Customer Reviews:
 hard to get started, but an awesome player July 25, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
After perusing Amazon for MP3 players to buy, I decided on this refurbished 2-GB Samsung K5 for around $90. After ordering it, it arrived in about 3 days. I was so excited, that I began to charge it immediately. After disconnecting it from charging, I realized that to turn it back on, I had to hit the reset button on the back. Nowhere in the QuickStart Guide did it say you had to do that, so that's one thing you need to know about this player. We also had a very tough time trying to load the Samsung Media Player. They say that the player comes with an installation disk, but all I got was the User Manual.
We ended up sending the player back at our expense, and they sent me a new refurbished one. The same thing happened with it, too. My mom then called Dell to see if it was a problem with our computer. We spent over an hour with the Dell supervisor installing the Samsung Media Studio, installing firmware to my player, and installing a Windows Media Player upgrade. After that, I tried ripping CD's to the computer then synching the songs to the player. I found that the Samsung Media Studio was so hard to use. I went around in circles. I then called the Samsung Customer Care number. They said that using the Windows Media Player is a lot easier. I tried it and it worked beautifully. I ripped CD's to the computer, then easily synched them to my player. Now I have music on my Samsung K-5 after a lot of problems. I have to say that you might come across these same problems. If so, call your computer manufacturer and they could help you.
I also want to say that I love the player even though I had a rough start. The sound is great, even from the pull-out speakers, though the included earbuds kept falling out. I ended up buying a better pair. I really recommend this player, though the starting out process may be daunting. I haven't gotten the "up to 30 hours" of play time using the earphones, but maybe that was an exaggeration. I get about 2-3 hours for each battery segment without using the pull-out speakers; that uses a lot more battery juice. Using the great audio sound effects like bass boost or concert hall also uses more battery power. It doesn't say that in the manual, either. Using the player in "normal" operation is the best and most efficient.
The touch screen is cool, though it does hold your finger oil. I solved that by using a digital camera cleaning cloth which easily removes the fingerprints.
The FM radio is cool. I found that you can use the pull-out speakers with the radio, but you have to leave the earphones plugged in; they act as an atennae.
Over all, I say this player is a good buy even though the starting-out process may contain some problems. It has FM radio, picture uploading capability, screen savers, and more. Once you get everything worked out in the beginning, the player is a great campanion!
 Efficient and Practical July 12, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When I bought this item, I already owned an iPod Video 30 GB, and a Samsung mp3 player which was XM-Radio compatible and allowed me to play and save XM songs and programs to it. What I needed was an mp3 player that was compatible with Napster to Go, an online music service which allows you to record a large majority of the songs Napster offers to a compatible mp3 player for a low monthly price. After researching the reviews on Amazon.com of those models, I chose this one because it did not suffer from the numerous problems some of the other brands/models had (no ni-cad battery, poor battery life, poor user interface, poor design/breaks easily).
I bought a refurbished model, but you never would have known that it was used because there was not a scratch on it. I managed to drop it onto my floor within the first two minutes I had it, but it didn't cause any damage. The player is built solidly, and has no external moving parts other than the power/Hold switch. The screen of the player is smooth and colored black, kind of like those smooth black cooktops. The player functions are controlled through the touch screen, which is incredibly sensitive and reacts to the lightest touch. For this reason, it's good that there is a Hold/lock switch so that you can keep from inadvertently changing the settings while listening to the player. I would also recommend buying a plastic screen protector to keep it from getting scratched. The bonus part of it having the smooth touch screen is that there are no potentially breakable buttons, gaps to get gummed up, or switches to give out after any significant use.
There were no special frills, other than the external speaker, which works very well. It is loud enough for others in the room to hear it, and has good clarity. I have not heard a "tinny" sound that some other people have described. Although it isn't the same as listening to music through a nice speaker system, it will do adequately if you don't have that available to you. Also, you always have the option of using your headphones.
The interface on the player is easy to use, and you will quickly be able to locate all of your music on it by searching by artist, track name, album, or music genre. You can even develop your own playlists.
My player was easily compatible with Napster, and I didn't even bother installing the Samsung interface, because I didn't plan on using it. Songs were transferred to it through a simple drag and drop interface. The only issues I had involved Napster's software, but this was easily cleared with the help of customer support. The player has not had any problems.
The only negative is that there are not a lot of options available for you to choose the type of output sound you are looking for, like you would do to control your treble and bass with an equalizer. They have five options (Normal, Vocal, Bass Boost, 3D Sound, Concert Hall), and at least one of these will probably work out okay with the kind of music that you are playing. Also, if you choose an artist and are listening to their songs, and shut the player off, when turned back on it will revert to playing songs in alphabetical order by all artists on your player. It doesn't remember that you were listening to that artist.
Overall, this is a nice little player if you aren't paying a fortune for it. I think that there may be some better choices if you are looking to spend a significant amount of money. However, for me, I got the player and an extended warranty for a very low price, and the refurbished item works better than some brand new electronics items I have purchased. The player is compatible with several online music sources (Rhapsody, Yahoo! Music, Napster), and it consistently works without complaining. This is a good buy! I highly recommend it!
Very awesome player June 16, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
- Obviously the most prominent feature of this MP3 player is its built-in speakers, which i was very satisfied with. Many people said the sound quality was 'tinny', but I had no problem with it whatsoever - its also very loud for a small speaker.
- Nice stylish design with the slide-out speakers, touch pad navigation and icons. Very attractive, contrasted with the rather boring iPod, therefore this is ideal for fashion-conscious people.
- Only bad points: 1) the included earphones are very strange; looks like a big glob of rubber and very hard to keep in your ear. Invest in a separate pair, 2) file navigation system not so good, compared to iPod's neat, organised style
smokin player May 14, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
this mp3 player smokes any other player i have seen it is awesome
The Perfect Player! May 12, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Ease of use, features, sexy, slick look and the absolutely brilliant design of its easy-slide up external speakers this is, in my opinion, the best mp3 player out there!
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