Customer Reviews
RYW does what it claims to do.
A good product for the AM radio buff. I have read complaints about this unit not being easy to use, instruction manual being poor, unit size being too big, etc., etc. It's all true! I imagine this is the unit the engineers at Apple might have produced if Steve Jobs wouldn't have ordered them to make it simpler. But it's the only MP3 unit with AM radio, and I think the only one that records up to 10 programmed events, just like a VCR. If you're a bit of a techno geek and don't mind spending some time to figure it out, this unit is definitely worth it. PS - Be sure to go to their website and upgrade the firmware. Older versions have had some bugs, but the good news is that the unit IS upgradable as these bugs are discovered and worked out.
talk show listener
One comment I need to make in regard to this unit is that there are basically 2 types of individuals who are interested in MP3:
The first is the person who's primary interest is music - this is not the MP3 player you want.
The second is the person who listens to talk shows or downloads podcasts and listens to it one time. This is the unit for you.
I have only had this unit for a week now, and it does everything I want. I am not finding the user interface crude. It needs this functionality to deal with all the things it can do. It doesn't take very long to learn.
I have mostly used this to listen to podcasts downloaded from the computer. I could listen to them either on this or a conventional MP3 player. I choose the Pogo LX because I can speed it up. It can play MP3 files at 1.3X and 1.5X and the pitch of the voice does not change. Voices don't sound like the chipmunks. I do wish it would retain this speed as it finishes one file and moves to the next!
I find navigation easy when I download files by putting them in directories that I know what they are. I is easy to navigate thru directories if you have this unit in the correct mode. Difficult to navigate if you don't.
The built in speaker is useful, but not great sound quality. It is fine to listen to voice. Pathetic for music.
For the intended audience, this unit is great!
Only if you realy want AM
In Brief:
If you really can not live with out AM but are a digital person then this is the only choice. It is useful only for nerds like me and sports fans, I love talk radio and BBC & etc, because I live in New York I don't need XM or Serius, just AM/FM. So this is great for that, but the interface is so bad, that unless your desire to have AM out ways all else don't buy this. Most players play at least 3 formats (mp3, wmv, aac), some as many as 7 (Samsung) this plays only MP3. This is a good device if looked at as a radio that plays MP3s' but ranks as the worst if looked at as an MP3 player. If you do get this the first thing you must do is download the new firmware (1.5) otherwise it will crash constantly)
Pros: Only AM radio with MP3 capabilities in the world, built in speaker, uses standard memory cards (up to 1 Gig), High bit rate Recording (32-256), FM can be used W/O headphones with a removable antenna (they supply), Has built in internal memory, Works on Macintosh, Nice(ish) Look, Radio recording timer, 15 hour battery life.
Cons: The worst interface in the world, in radio mode the up is down and vice versa, menu features are limited, bad menu system, hard to navigate, transitions between modes is not slick (does not remember not only what song you were listening to, but what menu, every time you change modes it forgets what it was doing when you get back, even momentarily), reverts to factory preset volume when turned on. Only uses standard memory cards (up to 1 Gig), only plays mp3, Its built in internal memory is only 128 in stores, with 256 models only available from them.
