Home > Consumer Reviews > Olympus m:robe MR-100 Digital Music Player

Ok, lets kick this off with how I wound up buying the M:Robe 100, over everything else. I broke into the world of mp3 players with a 128mb Iriver. Nothing special, but despite being a cheap player, it offered alot,(like the AM/FM Radio, which some high end players lack) and like I said, it was cheap. Anyway, about a year or so passed, and I saw the new mp3 players, and wanted somthing more.

I wanted at least a gig, and I didn't want to spend a fortune on it. So, for whatever reason I wound up checking a Radio shack today, for a good, affordable player.

Ipod..too pricy and "fad fitting", all in one multimedia players, far too expensive and bulky, and then I saw it. This little jet black thing, sitting in the display, with the marked price of 99 dollars. I also noted how much it could hold, which was 5 gig. I asked to see it a few seconds later, after confirming the price, and I was shocked. Not only was it the cheapest 5 gig player I'd seen yet, but it had SERIOUS STYLE. That jet black, turned into a mix of red and black, when it turned on, and when I used it. It had a touchpad control system, it came with a dock, USB2 cable, headphones, AC adaptor...I mean.

Would you have passed it up?

Anyway, I got home ASAP and began to tinker with my new toy. First things I did were, aside from installing the software, downloading and upgrading the firmware and software. Firmware was already updated though. I realized though, this thing had some drawbacks a few hours later.

For one, it's max volume, while being fine for me, may not be for others, who like to blast the sound so loud, that people around them hear it for miles. Secondly, the touchpad makes it very hard to keep this thing in a pocket and switch tracks or change settings, and the sensitivity of the interface became easy after about 20 minutes of learning the quirks of the player. My only other personal gripe is the battery. I am a tad annoyed I bought a player that doesn't have a user swappable battery. So now, when this thing runs out of charges, I hope that I can get another battery, otherwise, I'm out a very nice mp3 player.

However...these are minor, as the one huge flaw, is the crappy software you get, that MUST be used to sync and transfer music to the M:Robe. M-trip, is a peice of crap, no joke. It locks, it's slow at times, and often will not do what it's supposed to. Now I don't really like Itunes either, being a fan of the simple "drag and drop like a harddrive" concept. You can drag and drop files to it, but you can't play them with the player, unless you do the adding and syncing with M-trip. Some people here didn't mention that, this player can be used as an external harddrive...which can be useful, if you only use up 1 or two gig. You still have a good 2.5 gig or so left free, so why not throw stuff on it?

I already tested it, by transporting a huge 3.8 gig file, and it worked great. Not to mention the transfer speed on files, and the music, is very fast. Even on USB1, it's faster then other mp3 player transfers.

So you have a few minor complaints, and one very large one. It still doesn't sink this ship though. The M:Robe 100 is fantastic, and the best bang for your buck, if you want a nice mp3 player, that works well at playing songs, and looks great.

Trust me, the Ipod and Zen might look cool, but this thing will amaze people more, as it REALLY lights up, and not to mention, it's smaller then most models out there, but works comfortably enough for the size. It's no Ipod killer, but it was never intended to be one. What you have here is, somthing that's new, fresh, and I have no doubt, you'll see clones of this model, made by all sorts of companies.

Only other thing I can say, is get a case from the offical site...because as it was stated, this thing scratches up pretty easy. If you really do hate the interface that much though, you could buy the remote there too, but thats like 50 dollars, and really, practice with the interface will allow you to use it, without even looking at the thing.

Radio Shack had the M:Robe in stock for $130 less a $30 mail-in rebate. I have had this MP3 player for only one day, but price/performance deserves a 5-star rating. That, and I also believe it is the best looking and most durably constructed MP3 player on the market. I don't think you need to hide it in a case, because it is constructed of metal and glass. It is not going to get scratched up.

I read a lot of reviews of the M:Robe before buying it. Some earlier ones complained about it not playing loud enough, or freezing up. These problems have been fixed, so as soon as I got it out of the box, I applied the latest software updates Olympus has come up with. Just do it!

Here is the quickest way to set the M:Robe up:

Attach AC power cord to transformer, and transformer to docking station. Place M:Robe in docking station.

Attach USB cable to docking station and position near your main PC. The M:Robe will start to charge the battery. This will take about 3 hours, so you have plenty of time update software and upload CDs.

Load the enclosed CD and install the m-trip software. It will give you an option to scan your hard drive for music. Do it. I only had 4 sample music files in the Windows Media format, and I deleted them from the PC hard drive as allowed from the m-trip software. You should also register the product as you install the software. Olympus ships the product with version 1.0 of the PC software and the M:Robe also has the lowest level of firmware installed. You want the latest updates, so....

Open Internet Explorer and go to the web site:
[...]

Uploaded m-trip Music Manager Update v1.06, and m:robe 100 Firmware Update v2.17, and follow the clear instructions they provide to complete these tasks. The web site provides six different uploads. You only need the top two, so don't bother with the others.

So now you have the latest software. Start feeding music CDs into the m-trip software. It only takes a couple of minutes to upload each CD. By the time the battery is fully charged, you will have a pretty good collection of music. Now sync the M:Robe with your PC and you can start playing with this little portable music wonder.

The touch-sensitive controls work easily and smoothly. It takes some getting used to, but it is all intuitive after a short while. Play with the equalization settings. I found they all made the music sound worse, and that no equalization worked best, but you be the judge. The ear buds supplied with the M:Robe are pretty awful, but hey if you can get this player for net $100 from Radio Shack, that leaves you some extra cash for good ear phones.

Best points of this player: It looks great with its flat black glass front and bright red control lights. Olympus did a great job in designing this unit.

Worst points: The m-trip music management software is not the equal of i-tunes. For me, who listens to entire albums at a time, this is not an issue. If you think you can compose a better play list than the original artist, get the i-pod.

I got this player on one sole motive...it was cheaper than all the other players (Radio shack was selling it for $89 after rebate and coupon), when I got this the cheapest 5 gb player was around $175. I was not a hardcore music listener but I have a sense of style. So here is good part and the not so good part for all of you...

The good ones
1. Very very stylish, better than all the others
2. Cheaper than other players
3. Very intuitive controls
4. Minimalistic design

The not so good ones
1. Terrible software (I had to upgrade the firware and something else to get it play better)
2. Poor volume and equalizer settings (it sounds better with equalizer OFF)
3. Touch sensitive controls might be troublesome for a few
4. No frills (no radio, fm recorder, voice recorder, etc)

All said and done, I LOVE THIS BUY!!! because I listen to my MP3 player may be 10 hours a week max. I do not care if it has a few bad features. It was an excellent bang for the buck and the looks are unbeatable by any player in the market!!

If you are looking to buy this for the above two reasons...Go Ahead...but if you are expecting anything more..spend a little more and get something else

Like another reviewer of this item, I work at a Radio Shack. We too recently got in the M:Robe. I now own one, and I found that the following comments are true:

The volume is much too low when you get the thing out of the box. That was very discouraging for me. However, like several of its other glitches this is easily solved by going to Olympus's website and downloading updates. The volume is fine now that I've upgraded, I like my music loud and it certainly provides. When it comes to upgrades you'd better have easy access to your USB port, because removing the cord from the base while it's plugged into the AC requires either long fingernails or surgeon tools.

The software is a pain. You have to sync up the player to your playlist every time you want to add new music, and that can take a long time. However, once done, the player is easy to use. Perhaps for the next version Olympus will realize that Mp3 transfer through explorer is a much easier option. However, I did notice that one glitchy track I had (it had skips on it even as an Mp3) was fixed when I played it on the M:robe. So maybe the software does have a benefit!

When you set the player on random it can take a couple of seconds for it to decide which track to play next, that is unless it does what it loves to do occasionally, which is playing the next alphabetical track or two before picking at random again.

The headphones are highly average, even for earbuds. Mine came out of the box with uneven cord lenghts. They work, but $10 can buy you a much better pair of Sonys.

I gave the player 4/5 stars because I would have liked to have a radio with it. Also, switching tracks is a bit cumbersome, but once you figure out how it makes sense. The keypad is very sensative, but responsive as well. That all being said, once the thing's software is updated the player works fine and there aren't any major complaints, and you are getting a good deal - 5 gigs usually runs $100 more. And lets not forget how cool red looks on black!

I have a Creative Labs 256 MB MP3 which was enough for my needs because I don't get a chance to listen to music for long periods of time. I brought my husband a Creative NOMAD Jukebox Zen Xtra 40 GB MP3 Player for Xmas and he loves it. We use it when we do long distance driving. I really liked his player and it was in my opinion much better and much cheaper than the IPOD. I was looking for something with the same features only much smaller. I looked at the IPOD mini and it was too costly for only 1GB.

Then I SAW IT! Radio Shack had this really cool looking MP3 player for just $99.00 after rebate and besides the awesome look, it was 5GB. It was the exact size I was looking for to fit in my small purse. I like the fact that it displays what song is playing, who the artist is and you can even search while the music is playing.

The only complaint I have is that you have to use the same computer to download the music or it will wipe out whatever is loaded when you do a sync with the crappy software. The volume is fine for me as I am not trying to lose my hearing anytime soon. Thanks to the previous reviews, I did learn about the updates for volume control which I will be checking and downloading. The ear buds are not worth complaining about because I always use my own earbuds. Let's face it, you usually get crappy headphones with most systems anyway. My advice, tape the plastic that comes with it on the face until you get a case for it so that it doesn't get scratched up. Everyone who got the IPod, did so because of the fad. This is better than the IPod mini and I would highly recommend you get this.