Olympus m:robe MR-100 5GB Review
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Comparisons
| Specifications | Olympus m:robe MR-100 5GB | Creative Zen Micro 6GB | Apple iPod Mini 6GB | iRiver H10 5GB |
| Picture |  |
 |
 |
 |
| Dimensions (inches) (mm) |
3.5 x 2 x 0.6 90 x 52 x 14.9 |
3.3 x 2 x 0.7 84 x 51 x 19 |
3.6 x 2 x 0.5 93 x 51 x 14 |
3.7 x 2.1 x 0.6 96 x 55 x 15 |
| Weight | 100g/3.5oz | 108g/3.8oz | 102g/3.6oz | 96g/3.4oz |
| Capacity | 5GB | 6GB | 6GB | 5GB |
| Battery Life | 12hrs | 12hrs | 18hrs | 12hrs |
| Battery Type | Lithium Ion | Lithium Ion | Lithium Ion | No info |
| removable? | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Frequency Response | No info | 20Hz - 20kHz | 20Hz - 20kHz | 20Hz - 20kHz |
| Signal/Noise Ratio | No info | up to 98dB | No info | 90dB |
| FM Tuner | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| FM Transmit | No | No | No | No |
| Recording | No | FM/Voice | No | FM/Voice |
| Realtime Encoding | No | No | No | No |
| Connectivity | USB1.1/2.0 | USB1.1/2.0 | FireWire 400, USB2.0 | USB2.0 |
| Remote Control | No | Yes (Asian version) | No | No |
| LCD | 1.7" (diag) | 1.4" (diag) | 1.5" (diag) | 1.5" (diag) |
| Colour? | Mono, Red | Mono | Mono | 260k colour |
| Specifications | Olympus m:robe MR-100 5GB | Creative Zen Micro 6GB | Apple iPod Mini 6GB | iRiver H10 5GB |
| OS Support | Windows 2000/XP | Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP | Mac OS X, Windows 2000/XP | Windows XP |
| Formats | MP3, WMA | MP3, WMA, WAV | AAC, MP3, AU, AIFF, Apple lossless, WAV | MP3, WMA, AU |
| Upgradeable firmware | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audio effects | 16 EQ presets | 8 EQ presets, 1 5-band custom EQ | 20 EQ presets | 1 5-band custom EQ, SRS |
| Can use as external HDD? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price (USD) | $180 | $250 | $249 | $247 |
Summary
| What's good | - It looks really cool - Small & slim - Rather fast transfers - Quite a big LCD screen, sharp and easy to read - Sounds good, EQs are useful too - Individual lights for each button - Easy to use - Cheap |
| What's bad | - Buggy! The shipped m:trip software and MR-100 firmware
were problematic - Dodgy firmware upgrade process - Cannot display Chinese text - m:trip software cannot handle Unicode filenames - Must add music into m:trip music library before transferring to MR-100 - AC adapter can only charge through the dock - Slow startup of player; lacks "instant-on" of other players - LCD appears washed out in bright sunlight - Firmware still not stable, occasional hangs - No custom EQ - Battery life could be improved - Non-removable battery - Headphones output power very low - Lousy quality earphones provided - Lacks FM tuner, voice recording |
Conclusion
With 4-6GB digital audio players getting cheaper, and more manufacturers releasing their players, it is getting to be a crowded market. While the two top dogs, Creative and Apple, slug it out at the top, others are rapidly trying to get a share of this huge pie. Olympus, known more for its cameras, released the m:robe MR-100 and MR-500i. It is then, perhaps, understandable why the firmware and software were so problematic. Understandable, but not forgivable. No company should ever think of shipping anything with buggy software. My bad experience left me with a very, very bad initial impression of the MR-100.
Olympus also should have spent more time to develop an "instant-on" function. Every other player in the market has it. It can get irritating waiting for 15 seconds for the player to start up. At the same time, maybe actually test the player before claiming 12 hours battery life. And work on increasing the headphone output power.
Olympus failed to account for people with Chinese (or Japanese) music files. First, the software is unable to handle Unicode filenames, and second, the MR-100 cannot display Chinese (or Japanese) text.
All that being said, let's face facts. The MR-100 looks cool. Very cool. In fact, based on looks alone, I feel the MR-100 far exceeds the iPod Mini or Zen Micro or any other player currently in the market. Plus, it was really ingenious of Olympus to put individual lights for each button. The lighted buttons show what can be pressed for that particular screen or menu. What's not lit, cannot be pressed. This makes the MR-100 very intuitive to use. Also, while there is a lack of a custom EQ, the existing EQ presets are actually quite usable.
Final words? The Olympus m:robe MR-100 scores high on looks. Its small and slim size means you can slip it in your pocket and not worry about a bulge. This is a player you definitely would not mind pulling out of your pocket to show off. However, there are just too many problems with the MR-100. If you want a good looking player, and can live with its shortcomings, then the MR-100 is for you. Otherwise, keep away from it.
6 out of 10
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