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Super Talent MP3 Player review: nano or no-no?

Posted on June 25, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

Super Talent in handTo call the iPod the “market leader” is an understatement.  Ars Technica recently reported the iPod is so popular that beer sales on college campuses are decreasing as a result!  Personally, I’ve never owned one (although I had a free one which I never used and eventually dumped on Craigslist), and I remain surprised that nobody can best them still.  In fact, I must say I tend to jump at the opportunity to try other MP3 players when I get the chance.  When the Super Talent “MP3_4-2GBK” arrived, I hoped from the start it would be impressive.  And impressive it is, but it is unfortunately no David to Apple’s Goliath.

Super Talent GUI - home screenThe Super Talent 2GB MEGA Screen MP3/FM/Recorder Player (Black), as it’s officially called, is unquestionably an iPod nano knockoff.  It’s a bit smaller and shorter than the nano, although slightly thicker.  It uses USB for both transferring MP3 files as well as for charging the unit (which I like a lot – all gadgets should do this!), although I was disappointed to see a proprietary USB adapter at the end (an annoyance in Japan!) and the battery life was overall slightly disappointing.  Transferring files went fairly quickly, and no new drivers needed to be installed on my laptop, which was also a nice plus. 

Super Talent packagingSuper Talent packagingSuper Talent packagingSuper Talent box contentsSuper Talent box contentsSuper Talent cables

Super Talent GUI - sound settingsSuper Talent GUI - playback home screenSuper Talent GUI - display infoSuper Talent GUI - set the timeSuper Talent GUI - settings home screenSuper Talent GUI - selecting MP3sSuper Talent GUI - folder browserSuper Talent GUI - playback modeSuper Talent GUI - FM radioSuper Talent GUI - recordingSuper Talent GUI - recordingSuper Talent GUI - photo browserSuper Talent GUI - photo playbackSuper Talent GUI - photo playbackSuper Talent GUI - equalizer settingsSuper Talent GUI - adjust playbackSuper Talent GUI - set repeatSuper Talent GUI - adjust playback speed

The Super Talent player is really pretty easy to use, although the 4-button ‘interface’ (plus cursor keys) did take a while to get used to.  One button goes to instant FM playback, another to recording, next is stop, and last is play/pause.  Some of the time these buttons have dual-purpose, and are used for navigation controls or playback controls at times.  It’s definitely a few notches away from “iPod simplicity” but it’s easy once you get used to it.  Below (and to the right) are a few screenshots (unfortunately a few are blurry, but you’ll get a good sense of it).

Super Talent GUI - display settingsSuper Talent GUI - display MP3 ID3 tag infoSuper Talent GUI - set scroll speedSuper Talent GUI - language settingsSuper Talent GUI - backlight settingsSuper Talent GUI - adjust timerSuper Talent GUI - set sleep modetime setupSuper Talent GUI - settings menuSuper Talent GUI - input typeSuper Talent GUI - recording settingsSuper Talent GUI - version infoSuper Talent GUI - upgrade firmware dialogSuper Talent GUI - reformat drive dialogSuper Talent GUI - connected via USBSuper Talent GUI - synching from PCSuper Talent GUI - MP3 playbackSuper Talent GUI - FM radio

The feature set on the Super Talent is actually quite impressive.  It’s built-in FM player includes auto-tuning, station bookmarks, and a recorder.  The recorder can also be used in a ‘line-in’ mode to copy from an external device, and it even has a small microphone to do voice recordings as well.  The photo player is neat, but I really didn’t find it useful as there was no JPEG support (the format used by, well, everyone).  For music, there are multiple playback modes, playlist support, a nice screen with graphic equalizer and ID3 tag support (to show you the artist and title of the track you are listening to), and it even lets you set a quick A-B feature like most CD players.

The sound quality was quite impressive for its size, definitely better than the nano in my opinion (but I think the nano sounds utterly awful and isn’t suited for anything other than jogging with music).  I used the Super Talent with my Shure e4c’s, and found the sound environment really wide.  I tried the built-in sound equalizers (jazz, rock, etc), and they performed adequately – but I rarely use them when listening to music anyway.  My favorite feature with the music player was the sleep mode, which is coincidentally the biggest missing feature on my real favorite music player from Sonos.

Super Talent next to Rio PMP300I would normally show some pictures directly next to an iPod nano, but since I don’t own one, I had to pick the other MP3 player in my collection: my Diamond Rio PMP300.  Yes, while I’ve owned many, I don’t really use any MP3 player regularly right now, so my old “first-ever” MP3 player (or is it?).  I thought this was a particularly fun comparison…

Super Talent next to Rio PMP300Super Talent next to Rio PMP300Super Talent next to Rio PMP300Super Talent next to Rio PMP300Super Talent next to Rio PMP300Rio PMP300 in hand

So, ultimately it comes down to the most important question – is the Super Talent MP3 player a viable iPod nano competitor?  Well, probably not.  And not for any particularly good reason, but there’s just no way anyone can take them on without a much more comprehensive effort.  It’s more than just the player, the design, the form factor.  It’s more than the ads.  It’s the whole experience, and Super Talent doesn’t offer one.

Super TalentBut, for $89.61 (at the time of writing), it is one heck of an ultra-portable MP3 player with 2 gigs of storage!  Also, the fact that it supports MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) formats is huge in my opinion. For anyone who already has a collection of MP3/WMA files and wants a really good way to take them around, frankly this blows away the nano’s value proposition in my eyes. 

Super TalentSuper Talent buttonsSuper Talent in handSuper Talent in hand

 

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Posted in General, Product Reviews | 17 Comments
« A New Look for the Tube
Why isn't my car on the Information Superhighway? »

17 thoughts on “Super Talent MP3 Player review: nano or no-no?”

  1. Gold says:
    June 26, 2006 at 4:41 pm

    sushi?

    Reply
  2. anna says:
    June 28, 2006 at 6:07 am

    umm… im not to smart on mp3 facts since i havent bought one yet but does the 1GB version of this have all the same features?

    Reply
  3. anna says:
    June 28, 2006 at 6:09 am

    oh and this is a really nice site it’s helped me alot. thanx!

    Reply
  4. Peter says:
    July 24, 2006 at 6:57 pm

    This model and the 1GB version is stated to support multiple languages. Can I make it also support songs with Japanese language tags?

    Reply
  5. Maximiliano says:
    August 4, 2006 at 7:31 am

    Hi people, i`m really interested in this player.
    I`ll bouy the 1gb version, but i don´t read in never place that if the player plays videos as wmv ext (or others), photos as jpg ext (or others), and txt’s .
    So if u can tell me this, ill be very happy^^
    bybye

    Reply
  6. Robert says:
    September 17, 2006 at 4:19 am

    I have done some extensive research and read multiple reviews on this player. Here is what I have learned;

    The picture files must be converted to .raw and video to .nxv. Bothe conversion utilities are included in the software package.

    Reply
  7. anton says:
    October 5, 2006 at 7:21 pm

    i thought u can download upgrate for iT

    Reply
  8. Jason says:
    October 18, 2006 at 7:41 am

    I bought one of these about a month ago. Love it. In fact, I have to admit this is one of the best things I’ve ever bought. Lots of features, easy to use, good sound quality and very durable! I accidentally left this thing in my jacket pocket when I did my laundry. Somehow it survived, and has still managed to function just like it did when I first bought it (even the earpieces stayed in tact). Only effect was a scratch on the main button. Of course, I don’t recommend putting this thing through a tumble wash, but I’m just telling this to explain how much I think this is a quality product.

    Reply
  9. Paulo Pontes says:
    October 24, 2006 at 2:04 am

    I own one. do you know where i can get a firmware upgrade. cant find his website

    Reply
  10. Jeremy Toeman says:
    October 24, 2006 at 6:59 am

    Paulo,

    I’m not sure, but here is a link to their driver downloads page: http://www.supertalent.com/home/driver_download.php

    -jt

    Reply
  11. htsang says:
    November 15, 2006 at 3:26 pm

    Dose anyone now where I can get the conversion aplication to convert the picture files to .raw and video to .nxv to play on the super talent mp3. thanks

    Reply
  12. eleasah says:
    December 25, 2006 at 7:43 am

    I got one of these recently… and am just figuring out how to use it. Thanks for the site–it’s been helpful.

    Reply
  13. pete says:
    January 7, 2007 at 2:19 pm

    just bought my daughter one, it’s our first mp3 and i give it 9/10.that’s only because i don’t think you can play game’s on it, £56 compaired £120 for a 2gig ipod, i no which one i woul’d buy.

    Reply
  14. daniel says:
    February 24, 2007 at 9:07 am

    I’m buying one for sure, but I’m curious what the battery life is on the super talent.

    Reply
  15. Jeremy Toeman says:
    February 24, 2007 at 10:07 am

    It’s pretty decent – we didn’t do any exhaustive tests, but for music playback it holds up well.

    Reply
  16. Ben says:
    April 19, 2007 at 12:00 am

    I’ve had bad experiences with the super talent. First one’s headphone jack got loose after 5 months, got a replacement which failed after 3 months (didn’t even use it often).

    Reply
  17. robert smile says:
    May 23, 2007 at 1:52 am

    Dear sir,
    We get your name and email address from the internet. We would like to introduce our company and products, hope that we may build business cooperation in the future.

    We are factory specializing in the manufacture and export of MP3/MP4 for more than six years. We have profuse designs with series quality grade, and expressly, our price is very competitive because we are factory,we are the source. You are welcome to visit our website http://www.jurendigit.com which includes our company profiles, history and something latest designs.

    Should any of these items be of interest to you, please let us know. We will be happy to give you details.

    As a very active manufactures, we develop new designs nearly every month. If you have interest in it, it’s my pleasure to offer news to you regular.

    Wish to hear from you soon.
    Thank you & best regards!
    Robert Smile
    JUREN INDUSTRIAL LTD
    Factory Add: 4/F,Building 8, ShiLing Industrial District, XiLi,
    Nan Shan District, Shenzhen, China.
    Tel: +86(755)86165826 21126205 Fax: +86(755)86165836
    E-mail: sales3@jurendigit.com MSN:wxp_jurendigit@hotmail.com Website: http://www.jurendigit.com
    Welcome to visit our Juren world!
    07-05-23

    Reply

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About

Jeremy Toeman is a seasoned Product leader with over 20 years experience in the convergence of digital media, mobile entertainment, social entertainment, smart TV and consumer technology. Prior ventures and projects include CNET, Viggle/Dijit/Nextguide, Sling Media, VUDU, Clicker, DivX, Rovi, Mediabolic, Boxee, and many other consumer technology companies. This blog represents his personal opinion and outlook on things.

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