[ZzBOG]

Hello,

I need to get a DAP as a present.

Which one would you recommend as the one, having the most of features + intuitive GUI + very good SQ.

If I had to place all those requirements in descending order, based on preference, it would be:

GUI -> SQ -> Features....


Hm?

 

[4saken]

iPod Nano 4G? It has a very slick interface, and since you place features last, it seems to fit the bill with very acceptable sound (not that the Nano is featureless, it has gapless and audio crossfade which aren't found on many DAPs).

 

[walkingman]

The Nano's UI looks slick, but I personally find the click wheel to be inaccurate. Some of my mates swear by it, but again this may not be the case for everyone like me. Same goes with the Touch. It really looks slick, but not everyone likes to use touchscreen exclusively.

I personally like the Sony Walkman UI. The home screen is 3x3 grid based, and the menu structure is list based. I find it very intuitive and there are shortcuts everywhere that allows you to get wherever you want quickly. Again this may not be to everyone's taste so do try it first. I know I didn't need to whip out the manual when I got the A818 (first Sony flash player I ever bought) as its mobile phone like interface was just so intuitive.

SQ wise it is very good but this will also depend on what headphones you get. No point getting a super great SQ DAP if the person is going to use a cheapo headphone.

Feature wise, the S63x series does not have gapless, on-the-go playlist editor and lossless support, which may be a disappointment to some. The video player is BBC iPlayer compatible (WMV DRM) and it does have an on-board FM radio. Videos encoded for most portable players (e.g. PSP in 320x240, iPod etc.) should work fine on it. It is also a drag and drop player, with MTP support on Windows and MSC on Linux. iTunes can even be used to sync with the S63x.

I suggest you test out as many as possible. iPods are available to test almost anywhere and most Sony stores should have demo Walkmans.

Whatever you do, don't get Cowons. Great SQ, but the UI is horrible.

 

[ZzBOG]

That person doesn't use iTunes at all. And he won't bother starting for iPOD... So ipods are out I guess..

 

[walkingman]

As a power user I have no problem with the D2's UI, but it is hardly stream lined. It just depends on your friend's priority. Is his priority the SQ, or will it be ease-of-use.

YouTube - COWON D2 Final Preview

 

[qusp]

he puts gui first but doesnt like ipods lol. the touch interface is super. I have the iphone 3G and for a feature rich dap that also sounds great, also with lots of accessories available, it cant be beat IMO

 

[ZzBOG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif he puts gui first but doesnt like ipods lol. the touch interface is super. I have the iphone 3G and for a feature rich dap that also sounds great, also with lots of accessories available, it cant be beat IMO

Can you use Touch and not use iTunes?

iTunes are just awful, being a Mac user myself, iTunes are the only thing I hate about Macs...

Oh I wish I had that lovely Foobar2k... But alas. I wouldn't recommend my friend switching to iTunes either.

 

[4saken]

Is your friend on Mac? I know that Winamp, and by extension MediaMonkey, can sync with iPods. Not sure how you would do with Apps and that sort of stuff though.

 

[ZzBOG]

No, he's on PC. And he'd be much better off with drag-and-drop type of device...

 

[Ricardo Dawkins]

Sony Latest Walkman
Creative Zen X-Fi (original GUI stolen by iPod)

 

[walkingman]

What about budget?

 

[roebeet]

The Fuze might be a good fit, also.

 

[kuzzz]

creative sure has a good gui and is more featurepacked than any (non touch) ipod, SQ is pretty good i think

 

[Nujabez]

Cowon S9

its not out yet. But there's a video that shows its interface which does look real nice and responsive. Also the sound quality of course is going to be good with it being cowon. Its also going to have a lot of features bluetooth,video,pictures,flash,fm radio, other stuff. I think its coming out this month or next month.

 

[insicor]

Samsung P2. That thing is loaded with features and sounds damn good to boot.