MSI Mega Stick 1 - The Mini Wonder
by Andrew Ku on November 12, 2003 10:50 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Mega Stick 1 — Supercharged USB flash drive (continued)
The buttons encompass the Mega Stick's side, predominately on the left, which can be a bit fickle to work with at times. The two major buttons remain to be the menu button/toggle and the play/pause/power on/power off button (hold down for several seconds to power down). The menu toggle acts as a track skip, while holding down the toggle acts in a seek function. The track skip gets to be a bit slow to work with because the skip time actually takes time, and holding down the toggle down too long acts in a seek function.The controls are laid out fairly naturally, as the operation of the unit feels comfortable for an uncannily small unit. With the hand resting on the back of the Mega Stick 1, the user's thumb is able to access all of the buttons, minus the hold toggle. The operation of the unit feels oddly familiar to the use of an oversized car remote.
Besides the software to format and upgrade firmware for Windows XP, the Mega Stick 1 comes with a pair of earbud-style headphones in a neck strap that utilizes 18mm drivers. We suspect that these headphones produce a frequency response range similar to that of the headphones for the iPod (20 to 20,000 Hz). However, we do not currently have the specification information made available to us.
The neck strap functions also as a carrying device for Mega Stick 1, as it also can be used as a USB flash drive. Pressing a small metallic button on the lower part of the neck strap releases the unit, but the headphones need to be detached additionally to remove the Mega Stick 1. The headphone wires are hidden cleverly within the neck strap nylon cords, something we love to see, as this reduces the clutter and protects them from damage.
Click to enlarge.
Due to the use of USB 1.1 protocol, the Mega Stick 1 cannot be charged via the host computer. Instead, plugging in the unit will power on the unit automatically, whether the hold button is enabled or not. The ability to charge is something we would love to see in future Mega Stick models.
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marqiuz - Thursday, November 13, 2003 - link
Groan,for this once, I find an article on Anandtech speaking gibberish.
First time you see such a gadget in the market?!??
It's all the rage in the Asian Market, wake up. How long has ANYONE in Anandtech gone to Japan, Korea or Taiwan, or on the web this side of the world for that matter?!??
Several brands to look at:
iriver
safa (Best of the stock - with inbuilt speaker)
samsung
hyundai
Yepp
Phillips (this one is new)
JNC
And many more, many being more cool looking than that MSI product there. As I said, this is a trendy item in Asia; going for as low as 600HK and as costly as 2000HK (for ref. 7.8hk = 1 US).
Goto this website to have a browse.
http://buycomp.hkgolden.com/default.asp
select MP3 and presto!
America is truly too far behind on this.
Andrew Ku - Thursday, November 13, 2003 - link
The JoS is a very interesting product, and the actual LCD interface does seem a bit "cleaner." The resolution for the LCD seems to be higher, but the size of the actual size of the LCD module looks to be the same size (according to their PDF actual size scale). We didn't find any information referencing its ability to playback recordings, so we will have to wait till we get one on hand to tinker around with.Btw, it is actually 88x25x16 (MP-100). To top it off, it is basically double in price (MP-100 - 256MB). The fact that it is all but scarce domestically doesn't help its case... But we will get back to this stuff some other time.
smm2k - Thursday, November 13, 2003 - link
http://www.jensofsweden.com/index.asp?page=product...or
http://www.iriveramerica.com/products/iFP-390T.asp
which do you think i should get for xmas?
Grimner - Thursday, November 13, 2003 - link
Xtian, you beat me to it :)Have been using a JoS 256 since spring. The Mega Stick lock a lot like it - sharing the layout down to the buttons. Nice touch with the replacable battery, tough.
Could the Americans, for once, be waaaaay behind Europe? LOL
Xtian - Thursday, November 13, 2003 - link
andrew Ku."Those MP3 players that have a large capacity, larger display, more features, etc... don't come as small as the Mega Stick 1, at least not yet."
Well, Jens if Sweden has it, and it's been out
for some time allready. It can playback your
voice or radio recordings, has 256Mb memory,
charge from USB and, it's 80x25x16mm compared
to MSI's 95x30x18mm.
link: www.jensofsweden.com
What I like to see now is USB2.0 interface
combined with faster flash memory to get a
better transfer rate.
/Xtian
Andrew Ku - Thursday, November 13, 2003 - link
Hello all,I would remind you guys that this is smaller than the Nomad Muvo, and it has an FM tuner (and the ability to FM record), which most others lack. Also, keep in mind that this is MSI's first MP3 player and is much smaller than almost everything on the market. The ability to charge via USB is something that AnandTech would love to see implemented in the next generation of Mega Stick, and we already cited that in the article. Those MP3 players that have a large capacity, larger display, more features, etc... don't come as small as the Mega Stick 1, at least not yet.
Btw, I have seen the Mega Stick 1 at 100 flat.
Xtian - Thursday, November 13, 2003 - link
This was the first time Anandtech made me confused about what year it is.I bought my northstar Nov 2002, and since then
numerous companies had offered all these
features, more memory, USB-charging of batteries,
playback of recorded material, larger displays,
longer battery life, smaller size, better design.
Are you sure this review is not 1+ year old?
/Xtian
yanon - Thursday, November 13, 2003 - link
Actually, there are several other companies already making similar products. I am thinking about buying one of these usb pen drive/mp3 player/voice recorders for Christmas. Andrew Ku didn't do a real good job on testing the device since he didn't even bother to come up with a qualitative testing method for sound quality and voice recording quality. I am wondering how good is voice recording funcitons because I will be using it to record class lectures. Another thing that is kind of disappointing about the Mega Stick is that it can't playback the file it records. Man, whoever designed the mega stick must be on crack since I just never heard of any audio recorder that can't play back the files it recorded.BTW guys, please give me some suggestions on which mp3 player/voice recorder to get. I prefer one that is not too expensive less $125 and has decent recording quality for recording 3 hours worth of lecture.
xionn - Thursday, November 13, 2003 - link
You guys need to get with it.Ever heard of the company ibead or 'Jens of Sweeden'? They do everything that this drive does and much more. Plus it does it much quicker.
Get with it guys, www.cnet.com has better info.
smm2k - Wednesday, November 12, 2003 - link
hmm i wonder if the iriver flash player is better or worse?www.iriver.com