Long-Term Impressions
Long-Term Impressions
Since I have had this player for quite a while, I have decided to share with you two stories which demonstrate how the Samsung YP-S5 integrated into everyday life.
The Trip to New York
A few weeks ago I loaded up the S5 with songs for a long drive down to New York City and back again and like many newer vehicles, my car comes with a convenient audio-in port. I routinely use this port to pump my downloaded music into the car’s stereo system since switching from CD to CD is so…90s. I found that it was very easy to switch songs without taking my eyes off the road and I could even carry on a telephone conversation through the player at highway speeds. The voice of the person on the line was carried through my car’s stereo system but that can be considered a problem if you can imagine a yelling client on a six-speaker stereo with the bass turned up to the max. Pretty cool stuff but my eardrums (and ego) are still protesting the abuse they suffered.
To recharge the S5 in the hotel room I had two options: either let my laptop run until the battery was fully or even partially charged or buy an adaptor which converts a wall plug into a USB charger. Dropping by at a Circuit City, I was kindly told by a clerk “I wouldn’t trust any of these adaptors” but I went ahead and bought one anyways because I NEED music on long drives. Well, I plugged the adaptor in and with a fizzle and a pop it died in within a minute of charging the S5. It should be mentioned that any damage caused to the S5 by a non-Samsung part will not be covered under Samsung’s warranty. Needless to say, with no CDs or satellite radio the drive back to Montreal was filled with silence and the occasional squawk of Britney songs playing on the local radio stations.
The (un)Usual Gym Workout
Much like the trip to New York, my almost daily jaunts down to the gym provided a perfect opportunity to test the capabilities of the YP-S5. Once again the easy menu features brought themselves to the forefront and I was able to quickly switch between songs and was even able to easily record a voice memo or three as ideas for this review came into my head (its amazing the places where ideas will pop up).
Yet, nothing prepared me for the looks of shock I got when I started talking to what everyone around me thought was an MP3 player. While the bag with my cell phone was in the locker room about 20 feet away, I decided to see if the Bluetooth range would be enough to place a call. Needless to say it was more than enough and my little demonstration had a half dozen people approach me and ask what kind of cell phone the YP-S5 was. When they heard it wasn’t a cell phone but rather a multimedia player, I saw a few eyes light up and I knew I was going to see a few more of these pretty soon. Lo and behold, the next week saw at least four of these players in the hands of fellow gym-goers.
Long-Term Impressions
Since I have had this player for quite a while, I have decided to share with you two stories which demonstrate how the Samsung YP-S5 integrated into everyday life.
The Trip to New York
A few weeks ago I loaded up the S5 with songs for a long drive down to New York City and back again and like many newer vehicles, my car comes with a convenient audio-in port. I routinely use this port to pump my downloaded music into the car’s stereo system since switching from CD to CD is so…90s. I found that it was very easy to switch songs without taking my eyes off the road and I could even carry on a telephone conversation through the player at highway speeds. The voice of the person on the line was carried through my car’s stereo system but that can be considered a problem if you can imagine a yelling client on a six-speaker stereo with the bass turned up to the max. Pretty cool stuff but my eardrums (and ego) are still protesting the abuse they suffered.
To recharge the S5 in the hotel room I had two options: either let my laptop run until the battery was fully or even partially charged or buy an adaptor which converts a wall plug into a USB charger. Dropping by at a Circuit City, I was kindly told by a clerk “I wouldn’t trust any of these adaptors” but I went ahead and bought one anyways because I NEED music on long drives. Well, I plugged the adaptor in and with a fizzle and a pop it died in within a minute of charging the S5. It should be mentioned that any damage caused to the S5 by a non-Samsung part will not be covered under Samsung’s warranty. Needless to say, with no CDs or satellite radio the drive back to Montreal was filled with silence and the occasional squawk of Britney songs playing on the local radio stations.
The (un)Usual Gym Workout
Much like the trip to New York, my almost daily jaunts down to the gym provided a perfect opportunity to test the capabilities of the YP-S5. Once again the easy menu features brought themselves to the forefront and I was able to quickly switch between songs and was even able to easily record a voice memo or three as ideas for this review came into my head (its amazing the places where ideas will pop up).
Yet, nothing prepared me for the looks of shock I got when I started talking to what everyone around me thought was an MP3 player. While the bag with my cell phone was in the locker room about 20 feet away, I decided to see if the Bluetooth range would be enough to place a call. Needless to say it was more than enough and my little demonstration had a half dozen people approach me and ask what kind of cell phone the YP-S5 was. When they heard it wasn’t a cell phone but rather a multimedia player, I saw a few eyes light up and I knew I was going to see a few more of these pretty soon. Lo and behold, the next week saw at least four of these players in the hands of fellow gym-goers.
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