Reviews Written by PerryE

Not flawless, but value is hard to beat

Pros: Value, copying files, audio equalizer, decent battery life

Cons: Earbuds, tedious scrolling, button responsiveness, cheap protective case

In the $100 range, you're hard-pressed to find anything to beat this small, ultra-light gem.

Copying files couldn't be easier. There's no need for proprietary software. Connect the e140 to your computer with the supplied USB cable (which would be nicer were it a few feet long instead of six inches), then copy files as you would to any other USB flash drive. Since it's a flash drive, you can use any extra space for bringing around other types of files.

I can't say enough good things about the audio equalizer and SRS WOW. I always have WOW on, and I'll adjust the equalizer's five bands to suit the earbuds I'm using. A nice "focus" setting is a quick way to emphasizes the low, mid or high audio range, and there also are TruBass and SRS 3D.

Battery life is pretty good. It would be longer if changing the volume (which I often do) didn't activate the backlight. A rechargeable NiMH Energizer AAA (850 mAh) can give me a couple of days of music, probably 12 hours. If I've forgotten to pack a spare, I can get a basic alkaline almost anywhere.

It's not flawless, though. The supplied earbuds aren't very good at all, so if you don't already have a decent pair, having to buy a set reduces the e140's value. Some reviewers on Circuit City's site said you just need to turn on SRS WOW and tweak the equalizer setting, but I have a good ear for quality audio reproduction, and it's the earbuds. I have a basic pair of $15 Sonys that sound much better. And if you ride noisy commuter trains like I do, these $12 Koss earbuds are unbeatable: they're earplug-like with foam attachments.

The e140 really needs a button to scroll 10 songs at once. My old CD/MP3 player has that, making it easier to scroll through a couple hundred songs. Perhaps a firmware update could fix this: if the music is paused, forward/rewind won't go through the song, but rapidly skip to the next song.

I seem to have to press a little hard on the buttons. Maybe I'm just used to a light touch, or it could be the protective plastic case. It's very cheap. Mine tends to leave bubbles over the display, making it hard to pull the unit out when replacing the battery.

Overall, I still love it. Though it's not as thin as an iPod Nano, it's smaller in surface area. And the price is so right, and just wait as SD flash memory becomes cheaper. ...