As much as some of its competitors may wish otherwise, the first name that always comes to mind for most people when it comes to MP3 players is the Apple iPod. You can really blame them, I suppose, considering that his Royal Steveness enjoys that much market share for MP3 players. Samsung won’t be dethroning the Cupertino crew any time soon, but the Samsung YP-S3JCB portable media player could prove to be an affordable and viable alternative to the iPod.
Also known as the Samsung S3 for short, the YP-S3JCB tackles the same segment of the market as something like the Apple iPod nano. How does it stack up against the iPod? How about against even cheaper no-name alternatives? Let’s find out!
Features at a Glance
Just as there are different capacities for the iPod nano, the Samsung S3 comes in a few different variations as well. The exact model being discussed in this review is the Samsung YP-S3JCB. From what I can gather, the “C” in the model number signifies that this model has 8GB of internal flash memory. Going through the Samsung catalogue, I also find an “A” variant (4GB) as well. You also get to choose from a few different colors, depending on your personality and preferences. The understated black version is shown here, but if you’ve got a little more spunk to spare, you can also find the Samsung S3 in green (G), blue (L), pink/red (R), or white (W).
Aside from capacity and color, some of the notable features include the 1.8-inch QCIF LCD display, touch-sensitive LED controls, DNSe sound engine, FM tuner/recorder, and support for MP3, WMA, and Ogg Vorbis files, in addition to support for video files (MPEG4), digital pictures (JPEG), and plain text (TXT). Let’s see how these features play together.
What’s in the Package?
I like the approach that Samsung usually takes with packaging its MP3 players and the YP-S3 is no exception. Inside the clear acrylic case is the media player itself, suspended in space with a plastic clip. After removing the slim music player and popping off the top layer, I discovered a small white pouch containing the various accessories.
You get a fairly standard set of earbuds with foam covers, a USB sync cable (which also acts as the charging cable), an installation CD, and the usual documentation. There’s nothing too out of the ordinary here, though I would have liked to see a standard wall charger. That said, it should be noted that iPods don’t come with a wall charger either.
Samsung Has Gone Emo?!
Aside from its classic chrome accents and piano black finish, one of the first things to catch my eye about the Samsung YP-S3JCB portable media player was the small sticker covering the display. It had the regular Samsung logo and some slim text that exclaimed its S3-ness, but then there was also a small URL typed underneath the Samsung name. It read www.EmoDio.com.
Half-jokingly, I laughed to myself thinking that Samsung was trying to market the emo kid demographic with the S3. With a little bit of a research, I quickly discovered that this wasn’t all that far away from the truth. I haven’t figured out what the “Dio” stands for (diode?), but the “Emo” really is short for “emotion” or “emotional.” Yes, like an emo kid.
In many ways, you could say that EmoDio acts as Samsung’s response to the Apple iTunes application. In previous iterations, Samsung had its own media suite as well, but EmoDio goes a little further by offering more customization and an easier ability to create playlists. You can download designer skins and preconfigured EQ settings from the EmoDio website. Do you enjoy My Chemical Romance? EmoDio may be for you. 🙂
Don’t worry. If you’d prefer to be a little more conventional, the Samsung S3 will also sync through Windows Media Player instead.
Musical Enjoyment or Disappointment?
Packaging and the software suite don’t matter nearly as much as the musical experience on the player itself. Running the Samsung S3 through its paces, I found that it offered decent sound quality through the provided earbuds. I wouldn’t say that the sound quality blew me away and it didn’t really matter if I tried rock, rap, or rave. It’s pretty much what I expected from a regular MP3 player playing regular MP3 files. That said, I would say that the crispness and clarity were at least better than the no-name knockoffs that you may find from a shady Hong Kong eBay seller, or at the local Chinese Night Market.
Bumping it up a notch, I tried a couple of more expensive noise-isolating earphones and found the sound quality to be significantly improved. The bass was rich enough for me to enjoy Kanye West’s work, but the sound didn’t feel “hollow” in any way. Clearly, you shouldn’t expect the most amazing aural experience with the S3, but you shouldn’t have those kinds of expectations for the iPod either.
Did the S3 disappoint? Not at all. It just didn’t blow my mind either. The “Street Mode” is designed to help compensate for public road noise, but without a decent set of “shut out the world” earphones, you probably won’t get much out of that feature anyhow.
Video Killed the Radio Star
In addition to pulling its regular music-playing duties, the Samsung S3 also offers a few other entertainment options. Unlike the Apple iPod (but like almost every other MP3 player on the market), the YP-S3JCB comes equipped with a standard FM tuner. This radio makes use of your headphones as the FM antenna, so you’ll get minimal reception if you plug the player into a small set of external speakers, for example. The S3 also comes with an FM recorder, so if you’re listening to a particularly fascinating debate on your local sports radio station or a catchy holiday tune on the top-20 station, you can hop on over and record that sucker for later enjoyment.
Beyond music and radio, the Samsung YP-S3JCB rounds out the package with a text viewer, a picture viewer, and a video player. The 1.8-inch screen isn’t too bad if you’re watching a short sitcom or a brief cartoon, but I’d highly recommend against braving The Godfather, Lord of the Rings, or even something shorter like WALL-E. Squinting is not fun and it doesn’t help that this is only a QCIF (176×220) resolution display.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Is the Samsung YP-S3JCB the jaw-dropping MP3 player that will finally knock the Apple iPod off its high horse? Clearly not and I don’t think Samsung had expectations that were anywhere near that ambitious. In comparing the Samsung S3 against comparable competing devices from firms like SanDisk and Creative, however, you will find that it easily holds up and provides a fair bit of value.
This will largely be a matter of personal preference, but I’m not a big fan of touch-sensitive controls, especially on portable media players. If I’m going for a jog around the block (or on my Wii Fit), I want to be able to adjust the volume and change the track without having to look where I’m pressing. With touch-sensitive controls, that’s just not possible. At the same time, the touch controls make for a very sleek and attractive appearance.
Sound quality is about par for the course, outperforming no-name knockoffs but not outshining the better known brands. The additional features, like the FM radio and video playing, are much appreciated and the user interface is very intuitive. I also liked the ability to define my own 9-band EQ (plus download presets).
An 8GB Microsoft Zune, even with the recent price slash, is still $139. An 8GB iPod nano (not available in the United States) goes for about $130 Canadian. Seeing how the 8GB Samsung YP-S3J sells for about $80, you can see how it presents quite the value proposition. If you want to save a few bucks, you’ll still be happy with this player.
Pros
- Great value at just $80 for the 8GB
- Decent set of features, including FM and video
- Very attractive, slim body
- True user-defined nine-band EQ settings
Cons
- Low-resolution display makes video less satisfying
- Lack of good podcast integration
- Touch sensitive controls can be unresponsive in the cold
- No Bluetooth, unlike other Samsung players
Overall Rating: 7.5 / 10.0
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