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Samsung K5JAB (4GB)


Date
: 01/17/07 – 02:51:09 AM

Author
:

Category
: MP3 Players

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Samsung

Price:
$209.99

Samsung is one of the world's leaders in terms of delivering high quality electronics. Founded in 1938, and are today one of the most trusted name brands when it comes to mobile phones, TVs, audio players, and household appliances. Today, Overclockers Online gets to look at a new audio player from Samsung, the K5 (or K5JAB, the 4GB model).

Audio players have become a part of everyday life for many people, and with the Apple iPod line of products dominating the market, Samsung releases a new product into the competition, the K5. There have been built-in speakers manufactured for many products, varying from cellphones to audio player accessories. As these speakers generally get smaller due to portability issues, sound quality is sacrificed; more specifically, the bass is almost completely eliminated. Hopefully, the K5 will be able to deliver great sound quality through the small built-in speakers.

Page 2 : Package

The K5 comes shipped in a hard clamshell package, which protects its contents effectively.

The box inside has a very stylish abstract vector art to attract the buyer. The slide out box inside also has a reflective ‘For You’ text to make the customer feel welcomed and pleased to have bought the K5.

The side of the package boasts the very slim design of the player, along with the music file types supported.

Although very stylish, before we immediately dive into its contents, let us have a look at the specifications of the K5.

Page 3 : Specifications

Here are some of the features listed on the Samsung website:

And, specifications:

OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) is a relatively new technology that may in fact replace many of our regular backlit LCD screens. One of the main advantages to an OLED over an LCD is the lack of a backlight, which in turn draws less power from the battery.

The touch screen is also a very nice bonus, as it gives the K5 a very slick look, and reinforces the minimalistic style that Samsung has strived for.

The specified dimensions of the K5 are not at all small; it is about the size of a regular cellphone. The speakers appear to take up half of the audio player, and also note that the estimated battery life is very high, therefore the K5 should contain a battery that would be rather large compared to other audio players.

Now on to what's actually inside the nice box…

Page 4 : Package Contents

Supplied inside are the K5 unit, a manual, earphones, usb cable, and an installation CD.

The K5 looks very nice, as it has a fully black magnesium alloy finish, which is a very nice and strong material to the touch. The front is covered by a transparent layer of plastic, which protects the OLED screen, and also houses the touch screen.

On the back is the Samsung logo resting on a very attractive surface of black magnesium alloy.

The supplied earphones are bulkier than most, and the round chrome part sticks out of your ear when wearing them. The rubber side goes right into the ear canal.

The earphone cable is made of a very flexible yet strong rubber. The cable retains the two wire design, but they fuse together halfway.

Now that we have covered the contents of the package, let's have a detailed look at the K5.

Page 5 : Layout

The touch screen is very intuitive and it keeps the front of the player flat, giving it a very sleek look. There is a center button, which is surrounded by arrow keys for volume and track changing, as well as a back button and options button. The K5 takes standard 3.5mm stereo ear/headphone jacks, which covers a wide variety of headphones and speakers. The USB port is not standard issue, and is stated to be 24-pin.

The other side of the K5 is the power/hold switch. To power up, you hold it to the left side for about 1 second. After letting go, the switch will return to its normal position. Moving the switch to the right side will lock the player, and will stay locked until you move the switch back to its normal position.

The built-in speakers slide out, and lock at an angle. When you slide the speakers about 1 inch, the speakers will then automatically snap forward and lock at an angle. The same motion assistance occurs when closing the speakers as well.

Now that the K5 is fully explored on the outside, let's have a look at how to set this baby up.

Page 6 : Installation

Upon putting in the included CD, auto-play will automatically give you this screen.

Hitting the install button will quickly set up the media application.

After opening the application, you will see its resemblance to the system that Apple uses, iTunes. Although it is a hassle, as you have to use this program to upload songs as the player is not a plug-and-play type device. On this program, you can add songs, organize them, and play them on the computer.

Upon plugging in the K5, the program will automatically detect it, and then it will list the contents that are currently in the player. You can then create folders, delete songs, upload songs, etc.

The K5 also has the ability to view photos, which is a very nice bonus.

Immediately upon powering up, the K5 will automatically start playing music.

When the speakers slide out, the screen and button orientation rotate to give the player a more boombox like appearance.

Navigating through songs is very pleasant, as the K5 sorts all songs according to album, artist, genres, and playlists, similar to the iPod.

The K5 can also tune into radio stations.

The photo viewer is very clear, and the colours look accurate. The K5 also continues to play music in the background, so you can listen while you view photos.

Now that the K5 is set up and ready to go, let's give it a rigorous evaluation!

Page 7 : Field Testing and Ergonomics

Over the course of two weeks on the street, the K5 has become a key component of daily life. The OLED screen is nice and bright, and the buttons are clearly defined. Some problems encountered with the buttons is that when it is in your pocket, you have no way of telling where the buttons are, so using the K5 requires visual contact with the touch screen. The screen is very resistant to scratching, as after many cycles of moving in and out of a jean pocket, no marks are visible.

Charging the unit takes about 4 hours to complete, and can last a very long time when using only the earphones. The Samsung website advertises the expected battery life as 30 hours, and the actual life would probably be higher. Using the speakers is another story, and the battery life can vary depending on the volume that you use it at on a regular basis. It would be roughly 5 hours when using it at a volume of 75%.

The size of the K5 is large compared to other audio players, but it is easy to get used to, and resembles a cellphone. Many pockets that were designed for cellphones on backpacks, purses, etc. are compatible with the K5. The sleek and stylish look is very attractive, and when pulled out in a crowd, it's bound to attract attention away from the iPods, and when you slide out the speakers, the crowd would go wild. It's a cool factor which is not seen everyday, and can constantly amaze people.

The sound quality that comes out of the player is up to par with onboard sound cards. The bass that comes out of the included earphones are of highest class. They would even compare to mid-level headphones, as their ‘noise-canceling’ is effective. When listening to music, you will not be able to hear yourself sing. The bass is absolutely stunning; it is powerful and will not distort at high volume levels; you will potentially damage your ears before the bass gets high enough to distort. The treble is crisp and clear with no static. The speakers, on the other hand, are not very good in sound quality. Although it does outperform many of the other small-sized speakers, it does not compare at all with full-sized speakers. The bass can barely be heard, and the treble is high pitched, and can screech if too loud. The speakers can be very loud, and will be able to project the higher pitches clearly and without distortion, but the bass will still be very faint. The included earphones make the K5 worth its weight in gold, and while the speakers are the star of the show in the K5, they still cannot compare to normal speakers in sound quality; however, in terms of portability, they are very good.

Page 8 : Conclusion

The Samsung K5 really delivers in a small package; it is very attractive, comes with excellent earphones, and the speakers are not bad because its size versus quality ratio is above average. The K5 can truly be given the title as ‘The iPod Killer’ as this is a product that delivers everything that the iPod can give, plus much more. The built-in speakers are great as you are able to share your music with others, instead of being restricted to two people using one earphone each.

The K5 is a very high class product, boasting the ability to project music through a small body. The earphones make the package worth every penny, and its stylish design is eye-catching to many audiophiles.

Advantages

• Excellent earphones

• Ability to view photos
• Resistant to scratching, Magnesium alloy body
• Long battery life
• Mediocre speakers, but very compact
• Songs are automatically sorted
• Radio tuner

Disadvantages

• Very faint bass on the speakers

• Requires visual contact in order to operate the touch screen

Overclockers Online would like to thank Samsung for making this review possible.