The Toshiba Gigabeat MEG-F20K & MEG-F20S digital audio players come with 20GB of storage and some really useful extra benefits thrown in. The design of the player is good, you’ll certainly be happy to pull this music player out of your pocket in public! These players come in two colors - black and silver aluminum - this is urban chic at its best. Best of all this box gives you a big added bonus - a high quality color LCD screen (set up with 264,000 colors).
These players give you the chance to put around 5,000 songs in your pocket in MP3, WMA or WAV audio file formats. Battery life here averages at around 16 hours. Toshiba has a world class reputation in the hard drive sector and their expertise is put to excellent use here.
The Gigabeat range has also been designed for simple and intuitive use. You navigate the player via a "plus" button on the front of the player which is extremely touch sensitive. It won’t take you long at all to learn how to use the player and make the most of your music collection. You are also given 28 selectable equalizers so you really can decide how your music should sound.
One big bonus with this player is the fact that you can also use it as a photo/digital image viewer; the 2.2 QVGA TFT LCD screen really makes this feature work to great effect and you’ll get all the necessary software in the box. This includes the Toshiba Room Management Software package and the CD RipRep package as well. So, you’ll have no problems managing and loading your music.
Standard accessories include:
- Cradle
- USB Cable
- Adapter
- Software
- Power Supply
- Headphones
If you do a little comparison shopping on the Internet you’ll be able to pick up a Toshiba Gigabeat MEG-F20K & MEG-F20S for around $299 or less. Amazon often has good prices on this range.
Pros:
- Color - The color screen is high quality and adds life to the player.
- Compatibility - This range is automatically compatible with Windows Media Player 10, Napster To Go (the software comes with the box) and it supports Windows Media PlaysForSure.
- Design - These are well-designed funky looking players.
- Cradle - Unlike with other players such as the iPod, Toshiba throws in the cradle dock with the player; you don’t have to buy it separately.
Cons:
- Navigation - Some users feel that the navigation system is overly complicated.
- Cost - You may be able to buy a similar type of player with a higher storage capacity for less with many manufacturers.
- Color - If you don’t use the picture viewer much then there may be little point paying for a color screen.
Usage Tips and Tricks
You don’t need to use an AC adapter to charge your Gigabeat player. You can charge it by connecting it to the USB port of a computer. So, if you’re on the road and you have a laptop with you, you can use that as a charger instead!