MSI Mega Stick 1 - The Mini Wonder
by Andrew Ku on November 12, 2003 10:50 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
The Interface (continued)
Switching to FM mode is as simple as holding down the function button briefly. There are 10 available slots for preset stations, and pressing the menu button forward/backwards allows for 0.1MHz increment increases/decreases in frequency. The problem we have is that tuning stations becomes really tedious because the rate of increase is slow and even after releasing the button for tuning, the Mega Station continues to increase/decrease the frequency. This leaves us to resort to toggling the switch briefly to get that exact frequency down.
One of the most interesting features of the Mega Stick 1 is the ability to record FM. It does so in the same way it does voice recordings. The only difference is that FM recordings use the “F” suffix for naming, while voice recordings use “V” instead. Because the audio decoder only supports the MP3 and WMA formats, the unit is unable to playback recordings.
Within the internal settings, the user is able to specify the recording quality for voice and FM. Though, there are several settings (8,000Hz, 11,025Hz, 16,000Hz, 22,050Hz, 32,000Hz, 44,100Hz, and 48,000Hz), the quality between the high and low setting is noticeable depending on the quality of the audio source. The FM tuner source seems to be of a higher quality than the microphone implemented, which is why we heard little difference in different quality voice recordings as opposed to FM recordings.
Powering off the unit is done the same method as powering on. The only difference is that the play/pause button needs to be held down for a few seconds to confirm power off. This prevents unintentional powering off and the need for a separate power on/off button.
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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