BUSlink VSD (512 MB) MP3 Player
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- Number of Songs: 120
- Usage: Music Recording
- Interface: USB
- Main Storage Type: Built-in Memory
- Storage Capacity: 512 MB
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iBot uBot we allBot
Pros
External speaker, long battery life, easy to transfer files, FM radio
Cons
Joy stick design too easy to bump, not as much storage as other players
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Easy to use, great battery life, external speaker and internal antennae for FM radio makes this a great first mp3 player.
The world is full of mp3 players. Seems like they're everywhere and why not? Portable, slim, light and able to carry a lot more music than the old Walkman and Discman players we had back in the 80's and 90's it truly is a new world of portable entertainment.
So, my husband wanted to get me an mp3 player of my very own. Not sure the motivation other than he wanted to treat me and well, what wife would refuse? Okay, so I'm a geek girl married to a geek guy, I am the wife that refuses very little in the way of technology.
My dear husband found the BUSlink iBot and fell in love with the cute design and its abilities so that's what he got me. Also, the price was right at about $70. Now its memory is only 512MB which means I can squeeze about 8 albums worth of music, which allows me plenty of choices to take on the road.
Honestly, I wasn't won over at first - would I really use this item that I wasn't convinced I needed? Sure, it's cute and looks like a little robot (hence it's name). What looks like the head of the iBot is a speaker that allows for sharing the audio which is unlike most other mp3 players out that (that usually require an additional add-on speaker to do such things) and is removable as it hides the USB port that can be plugged into your computer for easy transfer of information AND is also how you charge up the internal Lithium battery.
The body of the iBot contains the full color display screen, microphone for voice recordings and the control buttons which include a play/stop button on the side, a record button and a joy stick that allows for most of the functionality in finding, selecting and programming your iBot experience. An on/off switch on the bottom of the iBot allows for battery longevity. On one side are two ports, one for a line-in cord and the other for headphones.
When you first turn on the iBot, after a brief welcome screen you're offered the choice of music, voice recording, recording playback, receiving FM radio signals, photo storage and settings. The display is very user friendly offering pictograms rather than trying to cram in a lot of words. You use the joy stick to scroll through and also select with pushing in the stick either quickly or longer for whatever function you're selecting. A simple floating music note screen saver helps maintain battery life by coming on after about 10 seconds of not touching any buttons.
I use my iBot mostly for music. I find it very easy to plug right into my laptop directly (no cords needed) to add and delete music selections. It works as a removable data source and requires no other software to do such things, which is very handy and doesn't add even more things to my laptop. I've also used the iBot for the FM radio which is easy to tune in local stations and considering the internal antennae is no longer than the player itself it's quite powerful and easily pulls in the major stations, which you an program to remember and pull up easily the next time.
The one feature that really sets this mp3 player apart from others is the onboard external speaker. Granted, you're not going to get great stereophonics, the quality is actually kind of tinny but it's great when you want to have a quick share. One time, we lost power at a place I was working and I had my iBot. We were able to tune into the FM radio to hear the weather and news so we weren't disconnected from why the power went out. I was also able to pull up the tunes for some background music while we had lunch and waited out the lack of power.
The only drawback to the iBot is the way the joy stick sticks out form the body of the player I can't put it in my pocket when I go for a walk. Just one slight jostle will have the joy stick making selections you're not anticipating including stopping, reselecting music and generally annoying me. I've found I can put it in a pocket with the joy stick sticking out of my pocket and that works well enough but without the ability to attach it to my body so I can freely swing my arms and power walk, it can be a bit touchy and at times, annoying. Also, with all the mega-storage options now available, the iBot is outdated in terms of storage space. But I don't let that slow me down. I don't go far from my laptop and I can easily change selections for the day based on mood and having fewer albums to scroll through does have its advantages.
For a cheap player with smaller storage and great internal battery life and external speaker you can't go wrong with the iBot. It's reliable in its performance and the sound quality through the earphones is great. So if you're looking for a hip, unique looking mp3 player and want to give up the real annoyances of a Discman or Walkman and don't want the expense of an iPod then the iBot may be just what you're looking for.
So, my husband wanted to get me an mp3 player of my very own. Not sure the motivation other than he wanted to treat me and well, what wife would refuse? Okay, so I'm a geek girl married to a geek guy, I am the wife that refuses very little in the way of technology.
My dear husband found the BUSlink iBot and fell in love with the cute design and its abilities so that's what he got me. Also, the price was right at about $70. Now its memory is only 512MB which means I can squeeze about 8 albums worth of music, which allows me plenty of choices to take on the road.
Honestly, I wasn't won over at first - would I really use this item that I wasn't convinced I needed? Sure, it's cute and looks like a little robot (hence it's name). What looks like the head of the iBot is a speaker that allows for sharing the audio which is unlike most other mp3 players out that (that usually require an additional add-on speaker to do such things) and is removable as it hides the USB port that can be plugged into your computer for easy transfer of information AND is also how you charge up the internal Lithium battery.
The body of the iBot contains the full color display screen, microphone for voice recordings and the control buttons which include a play/stop button on the side, a record button and a joy stick that allows for most of the functionality in finding, selecting and programming your iBot experience. An on/off switch on the bottom of the iBot allows for battery longevity. On one side are two ports, one for a line-in cord and the other for headphones.
When you first turn on the iBot, after a brief welcome screen you're offered the choice of music, voice recording, recording playback, receiving FM radio signals, photo storage and settings. The display is very user friendly offering pictograms rather than trying to cram in a lot of words. You use the joy stick to scroll through and also select with pushing in the stick either quickly or longer for whatever function you're selecting. A simple floating music note screen saver helps maintain battery life by coming on after about 10 seconds of not touching any buttons.
I use my iBot mostly for music. I find it very easy to plug right into my laptop directly (no cords needed) to add and delete music selections. It works as a removable data source and requires no other software to do such things, which is very handy and doesn't add even more things to my laptop. I've also used the iBot for the FM radio which is easy to tune in local stations and considering the internal antennae is no longer than the player itself it's quite powerful and easily pulls in the major stations, which you an program to remember and pull up easily the next time.
The one feature that really sets this mp3 player apart from others is the onboard external speaker. Granted, you're not going to get great stereophonics, the quality is actually kind of tinny but it's great when you want to have a quick share. One time, we lost power at a place I was working and I had my iBot. We were able to tune into the FM radio to hear the weather and news so we weren't disconnected from why the power went out. I was also able to pull up the tunes for some background music while we had lunch and waited out the lack of power.
The only drawback to the iBot is the way the joy stick sticks out form the body of the player I can't put it in my pocket when I go for a walk. Just one slight jostle will have the joy stick making selections you're not anticipating including stopping, reselecting music and generally annoying me. I've found I can put it in a pocket with the joy stick sticking out of my pocket and that works well enough but without the ability to attach it to my body so I can freely swing my arms and power walk, it can be a bit touchy and at times, annoying. Also, with all the mega-storage options now available, the iBot is outdated in terms of storage space. But I don't let that slow me down. I don't go far from my laptop and I can easily change selections for the day based on mood and having fewer albums to scroll through does have its advantages.
For a cheap player with smaller storage and great internal battery life and external speaker you can't go wrong with the iBot. It's reliable in its performance and the sound quality through the earphones is great. So if you're looking for a hip, unique looking mp3 player and want to give up the real annoyances of a Discman or Walkman and don't want the expense of an iPod then the iBot may be just what you're looking for.
