A handy music player with video and audio recording too, resulting in perfect utility

The gap between MP3 players and portable video players is getting slimmer by the day, and thus most of these devices hitting the market include video playback as an added feature. Keeping that in mind, Transcend has come up with this music player which not only plays music, but also allows users to watch movies and photographs, as well as read text on its high-contrast 2.4-inch (240 x 320 pixels) full-colour TFT display. The digital music player is available in two variants?4 GB and 8 GB. You can extend its capacity with the help of a micro SD/micro SDHC expansion slot.

The device has a solid design and carefully crafted shape with a smooth finish. It looks quite stylish and comfortable to hold. The player comes with a silicone case which provides it an additional safety from dust and scratches. The control buttons are well placed in the front and additional buttons on the right hand side for recording and locking. On the back side of this player, it has a small built-in speaker which comes handy in some situations.

This Transcend MP 860 has every basic feature that you want in a music player. The highlighting features of this product include FM radio, a voice recorder, a page-by-page text file reader and karaoke-style synchronised lyrics display with support for 13 different languages, which allow you to sing along with your favourite song. Another feature in this music player is A-B repeat which allows continuous replay of a designated section of a track. It also has an advanced 11 equaliser effect, including SRS WOW HD and user-customisable options, allowing sound output to be tailored to match specific music tastes and styles. With a high speed USB 2.0 port, you can easily connect it to a computer and enjoy fast file transfers. Most importantly it has a sleep timer, which can be set to automatically power-off after 10-180 minutes, so now it helps you to save the battery life when you doze off while listening to music.

The most common format that music players support is MP3, but now there are a variety of players in the market that support multiple file formats. The MP860 supports newer file formats such as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) and OGG, as well as MP3, WMA, WAV, and even WMA-DRM10 protected music files. In the video format, MPEG4 SP (XVID) and FLV movies file formats allow users to enjoy movies, while TXT files are compatible for viewing text.

The player has a small internal microphone for recording which works quite well. You may find it handy when you are going for documenting a lecture, a meeting or a conversation, but don?t expect a high-quality music recording. With two years warranty and a price tag of R5,500 for the 4 GB and R6,500 for the 8 GB version, Transcend has placed this product intelligently in the market.

Estimated street price: Rs. 5,500

SPeCS

* Dimensions: 94 x 50 x 12 mm (L x W x H)

* Display type and size: 2.4-inch TFT LCD

* Display resolution: 240 x 320

* Music formats: MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, FLAC and WMA DRM10

* Video formats: MPEG4 SP (Xvid) and FLV

* Photo formats: JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG

* E-book format: TXT

* Recording format: IMA-ADPCM (WAV)

* Battery life: 22 hours

* Battery type: Li-Polymer

* Weight: 62g