Yepp, it's an MP3 player! (Samsung YP-E64 64 MB)

Member Name: MykReeve

Product:	Samsung YP-E64 64 MB
Date:	06/11/00 (710 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 64MB of memory, excellent file transfer software, cute little unit, upgradable

Disadvantages: Only comes with RealJukebox for CD ripping

The Samsung Yepp player is available in two models - the relatively memory light 32MB, and the considerably more practical 64MB model. For my 25th birthday, my parents got me the 64MB model, the YP-E64, which I've been playing with pretty much constantly since.

As you're no doubt aware, MP3 is a sound file format offering CD-quality sound in relatively small files, thanks to some clever compression techniques. Supposedly CD-quality reproduction is achieved at a sampling rate of 128kbps, which equates to about 1MB of file per minute - or, in other words, the 64MB model can store about 64 minutes of CD quality audio. Of course, you can sample at a lower rate, to produce smaller MP3 files, which the player will play perfectly happily - however, you will notice a decrease in audio reproduction. Fortunately, the Yepp player (like all MP3 players) will play files encoded at any sampling rate.

So why should you get an MP3 player rather than, say, use a CD player or cassette recorder? Well, the main advantage is that unlike both of those media, files on an MP3 player are stored in the memory of the unit, and therefore there is no skipping during playback, regardless of how much you shake the player! This means that MP3 players are ideal for use when jogging, or working out in the gym.

MP3s are either available to download from the internet, or you can create them yourself from CDs. The Yepp player comes with RealJukebox, which allows you to rip MP3 files from CDs at a sampling rate of 96kbps. Unfortunately, you can't change this figure, and 96kbps is appreciably worse than CD quality. However, by searching the internet you can find other programs which will rip and encode MP3s at different sampling rates. Alternatively, you can pay RealNetworks for a full version of RealJukebox.

The Yepp also comes with 'Yepp Explorer', a program for transferring files to and from the unit onto your computer. To achieve this, you conne
ct the Yepp player to either your LPT1 (parallel) port, or to a USB port, using the included cable. Transfer rate is at a pretty respectable 64kBps, which means that a 3MB file can be ported to the unit in 48 seconds - or the full 64MB can be filled in a little over 17 minutes.

Playback on the Yepp, once you've disconnected it from your computer, is hassle-free. At all times, the unit displays its battery level, which is a very useful feature. Uploaded files are displayed with MP3 titles read from the ID tag on the file, or if you haven't bothered to tag your files, then from the filename.

During playback, the Yepp player displays the filename currently being played, along with its length, and sampling rate. There's also a graphic equaliser with several presets for Jazz, Rock and Classical music. There's even an option to repeat the song currently being played, or all of the songs, and a shuffle option.

The unit also has a small inbuilt microphone that can be used to record speech at a stunningly low sampling rate - I would guess about 32kbps to judge from audio reproduction. Still, this is a useful facility for recording quick notes to yourself.

You can even store telephone numbers on the Yepp player, which have to be imported from the computer through the Yepp explorer program. This is a little less useful than I would like, but still an interesting option.

As for upgradability, there is a slot at the back of the unit, which additional memory cards can be inserted into. I imagine the cost of such cards would be prohibitively expensive, but hopefully will come down with time.

The Yepp player takes two AAA batteries, which seem to last quite a long time - 10 hours according to the manual. I've been listening to the player almost incessantly since I received it yesterday morning, and the batteries are still at their maximum level! In fact, the unit actually came with some batteries in the box,
as well as a pair of (pretty good) Yepp headphones!

The unit itself is pretty light (just under 105 grams), is very small (65 x 85 x 18mm), and is a natty silver colour. It even comes with a belt clip that you can screw to the back of the unit if you want it. All this for just under £150 - no wonder it won the EISA (European Imaging and Sound Association) Internet Audio award 1999-2000!

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