But, when it comes to MP4 Players, X-com has given us techie peeps not only three, but four to sum it all. If you missed the three X-com MP4 players that were featured here at Technews, X-com gave us a bonus treat to cap up this review series. This is the X-com M414 256MB MP4 Digital Audio Player.

When we got hold of this black silver colored beauty, it gave us the impression of its lightweight body. The M414 sports a 2 inch x 1.5 inch 65K TFT colored screen which gives the user a good viewing especially when watching videos and browsing pictures.

The rectangular-shaped M414 has power and hold/lock buttons located under the player, while the earphone and USB slots can found on the top of the M414. Fronting the unit is its 2 x 1.5 inch screen, and menu buttons.

Turning on the M414 can be a little bit tricky but to tell, it’s just like clicking the switch of your lightbulb at home. Once on, a user will be directed to its list of menus, which comprises Music, Movie, Record, Voice, FM Radio, Picture, Text, Game, Phone Book, and SYS Setup. Let’s check some of them, shall we?

Being a 256MB MP4 Player, the memory capacity of the M414 won’t be a hitch, especially when a user wants it just right for his/her leisure time and traveling through traffic.

With its Music feature, you can upload 50+ MP3 songs for your listening pleasure. It also has options that changes the sound depending on the equalizer settings, that includes Natural, Rock, Pop, Classic, Soft, Jazz, and DBB. We liked listening to the MP3 songs, most especially the song “We Belong”, the OST of ABS-CBN’s Korean telenovela series ‘Wonderful Life’, which was sung by Toni Gonzaga.

On the Movie feature, it’s quite cool watching your favorite movies on this cute little chub. With the 2 x 1.5 inch TFT colored screen, the M414 can accommodate 1 full VCD movie or 10+ full music videos. A user has to convert the MPEG/MPG/WMV file into AMV format in order for them to be played on the M414. Don’t worry much, the software conversion disk is included in the package. We had the fun pleasure of watching “The Wedding Date” starring Debra Messing on M414, and also Michael V.’s Bubble Gang spoof of Kamikaze’s music video “Darna”, promptly titled “Mamaw” by KayoKasiEh!.

For the Record and Voice feature, the M414 averagely passed during our Technews Lab tests. Although it can record during meetings and lectures, and has a good playback, the limitation of the M414 is its range because a user has to sit in front of the classroom in order to get a clearer voice recording, especially if your professor has a low soft voice. All voice recordings are saved in WAV format and can be transferred using the USB cable (included in the package) to your favorite PC, laptop, or Mac. Just don’t forget to install the driver, which can be found on the M414’s CD software disk.

On the FM Radio feature, listening to your favorite DJ’s is easy with just a press of a button. The M414 can save on preset of up to 20 local radio stations. The only shortcoming of this X-com baby is that a user doesn’t have to be surrounded with high-rise buildings and condominiums (like the Makati Central Business Area) because the M414 is not that strong enough to get a clear signal. But in other areas, the M414’s FM Radio feature is clear and crisp.

As for the Picture feature, it can be uploaded with JPEG/JPG format images and can be browsed for showing and sharing to your family and friends. The M414 can accommodate images of up to 640 x 480 pixels. For TXT format files, it can be read and browsed on the M414 that is hassle-free on the part of the user. On the Game feature, the M414 has two pre-loaded games, BoxMan and Bricks. We had good fun the latter than the former.

To sum it all up, X-com is definitely establishing itself as an alternative for high-end audio players. Like its other MP4 Players that were featured here at Technews, the X-com M414 256MB MP4 Digital Audio Player is a lightweight MP4 Player that packs good features in such a small package.

Gotta tell, the M414 is a better alternative and cost-effective MP4 Player that suits for the budget of consumers who crave for multi-featured hi-tech gadgets.