review by Ken Hopkins
The Story
I wanted my wife to enjoy the entertainment possibilities of having a portable MP3-CD player. I did my research and decided on a really nice unit, a unit available under a number of different names. I tried to buy it at a local store but because they were sold out, I put my name on the waiting list. After two weeks of waiting, I decided to go with a different unit.
The new unit was Philips with a weird name, eXpanium. Circuit City was suposed get some units over the following weekend. I thought it over: The eXpanium cost more than the other units available but it's a name brand unit. If it failed, I knew it could be fixed or replaced easily but if the unknown brand failed, I could end up sorely disappointed. So, I decided that the name brand was worth the extra money.
On that Monday, I stopped by Circuit City to buy one. They didn't know about the eXpandium but they asked if I was the one who had just called about it. "Do you know the model number?" "No, but if you have a Web connection..." They did but it didn't work.
Back at my office, I looked it up. If they had one, I wanted to get it before the other guy (the one who called) showed up. On the Web site, I was able to find out which store had them in stock, but I was also able to actually buy it over the Web, then go to the store to pick it up. Camly driving back to the store, as I now did not need to worry about the other guy, I mused that this is the best combination of bits and bricks I have seen in a Web site so far. Okay, enough story, time to get to the review.
The Review
The eXpanium looks and feels like virtually every other portable CD player available. It will work like one, with 45 seconds of skip protection. The bonus is it will play a CD full of MP3 files. This gives you over 10 hours of music per CD.
This device can handle almost anything you can throw at it: regular CD, CD-R, and CD-RW disks. It can handle multi-session discs, so you can leave the CD open and add new music.
It will handle CBR or VBR files at up to 320 Kbps. Each file can be a different format.
You can have up to 99 directories (that they call albums) and up to 999 tracks (songs) on a single CD. The only type of recording that might find this to be a problem is if you made a CD of sound effects. That gives you plenty of room for normal songs.
What it does not do is recognize ID3 data. This means it can not show you the song titles or artist names. Instead, album number and track number identify the songs. You will need to make a list of the songs to reference the numbers (or always listen to the CD randomly). It would be nice to see a larger display complete with the ID3 information but I am sure that would eat the battery faster.
I recommend that you record your CDs broken into directories by albums. This will let you find the songs faster. I also recommend that the filenames be numbered so that the songs play in the order you want them to.
They promise 10-hour playback of MP3 files with two AA alkaline batteries. If you play normal CDs, you get 14 hours. My wife says that actual use was close to that promise.
Throw away the included ear bud headphone and get a decent headphone. My wife opted for a Sony wrap-around headphone and is very happy. The player has much better quality than the ear buds can give you.
There are two models of this unit available but the only difference is in the options. One gets you a three-key remote control, the other gets you a car kit. I bought the car kit version and have not seen the remote control version.
I know you look at the price and say you can get a CD player for $40 or less and this one is $200. But that $40 unit does not play MP3 files. Better to compare it to those $200 to $300 solid state MP3 players that only hold an hour of music.
I expect more brands available by the time this review appears. One of those may even have the ID3 function. But this one exists now and it is quite good.
This would make a good Christmas present. I expect this unit to sell quite well during the Christmas season. I also expect them to be hard to find. Buy yours now before everyone else beats you to it.
eXpanium 103
[$199 street]
Royal Philips Electronics
