Dell's Digital Jukebox 20 - Music, the Dell Way
by Andrew Ku on June 20, 2004 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
The Test
Our test bed was simply used to transfer files, nothing more and nothing less. Using lesser scaled system should yield similar results, so long as the system is capable of USB 2.0/1.1.| Windows XP Professional Test System | |
| CPU(s): | Pentium 4 3.0C GHz |
| Motherboard(s): | MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R |
| Memory: | 2GB Kingston HyperX PC4000 |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 120GB |
| CDROM: | Pioneer DVD(16X)/CD-ROM(40X) |
| Video Card(s): | ATI All-in-Wonder 9600 XT |
| Ethernet: | Onboard 3Com 10/100 |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Professional SP1 |
| Video Drivers: | ATI Catalyst 3.8 |
Battery charging specs of the Dell Digital Jukebox:
- DC power: full charge in 6 hours
- USB charging: full charge in 7.5 hours (battery must have 25% charge for USB charging and unit must be powered off)
We should note that we encountered an interesting problem when we were testing our Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra and Dell Digital Jukebox. By coincidence, we ended up using our multimedia test bed to benchmark our MP3 players, which consists of an Asus P4R800-VM motherboard based on the 9100 IGP chipset. For whatever reason, the USB drivers seem to have some sort of a conflict with the Jukebox series of Creative's MP3 players, which includes the Dell Digital Jukebox.
The problem occurred when we tried to transfer large amounts of MP3s or data files. For whatever reason, the MP3 players would lock up and crash after about the third file. Deleting large amounts of MP3s or data files weren't an issue, but adding them was. This seems to be the greatest problem of the problems out there, but the reasons behind it are various, according to the Creative's knowledge base web page. And, another reason to add to the list may be compatible hardware.
Our MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R based test bed didn't have any issues; neither were our Centrino based laptops. We are not sure if this is a measure of Asus' engineering or ATI's, since we have not yet had the time to test out other 9100 IGP motherboards or check out SiS, VIA, or NVIDIA based systems. Either way, the only thing we know for sure is that there is something definitely wrong with the P4R800-VM, despite our attempts at updating the BIOS and drivers. When we get more free time on our hands, we will look into it.
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gettinbranded2003 - Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - link
I question the timing of this review...Dell will be releasing a new version of the DJ later this summer.EdvardGrieg - Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - link
I agree, it is getting annoying in the 'final' words that Andrew is claiming that nothing is better than the iPod, when he hasn't really tested anything that would seriously challenge the iPod (ie iRiver and Rio). Further, he seems to dismiss both companies as not even existing. I believe that the Karma had the second highest sales last quarter, right behind the iPod, and iRiver definetely does huge business (moreso on the flash side i believe), but their HD units are still top notch.I hope that Andrew has some of these other units on the way as well.
P.S. hohoho: it's just Rio Karma, no more 'sonic' Rio is actually now part of D&M holdings...yeah, that would be Denon and Marantz :-D
cdamion - Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - link
Hello
I bought 2 weeks ago what to my knowledge is the World's smallest MP3 Player with a 20Gb USB2 Hard Drive and with Photo Wallet function.
It's a lot smaller than the iPOD and any other Hard Drive MP3 Player I know. I'm using it extensively and I love it.
Advise a Review of it: Archos Gmini 220.
cabal427 - Monday, June 21, 2004 - link
I currently own the DJ 20 and it's great!It should also be noted that through the firmware/driver updates it is possible to now store ANY type of file in data mode as well as to copy the data/music to and from the DJ onto any computer.
http://support.dell.com/FileLib/Type.aspx?c=us&...
Another nice thing w/ the DJ is that because it's based upon the Creative Zen the linux drivers for the Zen also work w/ the DJ and you can access it as a removeable filesystem from within most of the Linux Distros.
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/mess...
hohoho - Monday, June 21, 2004 - link
Sorry, I should have been more specific. I meant it would be nice to see more reviews of mp3 players that are directly competing with the Ipod with similar credientials. By this, I mean the Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox Zen, Creative Touch, Sonic Rio Karma 20, iRiver IHP 20/40 GB, Pogo Ripdrive, etc. This is why I was pleased with the Dell Jukebox review since it was part of that competitor group. Most of the other reviews, with the obvious exception of the Apple Ipod have dealt with the dumbed down micro MP3 players which most people aren't in the market for as much as Ipod style players. At least for most computer junkies :)nord1899 - Sunday, June 20, 2004 - link
Why not also review the Rio Karma or the iRiver iHP-120/140?Having just upgraded from a Nomad 3 JB to the iHP-140, I doubt I will ever use a Creative product again. Also the iRiver is significantly cheaper than the iPod. The Rio Karma has also gotten rave reviews elsewhere.
The iPod is not the only player out there you know.
Oxonium - Sunday, June 20, 2004 - link
A good review but I would have like to have seen some side-by-side photos of the Jukebax next to an iPod. Since people who look at the Jukebox will likely cross-shop an iPod, it would be nice to have seen this.Wesley Fink - Sunday, June 20, 2004 - link
hohoho -Andrew has been doing MP3 player reviews for quite a while. If you click the audio tab at the start of the page you will find many of the reveiws you requested have already been done.
DaCode - Sunday, June 20, 2004 - link
If, like you say, the interface is Creative's, you may want to take a look at a tool I once found for a friend with a Nomad 2.It enables transfer of files from AND TO the pc.
In 'My Computer' you don't only see the device butr als 'The Jukebox' (with the songs) as a usable harddisk.
It's called NotMad Explorer :
http://www.redchairsoftware.com/notmad/
Maybe nice to add to the test
hohoho - Sunday, June 20, 2004 - link
It's nice to see an Mp3 player review at Anand. Any chance we will be getting any more of these reviews? I'd be interested to see how the Iriver, Rio and Creative stack up against each other, and I'd also like to see what's so amazing about the Apple Ipod that puts it above the rest in the game. There aren't many decent sites to find good MP3 Player reviews as the one given here.