INTRODUCTION

    Another day, another
flash audio player, you say? Perhaps not. This time,
we take a look at the sleek XK1 "gumstick-type" player
(think iPod Shuffle) from Sweden-based Adamond. This
player’s got some unique features that makes it a
serious contender in the flash audio player market.
Details follow.

WHAT’S HOT

    This product is aimed at the throat of
the iPod Shuffle, offering
features such as a 80 x 84 OLED screen, line
in encoding, FM radio, voice record, and dual headphone outputs.

The Shuffle is clearly
the winner in terms of size and weight, but the
Adamond seems to require the extra weight to compensate
for the extra features. Even with more circuitry
to power, the Adamond still can run for a longer
period of time without a battery change/charge.
However, because the Adamond uses one AAA battery,
it may require further investment of more batteries
or a set of NiMH rechargeable batteries.

Although the XK1
isn’t yet available in the US, a price conversion
tells us that both the 512MB and 1GB versions of
the XK1 come out $20 ahead of its Shuffle
counterpart.

To take the comparison
a bit further, the mobiBLU
"cube" 1GB MP3 player costs around
the same as the Shuffle 1GB, but doesn’t include
dual headphone outputs and line-in encoding as
found in the XK1.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

(all images
link to higher resolution)

The box itself is a glossy black, like the unit itself.

    Box
contents include: earbud headphones, battery, plastic case, software
CD, user manuel, lanyard, and the unit. The software CD has drivers
and a program that allows you to add your own startup graphic to
the device, instead of the company logo. The XK1 is firmware upgradable.
The audio quality of the earbuds was average.

PRODUCT FEATURES

The
face of the unit has a high quality black gloss finish, while the
sides are chrome. The chrome is made of plastic, and feels like plastic
(e.g. cheap). Because the entire unit is made of glossy materials,
it picks up finger prints easily.

The
left side reveals a headphone port, and line in jack for MP3 encoding
from another source (CD player, computer, etc). You can set the line
in jack to act as a secondary headphone port – a feature great for
use when sharing audio on airplanes, etc.

    On
the other side of the device, there is a USB port, record/A-B button
(used to enable encoding for FM radio/voice/line in), volume/play
pause button, and track adjustment/menu button. The two scroll buttons
can be pushed inwards.

The
rear is flat black, with a hold switch on the top, and capacity
marking in the center.

    The
unit is powered with one AAA battery, which means that you won’t
have to carry around a battery charger. That also means that
if you use disposable batteries, the unit could end up costing you
money after a handful of battery swaps.

    The
device is small in hand. Shown is my left hand – notice
how I’d have to use my last three fingers to operate the controls
on the right side. When in my right hand, I can operate the buttons
more comfortable with my thumb. Therefore, lefties may have difficulty
operating the controls.

The
case is made of silver-color plastic.

The
80 x 48 blue OLED screen is sharp and crisp. Shown is the now playing
screen, which displays file type, bitrate, track number, equalizer
setting (USER), battery life, track time, and scrolling track title.

The first menu (accessible by tapping the top scroll
button) lets you access music folders, FM radio, and recording functions.
We’ll dissect each:

    Selecting
the music folder menu will bring you to the following menu, where
you can browse audio stored on the device by category (radio, voice,
music). The large font made it so that only two songs could display
at a time, which makes it very tedious to scroll through dozens of
songs. The font could be half the size, allowing for four entries
to fit on the screen.

    This
is the radio screen, which allows you to record up to 20 (!) presets.
I’m not even sure that my town has 20 radio broadcasts, but if that
is the case where you live, you are covered. From this screen, you
can record radio by holding the record button. The unit uses the
earphone wire as an antenna; I found radio reception to be lacking,
especially indoors.

    Selecting
the record function from the main menu displays the above, where
you can begin to record voice or line in. Voice record quality was
excellent. Line in record quality was also good (with
a high bitrate selected), with little noise.

Holding
the top scroll button reveals the secondary menu, which allows you
to adjust playback, equalizer, SRS, deletion options, display, and
encoding settings.

There are five equalizer presets (jazz, rock, etc),
and the user equalizer has five bands.

    The
SRS feature is a welcomed addition to the device. There are five
settings for this feature: Normal, SRS, Trubass, WOW, and User. I
found Normal and SRS to be the only suitable presets for use with
the stock earphones – as WOW and Trubass increase levels of bass
to a point that the earphones cannot reproduce. If you are using
a set of higher quality cup headphones or another speaker source
altogether, the WOW and Trubass settings will suit you well, especially
the former (in my tests). For a demonstration of SRS technologies,
check out this
site.

The display setting lets you adjust the contrast.

The
encoding menu lets you select bitrates for the various recording
means, as well as turn on Encoding Sync, which separates audio tracks
while encoding (from a CD player, MP3 player, etc), rather than making
one large file.

Recording voice, or any source, brings up a similar
screen.

An
excellent feature of the XK1 is that the line in jack can also be
used as a secondary audio output.

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HELP SUPPORT

    My
computer immediately recognized the player as a storage
drive, and I copy and pasted files into the drive in
My Computer as you would with any mass storage device.
Regarding ease of use of the player: while testing
the device, I was almost sure that I would gripe about
the awkward tap and hold functionality, but after a
period of time, I became used to the controls, and
was appreciative of the fact that it’s one hand operable
(for right-handed folks). The
product manual is thorough and helpful.

OPTIONS

    The product is available
in 512MB and 1GB versions.

BUGS AND WISHES

   
The
player is attractive, there is no doubt about it.
We like shiny things, and the XK1 has plenty
of shiny surfaces, the chrome sides included (be
prepared to wipe fingerprints off constantly if you
use the device without the case). Unfortunately,
these chrome sides are plasticy,
and the battery door (part of the chrome finish)
feels fragile.

    The
case was a bit embarrassing – although the material
has a nice silvery-finish to it, it’s cheap, and
doesn’t
even fit properly against the buttons of
the device without a good amount of jostling.

    Because
the controls are on the right side of the device,
those holding the device in their left hand may
find operation to be quite cumbersome. I’d love
to see Adamond place the controls on the front
under the screen, perhaps in the form of a vertical
scroll wheel, or even a vertical touch pad if cost
permits. For this, a few point are lost in the
Ease of Use rating.

    This
device uses slow USB 1.1, need I say more?

    File
navigation was un-ideal – you cannot view tracks
by artist, album, etc, but rather have to view
files in folder-tree form. When doing so, the user
can only view 2 tracks on the screen at one time,
and you have to wait a moment for the track title
to scroll over. If the font size was cut in half,
more entries would fit on the screen, and you could
see some of the track title.

PURCHASING

   
The
Adamond XK1 is currently only available in the UK, but the company
is working with US distributors. To purchase the 512MB version for £69
or about $120, visit this
page. F or the 1GB version, at a price of £84 or around
$150, use this
link.

PROS

• 
  

  Clear,
  crisp OLED display

• Sleek and
  stylish
• Line in
  encoding
• Dual headphone
  jack capable
• 
  

  SRS sound
  processing

• Good battery
  life
• Quick track
  advance

CONS

• 
  

  Chrome
  surrounds feel cheap

• 
  

  Picks up
  fingerprints easily

• Case is
  cheap and cutouts aren’t quite correct
• 
  

  Slow file
  transfer via USB 1.1

• Not left-handed
  friendly
• Difficult
  file navigation

Value
Ease of Use
Features
Overall

What
do these ratings mean?

OVERALL IMPRESSION

    The stylish XK1 is priced
about $20 above the screenless, no-frills Shuffle, makes it a standout.
Throw in some unique features not found in most other flash audio players,
and you’ve almost got a winner. With the addition of USB 2.0 transfer
and easier file navigation, this product could be better than it already
is.