP3 and WMA format files in any order on the disk. 8) Dadio operating system is extremely stable for a first generation product. One crash in a month. I reset the player once with a paper clip. 9) Great display. Backlit. Song titles scroll by making it easy to find songs and skip around. 10) Free case...and it's a good one. I never take it off. You can operate the player right through a clear window on the front of the case. 11) Musicmatch jukebox is bundled with it. That's another ($) you don't have to spend. HipZip is integrated as a "send to" device right from Musicmatch. 12) It's plenty loud with the right headphones. 13) Firmware upgrade at ... was really slick. Wait...there must be something wrong with it. Nothing does everything right, so here are the reasons not to buy this. 1) The tiny earbud headphones that come with the player don't do justice to the sound. I threw the headphones away and use the best sounding headphones leftover from years of walkmans. 2) The battery is not replaceable. It's Li-Ion which means it holds a 12 hour charge and will probably last for years, but it bothers some people that they cannot replace it. I expect that the players are going to be cheap enough in 1-2 years that buying a new player will be a better deal than replacing the battery. 3) I had to read the "manual" to understand some of the finer points of using this. Gasp! This unit is for people comfortable with computers, RIOs, Nomads, etc. The disk adds one more layer of complexity over a flash-based player. My HipZip started skipping and Iomega customer support said the disk was probably bad. They were right. I read the "manual," and learned how to reformat the disk and everything is fine now. 4) The current firmware version does not play Audible files and it doesn't have "bookmarks" so you can start up where you left off. This makes it a bit clumsy for listening to audiobooks. I'm waiting for Audible compliance, which I hope will add bookmark capability also. 5) Check ... for other complaints. 6) Do not buy one if you are a parent and have kids or teenagers in the house. They will each want one and you will have figure out how to come up with ($) for a HipZip for each kid. That's my biggest problem right now.
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60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
singin' zipdrive?, November 20, 2000
An impressive piece of machinery, the Hipzip is a dream come true for me. For a scientist/music buff, the Hipzip is a dual purpose device : e-data storage and two-way transfer; mp3 playback (WMA, WAV are also compatible).For an mp3 player with some moving parts inside, it is surprizingly sturdy and ergonomic. Very nice to look at and a beautiful carrying case I might add. Its USB link is so fast, that I upload 4 to 5 MB songs or files within 5 TO 8 seconds! Unlike some other industry driven Mp3 players, this player allows two way transfer of all files up to 40MB at a time using your explorer to dragg and drop selected data and/or mp3 files onto E drive (letter assigned to the hipzip). You may also automatically execute all file types through your computer and thus listen to music through your computer's sound card output! Don't forget that The Hipzip comes with MusicMatch, although I prefer Winamp's simplicity. Nevertheless, MusicMatch is a powerfull ripping and encoding software that comes in very handy. One important reason I'm sold to the hipzip : the 40 MB funky looking disk called pocketzip is today 10 US$ when you buy a pack of 10, while the 64MB flashcard is 200 US$. How does that compare? At this price, you can even afford to lose a pocketzip or two! One final note : despite what Amazone claims in the Hipzip specifications area, the hipzip allows random, repeated and random repeated playback modes. So it's a multipurpose device, which will make you respect Iomega for being so considerate of our integrated/integration needs. You can bet that Iomega is working on a 80 or 100MB pocketzip. When that baby comes out, and considering the excellent (Li ion) battery life, the hipzip will be the mother of all singin' zipdrives... Cheers Iomega!
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44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Player, June 28, 2001
I recently went out looking for a solid MP3 player and after much research I decided on the Iomega HipZip. I know I made the right choice. I'll go over the pros and cons:Pros: 1. Cheap memory: The player comes with 80 MB, which is about 8 songs in 128 bit MP3s. This is better than 64 MB as in most others. Plus, memory is much cheaper. Memory is about $10 for 40 MB, other than "Memory Sticks" which is like $70 for 64 MB. 2. Great software: Easy to install, easy to use, no more to say. 3. Skip-less: I have tried so hard, and I cannot get this thing to skip. Shaking it, hitting it softly with your hand, driving with it on the floor on a bumpy road, this is un-skipable. 4. Good sound: After using some new headphones (Jensen curved-style) the sound was perfect. 5. Clear display: Nice LCD, nice backlight. It displays the song title, artist, time (etc.) beautifully. 6. Nice Case: 'nuff said. 7. Rechargable battery: Great feature, saves you hundreds on batteries. Cons: 1. A little heavy: This is one of the heavier players on the market, it doesn't make a big difference, but it's not easy to jog in. 2. Shut off: The shut off after 30 seconds of stopping is a bit annoying. This is something I'd like Iomega to change. 3. Horrible headphones: Everyone says it, so will I. But, you can get a good pair for $7.99. So that's it. I think that this, overall is no doubt the best player you can buy. I'd suggest this over Rio, Compaq, Nomad, anything!! If you need a good, reliable player, get the Iomega HipZip.
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