The flash audio player
INTRODUCTION
market is crowded, way too crowded. How does a
company succeed amongst a sea of the same? Be different!
mobiBLU saw an opportunity to bring something special
to the market, and they did so by making a device
with the distinction of the world’s smallest MP3
player, but with a full feature list that would make
it more appealing than the bland iPod Shuffle. What
was sacrificed in making a player so small, that
it should carry a choke hazard warning? We’ll put
it under a microscope, and give you the details.
At a feather-light .63oz and measurements
WHAT’S HOT
of less than an inch in all three dimensions, the DAH-1500i is the
smallest MP3 player ever to see its way to the market. It’s available
in 512MB or 1GB capacities, and in colors of black, silver, blue, pink,
orange, and red. Its competitive pricing ($100-$130) makes it an affordable
option for those looking for the "smallness" of a flash audio
player, with the convenience and beauty of an OLED display, FM tuner,
and voice recorder. Helping to keep the unit small, the DAH-1500i has
only one port, used for charging, file transfer, and audio out. The
unit also includes SRS sound processing with a range of settings, which
helps to create dimensional sound with only two speakers.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
Box
contents include software (for upgrading firmware) and drivers on
a mini CD (very appropriate), earphones, a rubber "case",
a user manual, a power/USB cable (not pictured), and the device.
As
mentioned, the USB cable also charges the device. It takes about
3 hours to store enough juice for 9-12 hours of playback. Having
to charge the device via USB is not ideal, especially for laptop
users who don’t leave their machine powered on for long periods.
This particular model (US model) apparently uses USB 2.0 for transfers,
but it felt to me as if the transfer speeds were sluggish.
The
earphone harness (a bit tough to make out in the picture) is actual
excellently-engineered. Most of the wire is made of fabric which
feels better against the neck than does plastic. The earpieces have
a metal chrome strip adorning them. The end of the harness has a
loop that should be attached to the DAH-1500i. Sound quality of the
earphones was above average.
PRODUCT FEATURES
The
device is indeed a cube. The word mobiBLU on the front
has a holographic finish, giving it a high-class look. On the left
side, there is a menu and hold/time/A-B memory button (depending
for what duration it is pressed).
On
the right side, the navigation buttons are reminiscent of that of
the iPod shuffle. The buttons feel secure when pressed.
The
rear is white. Where’s the USB and power port, you ask? All input
and output functions (audio, power, USB) are managed through the
port on top.
The
device is small — very small.
The
included case is a rubbery slide-on that protects the edges from
a fall, but fails to protect the screen.
This
is the now playing screen, which scrolls the file name in the center.
Also displayed is current volume, play status, play mode, battery
status, file bitrate, equalizer setting/SRS, elapsed time, and current
file number out of total files.
This
is the tuner screen, which displays current frequency, volume, scan
mode, battery status, listening area, stereo or mono status, and
current radio preset number. The device uses the headphone wire as
an antenna, which means, as with all players that have similar engineering,
indoor reception is poor.
Pressing the
menu button will allow you to draw up the FM record menu.
This is the main menu which is accessed by holding the
menu button on the left side. From here, you can listen to music, start
FM radio, adjust settings, or begin voice record.
The voice recording screen monitors the bitrate and time
that you’ve been recording, as well as the total time available to
record based on free memory.
In the sound settings menu, you can adjust SRS and equalizer
settings.
Via
this screen, you can select which equalizer setting you’d like to
use (including User), or whether
you’d like to turn SRS/WOW/Trubass on. You must turn on SRS/WOW/Trubass
from here in order to utilize the other SRS sound features (low,
mid, high focus / speaker size / SRS and Trubass volume) found in
the SRS settings menu. I found the best setting to be SRS, as WOW
boosted the bass a bit too much for the stock earphones to handle,
and Trubass cut down on highs a bit.
This
is the speaker size setting for SRS.
I’m still not sure as to what this feature does exactly. While connected
to a larger set of speakers, turning the speaker size setting down
seemed to make the bass a bit more deep.
Trubass
adjustment volume looks similar to SRS volume. This boosts the processed
"effect" that Trubass and SRS create.
If
you select user equalizer, you can adjust five bands to suit your
fancy. When any SRS equalizer setting is chosen, this screen is locked.
Another
great feature is date and time display, which is activated by pressing
the lock button on the left.
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The 75-page manual doesn’t The DAH-1500i is available I Charging The The Getting curious stares was easily achieved
HELP SUPPORT
skip any details on product operation. Using the device
is generally an easy experience, once you become accustomed
to where and what the menus do. Because this product
requires two-hand operation for anything short of advancing
the track or adjusting the volume, the Ease of Use
rating is slightly lower than it would have been otherwise.
OPTIONS
in several colors, and 512MB or 1GB capacities.
BUGS AND WISHES
like and dislike the fact that this device is so
small. I like it because it looks cool, and because
there is nothing else out there like this, but I
dislike it because it’s easy to lose, it’s a choke
hazard (not kidding), and it’s easy to overlook -
making it susceptible to someone stepping or sitting
on it.
didn’t like how the unit requires two hands to
operate to access some functions – one to steady
it, the other to press the button.
Track progression, play/pause, and volume controls
can be changed with one hand, but if you need to
alter an option in the menu, you’ll need to use
two.
the device via USB, while a good space and cost
safer (limiting the amount of ports and plugs required),
can be a hassle for those not tethered to desktop
computer. What if you’re on a vacation without
a laptop (gasp!)? Charging becomes impossible.
Update
– readers tell
me that you can either use an iPod USB charger,
or purchase a product such
as this, to charge the device when no computer
is available.
FM tuner is a great idea – if it worked well.
Many MP3 players that pack an FM tuner use the
headphone wire as an antenna, and although this
works somewhat well outdoors, it doesn’t indoors.
track progression was way to slow; track advance
takes about a second after pressing the button, which
is quite sluggish when you’re trying to shift through
several dozen songs to the one you want. On the same
note, there ought to be a better way to navigate
through audio files by album, artist, etc. As is,
you can view your tracks in folder tree form, two
at a time, which again, makes it slow to shift through
a few dozen songs.
PURCHASING
the best price on the DAH-1500i. They are selling the 512MB model for
around $100, while the 1GB model will cost you about $130. The iPod
Shuffle is priced almost the same, but lacks the DAH-1500i’s list of
features.
PROS
Very small
Great quality
voice recording
sound quality with SRS
earphones
display
colors available
price
(US model)
CONS
Requires
two-handed operation at times
reception
Charging
via USB is inconvenient
progression
track navigation
protect screen
Shows fingerprints
Value
Ease
of Use 
Features
Overall
OVERALL IMPRESSION
while wearing the DAH-1500i. People thought I was wearing some sort
of space-age jewelry. No, I replied, I’ve actually got a few hundred
songs within this little cube! I then asked them to guess the price
of such a technological marvel, and after I corrected their guess of
$200-$300, they wanted to know where to get one. For the same reason
that this player is one of the coolest on the market, it’s also one
of the most risky: do people really want a MP3 player this small?
Only time (and sales numbers) will tell.
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