Samsung YP-T7Z MP3 Player Review

This isn't my first MP3 player, but it might as well be since I didn't use my previous one much, mainly because it was a Sony and they had this bitchy anti-piracy software you had to use which made things really complicated. So, this is my review of my first real MP3 player. Here are some of the main features. I'll go through each one to explain what it is and my thoughts on it.

Samsung YP-T7Z ($199)

- 1GB Flash Storage Device
- FM Tuner & Recorder
- MP3/Line In Recording
- Color LCD (65K Color)
- JPEG Image & Text Viewer
- 10 Hr. Built-In Li-Polymer Battery
- Voice Recording
- Clock Function (Alarm, Programmed FM Recording)
- Aluminum Body/Overall Design
- Package Extras
- Disadvantages/Conclusion

1GB Flash Storage Device

Since storage is the backbone of any MP3 player, this section will be the longest. MP3 players basically fall into two categories: Hard Drive based and Flash based. Hard drives are used in every computer, but only recently has technology allowed them to be so small. They consist of a very thin (almost paper-like) disc which spins very fast and is read by a type of needle (kind of like a record player, if you're old enough to know what that's like). Your files (i.e. MP3s) are stored by being written onto this disc. When you access your files, the disc starts spinning and the needle finds them which allows you to use the file. iPods are hard drive based MP3 players.

Flash is a type of storage found in MP3 players, digital cameras, USB storage devices, video game memory cards, and recently have been integrated into cell phones. Flash media is called "Solid State" media because it has no moving parts, unlike hard drives. Possible benefits of this is that because there is no disc that needs to "spin up," accessing your files is probably a little faster on a flash player (although I doubt anyone would notice the difference). Also, because there are no moving parts, there is less chance of damage to the components or scratching of the disc if the player is dropped.

The major difference between flash and hard drive based MP3 players is the storage capacity. Basically, a hard drive has more capacity than flash does. For example, flash based MP3 players generally come in 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB (1,000MB = 1GB). So, my Samsung is large for a flash player. The relatively new iPod Shuffle is a flash based player that comes in 512MB and 1GB. On a side note, Comcast (cable tv provider) is offering a free MP3 player if you sign up for their high speed internet, but it's a 128MB player, so it's very small overall. Some flash players, however, have a removable card which allows you to simply purchase a new, larger capacity memory card for it if you want more storage down the road.

Hard drive based MP3 players come in all kinds of sizes. The current iPod is 20GB ($299). The iPod photo comes in 30GB ($349) and 60GB ($449). The iPod Mini comes in 4GB ($199) and 6GB ($249). Why does all this matter? Because MP3s are generally 3.5 - 4 MB each. That means that a 1GB player can hold approximately 250-300 songs (however, you can record/download at a smaller bitrate to get more storage out of it without noticing much quality difference - try 128kbps). That's a lot of songs, but most young people have thousands in their collection. So, if you're looking to store all your songs on your MP3 player, go with a large hard drive based one. I only want to keep my most recently downloaded songs on it for use at the gym or in my car, so 1GB is enough for me (it also comes in 512MB but it's casing is blue). Regardless, as you can see, size does matter.

FM Tuner

This is one of the best and most useful parts. You can basically listen to the radio on this MP3 player. It works as advertised. As with any radio, there can be interference, but moving the player around can usually bring better reception. There are 20 presets which is also nice. This is useful for me because the gym I go to (and most modern gyms) have TVs that broadcast their audio over an FM station, which means you can listen to the audio of the program by simply tuning your radio to the designated station. My gym has six TVs so there is usually something on that I am interested in hearing. I frequently find myself listening to music and then realizing that there is a news story being discussed (or PTI is on ESPN). So, I just switch over to the FM tuner on my MP3 player and listen to the audio of it. It works very well and I can just switch back to the music (which starts where I left off) whenever I want. This is a great feature that you won't find on many MP3 players, including the iPod line.

MP3/Line In Recording

One of the best features of this device is that you can use it to record your own MP3s on it. It has a "Line In" port which allows you to plug in a cord and attach it to other devices. Basically, any device that you can plug headphones into can be hooked up to this MP3 player. For example, if you had an iPod that had a song I wanted, I could use the cord (which came with the product) and attach the two MP3 players together. You hit play on your iPod and I hit record on mine. As soon as the song is done, I now have it on my player already in the MP3 format. No converting, no extra steps. Of course, this is illegal if you don't already own that song, but unless an attorney or representative from the RIAA happens to be watching you do this, nobody will ever know. I hooked it up to the line out port on my Sirius satellite radio and was able to record off there also. So, the possibilities are quite broad and it's very easy to use. You won't find this feature offered from most big name companies (i.e. Sony, Apple, etc.) because it makes illegal file sharing that much easier.

Color LCD

This is the color screen. It's hard to buy a monochromatic MP3 player (i.e. iPod) when you see a nice, detailed color screen. It just looks a hundred times better. Not many MP3 players have them, but more are starting to come out. There are animated graphics for all the menus and everything just generally looks nicer. Should you buy one just because it has a color screen? Yeah, if everything else is nearly equal.

JPEG Image & Text Viewer

A JPEG is the file format that most pictures are in. Yes, this MP3 player can store and display pictures. That's pretty cool in my book and attracted me to it. The colors are bright and the resolution is surprisingly good, but you would never want to use this as a photo album. Pictures of people can get a little pixelated and if they are not closeup then you'll have a hard time making out the faces (group photos would not be good).

The text viewer is not all that useful. Basically, every computer has a text application. Macs have Text Editor, PCs have Wordpad. Think of Microsoft Word without anything but the most basic features (i.e. bold, italic, etc.). So, you can cut and paste things from the internet into a text file and then put it onto the MP3 player for reading later. I would probably hate my life if I had to read anything more than a couple paragraphs on this because of the small screen size - approx. 15 words can be displayed before having to go to the next page. However, it could be useful for something like a grocery list. Mainly because it would take around the same time to make on the computer and put on the device as it would to write on a piece of paper. Would anyone ever do this? Yeah, techno-dorks would love it.

10 Hr. Built-In Li-Polymer Battery

Battery life is usually a top concern when buying an MP3 player (although I'm not sure it should be). This player can go for 10 hours. Both the standard iPod and iPod Shuffle have 12 hour capacities. But new players (Sony in particular) are boasting 50-70 hour battery lives. So, this may be a concern. However, a lot of people have a bad habit of charging their MP3 players everyday or whenever they think about it. This has the effect of reducing the overall battery life (you're supposed to use it until the battery is completely drained and then recharge it). But, if you can't break this habit, then overall battery life may not matter for you if you're just going to use it for an hour each day and then recharge it.

Voice Recording

I'm not big into voice recorders, but this device allows you to record a voice memo (edit: a reader emailed me to ask whether there is indeed a 5 minute limit on voice recordings as I had indicated originally. I do not recall why I thought that, but there is no limit mentioned in the manual, so I may have been mistaken - Thanks Bryan). The player has a built in microphone and it works fine. I imagine it could be quite useful for people who need or like voice recording.

As for the quality of the voice recording, I only used it twice. I never use voice recorders so I may not know what to listen for. One of the recordings was a 5 second memo which sounded fine but I really wasn't paying close attention. There certainly was not any crackling or pops and I was able to understand what I was saying in the recording. The second recording was just a 30 second test where I placed the recorder right in front of the gear shift in my car while driving. It was able to clearly pick up the radio show I was listening to and I could even hear my engine very clearly. However, I don't know how this translates to other uses, especially when the audio source may be a considerable distance away from the recorder.

Clock Function

It keeps time. Sweet. It also can act as an alarm clock, but since most people have a cell phone that can do the same, it likely won't be used much. A more useful function is that you can set the timer to record an FM radio station at a particular time (i.e. Howard Stern), which records it as an MP3 file. That can come in handy when jogging or at the gym later in the day.

Aluminum Body/Overall Design

Pretty self-explanatory. Not plastic, not metal. It looks nice and feels like it is well made. The buttons feel very precise and definite when pushed. There is a little wiggling or looseness in the joystick used to navigate the menus and files, but I didn't notice it until testing it for this review. The joystick is actually quite useful. When at the gym, I use the belt clip (which came with the purchase) and keep it on my hip. My shirt covers it completely while working out. When I want to change songs or the volume, I just nudge the joystick in the appropriate direction through my t-shirt.

There is one annoying thing about the casing of this player. It has a little metal hoop that comes out of the top of it so you can hook it to a necklace and hang it around your neck (you can see it above in the second picture). The annoying part is that the hoop extends out and goes into the casing very freely, which means that it jiggles around and makes noise if you shake it. I imagine I could break it off or pry it out if I really wanted to (which is what I did with my old Sony), but I shouldn't have to. You would never notice it unless holding and moving it in front of you, but I imagine I could come up with a better design in less than a half-hour if a company was paying me to.

This thing is small. It is easily one of the smallest MP3 players around. Certainly one of the smallest with a screen. It is also very light. Light to the point that it doesn't feel real. That could be good or bad depending on your preferences.

Package Extras

The player comes with lots of extras:

- "Bud" style Earphones
- Power Cord
- Belt Clip
- Necklace Clip
- Cord for Line Recording
- USB Cord

Disadvantages/Conclusion

One of the main things I don't like about this player is the difficulty in making a playlist. It's confusing and certainly not as user friendly as an iPod. Also, navigating through songs takes a while because you have to push the joystick to get past each one. On an iPod, the "click wheel" allows you to scan past dozens of songs in just a couple seconds. With the Samsung, you have to click once for each song which can take a while if you have a long playlist. Finally, when copying songs over to it, some of the files appear on the player in duplicates, which causes the device to crash when you try to play that song. All you have to do is erase the duplicates and it then works fine, but it shouldn't create the duplicates in the first place.

Overall, I love this little MP3 player. I've looked at most MP3 players available on the market and this one has almost every feature available aside from an FM Modulator/Transmitter (broadcasts your music over an FM station for use with your car or home radio). It is easily one of the smallest and feature rich MP3 players available. Feel free to post any questions or comments you may have, unless you are just going to bitch about how long this review is. If you want to see a one minute video review of this player, check out this link. As a final note, make sure to check online prices if you decide to buy the YP-T7Z. I can't remember the name, but I found one seemingly reputable store in New York that was selling it for around $167 with shipping of around $7. Thanks for reading my review.

Update: I decided to return this device after realizing that it was ridiculous for me to continue downloading songs, burning them to CDs, switching them with the CDs in my 6-disc CD changer, and then wishing I could listen to an obscure song on an unlabeled CD I made 6 years ago. So, I opted to buy an iPod Mini 6GB and put every song I've ever liked on it from my CD collection (over 600 songs). Now, I don't have to bother with my CD changer and can listen to any song I want at any time. It's quite nice. Regardless, my opinion of the Samsung is unchanged, it's capacity was just too small after I decided to use my MP3 player to hold my entire library.