Ultra 4-in-1 USB Drive / MP3 Player
Oct 5th, 2004 | By Archive
Ultra 4-in-1 USB Drive / MP3 Player
Date
: 10/5/04 – 10:58:24 PM
Author
:
Category
: Storage
Page 1 : Introduction
Manufacturer:
Ultra Products
Price:
$89.99
Ultra Products
is definitely not an uncommon name around the Overclockers Online labs. When I was asked if I wanted to review, one, two or all three hot products from Ultra, I jumped on the chance to check out the 4-in-1 USB 1.1 128 MB / MP3 Player. Whether or not it was a mere coincidence that my current Creative Nomad MuVo stopped working or it was fate that I would review this USB Drive / MP3 player, I have no idea. But let's skip the chit chat and get onto the core of this review – Overclockers Online style.
Page 2 : Package
Having previously worked with Ultra, I knew I didn't have to worry about receiving a damaged product. This being my third review with them, and possibly 10th product I've received, I have yet to receive a damaged one. The USB Drive / MP3 player was shipped in its retail form.
The unit came in a much larger cardboard box with Fill-Air Inflatable Packaging for support. Although there was room for the retail package to slide around, the Fill-Air provided ample support. On top of that, the retail package is very sturdy and will absorb low impact blows, such as sliding around the box.
I guess that's enough about how I received the unit. It's time to move on and give you some more detail.
Page 3 : Specification
Here is a direct copy and paste from Ultra Products.
Includes Head Phones!
The Ultra USB 128MB 4-in-1 device is the next generation in portable devices. It's not only a 128MB USB thumb drive but it's also a MP3 player, digital voice recorder and Secure Digital/Multimedia Card (SD/MMC) reader/writer. Simply put this small USB device, which fits in your pocket, is the only USB device you'll ever need.
The fabulous MP3 player is perfect for anyone on the go — great for students, joggers and workout mavens. But this is not just a MP3 player; it's a digital jukebox. When combined with the SD/MMC expansion slot, you'll be able to have unlimited amounts of CD-quality music on flash media. Your battery will die before you run out of music — that's usually around six hours on a single AAA battery. The advanced equalizer comes with five presets — Jazz, Rock, Pop, Normal and Classical. The easy-to-read LCD display lets you know the current track, time played and more. Other features include volume control, large ergonomic function buttons (Play/Pause, Mode, Power, Forward and Backward) and earphone jack.
This Ultra 4-In-1 device makes it easy to store, share and transport data. So simple-the media drive plugs directly into the computer's USB port-and acts just like another drive. There are no cables or adapters needed, no power cord and no driver software to install. Hold up to 128MB of data onboard or add more storage with the media reader/writer. The digital voice recorder will allow you to store hours of notes with crystal-clear playback. It's so easy to use; you won't want to leave home without it.
Note: Media Not Included
Specifications
Memory Size: 128MB
Write Speed: USB 1.1
Size (L x W x H): 9 x 3.8 x 2.3 cm
Security: N/A
Internal Memory: 128MB
Play Time: 6 Hours
Rates: 32Kbps to 320Kbps
EQ Modes: Normal, Classical, Rock, Jazz and Pop
Media Support: (8MB – 512 MB) Secure Digital or MMC
Interface Type: USB
Weight: 38g
Pentium II or above CPU
Windows XP / 2000 / ME / 98 / 98SE
64 MB RAM
USB port
CD-ROM.
Page 4 : Evaluation – Qualitative
If you've been with Overclockers Online for a while, you'll notice we don't review very many USB Drives / MP3 players. As a matter of fact, in the 4 years of operation I don't think we've ever reviewed anything like this. Never the less, it is a product you can buy and it deserves a quality review. Get ready because this won't be your standard 1 or 2 page MP3 player review, this baby is going to be put through the full gauntlet. So where shall I begin….
Design
From this image, you can clearly see the two Ultra logos. You can also clearly see the LCD display and the buttons surrounding it. If you place your thumb over the LCD display and slide it up to the buttons, you will notice how easy it is to press any of the buttons. You'd use your right hand if you were right handed.
Whenever you press a button, two blue lights illuminate on the side of the LCD panel. Although it isn't very bright, it provides just enough lighting to read the display.
The general size of the player is a good fit if you want to hold it in your fist. Unfortunately there are no straps to secure the unit down on to your hands. This means you will have to hold it or put it in your pocket. It is of reasonable weight distributed evenly.
The body of the drive is primarily made of hard plastic. On the sides, it is coated with a rubber compound allowing for a better grip. On the bottom of the USB Drive / MP3 Player is another rubber compound formed over the battery cover. This allows you to place your thumb in that position and push the cover out or slide it back in.
The two little holes below the battery cover is the microphone for the recorder.
On the rear end of the unit is a SC/MMC reader. I would of preferred a cover for this, similar to floppy drives, to prevent dust and dirt from entering the reader wherever you may be.
Operating
To start the drive, press and hold the "stop" button for 2 seconds. You will be greeted with several messages.
"HI" – A warm greeting from the unit
"INT 128" – A display of the internal memory space, 128 MB
"EXT00" – How much external memory is available – 00 MB in my case.
To power down the drive, just press the "stop" button to shut down.
"VS04DS" – Shut down procedure.
"BYE" – A good bye to you.
Some of the other buttons are obvious as to what they do.
Play – Plays the track
Backwards – Skips to the previous track
Forward – Skips to the next track
By holding the Backwards or Forwards button, you can move along the track.
Keylock – Press and hold the key lock feature until a lock appears on the display. Pressing and holding the key lock button again will enable all the other buttons.
Repeat – The repeat function is embedded with the key lock button. Press the key lock button until a 1 loop icon appears. To repeat all, press key lock button twice until a loop all icon appears. Pressing it one last time disables the looping function.
Some of the button functions are not so obvious.
"Q" – Equalizer. If you listen to a lot of different music, you'll know there are different modes for each genre. The available modes are: Normal, Classic, Rock, Jazz and Pop.
"M" – Voice recording. One of the other features on this USB Drive / MP3 Player is the ability to record sounds. To enable this feature, power on the drive and press the button labeled "M", this activates the recording session. Press it again to activate the recorder. To select where the recording should be saved, press the forward or backwards button. When you're ready to record, press the play button and stop with the stop button. Depending on the quality of the record, you can expect anywhere between 106 to 267 minutes. That's 4 hours of recording! I don't know anyone with a university lecture greater than 3. To play the voice recording, press the "M" button and press play. To delete a recording, select the delete mode by pressing the "M" button twice. Confirm the delete by pressing the play button.
Repeating a portion of a track may be desired by some users. While in play mode, press the "M" button, this sets the start point, and to select the desired end point, press "M" again. To stop the looping, press the "M" button one last time.
It's fairly important to be able to control the sound of the audio. Ultra gives you a range of 0-40 to work with. To control the volume, use the "+" or "-" keys.
Usage
I had this unit for about 2 weeks and I've been using it while I travel to school and in and around my house. The proper way to use the unit is to have it resting in your breast pocket while utilizing the neck strap.
This cord is really long. On my neck, the unit will hang down to my waist. I'm no fashion designer, but breast pockets aren't usually around there! Thankfully the cord is retractable. However, this leaves a pretty big loop hanging around the end.
Attaching the strap to the USB Drive / MP3 Player was no easy task. The cord is attached to a very small compartment inside the battery holder. You can see how it is attached in the above image.
The specifications list the batteries are good for 6 hrs. This of course will vary depending on your function. While I was traveling to and from school, I logged around three hours with the indicator just reading 2 out of the three bars. At this pace, I'll be changing the batteries after 7.5 hrs. A lot less than most other MP3 Players that claim to have a battery life of 12 hrs on one AAA. If you were recording some audio, I assume you'd only get around 6 hrs of life.
I tested the recording ability of the unit by playing some MP3s off my computer and recording them about 1 meter from my speakers. Roughly where I sit at my desk, all the speakers are pointing towards me.
The file is saved as a *.wav. The first one being "V_INT_01.WAV". For a recording of 3 minutes and 33 seconds, the file size was 834 KB. After recording the file, I copied it to my computer and listened to it. This way I would be able to compare it to the original. Although I was able to clearly hear the song, once I set the speakers to maximum volume, it appears hollow with a little bit of static. I didn't set the initial play volume very loud, but I was expecting a much better recording for my initial test.
When I plugged in the ear buds and played the file off the USB Drive / MP3 Player the audio was much clearer, however the static was much more apparent. Overall I'd say the recording was bearable. It was clearly not topnotch but acceptable for lectures if you were OK with maxing the volume and dealing with a bit of static.
After talking to the Ultra Product PR Coordinator, the best way to use the recorder was to hold it like a Dictaphone and speak into the microphone. (The two holes on the bottom of the unit by the battery cover.) After simulating the same recording but with the unit held upright with the microphone pointing in the direction of my speakers, I found the audio had more depth. It was also much louder and clearer than before. When compared to the other recordings, this one resembled the original MP3 much more.
I mentioned before how the LCD was illuminated by two blue strips.
Page 5 : Evaluation – Quantitative
One of the obvious features with USB Drives / MP3 Players is the ability to store files on them. I will not be able to test the SD/MMC reader as I have don't have those cards. However, I will test the USB capabilities.
Acer Travelmate 290 XVi
Software:
Sisoft Sandra Standard (Win32 x86)
-Removable Storage/Flash Benchmark
The following characteristics are measured for each of the four representative files sizes of 512 Bytes (representing a minimal single data cluster file), 32kB, 256kB and 2MB. The weighting of the results is not equal it represents the distribution of different files sizes as used on these devices (obtained through field research):
For each of the four file sizes a Combined Index is then calculated, stating the combined performance in terms of Combined Operations Per Second, with respect to a mix of write, read and delete operations.
Page 6 : Conclusion
After thoroughly using the Ultra 4-in-1 USB Drive / MP3 Player, I can see many uses for it. Some of these I can see myself using, others probably not. Regardless, it is a very innovative toy that incorporates many features at a very reasonable price. In the future I would like to see USB 2.0 support and a higher internal memory capacity. The SD/MMC card reader is neat, but the usefulness of it is in question. Granted you can use multiple SD/MCC cards to organize your files, but a single 1.0 GB capacity USB Drive with different partitions or folders will be cheaper and have the same effect as buying 8*128MB, 4*256 or 2*512 MB SD/MMC flash cards.
Advantages
Multiple features
Expandable memory capacity
Easy to use with ergonomic design
Disadvantages
Lack of USB 2.0
Only 128 MB Internal Memory
Only "6" hours of battery life
Many thanks to Ultra Products for making this review possible and for their continued support at Overclockers Online.