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Toshiba MES60VK Gigabeat 60 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
By: Toshiba Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 157
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 On: 2008-09-20
I have had my 60 GB for almost 18 months with very few problems. Recently however the unit just stopped working for no reason. I tried to reformat the device with no success. Toshibas website says to use the directions as outlined in the owners manual (which there are no directions for fixing the device). I then called customer service and they said that it would be $165 to repair the device regardless if it was a major fix or not. The unit has been very well cared for and is only 18 months old!!!
I WILL NOT get another Toshiba product as my experience, and from I can see the Toshiba customer service experience for others, has been really poor.
 On: 2008-09-15
I always hated ipods for the simple reason that its Apple proprietary. You have to have itunes and that encodes the mp3s and you cant transfer it to another pc or reuse the encoded mp3s on other players and you cant replace the battery by yourself etc etc... the list is endless.
I looked for options which are more user friendly. I needed something that I can dump all my videos/mp3 and just play, not having to worry about itunes or some "must have" software. This device fits the bill. I use it as a backup hard disk and also as a player. It shows up as a usb drive and you can literally drag and drop file and itll work. Its sleek and light for a 60gb player and has FM/AM and you can also tune to international frequency channels.
I have owned it for couple of years and love it. I do admit the ipod is more popular and has a "feel good" touch to it but practicality is all that matters to me.
On: 2008-05-06
I purchased this wonderful little device on February 10th of 2007. It is now May 5th of 2008 and so far I have not had a SINGLE problem. My Gigabeat currently houses 5500 songs 48 movies and 3300 photos. I use Amazon Unbox so a good majority of those movies are TV shows but I have never once had trouble transferring songs or movies to the device. I have owned 13 other MP3 players ranging from a Zen Nano to Ipods and this one I have found to be the best.
 On: 2008-03-13
I bought this product and it had battery problems out of the box. It never lasted more than two hours on a full charge and would discharge itself completely when not in use, even though it was powered off and locked. (by the way, I am a Rhapsody user and everytime the unit battery runs down to 0, it loses all its song licenses, so I not only had to wait to recharge it, I had to resync it everytime).
I sent the unit in for warranty repair. It came back with absolutely no improvement. All of the issues remained.
I contacted customer service a second time and was told I could send it in for repair again. They even offered to send me a postage paid packing label so I wouldnt have to pay the freight a second time. But they never sent a label and when I followed up, they said that they no longer paid shipping on repairs (I wonder if that is because they have so many defective units.)
The unit subsequently developed skipping problems and data transfer errors. I finally sent it back in on my own dime and was called and told that they would not fix the unit under warranty, I was two months late and my warranty had expired. I could pay $160 to have the unit fixed.
Well I am going to take that $160 and use it toward buying anything other than a Toshiba product.
On: 2008-02-24
this is one of the greatest product by far. better than the old apple ipod
and verry easy to use just open your windows media player and sink your favorite songs and if your movies or videos are allready converted to wm you can sink those with know problem to. I like the huge memmory and u can
allso watch your video by conecting it to your TV. it has video ujustments and a radio you dont have to go to the i store or download software for this to work. i love it.
 On: 2008-01-12
I wanted to wait a good year before I wrote my review. I have reached that point with positive opinion on this product. It is very easy to work with and has lots and lots of storage space!..I like being able to see the album covers when I play songs either on the display or on the TV screen...If I could change anything about this product, those things would be:
1. The battery life: dont get me wrong, It will last all day with moderate use if you are listening to music...apprxmtly 7-8 hours..depending on how you have the device set. (some settings pull more on the battery than others)..If you are watching video, maybe 2.5 hours on a full charge...that might be a little weak as far as battery strength goes in my opinion...But, a simple solution for this is to keep a car charger with you when your using it in a vehicle, and you will never have problems with battery life.
2. I wish it was more compatible with video files and did not have to convert all to WMA format..I found that I couldnt convert some video files...I would get an error message. Also, some files, when you convert them, lose clarity and that defeats the purpose of converting the file in the first place..
3. I would love if I knew how to make each clip in the video file play continuously without having to manually play each individual video.. If there is a way...I havent figured it out yet.
These arent major issues though.. I mainly purchased this to listen to music and audiobooks....you can also run slideshows of your pictures will music is playing as well...I would say that I am overall very pleased with my purchase..
On: 2008-01-04
Toshiba MES60VK Gigabeat 60 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We purchased this for our daughter. Used to love the Toshiba line. I own their laptop, two high definition tvs, their high definition dvd player, and a regular dvd player. So, when purchasing the Gigabeat, I didnt hesitate.
Well, the thing turned out to be a lemon. System failure, hard drive failure. Sent it out twice for repair, both times losing over 1200 songs my daughter paid for. They told us if it happened a third time, even after the warranty expired, they would replace or refund our money.
Guess what? It just failed, and they said, tough luck, youre out of warranty. By days mind you - not months, not years, just days it is out of the warranty period.
Nice company, considering what faithful customers we are..
I will never purchase from, or reccommend Toshiba again, and I will take every opportunity I can to let every consumer know what their customer service is. A Joke.
I will be writing their corporate office also. They are so non-consumer oriented, you cannot even send customer service an email at Toshiba, nor can you speak to a supervisor. You have to mail them!!!!! Yes mail, regular mail, like the post office, with a stamp.
Hello!!!!!!! Arent they a technology company? No emails??????
What a huge disappointment Toshiba. Shame on you.
On: 2008-01-03
Toshiba MES60VK Gigabeat 60 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We purchased this for our daughter. Used to love the Toshiba line. I own their laptop, two high definition tvs, their high definition dvd player, and a regular dvd player. So, when purchasing the Gigabeat, I didnt hesitate.
Well, the thing turned out to be a lemon. System failure, hard drive failure. Sent it out twice for repair, both times losing over 1200 songs my daughter paid for. They told us if it happened a third time, even after the warranty expired, they would replace or refund our money.
Guess what? It just failed, and they said, tough luck, youre out of warranty. By days mind you - not months, not years, just days it is out of the warranty period.
Nice company, considering what faithful customers we are..
I will never purchase from, or recommend Toshiba again, and I will take every opportunity I can to let every consumer know what their customer service is. A Joke.
I will be writing their corporate office also. They are so non-consumer oriented, you cannot even send customer service an email at Toshiba, nor can you speak to a supervisor. You have to mail them!!!!! Yes mail, regular mail, like the post office, with a stamp.
Hello!!!!!!! Arent they a technology company? No emails??????
What a huge disappointment Toshiba. Shame on you.
On: 2008-01-01
At first I really liked this Gigabeat. It lasted about three months though as one small drop broke the player, disallowing it to play music. The Gigabeat is a very thick media device and by now I dont really suggest you buy it as there are plenty of other mp3 devices for the same price that are much more advanced than this one. The only thing I really liked about this Gigabeat was its loud sound.
On: 2007-12-31
At first I really liked this Gigabeat. It lasted about three months though as one small drop broke the player, disallowing it to play music. The Gigabeat is a very thick media device and by now I dont really suggest you buy it as there are plenty of other mp3 devices for the same price that are much more advanced than this one. The only thing I really liked about this Gigabeat was its loud sound.
On: 2007-12-22
I bought a 60 gb Toshiba player a few months ago, and returned it to Amazon. I listen mostly to classical music and WMP makes absolute hash out of classical albums. (Not really their fault; most classical albums have info on them that us completely messed up.)This is not a probem with my Creative player; I just plug it in to a USB port and drag n drop the folders I want to the player, then create a playlist. You cant do this with the Toshiba; you MUST use WMP. Microsoft strkes again!
On: 2007-12-04
I bought this product in Oct. 2006 because the reviews were so great and I didnt want to deal with an IPod. It worked great for about 1 month and then the problems started with the battery. I would charge it one day and the next it would be dead. I called customer service and they said to reset the battery. Some days it worked and some days it didnt. It was a crap shoot every morning on wether or not the battery would be dead even if I had charged it all night. I only put up with it because I had spent $250 on the stupid thing and had spent so much time downloading my music library. Its been a year and after taking very good care of it, the thing dies without warning. It gives me the message to return to the manufacturer for repair. If Toshiba thinks Im going send them any more of my hard earned money to fix this pos, they are sadly mistaken. Ive wasted enough time and money on them and wont do it again.
On: 2007-11-28
I love my Gigabeat. I bought mine about 1 year and a half ago and its still working great.
I wasnt a fan of the thing when I first received it but that was due to the fact that I didnt know how to use it properly. Ive now gotten a hang of it and I never leave home without it. Its my perfect gym buddy. I listen to tunes while lifting weights and watch videos while on the treadmill. Its awesome.
I use Media Monkey (a program you can get free from the MM site) to transfer music and use Windows Media Player 11 to convert and transfer videos to the device.
I had no problem with the music/video transfer when I upgraded my computer to Vista.
I highly recommend it.
On: 2007-11-09
I have friends who have ipods, theyre always smashing them against walls trying to get them to work, or get over errors, they have all complained about itunes and when they have had computer problems they have ipod problems too. Not the gigabeat. All you need is microsoft media player with a sync tab and you can use anyones computer because almost everyone has this on their computer. The Gigabeat is more like an external hard drive so you can hook it up to a computer and go right into the folders on the MP3 player and delete things (nothing is saved with weird names),this also means you can open your gigabeat from a friends computer and click and drag a copy of all of your music to their computer for them to have. The only thing is if you need to edit a song name or a picture or video that is saved on the MP3 player, you need to edit it on the computer that you saved it from and re-sync the player. Its a pretty simple and very elegant player...dont let the up and down arrows misguide you either, you can still scroll by holding the arrow and letting go when you get to the letter (you will use this a lot because it holds a ton of songs)...
OH the battery life is only about 3 hours so if you plan on getting this for your car I recommend getting a car charger too, theyre only about $8.00 if you shop around on line. you can play music while it is charging in your car so its no big deal with the car charger.
On: 2007-10-30
Quite simply, this is the best Portable Media Device on the market, aesthetically, supported format wise, screen wise, navigation wise, and possibly sound wise.
Its not without its annoying drawbacks: Randomly reformatting if you dont unplug the usb cable correctly, mediocre battery life, error code 5 "return to manufacturer" (when the hard drive cable disconnects after a hard fall), and an equalizer that doesnt work, but even given all those, I wouldnt trade it for any other player.
Ive had mine for over a year and only once has it reformatted itself (a big complaint for some reviewers), and you can easily prevent this if you turn the power on the player off before disconnecting the USB cable. Plus its a rare occurrence even if you disconnect it with the power on.
Though Toshiba no longer supports the player, you can find excellent support on the MyGigabeat dot com forum, including instructions on how to upgrade or replace its hard drive, battery, screen, or firmware. And replacing or upgrading parts on this thing is easier than any of the other big name contending devices. Wanna swap the 60gb drive with a 100 or 120gb drive? Easy as pie. Wanna upgrade the battery to 1200mA to squeeze out an extra 2-4 hours of play time? Just remove 2 extra screws, pop the old one out and the new one in. Youre set. None of this non-user serviceable ridiculousness.
Why 4 stars? Its not perfect.
But its close enough.
On: 2007-10-30
Quite simply, this is the best Portable Media Device on the market, aesthetically, supported format wise, screen wise, navigation wise, and possibly sound wise.
Its not without its annoying drawbacks: Randomly reformatting if you dont unplug the usb cable correctly, mediocre battery life, error code 5 "return to manufacturer" (when the hard drive cable disconnects after a hard fall), and an equalizer that doesnt work, but even given all those, I wouldnt trade it for any other player.
Ive had mine for over a year and only once has it reformatted itself (a big complaint for some reviewers), and you can easily prevent this if you turn the power on the player off before disconnecting the USB cable. Plus its a rare occurrence even if you disconnect it with the power on.
Though Toshiba no longer supports the player, you can find excellent support on the MyGigabeat dot com forum, including instructions on how to upgrade or replace its hard drive, battery, screen, or firmware. And replacing or upgrading parts on this thing is easier than any of the other big name contending devices. Wanna swap the 60gb drive with a 100 or 120gb drive? Easy as pie. Wanna upgrade the battery to 1200mA to squeeze out an extra 2-4 hours of play time? Just remove 2 extra screws, pop the old one out and the new one in. Youre set. None of this non-user serviceable ridiculousness.
Why 4 stars? Its not perfect.
But its close enough.
On: 2007-09-18
I have had my Gigabeat 60GB for about six months and I have been very pleased with it. The feel and quality are substantive - unlike some others that look and feel like plastic toys. The fact that the media sync is universal with Windows Media player is a plus. The sound and picture quality are fantastic. Controls are simple and intuitive. I wish you could delete files directly on the Gigabeat but you must be plugged into the PC to do that. Easily powers my Sennheiser headphones. The battery life is not as long as advertised. I should have sent it back for that but I like it so much, I dont want to give it up! The trickle charge over USB is handy and quicker than I expected - you do not need to take the AC charger everywhere. Another reviewer noted the loss of all of stored media. I only had that happen once and since then have been very careful about making sure that the Gigabeat is done communicating with the PC and ready to be disconnected - no problems since. I carefully reviewed all of the MP3/media players within this size/price range and I would still buy the Toshiba if I had it do all over again - no hesitation. Accessories are non-existent but hey I didnt buy it for the accessories.
On: 2007-09-07
I have had my 60-gig Gigabeat for 6 months now and Im still thrilled with it. It is the first MP3 player Ive had and I dont see how an iPod could be better -- not to mention that there isnt any proprietary format nonsense to put up with. The battery has been solid -- I have played 2 full length movies on a single charge -- and it has room for everything. I was hoping that it would function as a portable hard drive but it isnt.
I have not had any problems with file transfers. I have about 30 gigs of media on it and it takes about 15 minutes to sync.
A few of the controls could be better placed, i.e. the "lock" switch should be farther from the power button so that you dont accidentally turn off the power when you are trying to unlock it. But overall, this is a great product and I hope that Toshiba follows it up with a stellar second generation.
On: 2007-09-06
I have had my 60-gig Gigabeat for 6 months now and Im still thrilled with it. It is the first MP3 player Ive had and I dont see how an iPod could be better -- not to mention that there isnt any proprietary format nonsense to put up with. The battery has been solid -- I have played 2 full length movies on a single charge -- and it has room for everything. I was hoping that it would function as a portable hard drive but it isnt.
I have not had any problems with file transfers. I have about 30 gigs of media on it and it takes about 15 minutes to sync.
A few of the controls could be better placed, i.e. the "lock" switch should be farther from the power button so that you dont accidentally turn off the power when you are trying to unlock it. But overall, this is a great product and I hope that Toshiba follows it up with a stellar second generation.
On: 2007-08-30
I bought my Toshiba gigabeat when my last mp3 player finally died. I had a dell model before and absoutly love the simplicity of the machine. I like having my entire music collection with me, but i dont use the whole lets put pictures, and watch tv or anything like on an mp3 player/ media player. I really just wanted a simple mp3 player. Well this one is simple, kinda. I like the fact if I wanted to I can listen to local radio stations on it, which is great for those in the gym experinces when they have a tv but you have to set your radio to a certain station to hear the sound. The battery life isnt bad, I can get about 8-10 hours of music on shuffle. I have however still not figured out how to get a playlist to load on to the player. The quicklist isnt bad, but i miss having 15 different playlists to cover my particular moods. I dislike the fact all the play, next track, or last track buttons are on the side instead of on the front. That being said I am very pleased with the device, and I would buy it again.
On: 2007-08-09
I bought mine for $200 but even that was overpriced when you consider that it only worked for around 6 months. One day it just froze for no reason and all my songs disappered only to reappear a few days later. Now the unit only works is if its plugged in which renders it pretty much usless. Dont buy this piece of trash. Now Ill just have to break down and buy an iPod.
On: 2007-07-26
This is a good product, the only thing is that it will delete all the stuff thats on it even if you look at it funny. I have had it delete my all my music and videos and pictures on it that took hours to put on in an instant. And whats worse is it happened more than once, 7 times is to many. So in the end would i recommend this product. To someone I dont like yes. Otherwise I highly recommend getting a microsoft zune. And it is just a really really bad prototype for the microsoft zune anyway, trust me I sold this player and bought a zune. The interface is the same, bigger screen, more color variety. What do you have to lose with the zune, memory? If that is the case you can just wait until the zune 2.0 comes out later this year.
 On: 2007-07-05
I have this unit for about 4 months now. Knowing what I know now, I would not buy again.
Good:
- I like the MCE interface. Its intuitive and easy to use.
- Small, light weight and portable.
- Was cheap when I bought it.
Bad:
- Battery life is short (5-6 hrs for music). For my next player, I need something that will last me a whole week of commuting (10 hrs).
- User interface needs some more refinement. For example, theres no way to sort a play list on the fly. It is sorted as it is listed in Windows. Since the interface is created by Microsoft, and now that Zune is out, it is unlike to ever be updated. This is a dead end product. The Zune uses an identical interface. Get the Zune if you want this unit.
- Corrupted twice when I plugged into the computer for syncing. It happened twice during the first month but none since. Its not a big deal to re-sync the MP3s but for videos, its a pain especially if you have a lot of videos to re-encode.
- I hate the ipod but it got me green with envy when I went shopping for a dock/speakers.
In term of performance, the unit works fine, the sound is good, and its EASY to use. If thats all youll need and you can find it for cheap, get it. But for the battery life, lack of assc, and corruption issues, I would not buy again.
On: 2007-07-04
We also did the research and thought this was the best from all reviews read. I bought it in january and it worked for a couple of weeks and then died work--screen froze. amazon sent a replacement. it worked for well for two months (except we couldnt download tv shows recorded on our PC in Media Center XP), then screen froze and it would only turn on if plugged into the ac adapter. By this time, we had to return it to Toshiba. When we got it back, it was not fixed. Just sent it back to toshiba again. well see. Its a lot of money to spend on something that doesnt work.
On: 2007-06-26
I did alot of careful research before buying the Toshiba Gigabeat. I hated Ipods, as everyone in my family would call me when they froze or crashed etc. I also am a big fan of Window Media PLayer 11, and hate Itunes. I wasnt sure whether I wanted a Zune or a Gigabeat, but the Zune seemed too new and needed to work the bugs out. I have had my Gigabeat for six months and luckily I have had few problems with it. The hard drive is so massive I have been filling it for months and still have 20GB left!! I especially love its compatibility with subscription services. I used it with Vongo sucessfully (but Vongos selection of movies stunk so I cancelled, nothing against the Gigabeat) However it is MTVs Urge that I use most often with the Gigabeat, which is also seemlessly integrated into WMP11. I download albums at will, quickly at that. The only problems I have had with the Gigabeat, 1) I have had some issues with deleting unwanted songs. I delete them from my library, but after synching, they are still on the Gigabeat! 2) Not to beat a dead horse, but the battery life is quite diappointing, a compared to what is promised. Turn off harmonics, and lower the backlight time, and that helps, but it still is miserable compared to some players. 3) It did freeze on me twice in six months, but that was easily remedied by shutting the battery completely off by a tiny siwtch on the back. Im not sure if Im just lucky, but my Gigabeat has had few of the quirks mentioned in the other reviews, and everyone who has used mine wants to buy one afterward. I love it, and it has become an intregal part of my life! Highly recommended!
On: 2007-06-21
I have had one for six months and have had to send it back for replacement four times. It has very poor software and no documentation. It has trouble playing protected files, and the hard drive gets corrupted at the drop of a hat. Once corrupted, there is no fix except returning it for replacement because there is no mechanism for totally erasing the hard drive and restoring the player to a virgin condition. There are virtually no accessories and it appears to me that Toshiba may abandon the product very soon, especially now that Microsoft has decided to make Zunes with another company. (In case you didnt know, the Zune so far has been a Gigabeat in disguise.)
On: 2007-06-16
I have had couple of these and every one has performed beyond my expectations. The only reason I have ever had to replace it was theft and one unfortunate experience with an airline stewardess and a drink tray (lots of smoke. When I first got it I played with all the EQ settings. I turned harmonics on and my battery wouldnt last for squat. Turning harmonics off increased battery life almost 60 percent. I have never had any issues with it losing my music. It transfers easily and plays every time. If I could combine its ease of use and function with my Wolverine Data ESPs 120 gig hard drive and crisp screen I would have the greatest mp3 player around. My current gigabeat is 9 months old and has been all over the world with me. it gets tossed into a back pack and ran through airport security, people not watching where they are going, and over crowded over head compartments. It is still going strong. Job well done
On: 2007-05-29
I purchased my Gigabeat about 5 months ago, and I have to say Ive been pretty satisfied. Im not a fan of iTunes and I have all my music stored on my Media Center PC, so the Gigabeat was a logical choice. Sound quality is great, and the navigation system kills Apples, hands down. The click wheel may be trendy, but the Gigabeat controls are functional. The Gigabeat also beats the iPod in storage convenience...it shows up as an external drive in Windows, and allows syncing to multiple computers (its much less painful than iTunes).
Video is good, although the WMV conversion process is so slow that its impractical unless you run it overnight. Photos are beautiful. The radio sucks (I receive maybe 2 stations).
The big killer is the battery life. The problem is a stupid programming decision: pressing the power button does NOT power off the unit. It puts the unit into a low-power standby mode. Thus, the battery is ALWAYS draining, albeit slowly. I bought an accessory kit from Amazon which included a "travel charger" and car charger, both of which are portable (unlike the bulky adapter included in-box), and theyve been absolutely vital. The player can hold up for 2-3 days of intermittent usage before it dies, and theres a tiny switch on the bottom which allows you to power it completely OFF if you really need to conserve power.
It has its other quirks; like the one time it cleared off all my music for no apparent reason. Mine also had a pretty bad crash and I had to mail it in for repairs, but the service was quick and left all my media intact on the player. Any player will have quirks, though. The Gigabeats quirks are compounded by the fact that there is absolutely ZERO documentation on them, but theyre not impossible to deal with.
All in all, its an excellent player--especially if youre a user of Windows Media Center. Be ready to deal with a few quirky issues, but this is the most solid iPod alternative Ive seen yet.
On: 2007-05-20
I got this MP3 player for several reasons: the usual not wanting to be an Ipod drone, desire for lossless WMA playback, and large storage. The Gigabeat has served me well in the 4 months I have had it. I suggest (as with any piece of PC equipment) to make sure you have the latest drivers for Windows, motherboard drivers, and the newest version of WMP. The Gigabeat has not had a firmware update since release but this has been no problem for me. When I first hooked my Gigabeat up, I had astonishingly slow transfer times and hangups (often requiring restart). I was frustrated beyond belief and wanted to break/return the player. However, I caught a quick snippet online about an external storage device performing slowly off a front USB port. So, I switched the cable to the back, and voila! no problem since then. So, having a custom built computer, I probably have something hooked up wrong from the mobo to the front USB (another issue).
The Gigabeat has very fast synching in WMP (including 40 MB WMA files) The menu system on the gigabeat is fast and colorful, the album art is a plus. Only being able to make a "quick list" in the player once you have the music on is a bummer. However, you can always go back and make playlists in WMP and just sync them over. The Gigabeat also has good sound quality. The only other major downside is a lack of accesories for the Gigabeat. I found an armband on Ebay for when I work out but the piece of crap isnt skin tight on the player as advertised (not Toshibas fault). All in all, Im willing to take a few downsides of the player and still give 5 stars, ESPECIALLY when you consider the alternatives. The price on these is at times amazing so dont snooze!
On: 2007-05-11
Ive just been using the Gigabeat for the past couple of weeks. No problems with Media Player 11, no problems with sync, very good sound (as good as wifes apple), very nice features, easy to use, holds tons of stuff, can use subscription services as well (which was the key reason i bought it over the iPod). Ads informed me that it had battery life of 12 or more hours on a full charge. So far I have yet to make it to 5 or 6. I put the settings at dim backlight, almost never on after a button is pressed and still found it horrible. I contacted toshiba, and all they could tell me is that it generally last for 4-6 hours on an average. My wife plays her Ipod at work for 8 hours and still uses it at home. Very disappointed as I was really excited about all of the write-ups on this product. I was really expecting it to be at least close to the ipod and better in regards to subscription services, etc. Not happy with the battery life at all. If you dont mind short life on continuous play, everything else about it is very nice. Maybe I have a lemon in the batch. I spoke with Toshiba customer service and they blamed possible settings in Media player, but couldnt tell me where to find these same settings. I went through all the possibilities and couldnt find anything that was set inappropriately. They also informed me that I could bring it to a service department, no refunds. Oh well, live and learn.
On: 2007-05-07
With so much room it swallowed up my entire catalog of 513 albums, and over 2,300 songs in no time flat and still had over 45 GB to spare! Thats including over 1,000 high quality photos!
Easy to use with Windows Media Player (though Id rather use Real Player). Simple drag and drop adds any files you want.
The video playback is as good as any other media players on the market with a slightly bigger screen to boot.
My only complaint is the volume level is too low. It may be to protect my own ears, but I like my sound loud, and it only gets a 5 on a scale of 11 for loudness.
Overall, excellent product for the money.
On: 2007-05-02
By my title I mean that in a couple of ways: downloading music and using the player great screen and audio. As far as downloading I probably have a couple of culprits that arent the Gigabeat. I have Vista and Napster which I know have plenty of glitches. When none of these are encountered this thing is a breeze to load up and use. Its a great product, not deserving of the negatives I have read. It takes some brain-power to use but its worth it. If anyone has any comments about my glitch issues I would be happy to hear them. Highly reccomended.
On: 2007-04-18
I purchased my gigabeat in febuary 2007. The night after I got it, it stopped being able to charge, and it wouldnt recognize the battery for some reason, but I turned the battery on and off over and over and then it started back up.Three days after I bought it, all the songs magically got removed, vanished. I was a little nervous but put all my songs back on anyway. It was alright during the month of march, with no problems. Then a about a week ago,when i finished syncing some songs to it and pulled out the usb plug, all the songs vanished again. I was annoyed, and put them back on, which took awhile. Then today, the gigabeat stopped recognizing the battery again. I frantically turned the battery on and off. nothing. When i plugged it into the charger, it turned on but then without me doing any thing it turned off. so basically, it wont work when its not in the charger. I know your thinking "oh that couldnt happen to me" but it will. I garuntee that the gigabeat will dissapoint you. Cnet dont know what theyre talking about.
DO NOT BUY IT!
GET THE 80 GIG IPOD!!!!!
DO NOT BUY!!!!
On: 2007-04-11
This portable media player from Toshiba is pretty cool. Its very easy to use. In fact, I figured out how to use it right after I took it out from the box. The only thing that I dont like about it is that some of the video that I have on it, seems to glitch sometimes... otherwise I would have given this product 5 stars...I like this better than the Ipod personally...
On: 2007-04-11
So Ive had thing for about a month now and as far as i can tell, Toshiba has made a good product that has some flaws but also many many more pros than cons that make me really appreciate the gigabeat.
Lets first start off with the flaws...First of all, and the biggest one in my opionion is that its very complicated trying to get any sort of movie on here. Ive treid numerous encoding programs, converters and all other sorts of things but still ive had little luck. Ive gotten Gladiator on here but the problem is that the audio gets away from the movie about a half hour in and the picture is pixelated a lot. The second flaw is the battery life isnt the greatest. I used to own a creative zen photo and the battery life on it was a lot worse so let me tell you this is a step up from i used to have but still it could be better. The easiest solution to this problem is to charge it at night when im sleeping, and sense the backlight is on while it charges, put something over it and then you wont be bothered by the light coming from the screen while youre sleeping. Other flaws include the absense of a 1 track repeat mode, the black finish and the screen show every fingerprint, and smudge on it and it gets kind of annoying but you eventually learn to deal with it.
The cons well, its 60 gb first of all, which holds all of my 3700+ songs and a movie and still has 41 gb left of space on it, so im really impressed by it. Second of all, the screen is amazing. Everything is so clear and the screen is so much bigger than i expected it to be, especially for an mp3 player but with the large screen comes less battery life, so it gets used sparingly. The sound quality is great, but the equalizer settings could use some help, cuz there is only a slight difference in the setting and the only way you can really notice it is if your ears are really sensitive. I turn mine off cuz i have some pretty decent headphones. I wish it had a customizable EQ but its no big deal. The interface is really easy to use, everything is all laid out for you, very dummy proof for lack of a better term. The quicklist or playlist-on-the-go setting is very nice, which allows you to make up your on list of songs you want to listen to certain songs and what not. I prefer the tactile buttons on this gigabeat over the touch screen because touch screens are so sensitive and tempermental to use at times, so its a big plus for me. All of the buttons on the side are a little wierd to get used to but after having this for a while you get used to it very quickly. The unit seems very sturdy and very durable, I am way more comfortable with this in my pocket while walking around school than i would be with an ipod or anything else. Plus i got a really good deal on it so for the price this unit is very much worth every penny.
Well this is getting kind of long so to all you who decide to purchase, enjoy it, i know i am!
On: 2007-04-10
So yes, I while ago I was looking for an mp3 player. I wanted something good, something with a good amount of space, and something that could possibly play video.
I found the gigabeat and thought wow! But then I saw the reviews....I was really worried but there was always warranties just incase. I did read somewhere thats its just the user possibly and not neccessarily the item. Its definately not as easy to use as an Ipod but as long as you know how to use it, it works well
It does what I wanted it to do, hold and play my music, excellently. Ive changed settings for maximum battery conservation for example brightness to 1 (still very visible, dont even notice it) backlight timeout to 1 (used to have it at 5) you shouldnt need it that much (i like my electronice items to not have the backlight on, just general habit of battery saving.) I have not had a problem with the battery dying, except of course having used it literally all day and running out at midnight.
had that whole data deletion problem once. but now I just follow procedure. when just charging, turn it off, wait a bit, then plug it into the computer. when syncing (which I dont have set to auto) turn it on, wait a couple secs, hook it up, sync, wait for it to be finished syncing then either unplug (dont close WMA) and it will finish by itself OR close WMA (which causes the gigabeat to finish by itself) then unplug. dont turn off or on constantly/back and forth/while plugged in.
have a slight problem with video conversion, but was solved using my own convertor with WMA.
the whole tag things is still a problem...I wish the music would go how I already have my music heirarchy....oh well. Im gonna have to spend a good day fixing up all my tags...ugh. but thats not neccessarily the gigabeats fault.
you have to know what youre doing when using this, unlike an Ipod. takes some comp knowledge and common sense.
Not sure what else I should write here, but I am very satisfied =)
On: 2007-04-04
Pros: The gigabeat is considerably cheaper for more capacity than an iPod. It is compatible with Plays For Sure and Vongo (movie download service). Nice screen, although suited more for watching short recordings than full length movies. Pretty easy to transfer almost any video in mpg or wmv to player (although mpgs require conversion to wmvs through MediaPlayer).
Cons: Battery life is not very good, I average maybe 7 hours. The interface of the player is much sloppier than that of an iPod (play/pause, forward track, back track are on the side of the player and are pretty easy to accidentally bump). MediaPlayer is a VERY buggy program, when you set it up to auto-sync there are often duplicate albums and other weird problems. I recommend using something else to transfer your music and videos (even just drag and drop). The player has slow response times when advancing tracks sometimes (a couple of seconds or more).
Overall: Though I listed a lot of cons, I really do like the player. It is very nice not being tied down to iTunes as the only major source of legal downloadable music, and the battery life issue isnt all that important to me - it made it Pittsburgh to Paris playing almost the entire flight.
On: 2007-03-31
This mp3 player is great for anyone who never wants to have to think about deleting or changing the music on their player, just adding to it. Easy to understand quick start guide gets you going in clear concise fashion, and this player will play a variety of music formats. Good sound quality. Also plays downloaded video on tv and has good picture quality, if you care about that.
On: 2007-03-29
Nice little player, love the color black and silver. It only works with windows media, wma format. It comes with an USB cable that allows you to plug it into your computer and connect it to the player. When you do that it will synchronize it self with windows media player, you can then follow the instruction and upload your music. For uploading my music I just bypass the synchronize process and just drag and drop the files into the player. Simple and fast, the Gigabeat will organize your files in different categories by, artiste, albums, genres, and more.
It comes with a FM radio, no AM
It will also convert the files to wma format. For a movie it takes a long time to convert. The earphone is good, but one side is longer than the other dont know why the do that. Other than that its perfect, have been using it for about a month with out any problems. The screen it nice a bright but its a little hard to see in the sun light.
I would recommend it to anyone looking for a new mp3 player.
On: 2007-03-29
This is a good player, especially if you get it at the discounted price. I use mine solely for music but it does allow for movies, photos, etc. A minor drawback is that I am yet to find a shuffle button. Also it can be hard to tell when its off or not (screen goes black to save power after idleness), and since there is no auto shut off, your battery can drain without you knowing (like if you put it down thinking its off when its not then you walk away for a few hours).
It is very easy to navigate though and overall I am quite pleased with it. Just like any new toy, you need to get used to the configuration and location of buttons so dont get discouraged too early.
On: 2007-03-27
I was interested in the gigabeat, since I did not want to have to conform to IPOD. The reviews were good. First problem is the battery life is advertised at 12 hours...try 6. I saw an article that said that 12 would be optimal conditions...my battery drains in 24 hrs if not plugged in.
Next problem...one day, I plugged in and started and all memory seemed to get wiped out...after discussing with Toshiba phone support (very friendly and helpful), the firmware was no longer valid. Sent back to Toshiba and all was working. Less than a week later now, I just started up again and now all my info is removed again...this is all within a month.
On: 2007-03-27
For all you windows operators out there, if youre looking for a competitor that blows the i pod out of the water this is it. If anything it may equal the i pod in many areas, but still my personal choice for space, interface, and software. Instead of just listing pros and cons, Ill go in depth with all categories I can think of.
Overall Quality
Very well built. Its a solid piece of technology and will never fall apart on its own. The original was ridiculous and was practically glued together. This one is bolted together and tightly sealed. If youre a stickler for looks though, i would get a case. It can dent or scratch rather easily, but you really have to try hard to harm the actual device. It also still has a strap attachment.
Size
Incredibly small and lightweight. its so much smaller than the ipod and is no where near as bulky as its predecessor. It blows my mind how you can barely notice it in your pocket.
Interface
I have to say this is one of the most easy and creative interfaces Ive seen on any mp3 player to date. You can scroll through literally everything with the cross buttons, which are now actual buttons by the way. The dedicated buttons on the side make it very easy to pause/play switch songs and volume in any menu. It seems a more applicable version of windows media center has been installed on the actual device. Everything is very clear, and selecting is a breeze. It includes a few nuances like the letter guide that shows up while scrolling quickly down the menus. Unfortunately a few of the good little stuff is from the gigabeat F is not on the gigabeat S, such as the delete from device option, and some other features i would have like to see stay. There are still other new settings and features
Software
Works incredibly well with windows media player 10 and up. Songs and videos transfer within half seconds. The device is also very open with windows media player. You can go to any menus and edit anything. Try that with a windows ipod.
Audio
i never use the headphones out of the box, but Ive always used sony wraparounds and it sounds fantastic. Just not as many equalizers as the original. Personally my favorite is "electronic" is the perfect balance for me, but thats completely subjective. It uses alot of different file formats, and unless youre doing some wacky stuff with file types, you may never have a problem. It takes all file types windows media player does and probably more. All in all, it sounds great
Video
Although i havent much use for the video mode, i have experimented a little, and people who are expecting FANTASTIC video support will not be thrilled here. It still plays video and the quality is still good, but audio is sometimes a bit tinny and file types can be a bit of trouble sometimes. DivX must be converted simply to .wmv or .avi. While the video and picture quality is still pretty good, its technicalities need a little fixing. The aspect ratios can be switched from 4:3 to 16:9 (letterbox). Plus the screen size is about 2 and a half inches. its great for clips and music videos, but id love to meet the person with the patients to watch a 2 hour movie on that screen.
Picture Quality
Obviously will hold alot of pictures, and it takes almost all file types. For still pictures, it is great quality. So if youre really concerned about picture storage, dont worry about it.
There are plenty of options for album art. Not only is there a picture for every album in the menu but, the actual play sub menu has 5 other menu styles within it. One which is nothing but the album art.
Battery Life
It says about 12 hours but can be even more if you edit youre screen options. Put at like 5 seconds for the screen to turn off and you shouldnt have any problems. For video however, theres about 3 hours there and maybe even more depending on how often you charge it. Again people who watch 2 hour movies on a small device will have a tough time. Personally, the battery has never run out at an inappropriate time.
Other Features
Because it has windows media center, you can also get other downloadable content from it if youre connected to it. The "My TV" feature works kind of like podcasts except windows lets you record your own tv I believe. This may give a little more lasting appeal as well.
Space
the 60 gigs feels almost infinite, a personal must for me because i listen to a lot of music. Even with loads of videos I can still cant see it getting too tight.
Price
The s60 is pretty steep at msrp $500. But if you are buying it of Amazon at 250 or less its a steal.
Summary
A great product. My choice over ipod. Battery life and video file types are the only things I could see as down points. I would definitely agree it is a better mp3 player than an overall media player. But you will still be able play videos and audio comparatively well for such a small device, and the interface right now I believe is unmatched. For such a small device, it is very powerful.
On: 2007-03-27
This is a great piece of technology and you should consider it before you go off and buy an Ipod. Ive had mine for about a month now and I love it. No problems or difficulties have been encountered.
1. Ease of use: Using it with windows media 10 is a sinch, in fact my 15 year old first transferred my music onto it for me. Within the first 2 hours we had over 600 songs loaded. (And that was using the slower method of drag & drop). When you sync files it is much faster . I love the way it shows the album covers for the music youre playing. The controls are also very easy to use and learn.
2. Build quality: It feels solid and well built. Ive dropped mine a couple of times... no problems.
3. Appearance: The unit looks great and the display is beautiful.
4. Capacity: 60GB... More than you can get anywhere else for the price! Which brings me to price.
5. Price: Varies but I got mine for $188.00 on Ebay.
6. Battery Life: Not the best but mine has never run out during use.
I think the reason that most people complain about the battery life
is that the screen is so beautiful that you want to see it lighted
all the time. This will drain the battery more quickly.
7. Picture viewing: The unit is great for viewing digital images of various types.
8. Sound quality: Great. I am not an audiophile but it gives great response Bass highs and midrange even with the stock earphones.
Only problem is I now have to buy one for my wife. :-)
STOP THE PRESSES!!! (A few weeks later)
Ok so I said that this is a great player.
And generally it is. However within days after I wrote my first review the battery in my Gigabeat failed. Therefore it will now only play when the A/C adapter is connected. So its no longer a portable media player but just a media player. I contacted Toshiba through their website and they responded (quickly) giving me a 1-800 number to call. First call they said to try turning off the battery switch and waiting 30 mins and then turn it back on. That did not work. Second call and well see what happens.
Ill keep you posted.
On: 2007-03-20
Good all round product: easy-to-use software, simple controls, good picture quality. However, part of this product genre is the personalisation which lets Toshiba down. The MP3 accessories are just not in the same class as the IPods accessories, which makes me wish I would have bought one of those.
On: 2007-03-20
I have to say that this device is great. Its sound is wonderful. You can also see your movies transfering from dvd format to wmv format. The only negative point is that you can not storage word or excell documents on its 60GB hard drive. But if you are looking for an entertainment device, this is what you need. Excellent video quality and sound experience.
On: 2007-03-20
Battery is awful, I had to send it back to be repaired.Customer Service said if it fails again,I will have to send it out again.A real LEMON.
On: 2007-03-19
I really wanted to give this 4 1/2 stars but since it was not available I went with 5 stars and I will explain the issues I have with the unit. All in all, I LOVE this player. The display is great! Big enough to see pictures. While I have not watched a movie on it yet, I dont think there would be any problem viewing it. The navigation buttons are easy to use and the control buttons on the side are well placed. Probably the feature I like the best is that this player IS TOUGH!! It already survived a fall from four feet. The back is especially tough- real heavy metal baby!!
Now for some function. I love that it uses Media Player rather than something else. In Meida Player I can change genras to anything I want- like 50s, 70s or 80s genras. I will probalby add a "bubble gum pop" genra. I love that kind of versatility. I created a "dance" category. It takes a lot of time to retag stuff but once its done its wonderful.
I still have not figured out how to convert movie files to wmv format but I will figure that out. I havent really explored playlists either.
Now for the negatives. The equalizer seems to be worthless. It is loudest with it set at "none." Maybe if you had some premium headphones it would make a difference (more on that later). The battery life is speced out at 20 hours. I dont want to guess how long the battery life is but I know it is not 20 hours. I do have the display stay on for quite a while when I push a button so that could be affecting it.
My biggest gripe about this player are the headphones- they suck!! They are big round earbuds which keep on falling out. I have tried three other pairs and I get way more volume out of the player.
I know manufacturers read these reviews so Im going to suggest a coulple of things. I have used slide control volume for headphones but they are subject to movement changing the volume. How about a hard click style? And for us people who had ear infections when we were kids how about a balance control. What is perfectly balanced is not my ideal listening environment- especially with headphones.
Well, thats it. To summarize- LOVE the player, hate the headphones.
On: 2007-03-18
I thought the MES60VK was absolutely great for the first 3 weeks - good features, excellent sound and easy to use. Then suddenly overnight, the battery went from 80% power to completely dead and would not recharge. The unit is now back at Toshiba for repair. Very disappointing.
On: 2007-03-17
I have been using this player (60g black model) for a few months now. The sound is fantastic, and this is the most important thing for me. I never have and never will use an ipod for many reasons, the #1 being they have always fallen short on sound quality compared to quality brands like Creative and Toshiba. I cant comment on the video performance, and I have used it a little for viewing pics and they look great because the screen is top notch. But sound quality is clearly the most important thing for me.
I of course am not using the stock headphones. I hope everyone knows by now that upgrading the headphones is the first thing one must do when using any portable music player. You dont have to spend a fortune if you shop wisely. I am using Sennheiser behind-the-neck style headphones that only set me back about $25 including shipping. They are all-day comfortable and the sound quality is, say, about 300,000% better than stock headphones. Nuff said about that.
The operating system, menus, etc. are pretty good. There are a few things - call them options, features, functions - that I wish it could or would do. I dont really blame the unit for this. These things are based on individual tastes and I believe it is impossible to make everyone happy. Toshiba would have had to sit down with me during development to get it just the way I want it.
Battery life is very good - I think - and keep in mind it gets substantially better the more the unit is used after the first few days. Try not to base your opinions about battery life on initial use. I use mine (on about half volume since my Sennheisers are incredibly loud compared to other phones Ive used) for probably about 6 hours a day at work, then another hour and a half (on even louder volume) at the gym. When I get home the meter usually shows about half battery left, maybe a little more. And it only takes about an hour to charge it full again.
The major downside...the hard drive failed after a couple of months and I had to send it to Toshiba for repair. Now Im not especially in love with Toshiba more than any other quality electronics brand, or an employee or anything, but I dont really harbor any hard feelings for this. As you may have read or heard, they ALL have failures. There isnt one brand - Apple, Toshiba, Creative - that doesnt consistently suffer hard drive failures. It is a fact with these things and must be regarded as a possibility when buying one. I knew it going in, hoped it wouldnt happen, and was bummed but not shocked when it did. If you cant deal with this possibility you should really try and focus on being satisfied with a much-smaller-capacity flash memory player that has no moving parts. They promise a 2-3 day turnaround after receipt of the damaged unit, and then ground shipping return to you. I overnighted it to them (I have an inside scoop on shipping) and surprisingly they overnighted it back to me after repair. All told, I was without it for less than a week (which was torture since I got so used to having it) and it was fixed and has stayed fixed since.
It is small, handsome, and the sound is incredible. I have heard Creative routinely rated the best of the best as far as sound, but I have developed a pretty good ear, and I cant imagine the sound getting any better, nor do I believe I would notice the tiny difference even if it was.
On: 2007-03-16
I am picky about both music and gadgets, but this little guy was a great purchase.
OVERVIEW:
After three weeks of owning this device, I highly recommend it. Its slick, menus and controls make sense, nice sound quality. I would give it 5 stars if not for the less-than-stellar battery life and dependence on Windows Media Player (nothing against the program, just not as likely to be running my friends music).
PROS:
1. The menus and operating system are extremely versatile and intuitive. My friends are quite impressed with the scroll speed and the letter icon telling me where I am in the lists.
2. The player itself is sleek and most notably NOT AN iPOD!
3. No thought of running out of memory (though I havent stored any video yet)
4. Dedicated buttons on the side make it simple to pause, FF, Rewind, and power down without pulling it out of your pocket.
5. Pauses the track in place automatically when you power down.
6. It feels solid, especially compared to the Zunes and Zens Ive played with in stores.
7. Screen color, brightness, and sharpness are EXCELLENT.
7. Did I mention its not an iPod? Go ahead, it feels good to snicker at white earbuds. Get some Shure E4Cs in black.
CONS:
1. No, the battery doesnt last forever. The low battery indicator pops up right before the thing is totally empty. Developing new habit of charging every two or three days.
2. I havent found how to edit track names or add cover art to the tracks already on the player. I have to delete the track and drop in the new information as a new track.
3. I set the screen to shut off after 5 seconds. Thus, if I pause a track and the screen goes dark I have to remind myself to turn off the unit.
4. Not many accessories available yet. I havent even seen the thing sold in any store Ive been in.
5. iTunes wont recognize a Gigabeat and Windows Media Player wont recognize an iPod, so sharing music with my friends always involves an extra step or two.
6. This one is picky, but when you are listening to a playlist, like a shuffle of all my tunes or a complation album, I can only get detailed info like artist and album on the track currently playing. If I click on the next--or previous--song title to get that info it starts playing the song.
7. I hate the name. I feel like a 13-year-old girl when I tell anyone what its called. I usually just stick with "Its from Toshiba."
On: 2007-03-16
okay, now some of the reviewers here are either total morons or dont know how to use the damn software "coughpersonbelowmecough" but this item is truly incredible. there is NO problems downloading music or movies onto it (although you have to convert DVDs to WMA format but still, the movie and picture quality is unprecedented). Sound quality is excellent, the only negative is the few movie formats, but I have never had a problem with this player. so if you want an honest, reliable recommendation from a person that has not been diagnosed with down syndrome, buy this item. Trust me you wont regret it.
On: 2007-03-14
I love it! Works with Windows media player. (Windows media player CD is included if you dont already have it.) Easy to use. I like the toggle switch better than iPods round dial. It comes with a USB cable, an AC charger and earbuds.
I also ordered mEdges neoprene cover with belt clip and armband (on Amazon for about $30). This cover is terrific too. All the controls are readily available and easy to access.
On: 2007-03-13
Pros:Visually appealing user interface, intuitive and quick navigation, great audio sound, tactile controls, seamless and trouble-free intergration with WMP11, size and terrific build quality
Cons:Short battery life, 60GB black model prone to fingerprints/smudges
As a Mac user for a few years I began to get bored with the iPod/iTunes setup on my MacBook Pro, so I took on building a library on the WMP11 of my desktop PC and needed a worthwhile alternative to the iPod to sync with it.
I have gone through owning the Creative Zen Vision:M and Zen V Plus, but I am due to return them both now that Ive found this Toshiba 60GB black model.
After a couple days of owning this player I am truly impressed by the appearance of the interface alone. Not only is its navigation very quick and extremely simple, but it is also highly polished and refined compared to the aging 5th gen iPod. Moving through the multiple views of a playing musical track is very fluid with hardly any hiccups visible to the eye.
The quality of its construction with the metal backing and glossy front is very high, sturdy and polished and definitely trumps the toy-like plasticity of the Zen players. Size dimension is another plus over the Zen Vision:M which felt rather bulky, and it even fits into my iPod belt clip holster.
I am not an audio expert by any imaginative stretch, but every track that Ive heard is absolutely on par with (if not better than) the iPod 5th gen. The same goes for the screen quality in viewing videos and photos.
I am impressed by the ease and speed with which this Toshiba handles my photos and videos in the categorized libraries. Whereas both the Apple and Creative players needed to initially have a few seconds to load the thumbnail previews onscreen, this device requires no such thing! Going through the hundreds of photos and watching videos is smooth and seems very effortless. Doing this is also trouble-free when you consider the tactile buttons versus the touch controls of the iPod and Zen Vision:M.
Syncing media via the WMP11 has so far been a painless and rather impressive experience overall. After years of being accustomed to iTunes with my iPod on my Mac I can finally say that the desktop PC at my house should not be underestimated anymore. Both Creatives and this Toshiba needed no additional software to talk to the PC, so this plug-and-play efficiency Ive had with my Mac and iPod is definitely a welcomed aspect of my PC experimentation.
There is one concern I have that is certainly not a dealbreaker. The battery life when compared to the iPod and Zen players leaves much to be desired, but with my usual daily charging it should suffice nonetheless. The fingerprints and smudges is expected on the glossy, black front and is honestly not much of a big deal for me. Being that this is first and foremost a media device and not a PDA the omission of a calendar and address book, though sorely missed after using the iPods and Zens, is only spilled milk at this point...one can only move on. Also at this time I am not sure if there is a dedicated program for the Toshiba to download audio and video programs like TWiT, DL.TV and CNet Buzz, but I assume finding a way wont be difficult at all.
On: 2007-03-13
4.5 stars:
Nice, sleek design. Nice interface. Versatile. Superb sound quality (no need to use EQ). Newsworthy alternative to the bad-looking I-Pod and Zen Vision:M.
3 stars
What could be improved:
1) Whats the point in having a port when theres no docking station available? Gigabeat was out on 2006...time to think about it, Toshiba!
2) WMP sucks! Only Mp3-Tag-info file management its no great idea. No way to use other software to use device interface properly (annoying for already existing MP3 on PC)
3) With a more powerful battery it could last longer: waiting for 3rd-party ones...
I hope there will be firmware releases in the (immediate) future, just to add new features: Gigabeat is now underexploited
I keep on waiting patiently...
A great buy! (half the original via Electronica Direct - and I live in Europe, where it not available)
On: 2007-03-11
While its not without its problems, and what player isnt, Ive found the gigabeat to be just fine. My previous player was a Creative Zen Micro 5G, so this was a BIG step up for me. I paid $[...] and got a $[...] rebate. 60G FOR $[...]?? Cmon people - thats a STEAL!!! Ive got just about every CD I own on this thing along with 4 full length movies and Ive still got like 30G. Ill probably never fill it full.
I use it with WMP11, I just plugged it in, WMP recognized it immediately and syncing was a breeze, though it takes a little while for the initial sync. Other than that, the two work together perfectly.
I have yet to use it with any subscription services (1 free month of Napster is included), but you can use it with Amazon Unboxed and Vongo for TV and Movie subsriptions. Ill update when I add these services.
On to the complaints expressed here in the comments:
1. Battery Life - If you adjust your settings like this, I can guarantee you at least 15-16 hrs. of audio. Video drains MUCHO battery life, but youll still get over 3 hrs. First - HARMONICS, set to off. Trust me you wont need em, especially if youve ripped your stuff at higher than 128kbps. Second - backlight set to 5 seconds. This will save you TONS. Third - Brightness to 1, its plenty bright.
I keep my charger at work (where I use this the most) and then charge at home via USB, Im never without a power supply. If youre flying or on long trips Im not sure what to tell you, but the thing charges full in just a couple hours so hopefully that will help.
Im still working out the kinks with the video, and when I do Ill update. As of now, I only watch on the train home which is about 25 mins which makes the time fly.
My only complaint so far... Cmon Toshiba, you couldnt spring for an included case? The surface is a beautiful glossy black which is prone to fingerprints and scratches. Ive been using the dippy plastic bag it came in until my ordered case comes in. The only other thing I miss is a bookmark function, which came in handy if you needed to remember where you were in an audiobook or podcast. Other than that... So far so good.
If I encounter any problems Ill update. If youre considering, I say go for it. You cant beat it for the price.
On: 2007-03-11
pls dont buy this.yr battery shall only last for 2 hrs max
On: 2007-03-10
Given both the limited amount of reviews here so far about the Gigabeat, and given the mammoth size headache/mistake I had in purchasing one, an honest review to help anyone thinking about the Beat.
Firstly, this review comes from someone who waited for at least a year and a half for the price of 60gb mp3 players to go down. And from someone who disliked in general the "Big Brother" & "We are your friend" approach of Apple & their iPod.
As one might gleam from the above, I was ecstatic about the opportunity to buy a non-iPod 60gb mammoth to call my own. After some research, I really figured it would be worth it even though a couple of well-known sites gave it really dismal marks, I was willing to chunk it off to reviewers too awed by Apple.
I was wrong.
Exactly everything and more from their reviews were correct. A small list:
#1 - And most glaringly atrocious is the software Toshiba designed in order to protect any music one uploads. With the Gigabeat, Toshiba has all but virtually made it impossible to put YOUR mp3 files onto YOUR mp3 player and ever hope to then get YOUR mp3 files back onto your hard drive in mp3 format. Why? Because the player will encrypt everyone of your files into a format dubbed .SAT, which is unreadable by any media player for any computer. Exactly so that the question of ever sharing or anything like that is out of the question with Gigabeat.
Mp3 in; SAT out = Readable in / Unreadable out
Sure, if you spend hours looking for how to get around that encryption on the Web, youll find that the solution just as undesirable. Namely that if you connect through Windows Media Player 10 instead of the Toshiba Gigabeat Room software, you can then ignore the WMP aspect of it and proceed to drag&drop files onto it like a external hard drive. With a HUGE catch: Only while docked in the units cradle; which ONLY can process such transfers at USB 1.0 speed, not the standard 2.0
I actually was desperate enough that I actually did this and in all truth: On a 3.2 gigahertz Dell computer, transferring my collection of 23 gigabytes came back with a waiting screen of 26 hours. Im not even BS-ing. If you could do it normally with USB 2.0 that time would be 3 hours at tops. And if you ever wanted to get those files back onto your computer the same thing applies.
#2 - One of the reviews I read bashed the sound quality output of the player, but then also followed up with how good iPod was in contrast. I naturally disregarded the information. Wrong.
Wrong.
The output is atrocious; almost anything you will have sounds like its in a very open room. And no, my mp3s are not of crappy 128 KPS. And forget about the equalizer settings...they are as equally horrid.
#3 - Finally the interface was simply put, terribly designed. Just trying to find the pinky size pause button for instance, located in the middle of the gigabeat cross-pad, and successfully hitting it without either turning up the volume/switching tracks became a unpleasant game of hit-or-miss every time. And that every time added up immensely.
There perhaps will be a day when some bright someone will devise a hack for the gigabeat that will make it overcome encrypting ones files, but that day remains to be seen and even if it were to happen, the interface/poor sound performance would still drag it down at every turn.
Do yourself a favor and avoid at all costs.
On: 2007-03-09
I have had a Toshiba Gigabeat for a few months now, and I love it. with 60Gs there is plenty of memory space. the sound quality is great too, although the headphones that come with it are a tad annoying. My advice, get a Gigabeat and a separate set of headphones that you like.
The screen is amazing! so clear with so many colors. videos and pictures like great.
One thing Im not crazy about is the play/volume/power buttons in the side. they are kinda awkward. I always end up turning it off when I mean to turn up the volume and vice-versa. If you are comfortable with that button arrangement it isnt a problem at all.
Another thing I have recently discovered is that dust is starting to collect on the inside of my screen. major bummer. I cant seem to get it out and it makes it hard to watch videos.
The Gigabeat also hooks up to your TV which is very cool. again great clarity and sound.
On: 2007-03-09
Im very impressed with the gigabeat. The video is quite good and it has great sound quality and options without the hassle of i-tunes.
On: 2007-03-09
Other than the battery life (not much better than a couple hours), I am extremely pleased. Set up was a breeze. The unit is small and not overcomplicated. The few buttons that it does have are logically located and are easy to differentiate (even in the dark or while in your pocket) and access. The menus are simple to understand and very intuitive. Selection of menu items is sure and if other options are available for that selection you are logically led to the next level of choice. The screen is bright and crisp and the sound is great. All in all, I am very pleased.
On: 2007-03-09
I purchased this 3 months ago and have had excellent results. The battery life isnt as good as advertised but overall, the product is excellent. I use it with Napster To Go and for downloading pictures off of my camera. I especially like the fact that I can download pictures and use as a temporary storage device without having to go through a computer. The built in radio is also very nice. I gave it only 4 stars because of the battery life but would highly recommend it to anyone.
On: 2007-03-09
This is a very good player. I just wanted something I could load my entire 600+ cd collection on and leave in my car for the road. i havent figured out how to pick more than one artist at a time and add it to the playlist instead of having it replace the playlist. The Pocket Media Center Windows on it is very convenient. :)
On: 2007-03-09
THIS IS THE MOST INCREDIBLE MP3 PLAYER I HAVE EVER USED. NOT TO MENTION THE EASIEST. GREAT WORK TOSHIBA.
On: 2007-03-08
I really liked the Gigabeat S60. It looked beautiful, it sounded great, it synced pretty easy. My only problem was the lack of the ability to customize(background, menus, etc), the lack of a microphone recorder, and the complete lack of accessories. But for the price you can not find a better player with 60GB of memory!
On: 2007-03-08
I been using this for over a month and this is a real good value product compared to IPOD. I got it for $250. Its 60 gb with easy sync with media player and inbuilt radio is one superb feature of this.
The only thing I find poor about this prodcut is if tge windows hangs we will require it to restart. It got hang because of the rough and tuff way of handling I do..
Rest all features hold just one comment "superb"..
On: 2007-03-08
I really wanted to love this player and it had so much going for it. Terrific screen much larger than iPods. A seemingly slick interface. Ability to watch TV recorded in Media Center. An FM radio with usually ok reception. Well starting from the end, today for no apparent reason I find that my entire library of 4000 songs, several movies and TV shows were all erased. It takes hours just to decode one DVD in a 3 step process and get it on the player. Now it will take untold hours to get everything back on. Several other reviewers reported the same nightmare but I imagined they made some oversight and it was their error. I wish I had sent it back before throwing away the packaging but now its a bit late for that after 3 weeks. Also I find the sound quality almost painful in some songs and I have used several ear buds including $500 Shure E5s. Theres a strange pop crackle that develops between songs for a second or two...wait, youll see it develop. There are almost zero accessories for this unit. The controls seem to need more of a conscious effort instead of being intuitive and I have to look at the side buttons to do what I want to do. Also, I cant just mute the radio when I am listening if for example I need to talk to a server at a restaurant. When everything works it seems like a steal. But I never had any of these problems with my iPod using iTunes. Sincerely hope not too many others have the vaporized content problem. But this thing has been dropping stars since day one and now one is all I could muster.
On: 2007-03-01
It shouldve been great, but wasnt.
1) Doesnt keep your music on it very long after youve transferred to it.
2) Doesnt transfer all of the music you tell it to transfer to it.
3) Talked to one of my colleagues; the player itself cut out after having served for less than a year.
Solve problems with what seem to be hard drive/memory errors, and design a program other than Windows Media Player (because its buggy) to transfer music to it, give it what it needs to last for multiple years on end, and youd have a 5 star product.
Dont know where Toshibas going to get the money for the R&D, considering that no one really wants to buy anything other than those flippin just-as-defective iPods these days, though.
Until Toshiba can get it together, go for a Creative MP3 player.
On: 2007-03-01
Ive had this thing for a bout a week now, and am just amazed with it. I love it, it goes everywhere with me. For the price, it cannot be beat by a long shot. The major drawback for me, being a linux user is that you cant sync it in linux.. it must be windows. The directions say that you must use Windows Media Player to sync, but this is NOT true. I found WMP (11) to be lacking and a bit buggy, one time it formatted the whole player and erased all my music! WMP is also lacking in features.
Music:
So I was looking for an alternative and found that winamp (free) also syncs to the device. But what I recommend most is media monkey. Just google it. This is an awesome little program that has tons of features and the basic version is free. I went ahead and bought the gold version because I wanted the advanced features, but this program kicks Windows Media Players butt up and down the block.
Movies, Videos:
Most of my movies and videos are compressed using xvid and divx. The Gigabeat only plays wmv video files. This is another con about the device. So getting movies on there is a pain. Another program (not free) that I found very useful is called WinAVI, which can convert just about any type of video file to wmv and is easy to use. The best resolution to convert to video is to the screen size, which is 320x240. Even after you convert to wmv, windows media player again converts it before syncing it with the device. This entire process takes a long time.
Radio:
FM reception is OK, not the greatest. You occasionally hear some static, but I hardly ever listen to the radio.
TV Out:
One the best things about this device is the TV out feature. Even though the resolution of the video files are small, the video is surprisingly good quality when connected to a television set.
Although there are a few drawbacks, such as being a windows only device, and playing only one format of video, this little device is awesome, and I love it. In my opinion, this baby beats the ipod, and the low price in comparison is also a plus. Remember, if you find windows media player lacking, use winamp or media monkey (suggested) to sync your music.
On: 2007-02-28
Overall, the Gigabeat is a fantastic little player. I just plug it in each night so it can charge and sync with all my music and recorded TV shows (I use Media Center to record TV) and I"m good to go, although Im very annoyed that HBO prevents their shows from being copied to it. The players interface is nice, in the same vein as MCE 2005, although not quite as polished as that of the ipod (doesnt pause when headphones are removed, backlight turns straight on and off rather than fading - little things like that). It really could use a clock in the main menu though, and it would be nice to, in addition to adding to the quick list, be able to add media directly to now playing but its still, overall, very easy and intuitive. Paired with WMP 11, syncing is also, on the whole, easy and straightforward, though not as much as it could be. There are a few significant annoyances Ive encountered while doing so, but on the whole it basically is easy to set up as a mobile extension of my media library. Its a real shame there are no accessories for the dock, though. The ipod wins hands-down in that respect.
On: 2007-02-25
The battery life came to about 8 hrs. but the amazing sound quality and easy hookup with windows made up for it
On: 2007-02-23
It is not as good as I thought. The battery does not last that much...
On: 2007-02-23
I really, really wanted to love this player. Its shiny, it has a beautiful display, and before I had loaded my files onto it, I thought the interface was nice. Thats why Ive given it 3 stars instead of 1 or 2.
Then I loaded it up with the stuff I usually listen to -- classical music, ripped from various CDs (not all of which show up in the CDDB), and a ton of audiobooks that Ive ripped from CDs and also transferred from other file formats... so they have no ID tag information.
This was not a problem with my previous (and now, still current) player. It organized my files the way I put them on it: in folders that made sense to me. It played them according to their file names. This was perfect, and exactly how I wanted it.
However, the Gigabeat (and apparently, most other recent players) are now working almost exclusively on the iPod model, "organizing" files using ID tag information, so that files are organized by artist, album, and the like. Thats great if youve ripped the files directly from a CD(or, I suppose, bought them from iTunes) and kept that info, but if you havent, theyre "organized" as a huge, unusable list of "audio track #". I have over 5000 files that have no ID tag information -- theres NO WAY I was going to go through each one and add the tag info, even *if* I could figure out how to do that.
So the Toshiba, although it is a beautiful, stylish little unit, is going back to Amazon. I will stick with my 3-year-old, black and white DMC X-Clef, which, although its not pretty, and its big and bulky, at least has the sense to allow me to organize my files without relying on ID tags.
On: 2007-02-22
I replaced My Creative Zen Xtra with this paperweight. It uses Windows Media Player.. another waste of space. It is inflexible, renames files randomly, and mysteriously erases files. It is a nightmare if you are trying to change mp3 players. If you are a new to mp3 players, GOOD LUCK, this will have you tearing your hair out in about 10 minutes. My job is in the audio/visual field, and I wanted to throw the thing through the window after a couple of HOURS of frustrating "syncing" of files. DO NOT buy this product. If it gave the option of using other software.. then maybe. It is a nice looking paperweight, I have to say. You are not able to rename, delete, or sort your media on the machine, and trying to do so after it is loaded (in Media Player), HA! I gave it one star for looks.
On: 2007-02-20
Ok, Im new to the MP3 / PVP revolution, so please excuse the absolute awe over the fact that I can now hold half my quite large CD collection in the palm of my hand! Ive had no problems at all syching music to this device, and the pictures are stunningly clear on this little gem. I still havent put any video or TV on my new toy, but the screen resolution is nothing short of amazing! And the built in radio is ridiculously easy to program, as is everything else this impressive little machine has to offer. Thanks cnet! You have yet to let me down!
On: 2007-02-20
The Toshiba MES60VK doesnt play well with all XP drivers. My main computer is my work laptop (I travel a lot) Dell Latitude D820 and it runs XP Pro SP2. It is constantly updated and scanned for viruses and spyware.
I made a cup of coffee and plugged in my shiny, new gigabeat. Contrary to what the quickstart guide said, Windows tried to locate a driver for it (it should just pop up a window asking if you want to synchronize with Windows Media Player or take no action). It found a driver and told me I had to reboot. After a reboot it went through the exact same process.
After going through this loop of finding the driver and rebooting too many times (and pulling half of the hair out of my head) I googled it. Its apparently not an uncommon problem. I figured that Toshiba should have a fix since its apparently a known issue.
Toshiba tech support is terrible. The techs were nice, but I got the whole, "it works fine over here, it must be your computer" thing. They suggested reloading my operating system. I can plug my dog into my computer with a USB cable and have it work fine. Im not sure what it is about this device, but its not playing well with my XP Pro machine.
This thing works on every XP home machine I plug it in to. I havent tried it on other XP Pro machines, but if it doesnt play well with the machine I travel with, then its worthless to me.
My guess is that Toshiba didnt account for every variation of XP driver and denying the existence of an issue is easier than sending out a fix. Im very disappointed.
On: 2007-02-20
Now this is great to have on the go. Im in the Army so when I work out, I need something to listen to and with this I can put all my music on here and just let it play while I do my workout. This thing is amazing, I even find the time to watch movies on here when Im @ work to make it look like Im busy... Shh dont tell anybody
On: 2007-02-19
Awesome MP3/PVP! only downside is that you are forced to use Media Player.
On: 2007-02-19
The switch from ipod to this came only because my ipod broke. I wanted to try something new and I heard this was good. I was wrong. I used it for one day and it broke my computer. I installed the update to media player and it corrupted my system. So I reinstalled windows and tried installing this again, same thing happened. I did like the screen and the whole set up of the item, but the software needs some major help. I think Microsoft needs some help with there coding and Toshiba should make there own transfer software so this problem wont happened to anyone else. So far I have found nothing that compares to the ipod, so if you need a new mp3 player wait for the next gen ipod and I think you will have a better experience.
On: 2007-02-18
This is only my 2nd digital music player, so I dont have a lot of experience with these things. My first player was a Creative Zen Touch, this Gigabeat player is 20 times better.
I did a lot of research before I bought this player. I used Windows Media player 11 to sync 35GB of music. The Gigabeat took about 2 hours to sync. My old Zen would take twice to three times longer. The tactile buttons on the Gigabeat feel great and work well. I only use this player for music and I dont understand why anyone would want to watch movies, TV or view pictures on a 2.5 inch screen.
I use the Gigabeat mostly in my car, with a power adapter you can have the screen always lit up so it is very easy to see whats playing and its very easy to navigate to the music I want to hear. The only thing that I dont like is that the Play, Pause, FF, RV buttons are on the side. Overall this is a great player.
Since I will never buy an iPOD Im really glad I found a player that works so well with the music Ive ripped to my computer. I dont know why anyone would give this player a bad review. People that say they get errors or have problems with transferring music to this player probably have lots of issues with computers and electronics. This is all in my humble opinion of course.
On: 2007-02-17
Dont listen to all the naysayers who try and tell you this product is defective by design; there is one definite weakness to this player, and that would in fact be the battery life.
BUT
There are ways to get around it that people seem not to realize before they begin passing judgement:
A) It comes standard from the factory with a backlight setting of one minute. I would recommend changing that to no more than fifteen seconds.
B) You can adjust the brightness setting lower, too, it comes set at level 3 out of 5, toning it down while youre indoors will also help add life to the batteries.
D) There is a little switch on the bottom (only big enough to flip with a pen or a needle)that will shut down the battery. If you can remember to shut down the battery while you arent listening, the battery life will be greatly improved.
This product also comes with an AC charger that you can take anywhere with you (the already overpriced iPods will charge you extra for one), so I would recommend you do what I do: Plug it in to charge every night when you plug your phone into charge. Its that easy to save the battery life: following these rules I have as of yet for it to die on me too far from reach of an outlet.
But batteries aside, the rest of this thing is amazing. It comes with a TV out cable so you can hook it into a tv to watch all your videos, or you can even use windows media player to set up a picture playlist, and then run your own custom slideshows while separately controlling the background music. And the TV resolution is awesome, the videos fill up the whole TV full quality.
The dedicated control buttons and the general button setup of the thing work incredibly well, especially when youre multitasking stuff like flipping through your library and playing music at the same time.
The interface is genius; anyone who tells you otherwise must have already grown used to something different. Scrolling through albums, it will display the artwork next to every single album. (And WMP player is much, much, better at fetching album art than iTunes is.)
And lets not forget the final selling point about the Gigabeat: tha price. A 60 gig one of these will run you forty dollars less than iPod half its size.
On: 2007-02-15
I love this gigabeat so much. It is so much better than an ipod. You can play your music, download your own pictures, and watch movies. The images are so nice; very high quality.
Before i bought this product, i researched a lot and this one i thought was the best.
1. You can download your own cds to it
2. You can subsribe to several different music download systems like
Rhapsody, Emusic, and Napster. You only have to pay around $15 a month and download as may songs as you want. (You cant do that with Itunes) When I bought this product, it came with
a one free month trial to Napster to Go.
3. You can listen to the radio
4. It was very inexpensive. I was able to get everything I needed to download songs and such so i did not have to buy anything extra. (with an ipod you may have to buy some converter so you can download your music to it...It is very expensive. Ipod has "hidden costs")
5. IT is really easy to use. Just follow the directions and you will able to download one music cd in just a couple of minutes, including installation for windows media player.
6. You use Windows Media Player 10, which is compatible with practically everything. You can use this for your pictures and music.
7. You are able to watch movies with this player. Toshiba offers you a subscription to purchase movies for about $10 a month.
Please get this player. Cnet gave this the best review and I agree with them. If you are not satisfied (trust me... you will be satisfied) it comes with a one year warranty.
On: 2007-02-13
The machine works great, but only when it is plugged into its DC power supply. I know, thats not what you are planning to use the machine for. You probably are expecting a portable media device. Well, if you have a long enough extension cord, you wont be disappointed. Or you might consider a 12 volt battery and an inverter, great pictures and tunes, but probably a bad back.
When you read that the battery S U C K S, believe what you have read. Battery life is non-existent, even when you are not using the machine!
SERVICE is obviously a foreign word to Toshiba. Every time you have to return the machine for repair, youll need an authorization code and a copy of the original bill. Turn around time will be at least two weeks and
there will be no explanation of what repairs were done, if any. This is the voice of experience. Ive had my machine since mid-October and its been back for repairs twice. Im now waiting for a replacement machine.
DO NOT BUY this product, it is BAD! You are now an informed consumer. Learn from my experience/mistake.
On: 2007-02-13
It is the best deal out there. It comes with everything you need, offers more than the ipod does cost way less and is really easy to use. It is better to have more options and that is what you get. Superior product and lower price.
On: 2007-02-13
This is by far the best mp3 player on the market. it has everything you need. and for those who like other players other than the "mighty ipod", this is the player. Prior to this player i had the sony nw hd5, which Im now selling on ebay for this improved player, and wow, im blown away. This player has it all. The ipod is so limited, you have to buy from itunes, you cant use other servies, the video system sucks on the ipod, tv shows are worthless. amazons unbox and vongos service are way better choices and can be used on this device. PLUS this is 229 for 60 gigs? are you kidding me. deal baby. im so glad I made this purchase. and for those of you who think the player has problems loading software, no, maybe if you are computer handicapped, its easier than itunes thats for sure. itunes works maybe 1/4 times. apple isnt as good as windows, trust me, its sad that theyre "cool" now, but theyre still bad. sorry. honestly, this player has more to offer than the zune, more durability than the Zen, more features and usability than the ipod, and its a steal. if you dont get this player, ur missing out, simply put.
On: 2007-02-10
I bought my 60 GB Gigabeat five weeks ago and have been pleased with it since it arrived at my house. The main reason Im writing this review is to share my experiences with this product for anyone interested in buying one, and to set the record straight on a few of the misconceptions and/or complaints that are floating around the internet.
[...]
As far as I can tell, the data loss issue isnt even a problem. I have no idea where this complaint comes from. Theres a possibility that Toshiba might have released some buggy units early on in the products initial run, but those problems have since been sussed out. Failing that, the people who are complaining about this glitch have done something wrong and created their own problems. My 60 GB MES60VK works fine with no data loss, software, or hardware issues.
The second common complaint is length of battery life. Unlike the data loss complaints, this is a legitimate issue, although it may not be a deal breaking one. From my experience, the internal battery does NOT last the 12 hours on a single charge that they claim it should. On the other hand, it lasts a lot longer than 4 hours as some of the reviewers here on Amazon might have you believe. Typically, I can squeeze out 7 or 8 continuous hours of music. This is a problem if you somehow expect to go days and weeks between charges. If you listen to music all day, you will have to charge at least once every 24 hours. This hasnt been a real problem for me, however, because a two hour charge brings you to full power again (you can charge when you go for a cup of coffee, even). Its not a huge price to pay and not worth denouncing the Gigabeat entirely over.
Those things aside, theres really not a bad thing you can say about the Gigabeat. If youre buying this 60 GB version, its almost a guaranteed thing you will have more hard-drive space than you need. The video presentation is excellent, given the nature and limitations of the product. Similarly, the sound quality is about as good as you could ever realistically expect from a portable media player. The interface is streamlined and easy to use, and they include a software upgrade so that youll be running the most current iteration of Windows Media Player (a necessity for using the Gigabeat). Its simple, works well, and does everything you could expect out of a portable media player.
[...]
As far as I can tell, the Gigabeat only has one flaw: battery life. And, if youre patient enough to make the quick trip to the charger on a daily basis, that doesnt even count. The number of features offered by this player and its strong performance and storage abilities more than compensate. In fact, thats why Im recommending it unequivocally.
On: 2007-02-08
I own a 60 Gig iPod and I bought this for my husband for Valentines day because I liked all the extra features it has. He played with it all night long and it is just great. I love that it has a radio tuner and the fact that you can just plug it into your TV and watch your movies is beyond awesome. It just has so many features its great. we will see how it holds up and I will likely get one for myself as I need a portable device I can upload my photos to when I am out taking pictures. I am leery of all the randomly formatted drives, so we will wait and see. Over all though, this thing is great!
On: 2007-02-06
Item did not feel as solid as my ipod did. I do like the Microsoft OS on it so i went with the Zune which im now very happy with!
On: 2007-02-06
Ive been using an iRiver H-120 for almost 4 years, the thing was becoming a thing of the past, but man, WHAT AN AWESOME SOUND I have enjoyed out of every tune played! Now, I wanted to upgrade to a player that would give me even more satisfaction, with the extras of viewing pictures, TV shows and movies. From the moment I opened the box I was happy, small size, great looks, beautiful screen and awesome Media Center portable interface. Huge letdown when the time came to put my earbuds on. The sound was as flat as a pancake. Dont get me wrong, for a person whos never had an mp3 player before, or for someone who is upgrading from an ordinary portable CD player, this could be bliss, but if you are used to quality sound that comes from players such as iRiver, iPod or Creative, and sound is a MUST for you, then dont buy this player. I even have great quality Sony earbuds MDR-EX81, which sell for about $99 on Amazon, and I couldnt get a decent sound even after trying the five preset equalizing modes. I returned it right away, Amazon provided a speedy refund, and then I went straight to the Creative Zen Vision M 60 GB. I chose this one over iPod as it supports more video formats (meaning less conversions), and also records voice and has FM radio.
On: 2007-02-04
So I turned my ipod on one day and got a frowny face on the screen, signifying hard drive failure, which costs about $250 to fix. Thats why I grabbed this bad boy, great format, large drive for the heavy collection...but do be warned the battery life is not the claimed "10-12" hrs. When occasionally using the screen (only to switch songs/albums) it lasts about 4 hours, maybe 5 max. Ive had the gigabeat for a little over a month so I dont know if the battery life will gain over time and that this is just the battery getting "broke in" or whatnot. Volume could go a lil louder than capacity, but i guess its objective to eachs own hearing. Drop the ipod, this things bigger and a very suitable alternative. By the way Rage Against the Machine is back together...for at least one day
On: 2007-02-03
I bought this player mostly after seeing very good reviews for it on Cnet and I love it. The interface is fantastic, and I perticuarly love having dedicated buttons on the side to control my music without fumbling with special entry methods (ipod). The cross input interface works well and it was very easy to put all my music on it using Windows Media Player. I find it easier to manage (move, rename, delete) using Winamp, though, but winamp cant put the album covers on it. This is a minor gripe. The worst thing about the player is definitly the battery life. If you put it on the charger at night, you wont have a problem, but forget more than one day, or watch a lot of video, and you could end up stuck with a dead Personal Media Player. The Radio works OK, better than any other portable radio Ive ever had, but it only picks up a couple of stations. Quality is excellent when Im on-campus and listening to the local college station. The second worst thing about the product is the lack of support. Most people do not realize that the Microsoft Zune is identical in its hardware specs, only with a bigger screen and wifi, making the whole unit bigger. So basically all support has been abandoned. All in all, Im very happy with my purchase.
On: 2007-01-29
i have it for the pass 3 months and im having no problems at all, all the problems everyone is saying is not true mine is perfect. But the only thing i dont like is that it doesnt have the much features like the apple ipod it doesnt have no alarm clock,no search for music,no games,no memo, and no calender all this mp3 player has is tv,music,picture,video,radio, and setting. Would love it better if it has more feature but it doesnt, so that is why i only gave it 4 stars.
On: 2007-01-29
I have never had a different MP3 player but I have tried my friends I-Pod and this item GIGABEAT is just so awesome. It is user friendly and the controls are easier to use. I do not know HOW I ever lived without it. It is so cool to play songs from different artists, switching quickly from album to album and the quicklist feature for fav songs is so cool. I love the sound. I am going to invest in other headhones because earbuds let in too much noise. But I recommend this product highly!!
On: 2007-01-27
This is an excellent mp3/pmp with a very simple user friendly interface, lots of hard drive space, amazing screen resolution, and extremely versatile file conversion...it uses Windows Media Player. I am sick of the Zune and IPod proprietary file conversion and wanted something that will play nearly anything...and this is it. Battery life is somewhat subpar when watching flicks, but other than that....absolutely perfect for what i need =)
On: 2007-01-23
+ Great integration with Windows Media Player10+ (Unlike MS Zune which fails here)
+ Good form factor, not bulky at all. Fairly light.
+ Excellent sound quality. Sounds better without equalizer!
+ Good battery life, but as with all players this size, playing video will suck up charge. Charger is a little bulky but I found that you can charge it with USB.
+ Great overall build quality.
+60 Gb for the price!
+ Well designed user interface on the player and buttons work well. On the fly playlists. Large alphabet index character appears when you scroll through.
+ Super bright screen just a tad smaller than the Zune (made for Microsoft by Toshiba! ) Album art on display looks fantastic.
+ Master batter saver switch that turns off the juice completely.
- Need to learn how sync up with Media player works. Read the Manual and check the forums. Construct your play lists first.
- The Hold switch is a slider that could be better constructed. It is OK.
- Master battery switch is tiny. On first use, read the manual, get an opened up paper clip, examine under a bright light and take time to understand how it slides. It is tiny and if forced, you may break it.
- Not many cases and protectors to choose from yet.
On: 2007-01-23
My daughters are very happy with it. Battery last long enough. It has
great picture quality. easy to use.
Over all they are very pleased.
On: 2007-01-22
The Gigabeat is great, but the battery does not last very long.
On: 2007-01-22
The Gigabeat is great due to the capacity and media support. However, the media it will support are only .wmv, .jpg, and less than cd-quality (320kbps) .mp3. If you have avis or ripped your cds in another format, you may be out of luck. You cant convert the formats yourself, because it is never made apparent what you need to convert them into (as far as bitrates and framerates). Also, if you tagged your mp3s incorrectly (or freedb did), have fun finding them on the player, because it does not have an option to just look at the file name. All that aside, for the price you get a 60 GB media player that will play movies and copy pictures from your camera (if it encodes in .jpg). I do like it but I could see how it would be a pain to someone who isnt that into computers.
On: 2007-01-21
I bought the Toshiba MES60VK Gigabeat 60 GB Portable Media Player for my commute, which is an hour by ferry one way and I love it! I can listen to my favorite downloaded music, listen to the radio, or watch a downloaded TV show. Ive used my Gigabeat on a trip to store digital photos that I downloaded from my camera and then viewed on the TV in the hotel, as well as watched a downloaded TV show and a movie from my Gigabeat on the hotel TV. WOW, this thing does it all! Ive been using it for about two months now and have had no problems with it in anyway. Everything that I have put into it has been downloaded using Microsoft Media Player and Media Center. My Gigabeat has been used with my Cannon Camera and worked flawlessly. Ive recommended this to a friend who tried out my Gigabeat and then bought one for himself. Ive paired my Gigabeat with a pair of Sennheiser PX 200 head phones, which give you a lot more sound range than the standard in your ear head phones and a Misticaudio leather carry case. Buy all three items and enjoy!
On: 2007-01-19
Screen died within 2 weeks had to return it. Think I will go in another direction.
On: 2007-01-19
Amazing product, my daughter has one Zune and it cant compete with my Gegabeat. Super friendly to use and a lot of storage...its a must. I gave it 5 start...
On: 2007-01-18
I love it. I can watch movies with no problem. Easy to use. Faily decent battery life
On: 2007-01-17
At about $230 for 60 gigs, it cant be beat. I spent 2 weeks researching for this purchase and the Toshiba Gigabeat always came up as a great product on all the reviews.
This is a great player. Huge amount of storage. Easy to use. Great sound.
The software was a breeze to install. I love it!
The only downfall is the battery life. It is horrific to say the least.
I am only getting 4-6 hours max for just the music portion. I use mine 90% of the time plugged into my stereo system so it really doesnt bother me to much as I use the ac adaptor.
Bottom line: If you dont mind recharging every 3 days this is a great bargain.
On: 2007-01-14
Massive space for downloads, easy to use Microsoft Media. Use it everyday.
On: 2007-01-14
I bought two gigabeats for Xmas, one for my husband and one for myself. I was a little worried after reading some of the negative reviews, but decided to give it a shot since it was compatible with windows media center files. So far, we have been very pleased. Charged it as directed and never installed any software, just plugged into the cpu with a mini usb cable. Files transfer to the gigabeat easily with windows media player or by dragging and dropping files in windows explorer. Easy to navigate and I liked the | | |
