never buy cheap chinese mp3 player!!!

[abhishek_sharma]

i recently bought a cheap 256mb mp3 player frm ebay.in for rs.1100
it looked good when it arrived...and had nice looks and had sony written on it which looked like ekdum real.
of course i knew it was a chinese thingy..but i didnt expect it to b so bad.
first, i tried to insert a battery, because of some problem with the battery contacts the player didnt start
finally when it did start, used the driver cd..tried to install the drivers for xp, but it kept on asking for another driver not on the cd.
searched on the net and finally got it...

now i transferred some mp3 files..but by mistake shut down the comp w/o unplugging the player and lo the player went dead...
searched on the net..found one site dealing with problems with these chinese mp3 players..had to flash the firmware, then it worked again..but now when i connected it to xp, it said i needed to format it.
i did tht and suddenly, 256 mb space became 119 mb..i looked in tht forum and to my dismay found tht its a problem many other users of such players had also faced..on formatting space decreases frm 256/512/1 gb to just 119 mb and gets stuck.
some said tht the manufacturers actually used 119 mb memory but just do sth to the firmware to show the size as 256mb/512 mb

i had to content with 119mb but then suddenly after playing 2-3 songs...the player went dead again and even after innnumberable attempts hasnt sprung to life since then

i feel duped...
couldnt even use it for 1 day

now i have bought a transcend tsonic 510 mp3 player for 3000 and think it will not give tht kind of probs
the bottomline:always buy a good branded mp3 player..bcoz even though u'll spend 2000 bucks more at least u wont lose 1000 bucks like i have

 

[gdatuk]

thanks a lot for sharing this with all of us..
am sure the reader will be more careful....

i somehow dont feel comfortable with any mp3 player other than ipod, iriver or creative...so i have an ipod and very much satisfied with it..

 

[RCuber]

@abhishek_sharma if possible please post the steps dealing with fixing the player.and also quote the site from where you found the solution/drivers. cause there might be some one who might want to know or fix their players.
I have a branded MP3 player but some times the player goes dead ( only when using it in win2000). Im a little lucky cause it has a inbuilt recovery mode which fixes the mp3 player automatically and will return all my 256MB of space

 

[aku]

nice 1 dude... did a gud job by sharin it wid us

 

[dIgItaL_BrAt]

It's a one time investment,spend it wisely and carefully.
This post will serve as a wake-up call to those attracted to the 'cheap' Chinese players.

 

[Jatin_T]

I dont know abt the players available from Ebay..i got mine from an Uncle who had gone to China for approx 900 bucks..and it said 128 mb..but has 119..
Neways..the fact is..its been running perfectly for the past 1 and a half yrs..even after falling down n number of times..getting wet..etc etc...

But i guess the Ebay ones may just be bad..its d thing wid chineses stuf..if it works..it wrosk..if it doesnt..money lost!

 

[SWEET SNEHA]

But i guess the Ebay ones may just be bad..its d thing wid chineses stuf..if it works..it wrosk..if it doesnt..money lost!

excactly.....
it they work, sometimes they work better than original

or it doesn't work at all

 

[abhishek_sharma]

check out
*www.s1mp3.org
and their forums at
*www.forum.s1mp3.org

actually in order to fix such players...first u need to unscrew the body and open the player carefully.
then u need to search for a no. on the pcb which is called the board no., then u need to find the firmware for it frm the above mentioned site.
after tht u'll have to flash tht firmware using a software tht comes on the driver cd.
BUT here too theres a catch, all firmwares arent good or not properly written...so when used one for my board no. and flashed it, 2 of the features on the player were lost[telbook and textreader], the startup logo changed, the fm interface also changed for the worse...

then there can be problems with memory also and u'll need to short particular pins of the mem in order to make it work sometimes..whole lot of probs
zindagi ka chain khatam ho gaya tha us din...worked on it whole day, whole night, religiously followed the steps, still couldnt get it to work.
morever, the solderings are extremely fragile and the battery contacts which were already not in the proper place broke, and i had to solder it again[since i had a solder iron and knw some electronics]

one of my most horrible experiences with consumer electronics...

they have a whole lot of good tutorials out there on the site, but they dont guarantee tht ur player will work..
they have got a sticky on the memory problem thing...

@jatin_T..
see ebay doesnt import these players, they're sold by sellers who in turn probably buy it frm wholesale markets of mumbai or delhi.
but i agree with u, buying unbranded chinese electornics is a matter of luck..i have this portable cd player[discman] which i have used for 1 1/2 yrs now w/o any problems..pretty sturdy too.
and abt the mem problem, thts what happens..u were lucky tht u had only 128mb and so falling to 119mb isnt a matter..but those who paid for 256, 512 and 1gb players will regret it a lot.

 

[Jatin_T]

Man..u went thru all dat..i wud blame luck and keep it for show..to all my frnds...
Neways...seems like u atleast got a good learning experience..as well as soldering practice!!

 

[moshel]

thanks for sharing ur views abhishek_sharma. i was thinking of buying a DVD player from ebay. unbranded ofcourse. but now i wont. and i dont think anyone should. u try to go for cheap stuff, u m8 end up paying more.