M-Cody M-20 2GB
Introduction
The Apple iPod nano was revolutionary in the sense that it was the first time 2GB and 4GB of flash memory was crammed into a tiny player. It's been nearly a year since the iPod nano was first introduced, and the success of the iPod nano is evident with copies flooding the market. Some are blatant, outright imitations of the iPod nano, while others copy the slim, rectangular profile. Just last month, on 12 September 2006, Apple released the 2nd Generation (2G) iPod nano, with increased capacities, a better screen, and yet nearly 0.5mm (~0.02") thinner. Although Apple has generally succeeded in combining form with function, with other players, this is usually an either-or situation. Creative, for example, generally produce DAPs which are feature-packed, but do not look really attractive. With so many people carrying iPods, however, trying to find a unique, good-looking DAP can be hard.
Leave it to Korean company Median Co. Ltd. to come up with the M-Cody M-20. This DAP features the familiar iPod nano-like rectangular profile. But that is where all similarity ends. It uses a red-on-black design scheme, which has been (quite wrongly) compared with the LG chocolate series of mobile phones. In fact, the Olympus m:robe MR-100, which sports a similar minimalist, red-on-black design with touch-sensitive buttons, was released over a year ago in mid-2005, while the LG KG800 only appeared a year after that. Of note is that two other companies have DAPs looking very similar to the M-Cody M-20 - Maxfield Max-Sin Touch and Siren DP-200.
Whether you compare the M-20 to the LG chocolate series, or the Olympus m:robe MR-100, few can deny that the M-20 is clearly ahead in the "looks" department. But is this cool-looking DAP all form and no function?
Package contents
The box that the M-20 comes in is surprisingly small, measuring only 10.3 x 10.3 x 7.3cm (4.0 x 4.0 x 2.9").
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Even the design of the box is minimalist, with just the bare necessary information, and most of the surface in a highly reflective silver finish.
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Getting to the star of the show...
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Everything inside the box.
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From left to right, the USB cable, lanyard, driver/software/manual CD, the M-20 player, line-in cable and earphones. The bundled earphones are rather useless and are a waste to use with this player.