e.Digital Corporation (fka EDIG)

[austonia]

After a month of using the Odyssey I have some comments. Note that I am not FOR e.Digital, simply interested in their mp3 player. I think its relevant here because the company's future is somewhat dependant on this product (after hearing the webcast).

I have the Odyssey, iPod, and Zen so I can make a comparison of the best pocket-size hard-disk players. I prefer the Odyssey for use at work on my desk (over the others) because the volume is controlled with the scroller on the top, making it easy/quick to control the volume when I need to take calls, talk to coworker, boss nearby, etc. I plug it in to a set of computer speakers I leave on my desk. The Odyssey seems much better suited for use on a desk than a pocket, because the controls are all on top - and there is no in-line remote. I like the built-in radio, it's good enough to recieve my favorite morning radio show. However I can't record shows off the radio like I can with Zen (with FM remote). I don't use the VoiceNav, no point. The file/directory structure dependance makes me consider this my "simple" player. I like the complete "Mass Storage Device" functionality so I will be able to copy all files from to and from another computer without installing software.

My complaints about the Odyssey : The back button ONLY works when you are navigating through directories. It DOES NOT work after you have selected a song. You have to use the Menu Button to exit all the way to the main menu. Then you have to manually navigate all the way back to whatever directory you were in before selecting another song. I have seen several people comment about this. In my opinion it is THE MOST annoying bug in the firmware. Other problems : occasional stability issues (lock ups; reboot cycles), occasional delays between songs (up to 10 seconds), long initial boot up (13 seconds), no backlight in the Radio screen, Radio can only be adjusted in .2 increments, in the Radio mode the volume can only be adjusted in increments of 3, & VBR files make the track time jump around like crazy. And of course it could *really* use ID3 tag support. I would also like to see a sleep mode, longer "power-off" selection (10 minutes idle is the most you can choose before it powers off), more track details while its playing (total track time, bit rate, whether its MP3 or WMA, ID3), onboard file management, on-the-fly playlists, etc... many functions the other players (iPod, Zen) allready have. Also the e.Digital Music Explorer is overly simply, you can't use it to "move" directories, it tries to copy the directory instead. I have to use the regular Windows explorer to move a directory on the player. The Music Explorer has no renaming utility either, but there is good freeware out there (Filerenamer 1.01 @ http://www.koger.cjb.net). After you copy a directory to Odyssey, they are only sorted in the order they are copied - to get them sorted alphabetically you need to do this manually. It's these little details that count!

Overall the Odyssey is good for *my* purpose at work, but generally I refer people to the Zen for its low cost ($250), sound quality and on-the-fly playlists, or to the iPod for its tiny size & OS simplicity if money is not an issue. Most people who can afford to blow $350 on a DAP (Odyssey) can also do $400 - 500 (iPod). The Odyssey's firmware problems (especially the Back button!) & ID3 function need to be addressed before I would suggest a friend buy this. It's good, but middle-of-the-road considering the competition, and pricey compared to Zen and Archos.

All the specs are side-by-side at dapReview.com

Austin