I decided to buy a MP3 player finally. I wanted a small one: so iPod or any other harddisk based player. It shouldn't be too expensive: that settled to go for 512 MB (1 GB is compared to the difference between 256 MB and 512 MB a large step). And finally I like a nice design.

First try: Sony NW-E405

This one looked really nice. It was a bit over my initial limit, but as all the cheaper ones looked less stylish, I decided to take it.

Went home, did have a look at it (nice interface), connected it to my computer. So far so good: it's remembered as USB flash disc. So I copy some MP3s to the device.

And I try to play them…

No data found… What the hell?

OK, play around a bit. Nothing works. Connect to the internet and start googling…

Not so many relevant entries looking for some connection to using this gadget with Linux. But then I found the most stupid thing Sony could do: you need their special software to copy MP3s to this gadget! And it gets even worse. They change the MP3s to un-MP3s: they strip the header and put some Sony header in the file, so that it is no MP3 anylonger (it seems you can't copy any MP3 off the device and play it on another computer anymore, so it aren't real MP3s to me stored on the device).

Luckily I didn't buy this thing on the net (were it definitely would have been cheaper), but in a local electronics store. So I returned it…

The guy there told me that they know this. But I was aware Apple is doing something similar on their iPod (maybe I'd play a Linux on) but I didn't expect to do someone other doing something similar stupid (Apple gets away with something like that more easily). And I think it's misleading to say the gadget is MP3 compatible: it isn't, just the included software (only available for Microsofts Windows) is compatible to MP3s!

So at the electronic market they told me, that with any other player I could just copy the files to the device (but Apple's and Sony's). Because of the looking for the reason of the nonfunctioning of the NW-E405 I learned, that for the irivers I need a special program to build their database, but they'd play the copied files just fine and there's some program for Linux available.

Unfortunately they had the iriver FP-890 just as 256 MB version and the 512 MB was very expensive anyway. So the shopman showed me a just arrived Trekstor i.beat organix.

Second try: Trekstor i.beat organix

Definitely a very nice device too. It even plays Ogg Vorbis as well and has an integrated radio (don't care about that too much, because in my region you can't really listen to the radio on air too long anyway). Well, it's costs some Euro more, but I already decied to spent more money. And he assured me, that just copying the files to the device would work.

So back at home I unpacked it and connected it to my computer. Copied some Ogg files to it and all works! Well almost everything. I think they could enhance their firmware a bit: right now they just show the artists name from the ID3 tags and additional the file name. There I'd wish they'd show the track title from the ID3 tags (maybe even the tracks number). As this device does play the file in a sorted way out of a folder as it seems, it's a good idea to precede the filename with the track number anyway if you want to play an album in correct order (which I want mostly). And I even got it to crash once: just pressed the A-B button too fast and too often in a row.

Being at home I even found in the net, that this gadget was on first place in some tests of at least four magazines… The praise the good sound and the good included earplugs which are from Sennheiser (a well known name for headphones).

And finally I really like the design even as the OLED display is not as good to read in very bright sunlight as the advertising tries to make you belief it. The navigation is pretty easy and the amount of buttons is perfect.

Conclusion

So I can recommend buying a Trekstor i.beat organix if you're looking for a MP3/Ogg player but don't buy a Sony Network Walkman. You won't be able to use the gadget as you want.

I think I won't buy anything of Sony next time…