M:robe Tries to Do Too Much
Portable multimedia player and camera shows some promise, but suffers drawbacks.
Combine a small hard drive, a good-size LCD, and a built-in digital camera, and you might have the ultimate portable multimedia box. Pint-size audio players and photo viewers abound, but Olympus's $500 M:robe 500i is the only player I've seen to add a digital camera to the mix. I have to give Olympus credit for a great concept, but I think it's a hat trick the company does not quite pull off.
I tested a shipping version of the (just) pocketable device, which plays WMA and MP3 music files, displays photos on its 3.7-inch color screen, and provides a built-in 1.2-megapixel camera.
As a music player, the 4.3-by-0.8-by-2.9-inch M:robe is a little bulky compared with the ubiquitous IPod. The audio quality was about par for small players I've tested, and the in-line remote is handy.
Digital photos I transferred to the M:robe looked pretty good on the device's 640-by-480-pixel screen, but shots I took with its camera were flat and darker than I like.
Operating the M:robe is simple enough. You get an on/off switch, but you handle everything else by touching the screen and the fairly simple menu system. In use, however, a noticeable delay usually occurred as the M:robe accessed its hard drive and responded to a selection.
Battery life was good: I got about 2.5 hours playing both audio and slide shows, 8.5 hours playing audio alone.
A few extra features would make the next M:robe more attractive. I'd like to be able to connect my digital camera directly, and a media slot would be a nice addition.
Tracey Capen
