Pocket
mStation Review: MP3.com
NEO Jukebox
Rating 5 = Great Product
First came the brick. Now there's da bomb.
Looks like SSI got it right this time with the NEO Jukebox. While it inherits some genes of its predecessor, the NEO 25, this sleek, stylish, music-playing machine is a vast improvement that puts SSI in the big leagues of MP3 hardware portability.
It's about the size of a portable CD player but slightly heavier due to the 2.5-inch EIDE/Ultra DMA IDE hard drive. We tried the $450 20GB model, which stores more music and data files than our 2-year-old desktop PC. Should you ever need to swap out the drive, it's literally a snap. Just remove the cover, unplug the drive and snap in a new one--access is much faster than on the NEO 25. (The 10GB model is $380.)
The Jukebox also bests the 25 in other key areas:
Shock protection - SSI claims five minutes of buffer and we believe it. Torture the Jukebox as we might, it would not skip during playback. Ergonomics - The oversized function buttons are easier to navigate than not only the 25's, but just about any other portable MP3 or CD/MP3 player we've tried. LCD - The display is big, bright, blue and backlit. Scroll over a particular track and the font enlarges, so the type is even easier to read. Navigating through directories and the hard drive is much easier than on the 25. You can control the contrast to conserve battery life, or leave the backlight always on--a nice option for home/office use when the AC adapter/charger is plugged in. Infrared remote - It's smaller than a cigarette lighter, has decent range, duplicates all the button functions and has a mute button to boot. Zippered leather carrying case - Its clear vinyl panel lets you see the LCD and access all function buttons while protecting the unit itself. The padded front can be folded back so the Jukebox stands upright, or zipped forward for protection while carrying it around. The case has a strong Velcro belt clip, a shoulder strap and an adjustable wrist strap, so you can tote the Jukebox the way you like best. There's even two inside pockets for spare batteries or the remote.
Like the NEO 25, you can crank the Jukebox up way loud. And the included fold-up headphones are far superior to the 25's earbuds. The Jukebox pumps plenty of volume through them, your car tape deck adapters or home stereo. Four preset EQs, user-adjustable bass/treble and balance control give you plenty of listening options.
File transfers via the included USB cable are speedy: The entire MP3 version of Santana's "Supernatural" CD zipped over from my hard drive in less than a minute. Using a USB hub is no problem; your PC or Mac sees the Jukebox as an external hard drive, so you can cart around thousands of non-MP3s if you want to (they don't show up in the LCD, only in your computer's file-management programs).
Even with all those music files on board, you can keep playing the current track while navigating the LCD. When you shut the unit off, it bookmarks the current song playing and resumes there when you power-on again. Sometimes it resumes right where you left off, other times at the beginning of the track--go figure. If you move around a lot, you can lock all the function keys except volume to prevent accidental pauses and track advances. Lithium-Ion battery life is three to four hours, with a full recharge in about two. If you're planning on long road trips, spring for the $30 car charger or extra batteries at $40 each.
What does the NEO Jukebox lack? Well, it can't play WAVs or other music files--just MP3s and MP2s at 8-320kbps (including VBR). There's no auto-shutoff. It only can create playlists within folders, and the tracks within them play in alphabetical order. Ditto for tracks on the hard drive and in all other folders. MusicMatch is included for ripping but not file/playlist transfers.
In case you can't tell, we're pretty impressed with this puppy. Yes, there are smaller portables with hard drives for less money. But if size doesn't matter and your wallet can take the hit, you'll have a blast wherever you take the NEO Jukebox.
NOTE TO SSI: Next rev, include a voice recorder, radio and speaker. Then da bomb will be da best thing out there.
The NEO Jukebox is a hard drive-based MP3 player allowing you to take your
entire music collection anywhere. The 20GB version allows up to store up to 600
CDs' worth of music. Not only is the NEO Jukebox an MP3 player, but is also a
portable hard drive. You can transfer any type of file to and from the device
using the high-speed USB port.
Finding music is easy with the player thanks to the large LCD screen (128x68 pixels) and backlight. The NEO Jukebox is controlled by the nine buttons on front of the player, allowing you easy access to your music collection. With many features such as random and playlist support, you have total control of how your music is played. You also will not have to worry about your music skipping thanks to the anti-shock buffer. The NEO Jukebox is indeed the music lover's dream come true.
The NEO Jukebox is compatible with Windows 98/Me/2000 and MAC OS 9.
Saturn Computers, 9 Ivanhoe Rd, Merlin Terrace, Hogwood Lane Industrial Estate,
Finchampstead, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 4QQ
Tel: 01189 73 33 73 | Fax: 01189 73 53 73 |