Music has been considered as one of mankind’s greatest inventions. It reflects the true essence of life as a whole. The reflection shows well in the Pinoy way of listening to music. From the simple radio to mobile phones, one can’t find who doesn’t have music in it.
But for the owners of MP3 players, it’s more than that. That’s why Korean-based company MPIO has introduced their newest baby, the MPIO ONE FG200 1GB PMP.
Looks like the competition just keeps getting better and better, because MPIO said that this little bundle of fun has new tricks that the others don't have.
For starters, Portable Media Players (PMP) are most useful for commuting, listening to music, watching videos and TV or storing many files - all on a single device. The MPIO One is an audio/video playback and storage device with its own proprietary operating system that allows the user to take their recorded and downloaded music, videos and other multimedia files with them when they travel.
The somewhat-like-a-9-volt-battery-shaped MPIO One has a 1GB flash memory capacity and measures about 32 mm (width), 55 mm (height) x 12 mm (diameter) and weighs only 34 grams. I know that you may get shellshock with its size especially for a 1GB MP3 player, but it’s the real thing. Well, it seems a little curious to suggest there isn't "room" for another small MP3 player but just how many varieties can there be and how many of us want devices so small you can lose them down the back of the sofa.
But don’t be quite mistaken on the MPIO One. Let’s not give the little One a size complex as MPIO have seen fit to equip this little chap with more toys than Santa's sack starting with a great compatibility for file formats. This shows that the MPIO One is not a simple MP3 player that only plays music.
The MPIO One has a 65K color, 1 inch OLED screen that can show MPEG-4, AVI, WMV and Divx video formats, and this is the window for navigating around the FG200. The screen of the MPIO One has unlimited view that shows a bright and clear image even under the bright sunlight in any angle.
During the review, I uploaded (thru synchronization) 2 full length music videos of Usher, PS2’s Ace Combat game movie trailers, full length movie trailers of the LOTR trilogy and Transporter 2, and a funny rendition of the song You Sexy Thing. The maximum video resolution that can be uploaded into the MPIO One is 320 x 240 pixels.
Apart from the video capability, the MPIO One can handle itself in the audio department with full support for MP3. It can also deal with WMA and the DRM (digital right management) wrapped DRM WMA used by online music stores such as Napster. And not only that, the FG200 can also record high and low level audio in WMA format, which is good for lectures and conferences.
Audio playback on the MPIO One was particularly impressive with this small bundle of fun making sounds equaled many of its more expensive rivals that makes the MPIO One compete well with the big boys.
MPIO ONE is equipped with Woolfson 8750 codec that are used in premium HDD type players where it supports 3D sound effect and Dynamic Bass, Treble Adjustment for best sound quality. It also supports 9 kinds of EQ such as Normal, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Reggae, Live, Soft, Classic and User Mode where the user can define their own sound setting preferences.
In one blind listening test among the Technews staff, they couldn't really tell any difference between the MPIO One sound and that of a 4G iPod when using a set of Sennheiser headphones.
The MPIO One supports JPG, BMP, and GIF multiple photo formats, with a resolution size of 96 x 64 pixels. You can upload, save and store photos of your families, friends, pets, and other favorite pictures. More so, this baby has a multi-tasking feature that makes you enjoy music and pictures at same time by setting the screen saver function to My Photo.
This cute little baby also has a powerful, built-in FM Radio tuner function that automatically scans your favorite local radio stations, and even pre-set them up to 30 channels (that is if you hate finding them by scan). As far as our metropolis is concerned, there are about 25 local FM radio stations. Got a spare for 5?
The MPIO One supports USB 2.0 for high speed data transfer at a rate of up to 82Mbps, making downloading as fast as lightning. It also works as a removable USB disk / external flash drive on the go for delivering those urgent documents and huge size data files. Aside from that, the MPIO One has a single built-in board game called Push-Rush.
With a Lithium Polymer battery, the MPIO One packs 10.5 hours of audio listening pleasure and 1.5 hours of video play. When the battery becomes low, the MPIO One can be recharged via the USB connector to your favorite PC or Mac. The MPIO One is available in Smart Silver, Fair Gold, Crimson Red, Mystic Gray, Harvard Blue and Midnight Black colors.
Got to tell, the MPIO ONE FG200 1GB PMP packs more than just having a minimalist attitude. It has a small yet funky style with a multi-tasking trait. Isn’t it so amazing how the masters of Bonsai MP3 can get other matters of size so wrong!
