Product Description
The Toshiba MEV30K Portable Video Player puts all of your entertainment needs in the palm of your hand. With a big, bright 3.5" diagonal LCD screen, the MEV30K lets you enjoy full, feature length movies! And getting videos is really easy! Whether you subscribe to movie services like or record videos on your PC, the newest member of the gigabeat family lets you take your entertainment with you.If you never seem to find the time to print all of your digital still images from your camera, the MEV30K is your answer. Simply connect your digital camera via the USB input and all of your images will download onto your gigabeat - no need to connect to your PC either! Of course you are not always going to watch movies, there will be those short commutes to work when you might just want to sit back, relax and enjoy your favorite music. That's why the MEV30K also lets you download your favorite music from subscription sites and even rip your favorite CDs. It even has a built-in speaker so that you can share your music with your friends.
Amazon.com Review
It seems that every electronics company has its own version of a portable media player on the market these days. If it's not a video iPod it has to fight for whatever piece of turf is not already ruled by Apple. The Toshiba Gigabeat is a worthy contender in this category. Its high-tech look and features, portabililty, and ease of use make it a great choice for all lovers of Windows Media Player looking to go mobile with their music, photos, and video.
Crisp video in the palm of your hand.
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What It Does
The Gigabeat MEV30 synchronizes with Windows Media Player on your PC via USB cable to its 30 Gigabyte hard drive, allowing you to bring your photos, video, and music with you wherever you go. Depending on the type of camera you have, it is also possible to connect directly to you digital camera when you out and about, so you can view, share, and store your photos without having to hook your camera up to your PC first. With the included audio/AV cable you can also watch video or slide shows on your TV.
Design
With its shiny silver and black finish, and small and sleek design (4.9 x 3.0 x 0.7 inches (W x H x D)) the MEV30 looks both high-tech and sophisticated. It's a little too big for the pocket of your jeans, but fits nicely into a jacket pocket or purse. The front of the device is dominated by its 3.5-inch diagonal LCD screen, which supports 320 x 240 resolution and up to 65,000 colors. While a a 640 x 480 with support for millions of colors would be better, the display is still bright and crisp. The widescreen format is also very welcome and gives it an edge over the square screen of the video iPod. To the right of the screen you'll find the buttons that let you interface with the device.
Logical controls and a user-friendly interface.
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Chief among these is the small joystick that lets you quickly navigate lists in four directions, and make selections by simply pressing down. Just beneath, there's a Home button displaying the Windows symbol, and a return button. Volume controls and a small speaker round out the main controls. Along the top are buttons to control the video player, as well as a sliding lock and power button. The left side is responsible for input/output and charging. This includes USB, a single jack for audio and video, and the AC power adapter. On the bottom are two tiny holes that allow you to reset the device or switch off the battery for storage.
Setup
Aficianados of Windows Media Player will find it a snap to the get the MEV30 up and running. The device itself is powered by Microsoft Portable Media Center Version 2.0. It comes formatted and ready to go right out of the box, and no additional software is needed for your PC beyond the free Windows Media Player. We had no trouble all using WMP 11 to load photos, video, and music onto the device. To move photos onto the device,
The joystick is all you'll need for most tasks.
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simply drag and drop them into the synce window within Media Player. For video and music it's important to remember that since the MEV30 runs only with Windows Media Player you can only add content allowed by Windows. Try to sync an album you bought on the iTunes Store, for example, and all you'll get is an error message. If you can create playlists, organize video and photos, and generally get Widows Media Player to do what you want it to do, you will have no trouble at all using the MEV30. If Media Player is new to you, however, you will need to spend some time working with it before attempting to go mobile with your media.
Operation
Once you are synced up, the intuitive interface makes it easy to find what you're looking for. The main menu lists media by type: tv, music, pictures, and videos. You'll also find a "settings" feature that lets you adjust functions for all media types. Moving through these menus is a snap with the four-way joystick; simply point and click. The photo viewer plays slide shows and also allows you to zoom in on a picture and pan and scan to see exactly what you want up close. The video player is simple to use and does everything you want--one click on the joystick pauses, a push to the right lets you fastforward, and a push to the left rewinds. The music player likewise contains most functions you would expect from a serious media player: shuffle, equalizer, support for playlists, repeat, and time display. Here it would be nice to have a few other options, such as alarm and sleep timer functions, but as a basic music player it is functional and easy to use. One click on the menu button returns you directly to the main menu.
To sum up, the Gigabeat MEV30 faces stiff competition both from the iPod, as well as from Microsoft's new Zune media player. If you are looking for a fully-functional and sleek portable media player that uses Windows Media Player, however, you won't go wrong with this device.
Pros
- Easy to setup and operate.
- Multi-functional: video, photos, music. A/V out lets you watch on tv.
- Sleek and stylish design.
- 30 GB hard drive lets you store lots of pictures, music, and video.
Cons
- Only works via Windows Media Player. Knowledge of WMA required.
- Higher resolution would be nice.
What's in the Box
MEV30K portable video player, A/V cable, USB cable (A-miniB), USB conversion cable (miniA-A), headphones, AC adapter, CD-ROM (software, owner's manual), and quick start guide.
Amazon.com Product Description
Feel free to take all your entertainment with you. The Toshiba MEV30K gigabeat V Series Portable Video Player puts all your favorite videos, music, and digital images in one convenient, powerful, and highly portable device. With a big and bright 3.5-inch diagonal LCD screen, the MEV30K lets you enjoy up to eight hours of feature length movies. Weighing in at just under half a pound and measuring 4.9 x 3.0 x 0.7 inches (W x H x D), the MEV30K is extremely portable, so you won't hesitate to bring it along wherever you roam.
Getting movies to enjoy on your MEV30K is easy. You can subscribe to movie services such as Vongo, or record videos on your PC. However you choose to get your entertainment, Toshiba's newest member of the gigabeat family offers a great way to enjoy entertainment on the go. The large screen supports 320 x 240 resolution and up to 65,000 colors, while a 30 GB internal hard drive stores your media. The device is powered by Microsoft Portable Media Center Version 2.0 Software, and it's compatible with videos encoded for Windows Media Player 9 or 10 (WMV). All that's required is a PC and the included Windows Media Player 10 software. The MEV30K features a USB 2.0 interface for lightning-fast transfers of video files between your computer and the device. There's even a TV-out connector so you can view your videos on a larger screen.
If you're like most folks, you don't have time to print out all your digital photos to show to your family, friends, or colleagues. With the MEV30K, you can just take all your digital stills with you. Simply connect your digital camera via the USB input and all of your images will download onto your gigabeat--there's no need to connect to your PC, either.
And then there will be those time when you might just want to sit back, relax and enjoy your favorite music. The MEV30K also lets you download your favorite music from subscription sites; buy your music from music sites such as Napster, eMusic, and Rhapsody; and even rip your favorite CDs. Again, thanks to Microsoft's Portable Media Center platform it's always quick and easy to get your content. The MEV30K supports playback of MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless and WAV audio files, and you can also view album cover artwork. The device even has a built-in speaker so you can share your music with your friends.
To keep the entertainment going, the MEV30K comes with a rechargeable lithium ion battery that allows for up to eight hours of continuous playback for your favorite movies and videos and up to 30 hours of continuous playback when just enjoying music.
What's in the Box
MEV30K portable video player, A/V cable, USB cable (A-miniB), USB conversion cable (miniA-A), headphones, AC adapter, CD-ROM (software, owner's manual), and quick start guide.
Customer Reviews:
Have it ......Love it.......2007-11-19
I have had this MEV30K for a couple of months. After getting my daughter the 30Gig IPOD for her birthday I was amazed with the graphics ability, but refused to d/l movies from Itunes at 10 bucks each. With the Gigabeat I logged into VONGO.com and for 10bucks a month I can d/l unlimited movies! right now there are about 35 movies on my machine and about 7 gigs in songs. I love this machine.. I travel and it is great to watch movies on this instead of my laptop.
Charging through USB.......2007-10-25
Since others have so wonderfully reviewed the player, I just wanted to add that you CAN charge this player using USB !!! All you need is a suitable cable (with the right connectors) that can be bought cheaply over ebay. But it does take a lot longer to charge through USB. Since I have my laptop on throughout the day, I can charge it up fully without any problems.
great buy mp3 player.......2007-10-15
Best mp3 for the money, compared to others out there. Very clear screen, moderate speaker, very easy navigation. Only negative, is that it uses very large charger and will not charge through usb, however the battery last long time. A comparibale ipod will cost you much more, and this item is still better.
Excellent hardware hampered by half-witted software.......2007-10-05
First of all, let me point out that you *CAN* simply drag-and-drop files from your Windows Explorer to the folders on the Toshiba gigabeat V. However, if you do this, you may not be able to get extra tag info such as album art.
Now the review.
The Toshiba gigabeta V is a portable media center player; "portable media center" refers to the platform Microsoft has built for devices that can play video, audio, pictures, recorded TV, etc. The V competes with "full-sized" media centers from Creative and Archos, and it's *not* a slim, feather-weight media player like the latest iPods. On the other hand, it's got a biggish, very bright LCD screen (QVGA resolution) and a 1.8-inch shock-mounted 30GB (27.7GB reported by Windows) hard disk. Because the hard disk appears as just another external storage to Windows, you can use the V as a portable hard drive.
The buttons on the V are pleasant to press and are quite intuitive. The placement of the skip and play/pause buttons (on the top) is unconventional. The V has a monoaural speaker, which I love because I can enjoy music-on-the-go together with my toddler Charlie. (I play lots of classical music to him.) The sound quality on the V is just excellent: a lot of range, and a lot of volume.
With the battery, which lasts around 18 hours playing back 128kbps-encoded MP3 files in real life (and Toshiba claims up to 9 hours for video playback), the unit weighs in at 7.7 oz, so it's not lightweight, and its bulky physical size makes it just okay to fit in a men's trouser pocket, or in a jacket pocket. The styling is neat, though, and it's not something you'll ever feel embarassed about showing to your friends.
What's not so good about the package is the Microsoft software that drives the thing. The portable media center on the device itself tries to be friendly and, for basic operations, it's not too bad. But when you try to do anything beyond just play/pause/power off, it gets annoying. For example, it's almost impossible to use playlists. Also, it's impossible to delete files on the device; you'll have to use Windows Explorer or Windows Media Player. Speaking of the latter, the manual says you should install the WMP 10 on the enclosed CD-ROM regardless of what WMP you already have on your PC. I already have WPM 11 on my XP computer, and no file was installed: the V played well (or as well as it could play) with WMP 11.
Of course, Windows Media Player is not a totally user-friendly piece of software, despite numerous UI improvements over the versions. Sync'ing can still freeze the program, and the most annoying part of WMP is it tries to pull all media files on your hard drive together, including temporary internet files you may have downloaded. Editing tags is still a pain in the butt. After you sync, it's not entirely clear, at least not at first, how you manage the files synced to your V.
But if you're willing entrust your library of music, videos and pictures to WMP, you can probably avoid worrying about the sync details. If you, like me, want to have some control over which and how files are sync'ed, you'll run into a lot of frustrating moments.
Overall, the V is a good media player -- and I really like the built-in speaker feature. It lacks some features found on other players, like FM or recording, but it has a decent TV-out feature that lets you play video and audio on a TV set. The screen is gorgeous, and that makes the overall UI experience a pleasure on a day-to-day basis. Oh, did I mention the V has great sound quality? (I know it because I'm a classical music lover and demand the highest audio quality.)
BTW, the V has been discontinued, which means you can find it at great prices.
Toshiba Gigabeat.......2007-09-04
I had a 30g iPod that was stolen, so I decided to try something new. I LOVE my Gigabeat! Its a little large, but that allows for the very large screen. The external speaker is a bonus that the iPod doesnt have. The battery really does last TWICE as long! It's very easy to use, i HIGHLY recommend it!
Product Description
Audiovox became a pioneer in the wireless industry, selling its first vehicle-installed wireless telephones in 1984 as a natural expansion of its automotive aftermarket business. Its extensive distribution network and its long-standing industry relationships have allowed Audiovox to benefit from growing market opportunities in the wireless industry and to exploit niches in the consumer electronics business.PRODUCT FEATURES:Dual Weekend Alarm;CD/Radio/Buzzer Wake-Up Alarm;AM/FM Radio;Snooze/Sleep Function.
Amazon.com Product Description
The Audiovox CE256 CD AM/FM Alarm Clock Radio is compact and portable, and represents Audiovox's commitment to design and quality at an affordable price. This unit combines a top-loading CD player with an AM/FM radio and alarm clock. The CE256 features snooze and sleep functions, and a dual alarm for either weekday or weekend wake-up times. The wake-up alarm is a buzzer, or it can be set to the radio or a CD. This alarm clock runs on AC power, but has a battery compartment for a nine-volt battery backup in case of power failure (battery not included).
What's in the Box
CE256 CD AM/FM alarm clock radio, AC power plug, and user's manual.
Customer Reviews:
LIked it.......2007-01-16
I liked the style and sound quality. Very handy by the bed, and the price was just right. With everything that it includes it doesn't take up all that much space. Nice product.
Avoid this alarm.......2007-01-10
I unfortunatly bought this alarm clock not long ago and have had nothing but problems with it. The CD player has never worked unless you turn it on it's side and the radio signal cuts in and out, getting worse the longer you leave it on. Don't count on this waking you up in the morning.
Audiovox Rocks!.......2006-07-27
I bought this clock radio with my own allowance in March for a replacement because my old clock radio's CD player didn't work too well because it didn't skip tracks very well. This one is like twice as good as my old one. The CD player plays CD's almost perfectly. It has a great-working radio. It almost never loses reception. It also has dual alarm and a headphone jack which is also why it's so good. This Audiovox clock radio rocks!
not as advertised.......2006-01-28
Audiovox claims some sort of "weekend alarm" and the description here indicates that this is the sort of clock alarm which you can set to go off only on the weekdays, thus saving you long suffering roommate from being blasted out of bed early in the morning on a Saturday when you are out of town. sadly it does not do this. it, like many alarm clocks, has two alarms. you can set them manually, but the alarm has no idea what day of the week it is. we are going to return it.
I wouldn't recommend it.......2006-01-25
I'm not a kid -- 18 years, in fact -- I just didn't want to have register to write one review -- especially when the review was for this thing.
This device has given me a fair amount of grief... The largest problem for me being that I'll often put CD's in and they WON'T PLAY. They spin for a second or two, and then the display reads "no." Previously, I've always managed to eventually get them to play by cleaning the CD, blowing the dust out of the player, etc. Now, however, the CD function has just decided not to work at all. I've never had a problem changing the CD tracks in the alarm setting, but my sister went through two of these, neither of which allowed you to pick the CD track you'd be waking up to -- hers always defaulted to the first track on the CD.
The user interface on this is TERRIBLE. Positively HORRENDOUS. You change between CD and radio mode via a TINY little sliding switch on the side, and you change between buzzer, CD alarm, standby, and play CD mode via a similar switch. Both are labeled by TINY little raised letters that haven't even been painted or colored to stand out from the surrounding plastic.
I think that the greatest punishment for the people who designed this product would be to make them have to use it for a year.
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