MP4 Player

Comments about Global New Beginnings MP4 Player:

It's cute, and not bad for being free gift from Staples, but has a few quirks that could use a little explanation. I have two of them (don't ask me how that happened), and they both operate identically:

The Sliding Power Switch – Turn this switch on when you get it and leave it on. Forever. Thereafter, always use the Pause/Stop button to turn it off and on like an iPod by pressing and holding it for several seconds. But if insist on losing most of your settings (not your music, just most of your preferences), then go ahead and use the slide switch. (I'm wondering if perhaps the slide switch is just a way to keep the battery from draining during shipping.)

Megafunction Button - Pause/Stop/Off/On/Select/Play button. It's marked with the Pause/Stop symbols, but you'll use it for everything, like an iPod. Resist using the on-off slide switch for anything but confounding yourself.

Navigation – Without the iPod's circular wheel-of-chance, the nav buttons are easy to adapt to. But it takes two hands, one to hold and one to navigate. Use the uppermost ESC button like the Menu button on an iPod.

Built-In Speaker – Not a hi-fi speaker, but it will allow you preview songs without a headset or earphones. Or use it to impress your friends - their iPods don't have a speaker. And it turns off as soon as you plug in a headset cable.

Magic Potluck USB Mode - After plugging into your computer to charge it or download, the player often goes into Potluck Mode – one of several screens will randomly appear, and often it will lock up in that screen. When that happens, just use the Megafunction Button to turn it off and back on (resisting entirely the temptation to use the slide switch). Good news: when you're disconnected from a USB port, you'll reliably start up right there in the top menu. Everytime. Unlike an iPod which starts up wherever you left it.

The Power Up Ditty – Our strange little player fires-up with all the enthusiasm of a $10 TracFone, taking about 10 seconds. But indeed you'll be entertained with a pretty little fluttering blue butterfly. Beats a spinning circle or a progress bar all to heck.

Soft Mute – When powering up and down, the audio volume unmutes and mutes over the period of a second or so, which I thought at first was neat. Until I noticed it also does this soft unmute at the beginning of every song. So if you have some songs that start strongly, well, they won't anymore.

Bad Cable Simulator Mode – The audio hiccups randomly ever so often, making a sound like a bad headset cable. But the crackle never lasts for more than a second or so, and it doesn't happen very often. Thus, you're reminded occasionally that you didn't get an iPod.

Battery Life – Somewhat underwhelming, a few hours.

Audio Frequency Output – Unlike the iPod, this player has no bass-boost or loudness function. So if you want good bass sounds, you'll need a pair of earbuds that fully seal inside your ears, or a good headset like others have mentioned. But connected to a stereo aux input (i.e. a car stereo), the audio is just fine, 'cept for the occasional "Bad Cable Simulator Mode."

Order More Megahertz, Please – As you move between menu items, you'll begin to think that Windows 95 on an early Pentium I CPU was fast. But since it always fires up with the music icon selected, there's not much navigation needed after you download your music and set preferences.

Comments about Global New Beginnings MP4 Player:

Not what is shown above.Not a touch screen,sound is just a screech noise built in speaker or headphones.Real piece of garbage .Will notify company and see how they handle it.Very disappointed.Will write a new review if problem resolved.

Comments about Global New Beginnings MP4 Player:

I've put this thing through it's paces, and as an intitial assessment, it's a fairly decent player. I'll mention the drawbacks first: It's a bit bulky, it feels a bit cheaply made, the instructions are sparse, the setup and navigation is a bit wonky. There are some very slight spelling or syntax errors. And the default sound is bad. I set this device side by side with a Sony mp3 player, which are famous for their pleasing sound. This device is tinny sounding. Bass is absent, and highs are harsh, literally painful, and probably injurious at high volume. It's important to note a few things: 1) it can be mitigated by setting the (upside-down) user equalizer. Boost the bass some, cut the treble a-lot. 2) It is VERY important to match this to an appropriate headphones. I own some Sennheiser CX-400 II's, and also some Maximo iMetal's. The Maximo are bass heavy and roll off on the treble. That works perfectly with this player, and do a manual eq adjustment. It brings the bass up just enough, and cuts the treble down just enough - so listening is acceptable. It's perfectly OK. The sennheisers are soooo crisp, and not bass heavy, that with this device, there ends up being no bass at all, and the treble becomes alarmingly painful. The lesson here, you must choose the right headphones, and Maximo sell some of theirs for around $15, and they work great with this device. To compare, the Sony has lush bass, and weak treble, so it requires the Senns. Doing that would more than quadruple the cost compared to this device with the Maximo headset. Now, aside from sound, some very good things about this device: 1) It will play divx encoded 320x240 video, and it does a nice job. The color balance is too cool (blue), but for the price, so what? That it does video at all, and well, and uses a very common and quality format - that's a 4 star feature. 2) It supports NES game roms. Think GameBoy Advance roms, which you can find all over the internet. I downloaded and played Mappy. The keypad is limited, badly laid out, and needs to be remapped - but it worked, and it was a heck of a lot of fun. Oh, and remapping of keys IS supported. Another WOW. 3) TOOLS. What? Yes. It includes a Calculator, Calendar, and Stopwatch. Why? Who knows, but it's a nifty trick on this free promo. 4) Ebook reader. Basic, but there. 5) Device File Navigation. Helpful. 6) Voice Recorder. Again, nice for a free promo device. 6) Photo Viewer. Works. Notes: The abundance of unexpected features, and decent sized 320x240 screen is where they get the estimated price. It's not really worth that much, but when you buy something of this calibur at the drug store, it wont have all these crazy features. More notes: It asks for choice of 3 different modes when connected to USB (charge and play, charge and data, or just charge). The device appears as a hard drive to the PC. Drag and Drop. EASY!. Brushed metal case - it a paradox in that metal is an expenseive feature, but the form and fit isn't so hot. Atleast it's not plastic. It seems to have a real O/S - i'd love to know what it is. The O/S is responsive, and hasn't hung on me yet. It even offers a few skins to the display - including zoom and push transitions. That's very thoughtful. You can even program your Owner "Name" in it (doesn't lock in though), and set date and time. The o/s reminds me a bit of RockBox. And, it does have some quirks: the upside down equalizer, the key mapping changes from screen to screen, HELPFUL NOTE: *** If switched OFF, and you charge it, is says "Please turn OFF" - but it IS off!!! (You have to switch it ON to charge). Various spelling errors, or "Setting Names" which aren't very descriptive. Summary: The flaws are all minor. The device works, and has a ton of fun features. It's a nice distraction, and the audio can be made reasonable. I would suggest, if you have nothing, or a first time buyer, or for a kid, especially a nerd, to play around with, this is a lot of fun. I love it. I would give one big caution - the untamed audio is harsh, even dangerous. If you give this to a young person, make sure you choose earbuds that cut the treble A*LOT, and any bass boosting an earbud provide is fine, since the bass is so weak to start. For example, Skullcandy cheapos, the Maximo im-490 or current equivalent, or check online reviews for others. You want bass-boost, and strong high end roll off! Then, enjoy!- PS: if you feel yours doesnt work at all (wont charge), or sounds terrible, try the fixes I describe above. And if not, remember, [...] RMA the manufacturer for 90 days.

Comments about Global New Beginnings MP4 Player:

When I turn the player on, it shows an x in the battery, then goes into sleep mode. I have tried twice charging it for 8 hours. Also the message USB port is busy comes on. The instructions are not much help in troubleshooting this type of problem.

Comments about Global New Beginnings MP4 Player:

wonderful little player

Comments about Global New Beginnings MP4 Player:

No owners manual, cd for install broken. DON'T EVEN WASTE YOUR TIME GETTING THE FREEBIE, YOU'LL JUST END UP THROWING IT AWAY AND IT SHOULD BE RECYCLED.