Home > Consumer Reviews > Coby MP-C886 MP3 Player with 1 GB Flash Memory, FM Radio & USB Drive

Two days latter it stopped transfering files from USB port. Keep disconecting and I can't transfer a single song. I didn't expect it to last forever but I bought a MP3 player and after two days I only have a walkman.

Lesson learned: It's worth spending some extra cash and buy a better quality one.

At first glance, this seems like a great device for a great price. However, it comes with a ton of small problems. The big one? There seems to be an inhibitor problem that's connected with the device's internal organizer. Sure, it can hold up to 1 GB of songs, HOWEVER, the big thing is that because of the way the organizer navigator works, you can only hold up to 99 Songs on the thing! And no more! This is because the navigator isn't designed to go into the triple digits, I imagine. So by the time you hit song 99, the device won't allow you to put in any more songs, without erasing some to make space.

And like many digital players, the ordering mechanics aren't perfect. If you erase a song from your play list, the next song you put on there will "replace" the old slot the old song had, instead of moving to the end, like you'd expect. So say, I have 30 songs on there and I erase Song 7. Instead of my 31st Song going to 31, it'll go to Slot 7, where the old one used to exist. Now, this isn't a big problem if you only erase one or two songs, but if you happen to erase a lot, then your new songs will be all over the place. I like to keep my tracks organized so that I'm not searching forever to find what I want to hear, but the way they have new songs "replace" the old song slots make things very disorganized. It would just be easier if the songs were all auto-organized by the date you added them in, meaning that the newest songs are always the last on the list.

Also, the device sometimes freezes when you turn it on. It's bad enough each time you turn it on, you get a twitch of scrambled digital noise in your ear. But at least, that serves as a confirmation of it being on and functional. Sometimes, though, it'll freeze between cutting on (you'll know this when you don't ear that digital static in your ear) and the only way to fix this problem is to take out the battery. Otherwise, it'll forever be stuck on that blue entry screen.

Another thing, the FM Tuner doesn't seem to work, at all! Now I know that most people, myself included, don't bother to listen to the radio for music anymore, but this too, will also freeze on you and the only way to fix it is to take out the battery. And since I'm bringing it up, this thing gobbles AAA batteries like candy! One Triple-A Duracell battery will last you maybe a week or so. Or, if you listen to it all day long nonstop, about 12 to 16 hours. That sounds like a long time, but it's way too short in reality and you'll constantly be switching out batteries, unless you rarely use it.

The good things about this MP3 Player...

The navigator, outside of it limiting you to only 99 songs, is helpful in finding songs. The seven color LCD display looks very nice (although it's impossible to read anything with the red and blue colors on), the device lets you delete songs on it without having to plug it into a computer, which is nice. You do this by going to Delete Files in the menu and using the RECORD button at the bottom to highlight the deleted file. You use the Play button to delete it. It took me a while to figure that out. The record function works nicely and records voices (or anything else) well.

All in all, it's not a bad deal for the price, but be warned. It comes with a bunch of little problems with it. It's not really on the level of a cheaper I-Pod, but it works well as something temporary to listen to songs with until you get something better, like an actual I-Pod. If I had to suggest one of these Coby mini Mp3 players though, I'd suggest the Coby MP-C885 model over this one, the MP-C886. It may be cheaper and have a much uglier display menu, but it works better. And the buttons are much easier to use. Plus, it doesn't drain batteries as quickly. The only real difference, other than it being cheaper, is that it lacks the voice recorder and FM Tuner. And the menu layout is more scrunched together with the much smaller LCD display.

This is an okay player, but it's far from perfect and not without it's fair share of problems. But for around $25-$30, it's not the worst Mp3 player out there, that much can be said.

I bought the Coby MP3 player because it is compatible with my Library's downloadable audio book system. The iPod is not compatible and costs a lot more anyway. The Coby costs the same as a memory stick without playing capabilities. The sound quality of the player is great and the FM radio works fine too. I have not tried out the recorder yet.

pros: this device is small as well as easy to use. it holds a lot of music. i just bought it for the gym and found myself using it all the time. cons: the ear buds cord could be longer

I have used this mp3 player quit a lot. I have not had any problems with it. I read some reviews that said it was difficult to download songs to this specific unit and that the unit was cheap. I have not experienced any of these issues. I just plugged it in and downloaded music. I take this thing hunting, fishing, and working out without any problems. I do wish it had a belt clip or some kind of clip. Other than that, it is perfect. I recommend this item to everyone.