Creative NOMAD
For something so tiny, this little MP3 player from Creative boasts of very impressive features and application software. Small enough to fit into a shirt pocket, the Nomad stores MP3 songs on to 64 MB of flash memory-32 MB built-in and 32 MB supplied in the form of a Flash memory card.
The versatile player can be used in three modes-MP3 playback, voice recording and FM radio with the ability to store even non-MP3 files. Control buttons are located on either side of the player and are used to change parameters such as volume, hold, track repeat mode, forward, previous and playlist control. There is a built-in equaliser with settings for normal listening, Jazz, Classical and Rock.
The circular screen indicates the necessary modes of operation, battery status, presence of the Flash card. It also has a two-line alphanumeric display that shows the name of the song being played, and other information. Though rather small, the layout is intuitive.
In MP3 mode, the audio quality of the player was very high and the output levels did get quite loud. However, the included in-the-ear type headphones provided rather tinny sound with very little bass response. Changing the equalisation modes did create an audible difference, however. In the FM mode, in spite of having no real antenna, the layer picked up the signal (107.1 MHz) accurately and the audio had virtually no sign of any hiss or crackle. Voice recording is very straightforward and the built-in microphone is sensitive. A docking station facilitates the transfer of files between the player and the computer and also serves the purpose of charging the two AAA batteries. However, we found that, during use, the player had a tendency to stop responding completely, forcing us to remove the batteries and re-insert them to get it working again.
With very powerful features like FM playback and voice recording, this MP3 player is one of the best you can buy.