Home > Consumer Reviews > Coby MP-C885 1 GB Flash MP3 Player with FM Tuner and Direct USB Drive (Black)

It worked for 3 months and it stop working after that. Customer service sucks when it comes to this company. I sent 3 emails that went unanswered, I called them and no answer, Do not purchase anything from this company!!!

**Please see the bottom of this review for an update.**

I read all the comments about this player AFTER I bought it, and I'm prepared to find I later have problems with it, but so far, I am really enjoying this item.

Pluses:

you can use this player to listen to songs you've purchased from various subscription services (not including iTunes, I think);

you need to install absolutely NO new software to your computer in order to get songs onto the player (I synced practically my whole media library at my work computer during a quick lunch break; I normally can not do anything that requires installation or changing of the computer programs already on there--no problem with this one, though!);

you can add songs to it quite easily [I just plugged the player into my usb port and synced songs from Windows Media Player 10 (which I recommend you use, even if that requires upgrading from version 9); syncing 170 songs--about 2/3 the capacity if you're using WMA files--took approximately 8 minutes];

the buttons are easy to use and the menu simple to navigate; and

the cost is extremely inexpensive.

Minuses:

battery life isn't that great (about eight hours, but it does use one AAA battery, and at least you won't have to toss the whole player once you run out of juice!);

getting to specific songs isn't that easy when you have a lot of music already on the player (opening specific files isn't as simple a task as I'd like);

the headphones SUCK (but most of them that come with players do tend to suck, so this isn't a huge deal), keep sliding out of my ears, have no padding, feel like rocks in my ears. URG.

Overall, one week in, I am very pleased. I like the quality of the sound and am enjoying having all my favorite tunes dashing about with me, strung around my neck very comfortably.


Well, I guess I spoke too soon. :-) I now am having fatal problems with this item and am about to return it to the store where I purchased it.

I now rate this item one star instead of four.

For one thing, when I tried to sync some new songs to it, I very clearly clicked on the button (on the computer screen) that said I wanted to add new songs, not override old ones, and then synced the new ones. Well, as soon as I turned the player on, the old songs were gone. Not really gone, as they still show up as taking memory space, but no longer accessible to me in any way. I try connecting the player by USB to my computer, but the computer shows that the space is taken up but will not show the songs that are taking that space. OR I will disconnect and reconnect to find that now I can access the songs BY COMPUTER but still am showing "no music" on the player itself. If I just confused you, I apologize, but that's precisely how I feel. I have almost the whole 1gb of memory used up, but only 3 songs to show for it. What a pain in the buns! To make matters worse, I've been trying to reach Coby's customer support at both the non-toll-free number and the toll-free one and can't get anything other than a busy signal. The little booklet that comes with the unit does nothing to help with this problem, and neither does the website.

Arg!

This baby is going back. Now the question is--what do I buy? I don't want an iPod. Frustration, deluxe.

Nothing wrong with it for the money. Does just what I expected it
to do: play music No problem dumping files from my pc to the device.
Turn it on and it starts playing. A small learning curve to allow access
to all the options available - not intuitive. Simple enough when you
learn how. I'm not qualified to evaluate its audio qualities, but it
suits me. One thing though, it could use a clip to attach to clothing.

Update 4 Jul 07

Well the power-on switch broke after daily usage. If you get one of these
players, then be careful not to push on the switches to hard - what ever that may be.

Update 17 Jul 07

After finally talking to Coby (no response to emails), I find that to have it fixed/replaced I must mail them the broken player including all accessory and literature with a money order for six dollars. I'm not
sure if the payoff would be worth the probable aggravation of further
dealings with this company.

Update 1 Aug 07

It cost a total of about eight bucks to send it back. They, Coby, returned me a new one within a week. It works fine, and I'm careful
not to squash the buttons.

Update 21 Aug 07

Well, I've had the replacement for three weeks and it works just great.
I use this one exclusively, and I am really satisfied. In reality, it was my wife who broke the button on the first one, so who knows. She
tends not to force things, but to get a bigger hammer.

I've used this device for about 2 weeks now and so far it has been wonderful. Sound quality is excellent, FM tuner works extremely well, and the storage capacity (1GB) was exactly what I needed. And I must also say that it is a beautiful looking piece of electronics.

When deciding to buy this player, I was concerned by some of the reviews that say it is unreliable. I figured that getting all these features for 30 bucks was worth a shot. So far I have been extremely pleased, but if I do have any problems with this player I will be sure to update this review.

Having used a simple COBY 512GB for a few days and found that with good Sony earphones it was very satisfactory with good bass (the sound is VERY changeable according to the headphones used according to my testing) I plunged for this COBY 1GB at J and R and it seemed an excellent upgrade at $34, against $20 for the 512GB at some ultra cheap place on Broadway near Wall Street.

Unfortunately the 1GB has screwed me up syncing music albums from my PC (Windows Media 11). Hasving been loaded with 500 GB of music like the 512GB COBY I then synced a number of Nat King Cole albums onto it until it was full.

Sad to report the item cannot play past Song 96 ie including only a limited number of the 12 Cole CDs added. Previously it played 106 or more like the 512MB. Now it has simply forgotten most of the latest ones by Nat King Cole I added.

Not good. There has been no damage to the player to account for this. Its software is simply unreliable. Unless the COBY support guy (very nice young guy I got through to quite easily the first time I asked him about some command puzzle) can tell me any different I shall not send it in for repair at $6 but return it to J and R and not buy another.

This is a great pity. COBY should get their software to be reliable. The FM tuner is excellent and the sound is A1. The record commands are too poorly designed for me to try that out properly yet, but I suspect that is high quality too (tiny mike holes and good pick up of sound are familiar to me from a Toshiba camera which records sound only), so it is sad if they can't get their software straight. $6? I suspect that is what it costs simply to replace the item. They expect a certain number of failures I guess.

If my experience is not very rare or unique this is a shame. This level of quality with simplicity is very attractive, Alas.

UPDATE: OK I am sorry to say I took it back to j and R and bought a Trekstor 2GB with SD Card slot for $15 more. Very glad I did. The COBY lost its Menu function as well in the last day. The Trekstor iBeat Extension is a class above the COBY so far - 2 GB instead of 1GB, SD Card slot, and the mike and voice recording very good. The FM seems good too. Two problems though. The Mike hole is tiny and on the side so it does not record the person opposite you very well unless aimed intentionally at them. And, the FM seem not to be able to distinguish between 89.9 and 90.0 MHz, though perhaps I will find out how to correct this.

The TrekStor is German and made in China and the texture of the surface and the appearance in well above the Coby, except for two rather tinny looking metal controls. The earphones are excellent, where the COBY phones were tinny.