(this is a long review of a very basic player, so you might just want to skip the text and look at the pictures (which suck cause my good camera is down), and the conclusion at the bottom)
Being a cheap bastard, and a default no-Apple guy, I didn't want to spend $299.00 on an Apple iTouch (iPod Touch). I also didn't need a browser, since it's only wifi.
So, since a reliable memory company (SuperTalent) came out with a knockoff, I figured I'd try it.
So, $96.00 and a few days later, I received the Supertalent Vidego28 4gb player.
Now, I've jetted down to the Apple store to check out the iPhone, and how it navigates, and that's the same interface as the iTouch. The software on the Apple products is probably...100x better than this one. Probably because it is an actual mini-OS, while the Vidego28 doesn't have an OS, it's a very basic MP3 interface.
But I'm still giving this player an 80% score. It's a cheap knockoff, and I expected very little. I'm assuming the iTouch would get close to 100%, losing points only for the lack of FM radio and recording, and expandability. So let's get started:
Hardware:
By specs, the iTouch is slightly slimmer than the Vidego28 (8mm vs 14mm), and the iTouch is a touch longer, wider, and heavier. Battery life is similar, with the iTouch giving you more audio time (22 hours vs 15) and the same video time (5 hours).
To give you an idea of the size, my Razr2 phone is pretty much the same size as the Vidego28.
It's actually a very solid-feeling player, with a hard shell back (probably an alloy like some laptop cases). The front is hard plastic with a non-glass screen. The only part I'm worried about is the ON slider button - I have a feeling after sliding it to the right a few thousand times, it could break off.
On top is the power button slider (hold to the right for 2 seconds), along with a standard mini-USB connector for charging and transfer, and the standard headphone jack.
On the bottom is the mini-SD slot, covered with a very easy-to-lose rubber cover.
On the front are 3 hardware buttons - Main Menu and the up and down buttons (used for volume during audio, left/right for games, or forward/back for photos).
There is a speaker above the screen, and a mic below the screen. There are no controls on the sides or back.
The screen does have a very faint touch grid (a bunch of dots), like the iPhone does (according to some iPhone users). It isn't noticeable, but if you look hard, you can see it on some backgrounds. It's really just a PDA touchscreen. The player does come with a stylus that you can use instead of your finger, but you can use either. Viewing angles aren't good.
Software:
This is the first problem. While the top screen looks nice with it's appley icons, that's about it. Below that menu, it's all very basic MP3-type interfacing, although you do get to use touch icons. I really wasn't expecting Coverflow or anything, but a nice background would've been nice.
Plus, sometimes you can do a single tap, sometimes it takes two pushes - like when you go into a folder, you have to select the folder, then tap again to open it. blah.
File loading: (all types)
Basically, this player is a blank slate - you can load any files of any type, like a portable hard drive, but the alternative to that convenience is a complete lack of playlists or even decent navigation. This means you have to set up your own folders.
I have all my mp3 tracks in the album folders anyway, but a playlist feature would be freaking nice. So I just drag the folders from my library over to the player, then select a folder to play. It will run through the entire folder, then go to the next one, but that's the extent of the mp3 playback.
Audio (mp3):
The audio is actually quite good through the headphones. The included headphones were fine, but I use my own decent pair, and it sounded better through mine.
You can also enable the speaker easily, but it's a single small speaker, and I wouldn't suggest using it unless you were just showing someone a video on your player.
You get various equalizer default settings (rock, pop, classical, etc), so you can play around with it til it sounds good to you. You can also manually set it with a 5-slider equalizer.
Oh, it also has lyrics support, if you download a .lrc file that corresponds with your mp3, and it will display the lyrics on the screen. I guess this is for some type of karaoke, but I'm no Harry Connick Jr, so I'll leave that one alone. It does work, though.
I was happy with the sound quality, so it definitely passes that test. The player also plays WMA, but I didn't test it.
FM Radio:
It's an fm radio - I can't live without it, and I won't buy an mp3 player that doesn't have it.
It has an auto-set, so I triggered that and it found 20 stations and preset them for me. You can do it manually, too. Good volume, good reception, no complaints. It also records FM radio, which I tested. Another passing grade.
(you can't see those lines in real life)
Video:
The player will play only mpeg4 avi, and it bundles an AVI converter for your PC. I threw the Crysis video in it, and it converted it down to 86mb from something like 350mb. With this type of display, it's not high definition or anything, sporting a 320x240 262k display on a 2.8" screen.
It looks decent, it plays without skipping, but it's nothing I'm going to watch a full movie on anyway. You lose some of the detail during compression, like the details on a black weapon, but overall it's decent. Definitely a passing grade, but nothing to write home about.
Photos:
You can simply drag and drop pictures onto the player, again using your own file system, since there is nothing like a photo browser. It will run a slideshow through all your photos, with a set time in between photos (set by you), or you can just touch the forward or back icon.
The nice thing is that it will automatically display wide photos in landscape mode, and taller photos in portrait. No accelerometer or whatever the hell Apple has, but an ability I was glad to see.
Photos were clear and sharp. Definitely a passing grade. Not outstanding, but good.
Suck factor: You can't listen to music or radio while viewing pictures.
eBook reader:
Since nowhere in the specs did it say there was an eBook reader, I was surprised to see it. I have no eBooks to read, but I can see that it displays at least basic .txt files, and it will slowly scroll down the file (you can set the speed) so you can read without constantly hitting the forward button. I have no idea what other types of text files it can read, but I threw a .doc file on there, no luck.
I would NEVER read more than a page or two on a device this small, but it would be useful to throw a Contacts file on there or something. Otherwise, it's kind of useless for me. Passing grade, I guess. Rarely use it.
Microphone recording:
You can record voice through the mic on the front. That is all. Passing grade. Will never get used by me.
File Navigator:
You can use the file navigator to look through all your files, and play them. A nice feature, I guess. Very basic.
Game:
There is a tetris game bundled on here. I won't play it. I have a feeling that banging on those hardware buttons will eventually trash them, and I have a PSP (thanks Yang!), so meh. Maybe a strip poker game or something would be fun.
Settings:
There are quite a few settings to play with, from Music, radio, recordings, display brightness, and more. I won't go over them. You can also do a firmware upgrade through the USB cable connected to your PC, so I'm going to write down all my suggestions for Supertalent and hope there is an upgrade someday. I won't hold my breath.
Conclusion:
It's no iTouch, for sure, so don't expect one. In reality, it's just an mp3 player with a touch interface, nothing more. It scores points over the iTouch with the FM radio, voice recorder and mini-SD port, but that's about it. Pictures look good, but video is lower quality due to the compression program.
It loses points mostly with navigation. Most mp3 players give you some kind of ability to create playlists, or play random, but with this one, you make your own folders to do... everything. Weaksauce.
The iPod Touch does a LOT more - not just wifi browsing, but things like an ambient light sensor, the accelerometer, coverflow, a real mini-OS, and larger display (and likely much better).
Is it worth $96.00? Probably. But no more than that. Do I like it? Yeah, I do. Do I recommend it? Only if you don't expect too much out of it. If the iPod Touch was only $199.00, I'd say buy that instead. But it's $299.00, so that's up to you.
