Slashdot Mirror
Samsung Yepp YP-55V Review
daanger0us writes "RAM based MP3 players are still pretty popular. As hard drive based MP3 players get larger storage capacity, the RAM based MP3 players have to add new features to keep themselves compelling to customers. The Samsung Yepp YP-55V is one of the RAM based MP3 players that's added some pretty cool features at a reasonable price. 256MB of RAM, FM Tuner, ability to record from a line-in, from the FM Tuner and voice recording, USB Drive capabilities, upgradeable firmware, weighing in at 2.2 ounces all for around $160. Designtechnica has a full review. How many people still consider a RAM based audio player when shopping?" Update: 09/03 22:11 GMT by T : That should be "MB," not "MG" as it originally read.
I still prefer CD based MP3 players. The media is cheap, and the the player is cheap.
I still consider ram baed stuff for when I want something like that won't mind getting bounced around a bit. I can't help but think a hard disk based player (which is heavier) reacts well to being bounced up and down all its life...
Also RAM based can have quicker access although there is the obvious loss of storage. Now if there was a CF based player...
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
Hard Drive-based technology is still rather klunky for the gym. Ultra-small Ram-based systems can provide enough music for one work-out.
I know, a geek that goes to they gym. Amazing, huh? No, I don't have a girlfriend. I still don't think that those mythical girl-creatures exist. I think it's just a dirty trick those jocks play on us.
The iPod can be bought for 200 bucks refurbed (10 gig previous generation...10 GIG!) Why would I get this for 40 bucks less? Radio and Voice recording would be a welcome addition to future iPods though.
I'm in the market right now, and the Rio SP250 wins over this one too. CD Based, larger, but with integrated FM and 700 megabyte CDR capacity.
I did, and I bought one.
My Creative Labs MuVo is not only a good mp3/wma player, but was also one of the first to function as a convenient USB drive. Why the hell would I have paid $75 for a 128MB flash drive a year back when I could have both for $150?
Obviously, this concept is catching on and prices are dropping, so anyone who is even considering USB drive who doesn't already own a portable music player should be interested.
Man is the animal that laughs.
And occasionally whores for Karma.
256 MG of RAM
Yes, this product certainly does distinguish itself. I've never seen a product containing 256 Megagytes of memory!
For RAM based players too be tempting, they're going to have to get way cheaper and sexier. $160 for 256 MB is not hot at all.
Adding bells and whistles to something dosen't make it better, only bulkier. I'll take my 64mb Rio500 over this new one any day. I mean, come on, who want's an FM Radio in there MP3 Player? Not me atleast. Same with a voice recorder. I have a real recorder, and I guarantee you the sound quality is considerable better. My 00000010 Cents.
And why did you staple the trout to the RAM?
The Samsung Yepp YP-55V is one of the RAM based MP3 players that's added some pretty cool features at a reasonable price. 256 MG of RAM...How many people still consider a RAM based audio player when shopping?"
You bet your ass someone will consider that for $160!
There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
iPods don't seem to care about movement at all. I'm really amazed though. People jog with them.
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
At 256 meg, this mp3 player's capacity is about the same as a single minidisc, but it's not expandable. Minidiscs cost under $2 each, and the files can be re-arranged on them like with an mp3 player. The battery life on a minidisc player is better than the yepp player too which doesn't make sense since the yepp doesn't have to power a motor. A CD based mp3 player is much larger than a minidisc player (even if it's designed for the 8cm CDs), and the battery life is terrible.
Jason
ProfQuotes
They still make these?
I have to occasionally make a hard decision on what to include on my iPod. But usually it's between keeping every Magnetic Fields' song or switching to carrying every Beatles song. Ever.
I get bored to easily to ever carry around a player that only has 256 megs.
-B
Without RTFA I can say, why not the Neuros? Albeit a bit bigger you can swap in the hard drive module and voila. You also get the ability to transmit FM and song identification, not to mention support for Ogg and Linux via positron.
Reply . . . let's get it over with.
More likely, the submitter meant "flash memory" which is typically used to store mostly static data over long periods of time.
I wouldn't nitpick, but he repeated the word "RAM" so many times that I was forced to post this.
Anyone who seriously uses a walkman type of device can see this as the major selling point. I'm talking about joggers, cyclists, hell even people riding the subway.
No moving parts = wont break or wear out (yeah they will but not on the scale that their mechanical cousins will).
Now an FM tuner has always been, to me, one of those useless electronic things that gets integrated into everything because it's easy to do so. FM reception on old-school tape-based walkmans has always been terrible - unless you sit still and hold the cord 'just so'.
Anyways, I'd have thought you could get 256mb solid state mp3 player for well under 100 bucks by now. Guess I was wrong, or there's something special about this device, like its record button. Does it have a playback-only cousin for, say, 50 bucks?
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
256 MG of RAM, FM Tuner, ability to record from a line-in, from the FM Tuner and voice recording, USB Drive capabilities, upgradeable firmware, weighing in at 2.2 ounces all for around $160
All those features and 256 milligrams of RAM!
and I thought my cigarettes with 8mg tar were strong.
If you have the money for a HD player but don't want one b/c you need a player for running, small pockets, etc. the Panasonic SV AV series ( $400) has some pretty nifty features such as a camdcorder, digital camera, 2" LCD, and an AV cradle for recording TV shows. Sony also has some cool multi-use devices but are quite a bit more expensive.
I know this one. I just bought it as a present for my girlfriend. It is pretty cool. And she likes it a lot.
I was considering getting an iPod for her. But every time when I decide to deal with Apple I always come to painful realisation that I just hate their attitude. They have this dumbass business strategy that only they know what you really need and they determined to shove it down your throat. I don't want to troll on them. Apple has really cool products, they have good engineers and designers. But at the same time they always try to sell you the most expensive one. Here in Bay Area it is impossible to find 10 GB version of iPod. All BestBuys and Fried electronics have only 30 GB versions (for extra $200) and I don't have 30 GB of mp3s even on my home computer (which is also a home entertainment center). Come to think of it I don't even have that many CDs yet to rip to fill this much space.
So I settled on Yepp. And I'm pretty happy. It is very sleek. Very good sound. You can actually change sound modes. Plus FM radio. Plus record your own stuff. 256 MB is almost enough for my gf. I guess when there will be version with more memory outhere. I'll get new one for her and take the old one.
- Back off man. I am a scientist
Just how big and clunky do you think an iPod is? If you saw the first or second versions of the iPod, you should look again at the newest ones.. they are much smaller.
My ipod is like, the size of a pack of colts. Slightly thinner, and slightly longer than a deck of playing cards... it fits in a shirt pocket just fine. It's not heavy, either.
Now, I'm not saying it is as rugged or tiny as a solid state player, as I said.. but "big and clunky" is definately not a word I'd use to describe it.
Let's face it though, we're talking about two different markets...
solid state players are what you use to load up a few tunes, and go listen.. like carrying around a discman or walkman. Sure it holds a few more songs.. but it's the same niche.
The hard drive players are akin to carrying around a discman and a backpack full of cds, except in this case, the difference is a few ounces, dollars, and inches.
Moving parts. That is one of the biggest problems with the MD player, i.e. it has way too many of them. My MD player broke over a simple mechanical defect, but one that was cost prohibitive to repair. RAM based players make this much more difficult to happen.
Also I dunno about that capacity you quoted. I remember getting CD-comparable storage, with PERHAPS the option to lower quality for slightly more time (I really dont remember), but nowhere NEAR what you could put on 256MB.
MDs were great when they were first available. But with RELIABLE mini-hd based units, and cheap often-expandable RAM based systems (flash cards anyone?), MDs are past their prime in terms of usefulness
I wind up disassembling them to figure out what went wrong when they start shorting out.. Its usually one of the following:
-Moisture damage (I'm a heavy gym and running user, sweat drips down the headphone cord)
-Breakage from repetitive tweaking of the headphone cord
-Breakage from dropping. Drop them on a hard surface and you have about a 50% chance it will survive.
Never had a hard-drive based player, and it probably wouldn't last more than a month for me.
The article submitter didn't even RTFA. The specs clearly state 256 MB FLASH.
Or, the article submitter is too ignorant to know the difference between RAM and FLASH. Like those older newbies who ask "how much memory" does a computer have, and they mean disk space. I mean, yeah, disk, RAM, flash, cache, are all forms of "memory" if you mean generic computer storage, but that's just not how we talk about these things.
The Slashdot maintainer who let this drivel through should be modded down. Damnit, I have mod points. How can I mod the story down?!?
</rant>
Start Running Better Polls