March 4th, 2008Review Of Samsung YP-T10
Slim has been the trend for a while now — be it supermodels, cell phones, or even MP3 players. Manufacturers have been working hard to create thinner and sleeker models. For instance, Apple downsized the iPod nano’s frame to a ridiculously thin 6.5 mm.
MP3 players from Samsung have always been valued for their sound superiority, but the premium pricing has been a deterrent. I’m now reviewing one of their newer media players out in the market, the YP-T10. This model seems to be and promote version of the YP-K3 that we’d looked at a long while ago. Let’s take a look at whether it can stand up to the fierce opposition.
Design
The player is available in 5 catchy color schemes. The review unit we received was black. The T10 is wrought like a rectangular brown bar, and is just short of 10 cm long. The thickness is just about 8 mm; I’m sure you’ll agree that’s slim — and it’s light as well. Thanks to its smoothened top and an overall sleek profile, the player is absolutely stunning in appearance. It sat comfortably in my shirt pocket — I would sometimes forget it was there. The front face of the player is covered by a reflective surface which collects fingerprints easily. Beneath the surface lies the LCD screen. The screen is adequately bright, and the picture, vivid.
Even though the screen is dimensionally similar to the iPod nano’s, I did feel it’s was a wee bit too small to be able to enjoy movies on it. Also, the LCD panel is fixed below the reflective surface; it was a bit annoying to see my reflection on it when I was watching videos. Below the screen are the touch-sensitive controls (similar to the ones on the YP-K3). They light up gently when touched. The controls consist of five-way navigation keys, a back button, and a context-menu button.
At the bottom is Samsung’s proprietary charging/data connectivity port. It’s too bad to see Samsung use this sort of a port instead of the miniUSB connector you see on most MP3 players. However, the port is similar in nature with any standard Samsung phone charger, so you can juice up the player without the need for a computer. Next to the port are the microphone and the 3.5mm earphone jack. The on-off/hold switch is placed to the true; the smooth-surfaced back has a reset hole at the bottom.
Construction
The build quality of the YP-T10 is good; I’d say it’ll survive a decent number of falls. Regarding the touch-buttons, I wasn’t very contented to use them at first, but I soon got the hang of it. But as with all players with touch-controls, one needs to put the hold switch on all the time times to avoid unintentional key-presses while it’s in a pocket. And still, I do meet a few accidental key-presses from time to time but that’s certainly not a deal-breaker.
The User Interface
Samsung has completely renovated its UI in an attempt to make it look catchy. And they’ve done a good job for sure. The interface has three different themes, of which two are elegant while the one depicted below is downright childish! Operating the device is a snap. Songs are neatly categorized. There are 10 preset equalization options, custom EQ, as well as other sound-shaping features.
The YP-T10 supports Data casts (just Samsung’s name for what we know as podcasts), voice recording, and recording via the FM tuner. A Special Feature: The trump card of the YP-T10 — in terms of competition — is its support for wireless headsets via Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP). Up to two wireless headsets can be paired with the device at a time. So by using two sets of wireless headphones, and one wired set, three people can listen to the music at the same time.
Combination the wireless headset with the T10 is similar to the way we do it with our cell phones. Once paired, the machine would right away connect to the headset whenever it was switched on. However, it doesn’t allow you to use the Bluetooth feature for file transfer.
Performance
Samsung’s media players have always had the upper hand when it comes to audio quality, and that’s the way it is with the YP-T10, too. It incorporates the second version of the DNSe (Digital Natural Sound engine) audio technology; the results are noticeable.
I’d rate the audio quality — using the bundled earphones — as very good. The sound is natural and clear, and the bass, in particular, is better than what you get on competing models. In fact, the acoustic quality is superior to that of the iPod nano and the Creative Zen (with the default earphones). FM reception is above average, too.
I paired the YP-T10 to the Motorola S9 headset and it worked perfectly; the sound quality with that setup was good, too.
Video
Videos play in the landscape orientation, so you’ll need to hold the player sideways. The image was decently sharp, and the brightness was good. I must mention that the screen image we’ve captured (below) doesn’t do complete justice to the actual video quality. Still, I didn’t find the video experience as satisfying as that on the nano or the Zen. It’s probably due to the reflective surface covering the LCD panel that I mentioned earlier.
Data Transfer
The YP-T10 supports USB mass storage mode. When I tested it, a 200 MB video file got transferred to the player in just one minute. With respect to (smaller) audio files, 500 MB of data was written to the player in just over 3 minutes – pretty good.
Battery
The player has a Lithium-polymer battery integrated into its shell. On a full charge, the player lasted two days with heavy music use (wired as well as wireless) with high brightness levels and power saving options disabled. Under normal conditions, therefore, the battery should last for close to three days.
The Samsung YP-T10 is available in three capacities. The 2 GB version sells for Rs. 6,600; the 4 GB for Rs. 7,900; and the 8 GB for Rs. 9,900 respectively, each with one-year warranty. The pricing of this one is not really exorbitant, unlike earlier Samsung models, but still it is a bit more expensive than competing players. For instance, the iPod nano 4 GB sells for Rs. 6,500 and the Creative Zen 4 GB is available for around Rs. 7,500.
The Samsung YP-T10 wins over those two in terms of audio quality. With respect to features, it is almost on par with the Creative Zen – give and take a couple of features. The bottom-line: if you’re looking for a sleek player and a pleasant audio experience, the YP-T10 will serve your needs. But if you’re keen on video as well, the nano or the Zen would serve you better.
