Best multimedia device money can buy...if looks are not important for you

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great multimedia playback device; support lots of file types; etc

Cons: Grey colour design for function rather than style

The Bottom Line: 
Do yourself a favour and go out and buy it

Author's Review
Bkgd: I am a travelling professional and from time to time require an MP3 recorder to record lectures. I also own an iRiver H320 that does the job but I would like to buy a backup device. In addition, I want more functions with it. So here I was researching what devices are available

Needs: Simple. The device needs to play a ton of different types of media files - video as well as music. Preferably it should have other functions as well. Upgradability is also high on my list

Competition: I have looked at what's out there. Ipod being the obvious choice. It does look cool...by itself but its functions (or lack of) leaves me wanting. It plays MP4 primarily for video so WMV, AVI are out. It can record voice...but needs a 3rd party ext mic (so much for looking good). It plays music well....but battery life is no good and when the li-ion battery dies, so goes the unit (unless you send it back to Apple and PAY). With the amount of 3rd party accessories, it does make the unit flexible; however, the unit itself is not cheap and the accessories are sometimes outright expensive. So all in all, not a machine for me. The other serious contender is the Archos latest. It does look somewhat cool too but it is also expensive and suffer some of the same drawbacks as the Ipod

Features: I come across Wolverine after reading some reviews on Amazon. They have a cheaper version (MVP red) but trust me you'd want the ESP (grey). The unit is super flexible because it play numerous types of files (MP4, WMV, AVI, DIVX to name a few). It also play music files as well. As a dedicated music player, it is lacking because it utilizes a pseudo-windows type filing system so you are not left with many playing options. It is great for playing concerts if your files are in order, if you want repeat play or shuffle play, you have to look elsewhere. Other great features are the built-in multimedia cardslot (SD, MS, Compact flash) for transferring pictures on the go, for example. Also, you can use it as an external drive if you have laptop and want to play the video file on a bigger screen, for example. To top it all, you can purchase an accessory item that enable it to record from any multimedia you want - TV, VCR, DVD, etc - if you want to have it on the go as well. For details of all the items I speak about, visit http://www.wolverinedata.com.


Pros
Great multimedia playback device; support lots of file types; good screen size and decent resolution; serve as a portable harddrive; has memory card slots for file transfer on the go; extra batteries can be purchased; harddrive upgradable for expansion; can be used as a TiVo; etc etc etc

Cons
Grey colour design for function rather than style (perhaps it serves as a security feature so not to draw unwanted attention?); music playback options can be improved; video playback of fast action (e.g. sports) marginal (screen refresh rate not sufficient)

Summary: If this is not your primary music player, do yourself a favour and go out and buy it

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