4. MPIO FY300: Practicality Above All

With this model, MPIO has stayed with essentials. The manufacturer hasn't gone all-out after design. This player was intended to be practical above all. The size of a disposable lighter, the FY 300 puts an MP3 player, FM radio, Dictaphone, and USB storage key all into one gray-metal cylinder. Where ease of use is concerned, they've hit the target. Though the player's display only has three lines, the interface remains clear. Clear enough, in any case, to let you find one tune in particular among the player's 128 MB capacity. Thanks to the mini-joystick, moving from one adjustment or function to another is easy. The only problem related to using this player is its thickness. Once connected to a USB port, there's no room for anything else next to it. However it has to be connected to a computer to be recharged, for at least two hours. Fortunately, if you only have two USB ports, MPIO supplies a connecting cable to avoid tying up both ports while the unit is charging.

As for all USB key-type audio players, the computer recognizes the FY 300 as an external hard disk. To load your music, you just copy the files to its folder by simply dragging and dropping. The fact that there's no need for a driver is very useful if you want to exchange files with a friend. Another advantage is that without software, recordings made with the Dictaphone are encoded directly into MP3 format, and so can be read by any device. But don't expect the recordings you make to be high in quality. The device creates a hiss that's not very pleasant to listen to. It's good enough for taking voice notes, and little else. And the sound? For $139, the quality is quite good. The bass is a bit muffled, but selecting the right equalizer adjustment gets rid of the problem. However, you'd do well to change earphones, since the ones that ship with the device further distort the sound, at the high end.