Kiiro CA128S MP3 Player
Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(5 out of 5)Slick puppy
When this little puppy arrived the manual was missing - at first not a good sign. However (I am no technical whizz) it took me only a few minutes to have it talking to my computer, and to download a bunch of songs. I am an inveterate backpacker, and for me this is absolutely ideal. I have 59 songs on it, the equivalent of about 7 CDs, but in a package which is lighter and occupies less space than a single CD in its case, let alone a CD Walkman. To date I have used this mainly while jogging - no moving parts means that there is no distortion of sound, and it is so light that it is hardly noticed - the heaviest component is the single AAA battery used to run it. Like others I bought my own set of earphones, as the ones supplied are pretty crude, but that is a minor fault. The only quibble I have is that the volume is pretty low - but this may be in part because I have recorded tracks at a low sampling rate in order to boost quantity. In a few years I think we all assume that a machine this size will hold the equivalent of a 100 CDs, but for the timebeing this is a good step onto the world of MP3.
And the missing manual? I emailed the customer support address, and one arrived by post the next morning, plus my few queries were eloquently addressed by email within two hours. Well impressive...
(5 out of 5)You cannot live without it!!
There have been two things that I have thought long and hard about buying recently, thinking that maybe they were unnecessary or that I could live without them. One was a bread-maker, the other was an mp3 player. Having bought both, I can honestly say that they have to be essential items! The Kiiro mp3 player is fantastic. You plug it into your computer using the lead provided, it appears as an extra drive, and you simply drag and drop your files. I have the 64Mb version and I can get about 18 tracks on it which last well over an hour. The controls are easy to operate and it is so light and small that I fix it to my watch strap with an elastic band when I'm running and forget it's there - apart from the fact that I have superb quality music in my ears. I did get some "sports ear phones" instead of the ones supplied, but that was simply because I take it running. The software needed is simple to use, though it won't play Windows Media Files so you'll need some software to rip your cds or a way of getting tracks off the net. If you want portable, good quality sound that is totally jog-proof and lasts for ages, look no further. It's great!
(5 out of 5)If you want 128mb, great sounds and looks - buy it!
Does exactly what I wanted and expected and great value compared to other players with this spec.
The unit itself is incredibly small and light, it looks good, the front is aluminium and the back aluminium effect, the buttons easy to use and logically laid out.
Set up is simple, it took me literally under five minutes from opening the box to having downloaded a full 128mb worth of mp3's.
I noted from reviews of the 64mb version that the memory was spilt into two 32mb slots (although this could be remedied by a download) however the 128mb is all one block so it is simple to transfer files across. Also, it does actually fill the 128mb in less than 1 minute.
Sound quality is excellent, the equalizer function (6 options) is adequate but I suppose it would be asking a bit much for a full equalizer! It certainly gives enough variety to allow the unit to be used with various types of headphones.
The only notable downside is the supplied headphones. The sound is only OK and they are not the most comfortable but with the player at this price I decided a decent Sony set wouldn't break the bank. Oh, and no ID3 tag recogniton but the display is so small, and do you really need it?
The unit can also be used to transfer any files from one PC to another, I find this handy to move stuff from my work laptop to my dektop.
Overall, a great 128mb mp3 player, it's simple to use, the software is straightforward (ie no need to re-encode files to a different format) and the sound quality is excellent. Just remember to get another set of plugs when you're buying this.
(5 out of 5)The portable music player i've always been looking for!
I've always held off from MP3, i thought it was just a con compared to Minidisc. Older players could barely store 64MB, and would take some time to download from a PC.. whereas Minidisc, i could choose what i wanted in an instant, and feel more liberated.. but i was always attracted to the idea of a small device that could fit sungly anywhere, hold a fair few songs, and would NEVER skip.. even G-Shock protection will skip badly when you go for a jog or something... which made my Minidisc player only any good for walking, even though it was small and slim, i could still have done with something even more compact and stronger.
Well this looked liked the ultimate solution!! and it is!
Good Points:
-- VERY small and light, basically a skinny matchbox, that feels very solid. About the size of zippo lighter actually, but much lighter. In fact the AAA battery weighs more!
-- 128MB!! which averages about 30-40 songs. With a decent PC, transfer of one album takes about 5 minutes. Which you can do while you get dressed or something.
-- Sound Quality is very good, i'm no expert, but i know what sounds crap and this seriously doesn't!! It is more than i would expect from something this size, and i have no complaints.
-- Neck Strap, you can basically just keep it on all day under your shirt, and no one not even yourself will notice it. No need for pockets at all!! The strap has a quick release, so you can attatch and remove the player easily without having to remove the strap from your neck.
-- Voice Recording, the quality is fair, but is more than passable as a mini-dictaphone! doubt i'll ever use it, but it's there! 8hrs apparently.
-- Can be used as removable media, perfect for storing files a floppy can't deal with. You basically have a 128MB Floppy disk here!
-- No openings, no worry about dust getting on any lenses, or in any removable media.. so long as the original MP3 is recorded well, then glitch free playback!! absolutely no skipping whatsoever!! no moving parts so duh!
Bad Points
-- no backlight on the LCD, so renders the LCD useless in any dim light. But at least it has an LCD unlike many other players this size.
-- not USB2.0, i don't know if any players apart from the huge 20GB ones have this, but it would have made this an absolute dream.
-- ditto for no built-in recharge system.. not the end of the world, and i imagine wasn't incorporated to keep down size.. but would have been cool.
-- button placement could have been better for blind navigation. It's hard to tell one side from the other.
-- you'll need to get new earphones if you want to really appreciate the sound the player is capable of, the supplied ones are merely average.
-- no ID3tag, no no song names, but seeing as there is no backlight, no real point.
-- could have been made splashproof for complete sports versatility, i would be worried about getting sweat all over it, and inside the buttons.
I personally wouldn't dwell too much on the bad points, because they are minimal and in comparison to the whole picture don't amount to much, and are just luxuries you get from more expensive toys, you've got to make some sacrifices, and at least no important things have been missed out on... it may be from a budget producer, and i NEVER go for crap electronics, but apart from the less than snazzy packaging, manual, and no fancy beeping noises like Sony stuff, it really feels like a strong contender for best 128MB portable MP3 player!!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
(5 out of 5)Light Small Large and nicely featured
This mp3 has a lovely chrome effect finish and is amazingly light even with the batteries in.
With a massive 128 megs of memory I was able to fit 30-32 decent sized (128Kbps) Mp3s on.
The voice recording feature works very well, only let down by a slightly poor mic (which is to be expected in such a small device), it however works fine if you have your mouth quite close the the mic.
There are only two niggles I have with the mp3 player.
1. It requires drivers (even for windows XP) which is not quite the idea if you're transferring files from one place to another without a cd (if you have to carry a driver cd it defeats the purpose).
2. It doesn't display the track names on the LCD (this isn't anything major at all but it would have been nice)
Oh and a little tip.
To get to the recording feature it's easiest to turn it off and on again THEN press M if you've already been playing MP3s