|
Software
Creative
has bundled Media Source with this MuVo player.
A
lot of SoundBlaster cards have this software bundled with
it. In this case there are some additional drivers
added with the Media Source bundle.
Media
Source comes with three programs which are Media Source
audio converter, MS player and MS organizer.
The
installer makes sure you have unplugged the MuVo before
you start installing.
Media Source Audio Converter
This
is a program used to convert your wav, mp3 or wma files
into different wav, mp3 or wma files.
This
program is very straightforward and easy to use. You can tell which file(s) need converting and where to put them.
Media Source Organizer
This
program is much like Apple’s iTunes.
It is a simple to use tool for organizing and uploading
your music into a portable device.
When
you select the MuVo within the organizer you get an extra
set of options from which to choose.
SmartFit
allows you to compress the songs you put on the MuVo to
fit into the space available.
I
would have thought that initialize in this case meant a
sort of refresh of the files available on the flash drive.
What
it actually means is that you can reformat the flash drive.
Media Source Player
This
is a general multimedia player by Creative. It
plays most of the favourite music formats that are available.
As
you can see from the screenshot, the player is part of the
organizer and the 2 programs share a common menu with the
same options.
In
the player, it is possible to record music files and play
music files. In the organizer, you can go one step further
and organize the files properly.
One
option I like is the music analyzer option.
This
feature allows you to organize your music files by tempo
or volume. Now
you can quickly make play lists that are automatically sorted
by speed or sorted by volume levels. It
saves you the trouble of sorting them yourselves.
Windows Media Player 10
Of
course Windows Media Player recognizes your MuVo instantly;
but, it recognizes it as a removable disk.
I
didn’t have Windows Media Player 9 to test the MuVo with
and I didn’t feel like downgrading. ;-)
Here
you can also organize your music files and store them on
your flash drive.
As
you can read in the feature list, the player only weighs
about 33 grams without a battery… that’s very light.
The
weight with a battery is about 39 grams; and, with case
and belt clip, it weighs about 59 grams.
The
playtime for the player is stated to be approximately 15
hours. Right now I’m on 7 hours and the battery indicator
is still saying it’s full or good. I
think 15 hours sounds about right.
One
problem I did discover though…I tried plugging the flash
drive into the front port of a Dell Optiplex; and, depending
on how you view the problem, the flash drive is a little
too thick to properly fit or the space for USB devices on
the front of the casing is too small.
As
you can see the flash drive can’t be plugged in any deeper
and that causes Windows not to detect it.
Of
course, any USB connector will do and there was one in the
back of the casing so I used that.
It was a bit inconvenient to do it that way; but,
it wasn’t a big problem.
Conclusion
The
3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After discussing
this concept with users as well as companies and vendors
we work with, 3DVelocity have decided that where necessary
we shall aim to introduce our 'Dual Conclusions Concept'
to sum up our thoughts and impressions on the hardware we
review. As the needs of the more experienced users and enthusiasts
have increased, it has become more difficult to factor in
all the aspects that such a user would find important, while
also being fair to products that may lack these high end
"bonus" capabilities but which still represent
a very good buy for the more traditional and more prevalent
mainstream user. The two catergories we've used are:
The
Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely to put
price, stock performance, value for money, reliability and/or
warranty terms ahead of the need for hardware that operates
beyond its design specifications. The mainstream user may
be a PC novice or may be an experienced user, however their
needs are clearly very different to those of the enthusiast,
in that they want to buy products that operate efficiently
and reliably within their advertised parameters.
The
Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all the things
that the mainstream user cares about but is more likely
to accept a weakness in one or more of these things in exchange
for some measure of performance or functionality beyond
its design brief. For example, a high priced motherboard
may be tolerated in exchange for unusually high levels of
overclocking ability or alternatively an unusually large
heat sink with a very poor fixing mechanism may be considered
acceptable if it offers significantly superior cooling in
return.
The
Mainstream User ~
The
MuVo is a feature rich, easy to use portable audio player.
It’s
small and easy to take along and nicely designed.
If
you shop around you probably find one sharply priced, making
this the ideal unit to buy.
The
Enthusiast ~
It’s
the all in one portable player for you simple music listening
needs. You
can use it as a memo recorder or portable radio as well.
The
small sturdy design makes it easy to take along with you.
We're
always looking for ways to make our reviews fairer. A Right
To Reply gives the manufacturer or supplier of the product
being reviewed a chance to make public comments on what
we've said. They can explain perhaps why they've done the
things we were unhappy with or blow their own trumpet over
the things we loved. It's easy for us to pick a product
apart but sometimes things are done a certain way for very
specific reasons.
Should
Creative decide to exercise their "Right To Reply",
we'll publish their comments below:
|
