Juke Jam 40GB MP3 Player
By: Digital Networks N.A. Average Rating: 2.0 Total Reviews: 12
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by: superdude666 On: 2006-09-16
I stumbled across this unit at the ultamate low price of 90 bucks on clearence. I figure what harm can happen. It appeared to do all that I needed, and it actually did, but it did not last. I had 48 hours of flawless work, but when I went to delete tracks using the "audiophile" firmware program, it also deleted its connection. After repeated resets of the unit, my computer, and multiple re-installations of the "Audiophile" software, The units OS started screwing up. All the songs came up as "wingding" symbols, and no songs played any more. Since there is no "hard reset" to erease the files, I ran all the trouble shooting guides suggestions, including formatting, and now the system has nothing...just a start up greeting.
Features: 40gb hard drive, recording feature, fm radio, playlist set up, earbuds, charging cord, firmware for uploading, and belt clip leather case, ect.. all the things you would expect from an mp3 player.
Provided software has been called "clunky" on other reviews...not really. you can upload multiple files at a time, use the control and higlight function like windows has had for years. I uploaded 500 songs in 5 minutes or there abouts...not an issue. Problems come with deleting items. As soon as I deleted a couple of tracks I didnt want on the unit, the "Audiophile" program quit recognizing the unit, eventually scrambling the OS on the unit.
The firmware OS is easily navigatable, but no way to reset it, and no way to delete files on the unit itself.
It did play all properly recored MP3 and WMA files only... some folks might find this a hinder, but I have 40+ CD roms full of mp3s...not a problem for me. I have not had a problem with any of my shareware files.
This did have good FM reception
Other Faults
1. Size, its bulky, around a cassette walkman size
2. Built in battery, if it goes bad, what next
3. Runs really warm
Im glad I bought this from a chain store on clearence, cause Im able to return it no questions asked within 14 days. I will likely just take my money back, why waist the effort on another unit. I thought it was Worth a shot, but do not buy this. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. So shall this be
Question for polaroid, did anyone every actually durability test these??????
On: 2006-04-17
I bought a this and about a month later it just stopped working. I emailed digital media group and they sent me a Return authorization number which i put in an envelope as it said to do and repackaged the mp3 player and sent it back. 3 months later, i still hadnt gotten a replacement so i called them. They said that they had never gotten it but would send me a new one. The one they sent me wasnt a polaroid, but a generic brand one like it. The accesories were also generic name brand and pieces of junk. 2 months later it stoped working again and by then digital media group didnt exist any more. The headphones also broke and were very low quality to begin with. I learned my lesson about not buying name brand products nad just recently bought a video iPod which is much better!
On: 2005-09-28
I would like to reiterate what some of the other reviewers have said. THERE IS NO SUPPORT FOR THIS PRODUCT. Polaroid does not support and it says so in the instruction manual. They say to contact Digital Media Group which no longer exists. Once I got someone at Polaroid that knew anything about it, he said there is still some help on the Digital Media Group website [...]. Of course, when I tried that website it no longer exists. The player worked fine for a while, although, awkward and not user friendly. Then one day I turn it on and it shows a message that says "Cannot access HDD data". Thats it. Its broke and I have no way of getting it fixed. I have read some reviews that say the hard drive just goes bad one day. That is probably what happened to mine. I have taken very good care of it and actually didnt use it that much. There is no reason it should have stopped working. Dont buy this thing no matter what. The price is enticing but you will end up buying another one anyway and then spend twice as much.
On: 2005-08-31
I absolutely positively do NOT recommend this device. The on-screen interface is difficult to understand. The randomizer function limits itself by sections of the alphabet (if you select to play all songs randomly, it will only play tracks from the first few letters of the alphabet and never get to the latter half). The interface software you are required to use is clunky and nearly useless - it is only marginally better for creating playlists than the terrible device UI, and there is no synchronization between your device and your music folders. Perhaps most shocking - and this should have warned me about this player the moment I got it - is that selecting "power off" brings up a small screen that says "Bye Bye!" with an anime emoticon, of all things.
All of this could be tolerated if not for one major problem. Despite the device having a whopping amount of storage for a small amount of money, it is 100% not supported by ANY entity. [...] I thought that since Polaroid partnered with Digital Media Group, having their name on the product meant they would support it in some way - no dice. The representatives on the phone insisted that I call 1-800-MP3-PLAY (it took a long time before I finally convinced them that they had the wrong number) and that they couldnt help me. I finally resorted to contacting the person who sold this to me, who did some research and found that Digital Media Group had been sold, and the new company refused to support these devices.
In summary, do not buy ANY "Polaroid MP3" product. They are completely unsupported and not user-friendly.
 On: 2005-06-02
I have had many problems with this machine. It crashes all the time, it looses entire albums, and the battery is very unreliable. I have had to reload my entire music collection three times in 6 months, and it is long process to do it each time because it no requires you to use their very poorly designed program. It is an inexpessive devise, but I recommend spending a bit more for a better item. It will be worth the $$.
On: 2005-04-30
The JukeJam (40 GB) is still available on eBay and Amazon merchants, and its unbelievably cheap for the features. But youre buying into something that has a lot of design flaws.
DO buy it if what you really want is a big portable USB drive for backing up your computer. Its disk size and battery life are remarkably good, and you can back up your whole computer and most of your record collection onto the thing. Of course, its also an MP3 player -- but its at best adequate for that.
DONT buy it if what you really want is an iPod. The software (both that runs on your computer and on the player itself) is not well thought out and is a real pain in the neck if you have more than a few hundred songs (and with that capacity, who woulndt?). As mentioned elsewhere, playlists and song management are not only hard to use but usually have to be re-entered *by hand.* Plus, there are dozens of bugs that make the JukeJam completely unusable for listening to audio books. For example, you cant fast forward or rewind if the "track" is more than 30 minutes long, and for some MP3 formats you cant fast forward or rewind at all. Other times, the player just gets confused and the controls freeze up, or it just shuts down. Tech support -- yeah, right. The software is written in China, and the few guys who work on it here arent responsive.
Finally, the FM radio and recording capabilities work only in theory. It is a usable stereo tuner, but it can only pick up incredibly strong signals. I have two JukeJams, and they each can pick up maybe 3 stations...where a car radio or boom box can pick up 30.
On: 2005-04-23
I have had two of these. One quit after only 3 weeks, the other never worked at all. My experience with the unit that worked was very dissapointing:
You cannot import playlists, you have to create them using clunky software included with the player or on the player itself. This becomes much more difficult with large numbers of mp3s. You also must select and load mp3s with the software one by one. The units database crashes frequently and must be rebuilt using the software, this destroys all playlists. The only media player that supports it is "Musicmatch Jukebox" and only the version included with the player, (Its not much better as an interface than the other software included with the player).
This is a discontinued unit which is being sold off by third party resellers under several different names, there is almost no tech support available except from other owners.
If you buy one of these you will soon be wishing you hadnt wasted your money. The Creative Labs Zen Extra can be purchased for under 200 dollars, Its well worth it.
 On: 2005-01-07
This is not a bad mp3 at all and is definetly a bang for the buck. Compared to other mp3s, it is cheap with more features and sound quality is not compromised either. But beware because its not for everybody. There are pros, cons, and some neutralities.
Pros:
1-It is cheap with a huge storage space. Ive got the 40gb model and basically, I can store songs without ever deleting any of them. But thats just me, others may need more space than I do.
2-It is loaded with features that most other mp3s dont offer, like radio, recording radio and voices, etc. I havent used all of the features and dont really plan to, so I just look at it as extra perks of the player.
3-Sound quality is not bad at all. Basically, if the mp3 file you download is good, then you will hear good sound quality from the player. Therefore, the sound quality is really as good as the file and cant be judged by the player.
4-The software is simple as can be. I had more trouble plugging in the USB cable(because the port is in the back of my computer) than I did installing and using the program. But my experiences are through Microsoft Windows and therefore I dont know how easy it is to use through Linux or other applications. But Im sure it cant be that hard.
5-Even though the player has an overwhelming amount of choices on the main menu, it is still very easy to navigate through. Once you get used to navigating through them, it really shouldnt be a problem.
Cons:
1-The size of this player is bigger than most. It is bigger than the CreativeLabs Zen and much bigger than the Ipod. This could be a serious issue for some. But the player is basically handheld for an average adult hand. The height and width arent even all that bad, but the depth of it is. It is very bulky.
2-The joystick is pretty sensitive and will mess with your playlist if you stick it in your back pocket.
3-All of the plugs are located on the side of the player and not on the top. That means the headphones plug in from the side and not from the top.
4-The main con for this player is its durability. If you are seriously considering this mp3 player, take in mind that you cant roughhouse it. It is not like other mp3s because when you load a song, you can actually hear it loading. What I mean is that inside the player is an actual harddrive and basically, dropping it would be like dropping a laptop to put it in lamens terms.
5-The battery is not changeable. Although it is rechargeable, you dont have the convenience of changing the battery in the middle of the street if it dies.
Neutralities:
1-The headphones that come with it arent the best but are better than what Ive read on some of the reviews. For me, I can bear with the sound quality of the headphones but others may want to buy better ones.
2-The battery life isnt too bad although it isnt great either. But it lasts a good deal of time when fully recharged. My guess would be that it would last around 2 or more hours of nonstop playing.
3-The radio is not very impressive. I have to admit that in some areas, it comes out as good as a car radio would, but for the most part(like in some areas of the suburbs) it has a lot of static and is hard to hear the actual radio.
So, basically my recommendation is this. If your somebody that doesnt plan to treat this player like a 10 year old would and you are more inclined to technicalities and features over looks, then this is a great deal for you. But, if you want something thats trendy and have some more money to spend, maybe you should go for some of the more popular ones. This unit is definetly not a trend setter and is more for those who seek value over trend.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-12-27
WOAH!!! This mp3 player is pretty sweet, 40 gigs of memory, fm radio + radio recorder, voice recorder, and recording from line in, (that means that you can plug your old cd player, or whatever in to the Juke Jam using a special cord, found at best buy, and you can record songs to your Juke Jam while they play on your device, but the song quality isnt very good) But this player does have a downside too, a very large one. It is very large, I can barely fit my hand around it, width-wise, The only way that you could possibly fit this player in your pocket is if your pockets are absolutely HUGE. Compared to a regular ipod, the juke jam is about 2 1/2 to 3 times the size, yeah, its big, but it weighs about the same as an ipod. Another downside is that the fm radio is crap, the only way you could get any signal is if you were 10 feet away from where the radio station was brodcasting. This thing has a voice recorder, its cool, but in order to be able to hear anything when you play back what you recorded, YOU HAVE TO SCREAM INTO THE TINY HOLE THAT RECORDS YOUR VOICE, and if you were wondering where it is, it is located in the bottom right corner just onto the white plastic, it looks like a tiny speck, but its a voice recorder.Ok, now Im going to tell you how to get music onto the thing, if you are having a hard time installing the program, then read the instruction manual, STEP BY STEP. and yeah, Im to tired to write anymore.
 On: 2004-12-22
This baby has a built in FM tuner/recorder that really comes in handy. My old RCA Jukebox only lasted for a few months. and the sound was horrible. I tried other MP3 solutions but only recently did I find this little Gem. Its battery holds much more power than the lyra and I havnt had any problems so far. The Lyra was cheap, but HUGE!!! (20 GB) I like the Juke Jams small size, it fits almost anywhere, and the user interface is great. I still havnt tested ALL of its functions out. thisll make a great Holiday gift.
On: 2004-12-03
Cant beat the price! Lowest priced 40GB mp3 player. The sound quality is great and it has a quality headphone jack (unlike the nomad). Joystick on the front and large screen is great for navigation while using it in a car. Plays VBR files. It can record off the radio. Unit is plug-n-play for external storage.
Poor Battery! For such a large unit, it should be better. It lasts about 6-7 hours. Also the battery discharges the same whether using the hardrive or just listening to the radio. To get the best usage with a large collection of songs, you need to use the units database for complete albums and the "my music" folder for random single songs in custom folders. PC software wont resize to maximum size of your computer screen. Use the included music match program instead.
Overall I would recommend it for use in the car or in a backpack. It is too bulky to walk around with it attached to your belt. Hopefully the next generation large capacity mp3 players will have better software to deal with large music collections (I have over 4000 VBR mp3s).
On: 2004-03-07
I went to Fryes Electronics 3 weeks ago to purchase the Creative Labs 40GB Zen Xtra, when I noticed this product. I was impressed by the included FM tuner - complete with 10 presets (it even records FM programs to MP3 files), the voice recorder, and the nice large LCD screen. It was also priced within $10.00 of the Zen Xtra, so I opted for this unknown (unresearched) option.The sound was great, and I really loved how easy and logical the modified joysick-style selector button works. A week later, and after loading over 19GB of data to its hard drive, the thing simply locked-up and would not reboot. Frys promptly replaced it for another. The second players screen began to fade beyond readability after 4 days. That window gave me time to remove most of my data, and return the second Juke Jam to the store. This time, I traded it for the Zen Xtra. I have had ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS with the Creative Labs model. The product rep was there in the store. He told me they recently upgraded the firmware, allowing simple drag-and-drop tranfer of data. It not only performs better, but it also has an AWESOME EAX sound enhancement tool. Honestly, it made my very basic car stereo sound like I was listening to my BOSE home theater!!! He mentioned they should be releasing a player with an FM-tuner soon, but I wanted my portable music option sooner. The features of these two items may appear to be similiar; in fact, the Polaroid features look better. But, I have to put my money (nearly $300.00) where the quality is. Creative Labs created a portable music experience! I dont mean to sound like some kind of spokesman for CL, but this thing simply ROCKS!!! Did I mention its nearly $200.00 cheaper than the IPOD (which by the way, does not play the smaller sized, better quality WMA files). I LOVE the size of the IPOD, but that feature doesnt come close to justifying its $489.00 price tag. Macintosh has once again, priced themselves out of the market. Sure there are thousands of people that have IPODs, but they could have cornered the entire MP3 portalbe player market. Fortunately, Apple once again let the competition create feature packed players for $100.00s of dollars less. If you want real quality in a player that plays MP3, WMAs, and features an unmatched sound processor, go with the Zen Xtra. If youve got the money, and dont really need as much space as I do, get the IPOD. Otherwise, wait for more of the research and design to shake-out in this industry. There are sure to be some very interesting innovations coming to this Christmas!!!
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