Samsung YP-K3JAB 4 GB

Author's product rating:   

Sound Quality	Excellent
Ease of Use	Simple
Look & Design	Excellent
Range of Features	Diverse
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Small good quality, great design
Disadvantages:	Could do with a cover

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Having recently had a breakdown on my Samsung U3 I opted for the K3 instead. So far I have to say I made the right decision.

INTRO
The first thing that you notice about the K3 is how cool it looks. I spent weeks looking at MP3 players and was comparing them all to the IPOD Nano and the K3 for me was the one to beat it.
I paid £119 for my unit which compared to £129 for the same Nano was a bargain bearing in mind the K3 has more features.
The K3 comes in a small sleek black box, but beware, once you take it out its impossible to put back in, but hey…
WHAT YOU GET
Along with the MP3 player you don't get huge amounts.
Software CD, USB cable……..sorry but that's it…..oh and the earphones, quiteimportant that one
WHAT YOU DON'T GET
You don't get a mains adaptor / charger, that's not a huge problem and a vast number of players don't come with one either. I boought a USB charger for 4.99 which does the trick if you don't have a PC handy or are on your hols.
You also don't get a cover. If your like me and like to keep things in mint condition then this is a pain. I would say the same for the guy at the station the other day who didn't have one for his IPOD, just as it slipped out of jis hands and smashed on the platform !!!!!
STUFF
The K3 is simply an amazing looking piece of kit. The front has complete touchscreen controls and a clear gloss finish. In addition it is surrounded by a small chrome edge to finish it off. There is a small key on the right side edge which you use to turn it on and off plus for locking the touch panel.

The touch screen effort on the K3 is very good. Its not to sensitive to allow you to make to many odd presses and comes with a screen lock feature to keep it under control in your pocket. The buttons are spaced out enough to allow a user with larger fingers to operate it without accidently pressing the other keys….always a major bonus point….unlike the samsung phones.

The screen on the front is also pretty good. Clear and precise its very easy to read and understand whats going on, even in the sun which can be a failing of some players. Its roughly an inch by about an inch and a half in size, making it big enough and clear enough to use without having to squint.
Making your way through the options is very easy.
We have MP3 player, Radio, Photos and settings.
Yes you got it, radio, for me that's the easiest advantage over an IPOD. The radio reception is next to perfect even in areas which would normally suffer.
MP3 options are as standard as you would find on a PC, playlists, searching options for artists and albums etc.
Photos option, not really sure what the pointinthis is but it works well all the same.
Settings are quite varied and range from some pretty cool sound settings to playing with max volume and some more serious stuff. Otherwise they are standard enough but surprisingly easy to use and understand.
Chargind and transferring is done via USB cable which can be a little tricky to plug in due to the very slim design of the cable and the player. Once you get the hang of it though its not so bad.
TRANSFER
Getting music on to the player is very easy. Samsung provide some cool software of their own design. I wont go in to it as its simillar to most players these days, a sort of mix between Itunes and Media player. The new Media player picks the K3 up anyway so you have a good choice all the same.
If direct folder to player is your fancy then you can drop the files direct to the device as you please and without any odd format problems, drop and play is the way here.
The 4GB space on the player can easily take 1000 songs, more than enough for the average user.

Earphones are also great, there is little noise release to annoy others and they seem to be of a decent enough quality to listen to and look at.

OTHER STUFF
I dont know about anyone else but I buy all my music and dont think I should be forced to use a non transferable format for something I already own. No issues here for the Samsung K3.
Thats my first plus point about the K3. It takes standard MP3 without any trouble what so ever, either via the Samsung software or via direct folders on your desktop.
It only takes a few minutes to get the hang of the K3, the software it uses is very easy to learn and understand.
The software CD allows you to up upgrade the firmware of the unit without any problems. That's a bonus as this can sometimes get a little tricky.
The unit weighs nothing at all….and I mean nothing.
Battery time is about 24 hours on MP3 and a little shorter on radio, plenty to go around all the same for such a slim unit.

DATA

Built-in clock
Digital Photo Playback
Yes
Digital Player Functions
Photo playback
Radio
Features
JPEG photo playback
Functions
Digital player
Radio
Sound Output Mode
Stereo
Subcategory (KB)
MP3 players (flash, CD, HDD)
Battery
Rechargeable Battery
Run Time (Up To) 25 hour(s)
Built-in Display
Colour Support
Colour
Diagonal Size
1.8"
Features
Screen saver
Resolution
128 x 160
Digital Player
Edit Functions
Erase
ID3 Tags Supported
Playback Modes
One track repeat
Repeat all
Repeat shuffle
Supported Digital Audio Standards
MP3
WMA
Dimensions & Weight
Depth 0.7 cm, Height 9.6 cm, Width 4.4 cm
Weight 50 g
Equaliser
5 Equaliser Factory Preset
Graphic Equaliser
Memory
Flash Memory Built-in
4 GB
Radio
Auto Preset Memory
Yes
Preset Station Qty
30
Tuner Type
Digital FM

SUMMARY
All in all this is a fantastic player, best all rounder i could find that included a radio for free. There are few bad words I could say about the K3, you get very thing you need and more in a small but usable design. If you need a cover Samsung do a mobile phone leather pouch that fits this very well.