Review: NM618 Necklace MP3 Player – Listen to Your Music in Style

Overview:

With so many portable media devices on the market nowadays, it can be difficult for companies to create something different and unique. But BeyondTel have succeeded, merging fashion and gadgetry to produce this stylish Necklace MP3 Player.

Review:

Initial impressions

The Necklace MP3 player came in a compact perspex gift box and the striking design of the pendant was impressive against the black felt background of the box. Good first impressions! I was eager to unpack the player and check out its quality.

What's in the box?

• MP3 Player
• Headphones
• USB cable
• Instructions are printed inside the box.

Design

The obvious focal point of this gadget is the large pendant. Circular in shape, the pendant is silver-plated, with a deep sapphire-coloured centre. 50 Czech crystal rhinestones encrust the silver edges of the pendant. (Alternative colours include black, purple and red). The pendant was actually quite heavy, but not uncomfortably so. The pendant is held on a 28 inch, adjustable, black neck-strap.

On the right hand side of the neck-strap is a mini remote control consisting of 2 buttons. Button No 1 controls play, stop and pause. Button No 2 is actually 2 buttons; one end controls previous track/volume up, the other end controls next track/volume down. Press quickly to change tracks and hold to alter the volume.

Along with my trusty companion, Google, I set out searching for other fashionable MP3 players. Instead of fashion, I was met with models wearing bland flash drives around their necks. As a result, I reckon BeyondTel win hands down with this great looking gadget.

Features & Usability

I like the task of transferring music to a player to be simple and easy. I hate having to install software and use certain programs. After connecting the player to my PC via the USB cable, the flash drive popped up on my computer as a standard mass storage device and I was pleased to discover my favourite transfer technique - good old drag and drop.

There are no extra functions on this player, such as equalizer, bass or treble controls and without a display screen to view my tracks, there was nothing I could do but press play and wait and see.

I'm not sure exactly what I expected from sound quality, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. I like a good bass effect when I'm listening to my favourite songs, and this fashionable device certainly didn't disappoint.

I was pleased with the volume range too. I've had some MP3 players where I got to the maximum volume and thought, 'is that it?'. But I had fun cranking up the volume to full to, erm"¦ McFly. No, I'm not kidding.

After a while, I had the mother of all headaches and had to give my grooving a little break. Believe me; you can play your tunes loud on this thing! Which, in hindsight, probably wasn't very sensible with a sore head. Oh well. If you're going to test something out, you've got to do it properly, right!?

Now when I saw the earphones, I thought 'uh oh'. The only earphones I use now are the inner-ear 'bud-type' ones. I found these basic earphones a little uncomfortable and think they could be improved with earphone pads.

The mini remote control can be a little fiddly at times. The 2 buttons on either side are both positioned towards the top so I found that when trying to hold one side to press one button, my thumb inevitably ended up pressing the other one too.

The Necklace MP3 player utilises EasyPlay® technology. This promises to simplify the operation of the device. When the earphones are plugged into the remote control, the player turns on automatically. Disconnecting them turns the player off.

I found that after stopping the music solely via the mini remote and not removing the headphones, when I came back to the player after half an hour or so and pressed the play button, the player remained dormant. At this point I had to disconnect and reconnect the headphones. Only then was the play button responsive.

With a 1GB memory, you can easily store over 100 MP3/WMA tracks and listen to your music for up to five hours. The rechargeable Li-ion battery is fully charged in just one hour via your PC/Laptop.

Specifications:

• Three buttons: Vol+ / Prev, Vol- / Next, Play / Pause
• Frequency response: 20hz to 20Khz
• Earphone O/P: 4mW(L) + 4mW (R)
• Audio channels: Stereo (L+R)
• S/N ratio: > 85 db
• Dimensions:
  Pendant: 47.5 x 47.5 x 7.5 mm
  Neck strap: universal size (approx 28 inches)
• System: Win 2K / Me / NT / XP / Vista / Mac OS 10.x or later

The Gaj-It Verdict:

Design: 9/10
Usability: 7/10
Features: 7/10
Value: 8/10

We Say:

I reckon the Necklace MP3 player would make a great gift for girlfriends, wives, mums, sisters and aunts. It's fashionable and definitely something different. It is a simple player for someone who just likes to pop in their earphones and go, and aren't too bothered about any extra features.

Shop for it at BeyondTel.