After being pounded on this List for not considering alternatives to the iPod I foolishly succumbed and bought a player from Coby. I now appreciate the iPod more than ever.
I wanted a player with a speaker, which Apple does not make. So I bought a Coby MP735, which has a pair of speakers for about $50. At full volume it is possible to listen to the speakers if you stay close to the player and are in a perfectly quiet room. Under more normal circumstances the speakers are useless. When recharging the unit heats up slightly (as most of them do). The problem is that the front panel is glued on with a glue that releases when warm. So the top half of the front panel pops off every time. The glue seems to be getting weaker with each recharge. The unit has a track-pad control with 6 hot spots, a button on the side, and an on/off/hold switch on the side. The track-pad control does different things at different times. The hot spots and the side button do different things depending on how long they are pressed and the current state of the unit. With so many buttons and so many modes learning to use the player is a complex task with many things to remember. The buttons have a very finicky touch so it is very easy to overshoot your goal. Selecting a patricular folder and then a particular file usually takes several tries. The display sometimes shows useful information and sometimes doesn't. For example, when playing it shows the file number, like "6/20" for the 6th file with 20 in the folder. But when you scroll through the folder this information is absent. Having that number would be so useful with podcasts that all have the same title. It remembers neither the file nor the location in the file that was playing at the time the init is shut off. If you simply put the unit on hold the battery will drain. The overall feel is of fragility. The front panel is popping off after just a few days of use. The side button and switch are wobbly. It probably will not survive a fall or even much regular use. Grrrr! ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
