MMMiii!

My Zen MicroPhoto was being funky … I couldn’t hear the vocals in songs. LoL. I lived with that for a couple of days, and then I couldn’t hear anything anymore–that is if I’m using earphones. It works like normal if it’s plugged to my stereo or computer speakers. But I don’t fancy the idea of having to lug around speakers just to listen to it decently.I brought it back to DataView (SM North, Cyberzone) because it was still under warranty. They took it and said they’ll have it repaired somewhere and to call back after a week. The next weekend, I called and they said they’re still looking for stocks for it and call back after a few days. I called back after a few days and they said they still couldn’t find any.

And then… the woman asked me that if it was okay and I couldn’t wait anymore, they’ll offer me a model upgrade to Zen Neeon2 2gb, I’ll just add an extra P1000. I said my player is 8Gb and not 2Gb. And then I asked if they had the Zen V Plus, because I knew that one had an 8Gb unit. She told me she’ll get back to me after lunch.

After lunch, I called again and she said they could give me the blue on black model (which I learned later was the only color design for 4gb and 8gb units) Zen V Plus 8Gb but I’d have to add an additional P1,000.

Things ran in my head. I won’t need to sell my MicroPhoto that no one would probably want to buy anyway, at my planned asking price. I won’t need to return the box and the accessories that came with the MicroPhoto (I lost the earphones). But the one that made me take the offer was — I could get a newer, smaller, lighter, cuter, and a more feature-packed model for only P1,000. I know the P1,000 is an illusion. Technically, I’d be acquiring the Zen V Plus for P13,000. But hey, that would be better than selling the MicroPhoto for P8,000 then getting the V Plus for P12,000. Besides, I’ve been eyeing it even before it became available here.
Yesterday, I finally got my baby. I haven’t thought of a name for it yet. The MicroPhoto’s name was Miu (Ichigo Mashimaro’s Miu)

Since I haven’t actually used it for more than a day, this would just be an initial review.

The Good: It’s small, light, cute, the controls are easy to use and figure out, although it took me about 5 tries getting used to holding down one of the buttons for extra options. It’s fast to load. It has a press-to-record button. The volume controls are at the sides, and if you use it as a necklace, you won’t really need to lock it so you could play around with the volume control. It fits nicely in your palm, and you can change the orientation of the screen to match your comfort needs if the default isn’t comfortable enough. I like mine rotated at 180° when I’m just holding it but on default when I’m wearing it as a necklace. It also has a volume restriction so you don’t blow up your ears by maxing the volume(25) all the time. I keep mine at 15. The 5-direction button

The Bad: The included earphones, like with the Zen MicroPhoto, is ugly, uncomfortably big, and … well… it will make you feel kind of cheated. The included neckstrap is ugly too. While I was charging it last night, it suddenly locked up. I panicked and had to look for a needle to push on the reset of the thing. At first it didn’t work at all. I was so ready to return it today, then I wondered if it was common, so I checked forums. Apparently, it was. All I had to do was to upgrade the firmware. It doesn’t have a quick next or previous button, or it’s not integrated in the joystick. You’ll have to go to the Now Playing screen to go forward or back. And a minimal bad thing, it’s too shiny and glossy, like piano key finish. If you keep touching it with smudgy fingers, it gets kinda smudgy, and embarrassing to actually show off. :[ makes me want to get the protector skin thing.

That’s it for now.

I bought new earphones for this baby… GAHHH I paid P450 for it. =/ it sounds good.

a4tech MK-510

The Good: It’s made of metallic materials, so I hope it won’t break easily. :< it’s a neckstrap type with a lanyard so you can hook your mp3 player to it and wear it like a necklace. The earpieces are two-way, meaning you could listen to it through both sides. One is an ear-canal type, and the other one is the conventional type. It’s got the three sizes for silicon ear fitting piece thing for the ear canal thing, and it’s got three pairs of foam for the conventional one. With the ear canal type, noise is canceled because the sound goes directly in your ear. It hits just at the right spot! Orgasmic! (just kidding…) And because it’s two-way, you could stick your ear with someone else’s and you could listen to the same song together. :D

The Bad: Probably just for me, it takes some getting used to for the ear canal thing. At first, the smallest silicon fittings kept falling out my ear, so I tried the largest one and it wouldn’t fit. Then the medium, and then it was kinda in but made my ear holes hurt after a while. I switched back to the smallest ones and now they’re okay. O.O The conventional ear piece is too big for me, and … well.. I just don’t like it. And lastly, because it is two-way, if you’re using the ear-canal type, you’ll look like there’s some black fluffy thing sticking out your ears. If you’re using the conventional type tho, it kind of looks normal.

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