For Eyes and Ears: Review Samsung YP-S2 MP3 Player

The new Samsung MP3 player has the curves of a temptress

I have a thing for shiny little gadgets. The bling factor makes them interesting and I am not even talking about their interesting shapes. The new forms that gadget companies give their products gives the same old technology an interesting outlook. But trust me, I know, like my wife says, I am a dog when it comes to technology, always salivating. So you shouldn’t be surprised when I say the new Samsung MP3 player is an eye candy. Whatever term you would want to use for it, this device lives up to it.

To be available in India soon, the Samsung YP-S2 is a stylish, multi-hued acquisition. The 1GB version costs about $39 and besides the five different colours it’s available in, it also has some nice features. It charges using the USB port of your PC—and there are no silly connectors on the device to spoil its silhouette. The USB cable plugs directly into the same port that is used for the earphones (which, of course, means you can’t listen to music while your are charge it). And every time you transfer data from the PC, like most other new-tech devices, this gets charged too.

Another great feature about the YP-S2 is the multicoloured LED lights that glow when the device is charging. What is more, it also indicates to you the battery status. Yes, I admit this is more a visual treat than technology, but then as I said, this MP3 player is an eye candy.

Well, I was talking about the shape too. The YP-S2 is designed to look like a pebble, quite reminiscent of the Moto Pebl phone. The aesthetics, therefore, are excellent. To top it all, all the buttons—stop, play, pause, next track, last track—are neatly arranged on the underside, leaving the eye to ogle at the smoothness of it all.

The player supports MP3, OGG and WMA, making it a top buy. However, the 1GB storage limit may leave you a bit miffed (okay, but at an average of 5MB a song, you can fit in about 200 songs—how many do you want to walk about with?).

Most of the alternative music players other than the iPod Shuffle now feature a screen, however tiny, for pictures and videos. That is what is missing in the YP-S2.

If you can live with that, there is just one other downside to this cutesy player—it is not finger-print proof. So with the samosas and the chips that snack on, not to mention India’s myriad fried delights, and the dust around, you could end up with a haggard-looking device in a few days. But I’ll worry about that later. My priority is to get my grubby hands on it first.

So there. If you want to stand out in that college crowd or simply love gadgets, and don’t mind having just another MP3 player, look forward to the launch of the YP-S2 Launch. It’ll be worth it.

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The Above Article was Printed in the Indian Express, on Sunday, April 27, 2008