As for the blue and white-collar people, they now have the power to choose their own gadget that they can call their own. With this, X-com, one of the leaders in the MP3 and MP4 market, has introduced their newest MP4. This is the X-com M415 256MB MP4 Player.

Out of the box, the M415 package includes the unit, high-quality earphones, a USB cable, a standard charger, the manual, and a software disc that contains the driver and utilities.

The M415 has a metallic gray finish, a 1.5 inch screen, and buttons on the front and right side of the player; while the slot for the earphones and USB cable are on the top of the M415. Its appearance may look like a small size version of the Palm Tungsten PDA, but the M415 is totally unique and simple in design.

It is simple in the sense that almost all the buttons can be easily pressed using only your thumb, be it on the right side or on the front. It is unique in the sense that the volume buttons are on different sides compared to other players. Think about it as like reading a Chinese book. Get what I mean?

The M415 menu list consists of Music, Movie, Record, Voice, FM Radio, Picture, Text, Game, and SYS Set-up. Let's go through them one at a time, shall we?

The Music feature shows the list of your MP3 and WMA files. A user can upload MP3s on the M415 player using the USB cable provided on the package and can be connected to your favorite PC, Mac, or laptop. With the 256MB memory capacity, it can be filled in with 50+ of your favorite MP3 songs. The M415 has an equalizer function that can be changed depending on the user's sound preference. Be it Natural, Rock, Pop, Classic, Soft, Jazz, or DBB sound, it fits well with one's listening pleasure, especially when the song "Africa" by Toto is played on the M415.

The Movie feature is a good for watching your favorite movie. The M415 can accommodate a full VCD version of Ice Age 2: The Meltdown. Before that, the MPEG / AVI / WMV files had to be converted into the AMV file format in order to be read by the M415 using the included software utility. From there, you can watch the Ice Age 2 gang do their funny antics on the M415's 65K-260K 1.5-inch TFT color screen--pretty advisable during road trips, but not while walking along the metro sidewalk.

The Record, Voice, and Game features can be used during classroom lectures and during those really boring times. The M415 has two games, namely BoxMan and Bricks. The first made us yawn a bit, but the latter reminds us of the old Tetris game when we were little kids. The Voice-Record function is good for recording those long boring lectures in your classroom. A user can select the voice recording quality from Fine/Long REC or Fine/Long VOR. And by the way, all voice recordings are saved in WAV format. In our tests, the voice recording is clear and crisp during playback.

The FM Stereo Radio of the M415 is a good inclusion to its line of features. With its manual/auto search setting, the player can scan and save up to 20 local FM radio stations. Listening to your favorite radio station has never been this simple and cool at the same time.

The M415 can also upload your favorite pictures of your love ones and friends. As for the Text feature, notepad files saved in TXT format can be read using this.

Equipped with a lithium-ion battery, the M415 can be fully charged in 2.5 hours and can last for up to 5 hours of non-stop play, using all the M415's features. The battery can be charged using the USB cable directly on the PC, Mac, or laptop, and using the standard charger provided.

The X-com M415 256MB MP4 Player has a lot of features and can be used as a small portable flash drive, with a copy/paste/drag function. We at the Technews lab find it a good alternative choice for users who are looking for a multi-role, multi-function device.