Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update, 10-16-2015: Previously rated 4 stars. Now downgraded to 2. Further use proves this is not well made. After about 6 or 7 months, the buttons have all gone berserk, rendering the unit totally un-usable. Now, each button function does something other than what's intended, i.e. "next" gets you "back", "up" gets you "down", etc., always in some random arbitrary (not predictable) way. Bad design and/or workmanship not meant to last. To make it worse, I unwrapped a 2nd one (brand new) that I had, which has the same firmware version number, but a later production date (not sure if firmware is the same), and there are numerous problems with the software functioning which the older unit did not have, like suddenly shutting itself off, limited function with the SD card (no return to "current play", etc), along with a bunch of other issues. I'm done with this. Conclusion: Serious improvements needed. I can no longer recommend this product. Hope this is helpful. Cheers ------------------------ ------------------------ Only had this a week or so. I'm really digging this player right now, but there are definitely areas where it can be better. Hopefully these are areas where a firmware update might do the trick. Before the litany of technical pro's and con's, here are a couple goofy first impression pluses for me that may not influence anyone else, ha ha: It comes preloaded with "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare" in the eBooks folder. No kidding. It's all there, organized by comedies, tragedies, histories, poetry. To be absolutely clear, I'm talking about the text version, in .txt format, NOT Shakespeare audio books. I suppose anyone can search and download this online for free, but I thought it was a tres cool touch on their part, and I immediately uploaded it onto my computers, ha ha. Also, it comes in black and orange, which I REALLY dig because of my San Francisco Giants. Like I said, these goofy touches may influence none other but me (or maybe a Baltimore Orioles fan who also digs literature and music, ha ha.) OK you serious folk. Now, for the left brain view: Pro's 1) Price. Very competitive for the amount of capacity, expandability, and functionality. (Thirty buckos at time of purchase.) 2) Perfect size and weight. Great portability yet not so small as to struggle using it. Feels substantial enough, yet small enough to just turn it on and forget about it. 3) Easy navigation. Though the multi-functions buttons take a few uses to learn, they are actually pretty well thought out and highly functional. Even one instant where I thought that a "back" button/function was missing when navigating the main functions menu and its sub menus, I later learned that the "vol" button does that. It was in the manual, but I'd missed it. After using it for a day or so, everything becomes pretty intuitive and seems to also make a good deal of design sense. 4) Ability to create your own folders and folder system in anyway you want. Now music in the player is pretty much organized the same way as it is on my computer. Easy and logical with no stupid iTunes restrictions. Just plain old simple folders. But it's up to you how you want to house your music. If you make a sloppy folder tree/system, well ... ha ha. I think I read that you can work with iTunes and Window Media Player, but I've got no desire for that (for now). NOTE: The player will automatically integrate and organize your music into several different folders with varying options and functionality, i.e. "Albums", "Artists", "Genres", etc, but the main folders tree in the "Directory" is pretty much as you make it. 5) Breakpoint Player: This player's "Breakpoint Player" function will bring you back to the very second you exited a song, or I suppose an audio book (haven't used this for audio books yet but have some mp3 tracks of 30 or more minutes where it works perfectly). For this function to work, the manual said that you have to turn unit off with the play-pause/stand-by button (multi functions - not as confusing in practice as it might appear described with words). But I've found that it works also when turning off with the main on/off slide button on the side, and also with the sleep timer. IMPORTANT NOTE: Breakpoint Player does NOT work with content on the SD card. ONLY the internal built-in 8GB main memory. 6) Sleep timer: LOVE this! Use it practically every night. Though a 90 minute option would be nice - seeing how most CD's are between 45 to 80 minutes. Currently jumps from 60 to 120 (lower increments also available). 7) Good battery life - Tough to gauge accurately, but I've gotten about 14 hours on a full charge. That's with lots of on and off, navigating, exploring, as well as playing continuous music at mostly max volume. I'm guessing the claimed 20 hours is something like MPG estimates for cars, where it's under ideal conditions. So here, I'm guessing for the player, the equivalent would be say ... playing undisturbed continuously at a medium level. Point is, for most folks, a full charge should last a few days. Nice. Also, a full charge from empty only takes about 2 or 3 hours. 8) Expandability: Add up 8GB's with a micro SD card. I read one review where the guy said he's using a 16GB card and it works. I have no first hand knowledge of that, but might try it sometime. However, SD functions are limited. (see below) [Update 8-31-2014] I tried a 32GB SD card and it works fine. Shows only 29.4GB's. All cards and flash drives and such always show a bit short, but this seems a bit more than usual. Con's - Wonder if some of these items can be fixed with a firmware update. Most are not a huge deal, but I just wish they had thought of before releasing the product. 1) Scrolling the "All Music" folder is idiotic, where it scrolls one song at a time and refreshes the screen FOR EVERY SINGLE SONG in a scroll down. Curiously, in certain other folders, it scrolls smoothly as it should, refreshing the screen with the entire "next page" instead of just one song at a time. I guess a mitigating factor is that no one really wants to scroll down a list of 1000 songs anyway. NOTE: Best way to access music is in the "Directory" or the "Artists" folder. 2) "Albums" folder only has album names and no artists names. They opted for an alphabetical listing, which is cool and makes sense, but would be nice if they added artists' names too. Not a big deal. 3) "Music" folder in the main directory lists artists NOT in alphabetical order, but in the order/date-time they were added. Huh??? And yes, I've manually updated with the internal "Library Update" function. This for me is pretty dumb. If folks at Kubik read this, PLEASE FIX THIS NOW! This is like the main hitch in what could otherwise be a super easy list and seems sooo dang obvious. And yes, I know the "Artists" folder has them alphabetically, but why not here too? Why not everywhere??? 4) Sound is good, but not great. Same mp3's played on laptop and desktop through same headphones have more depth, dimension and spatial sense (especially where instruments are panned and placed). Most folks wouldn't even notice, but I've got ye olde musician's ears. But I guess it's not really fair to expect the same decoding ability of a minature device like this to that of a full fledged computer sound card. Also, this might have to do with the audio/sound presets, which I find not too useful. I use mostly the default "Normal" setting, and also the "Pop" setting. They're good for most listening. I think many folks will like the "MS Play FX" 3D setting, but for me it's too reverb-y for most music I like. But my ears are pretty tuned-in with this stuff. Note: I haven't compared the sound to other mp3 players, which I'd imagine would also not seem favorable compared to a full size computer. 5) Playlists???? huh????? I haven't found a way yet how to do this. If anyone knows, please inform. Thanks. 6) Can't plug to charge and play at the same time. Annoying. Though one time, I "accidentally" got it playing while charging with a wall charger, but curiously couldn't duplicate that. It will very definitely not play while charging with your computer. NOTE: This said, it does charge fully from empty in only about 2 or 3 hours. So not a huge deal. [Update 8-31-2014] It does play when plugged into the wall charger (simultaneous charge and play). Just push the main button (or any button) and it will turn on and function as usual. Don't know why it did not work consistently like this when I first got it - but it does now. Still, it very definitely does NOT play when plugged into the computer. 7) Lack of SD card integration. Love that it's expandable, but "Libraries" cannot be merged for mixed playing, and functions are limited for SD. i.e. No "Breakpoint Player" function. (Works fine with shuffle and repeat and other key options though.) So the contents on main memory and SD card can be played separately, but not blended together. For some, this may be a big deal, for others, a non issue. For me, it falls into the "would be nice" category. Still, love the ability to load up any number of micro SD cards and have infinite options. And micro SD cards are soooo cheap nowadays. Yay! Also wish the capacity of the expansion was infinite instead of limited to 8GB's*. But still, 8GB's ain't too bad, eh? [* see update below] NOTES on other reviews: 1) Wonder if folks who claim they couldn't start it are using the buttons correctly. With the side slide on-off button on, one has to press the play-pause button for 2 or 3 seconds and let go. The side button by itself does NOT turn it on. Might seem confusing to some, but when you think about it, it makes sense as a locking precaution to prevent accidentally turning it on in your pocket or backpack where a button might get pressed unintentionally. 2) Saw one review where the guy said that it wouldn't shuffle past 255 or something like that. Personally I've had zero problems with that. I've seen the whole list listed AND have had the unit shuffle/jump through and around the entire list, which at that time numbered around 850. Haven't tried: 1) Uploading video. Watched the preloaded samples, but can't personally tell ya how well uploading video works. Wish it had: 1) AM radio. I know, I know. No one wants this but me. I very seldom use FM. There's a reason we all want an mp3 player, and that's not to listen to the cr@p on the freaking radio (except the fantastic local SF public radio station KALW, 91.7 FM - YAY!). However, I luv listening to SF Giant's baseball on AM radio, with the best freakin' broadcast team on earth. (Folks in SF know I'm not kidding here, ha ha.) Overall: A very nice little mp3 player that has room for improvement, but even as is, should suit most folks' needs quite nicely for a pretty dang good price. With minor improvements, this would be awesome. A side note: I had been VERY VERY VERY frustrated trying to find a personal CD/mp3 disc player. Seems like no one makes one that even does the most basic things anymore, like play a freakin' CD or mp3 disc without a million yips and hitches and glitches. It's absolutely mind-blowing how bad those are nowadays. However, since purchasing this nifty little unit, I've pretty much given up that search (for now). I bring this up because in my miserable search and purchase history with those CD/mp3 disc players, I've run across many similar frustrations reading other reviews. I'm suggesting to those folks that they might just do the same and pick up one of these Evo's. Yeah, it'd be nice to play CD's again, especially at full resolution (most kids don't even know that mp3's are only a fraction of "real" sound), but until they make one that actually works like they used to and are supposed to, this might be your answer. I'll update this review if necessary. Cheers Y'all ! [Update 8-31-2014] A few months later and still enjoying this Evo. A few updated "discoveries" (some mentioned in appropriate sections above): 1) SD capacity can take at least a 32GB card (personal experience). 2) Play while plugged in charging works with the wall charger, but still NOT when plugged into computer. 3) Had a small scare for a bit. The "rewind"/"previous track" button stopped working correctly. At times it was forwarding the track instead of going back. If trying to rewind, it would sometimes work, and sometimes did whatever the hell it wanted but not what you intended and expected. Was just about to send it back to Kubik under warranty but it suddenly started working perfectly again. What I figured is that the rectangular button panel somehow got loose and wasn't putting the right pressure on that one button, and then later I inadvertently snapped it back into place somehow and now it works just fine. Go figure ... Oh - Just a thought: For folks who listen to a lot of audio books, it might be a good idea to keep most of them on the main memory and more of their music on the SD card. Reason is that the "BreakPoint" feature ONLY works for the main memory's contents and not the SD card's. This way you can always have easy resumption on those long book tracks. That said, the fast-forward and rewind features really do work extremely well, so even on the SD card, you can skip ahead or back to any part of even a very long track in a matter of seconds. Cheers Folks!