iPod Killer! (Nearly...) (Sony Vaio VGF-AP1L 40 GB)

Member Name: laughingcavalier

Product:	Sony Vaio VGF-AP1L 40 GB
Date:	08/02/09 (92 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent sound quality, innovative interface

Disadvantages: Poor software

I've had this player for a good couple of years so far, and before that, it was my sister's. Having been released in 2004, it's by no means a slim mp3 player (and wasn't even then). However, I quite like this about it. Rather than using it as a portable mp3 player, I've loaded all my music onto it, and use it instead of CDs as a stereo in my room. The large size makes me feel confident that it could withstand a blow - it may be bulky, but its metal chassis feels sturdy and unlikely to break any time soon. I also think it looks quite slick with its contrasting battery section.

The sound quality on this is great! Whether I'm using headphones or hifi speakers, a lot of detail can be heard, even with the compression options that are available in Sonic Stage (bundled software). There's no competition between this and the iPod, Sony wins hands down. Another bonus is that, unlike most players, it has a line out on the dock, to ensure even better quality sound.

So how easy is it to use? Well, the main learning curve is due to the interface, the G-Sense. This comprises of 25 little dimples which act a bit like a touch screen, corresponding to different areas of the menus. It sounds complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it's incredibly simple. All of the features are easy to work out, and I managed alright without a manual. Some of the more useful features include the rating system - it tallies up how many times you've played a song, but also how many times you've skipped it, so it's actually pretty accurate. Then you can sort all songs by their rating and you've got an automatic "Favourites" playlist! Other useful features are the equaliser presets, and the A-B playback, which is really useful for people like me who sometimes play along to music and want to practice a particular part of a song.

40GB is plenty for most people, and the great thing about this little player is that you can use it as a hard drive - when I was having lots of problems with my computer, I'd frequently copy back ups of documents onto the HDD. You can also add pictures straight from your camera and view them on the colour screen, but you need the dock for this, which is a bit cumbersome to carry around.

The best thing about this though, is the battery life. The manual says it should get around 20 hours, but it can definitely exceed this, believe me, I've forgotten to switch this off when listening at night and found it still playing when I go to bed the next night. To have a battery you can rely on is great, in my opinion, because when it does run out completely, settings like the G-Sense and time/date have to reset, which is frustrating. (This also has to be done in the rare event that it crashes - but there's even a reset button on the bottom for easy troubleshooting!)

Now to what is the worst aspect of this player. I can forgive the bulky size, and any other minor faults, but the software bundled with this is atrocious, and there is no proper alternative. Adding tracks to Sonic Stage, or adding artwork, and transferring songs can take forever, and it's prone to crashing. However, if you're willing to sacrifice the artwork, you can transfer mp3 files directly (but you can't benefit from the smaller file size).

All in all, I love my Vaio Pocket, and although it'd probably be tough to find, I'd recommend a second hand one to anyone who was trying to tackle space problems with regards to their stereo system - all you need is this and a pair of speakers!

Summary: Maybe not so portable, but a nice device nonetheless.

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