Panasonic SL-MP35 Personal CD Player

I purchased this Panasonic MP3 player for a recent business trip that I took. I had started my searching for a MP3 player with the small memory-stick based devices-- I quickly realized that the economic feasibility of them just wasn't there. With the MP3 CD method, its simple to just burn a CD, use it for a while, and then toss it and/or burn a new one when you feel like it. You can store a good 200 songs on one CD, and the batteries will last plenty long enough to play the whole disc back.

The unit is very well built, though it could be called a bit spartan. But, that is OK by me, because I just want something that will play music, I'm not looking to entertain myself by playing games on the LCD screen or anything. From an ease-of-use standpoint, you can just pop in the disc, and navigate songs just like you would with any normal CD. I appreciate that they kept normal physical buttons to still allow use without needing to navigate on-screen menus. While it is true that you can't fast forward or rewind within a song, what do you expect!? Its an MP3 file after all!

The battery life appears to be fantastic on this unit. I used it on about 8 hours worth of flights, plus a couple weekend trips, and I'm still on the original batteries. I'm sure a good set of NiMH batteries would run this thing for a good time between recharges.

Regarding file organization and menus and that kind of thing-- It may be true that it will organize songs a little wierd if you just throw them onto a disc. However, the manual shows you a file structure using letters and numbers that enables you to create a totally organized track and album system. Sure, it takes a few minutes to get the files and folders named the right way, but once its done, its done. I ripped all of my MP3's, named the files and folders, and managed to get the disc perfect on the first shot. Yes, it may take a smidgen of effort, but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out.

I have yet to make this thing skip or malfunction in any way. I haven't given it serious abuse though, so who knows what will happen after you drop it a couple of times. But, for the average person, hopefully it won't be dropped at all.

Looks-wise, it is pretty average. To the casual passerby it looks just like any other portable CD player. It isn't a gaudy silver with blue rubber all over it, nor is it clear or anything. It is pretty normal in size, just a little bigger than a CD, and about 1" thick. Again, it has a good overall feel; the plastic looks pretty tough, and there's no parts that look like they would break off with use.

There's only a couple of things that are less than perfect that I have found:

The S-XBS bass boost feature. It does indeed come on each time you turn the unit on again. All of the other settings are retained in memory between off-on cycles, except for this one. But, it shouldn't kill anyone-- you press a button and its back the way you want it.

I could see that a backlight on the LCD screen could be a nice feature for people who are using it in the dark.

The headphones that come with it are pretty crappy. But, what do you expect, you're buying a CD player, not headphones. I'm sure they're 99 cent headphones, but I'm glad they decided to just make it a token offering, rather than raising the price point just for the headphones. They work, but you might as well plan on getting a better set.

Overall, I would highly recommend this player to any of my friends. Of course, my friends would probably be of a slightly more mature demographic than many people who are buying this player. If you're looking for something flashy or gimmicky, there's probably better units out there. But, if you are looking for a good quality, functional, easy-to-use player, I highly recommend this one.