For Samsung, 2007 is the year of reckoning for its MP3 player division and its promise to knock the iPod off its pedestal. By the end of 2006, the firm had cobbled together the YP-K5 and the YP-T9, MP3 players that bear the looks and functionalities that would place the electronics firm in a strong position to challenge Apple in 2007.
Slick has been a big draw for MP3 players. In fact, the entire iPod series is counting on that factor to keep a distance from its competitors. Samsung recognises this and has worked on achieving it beginning with the YP-Z5. The YP-T9 was a latter refinement.
The YP-K5, on the other hand, may turn out to be a staple design for Samsung MP3 players. The cool blue lighted touch sensor controls on a jet black body is a strong counterpoint to the uber white iPod and its clickwheel. Pundits, however, disdain it for being too thick. Even the inclusion of built-in speakers failed to ward off the detractors.
Design
We don't know if the speaker-less YP-K3 was a planned product, or one that was quickly designed after criticisms of the YP-K5's heft. But historically, Samsung has shown a preference to release two versions of the same product.
The YP-K3 is a very slim number. While it is still a hair thicker than the iPod Nano and a tad longer, its piano-black finish, gentle curves and chrome metal highlights make it an engaging sight to behold.
Turn it on and you will find the YP-K3 retains the same pleasing visual experience of the YP-K5 -- electric blue lights and a screen display with the same bluish theme. It's understated cool and it's clear to see that Samsung is seriously considering using beauty to tame the iPod beast.
The layout of the buttons, on the other hand, is not revolutionary. A center select button sits in the middle of four arrows arranged in compass directions. A Back and Menu button rests on the adjacent two corners, while the bottom edge of the player houses the headphone jack and a proprietary USB port. Even though the touch-sensor buttons are spaced out, be prepared for the occasional accidental activation. The lack of tactile input also makes "blind controlling" (while the K3 is in a pocket) unfeasible.
Fingerprint smudges on the YP-K3 are a problem. Though it's nothing that a swift wipe on the shirt sleeve wouldn't remedy, it's still a deal-breaker for some nonetheless.
The screen on the YP-K3 is larger (1.8 inch) than its K5 counterpart (1.71 inch), and brighter, too. But for a display that would not be taxed for more than the occasional picture viewing, the larger panel adds more to the user experience than serving as an important feature.
Controls on the K3 are minimal yet offer decent functionality. We find the graphics user interface (GUI) to be organic, much akin to the iPod and Creative Zen players. There's a button that calls up a contextual sub-menu based on the current active feature. And unlike the Creative Zen V Plus which does not include sound equaliser controls in the sub-menu, the YP-K3 does.
Features
It's a pity the YP-K3 does not include video playback. Like the YP-Z3, the screen works well for pictures and it's too bad support is not extended to videos. The YP-K3 lets the user listen to radio, read text files and view pictures on top of music playback, which is pretty close to what the iPod nano is capable of.
The YP-K3 supports ID3 tags and this is shown by how music is arranged by Artists, Albums, Playlists and Song Tracks. Samsung has kept the same animated blue dots (that morph into different icons) in the main menu from the K5. We also like how the display fades to a screensaver of your choosing (analog clock, various animation graphics, photos).
The new Media Studio software that's packaged with the YP-K3 is frankly gorgeous and feels like a hybrid of both Apple's iTunes and Sony's SonicStage. Most of the flab from the earlier versions had been ironed out and the software has a notably clean, spaced-out feel, elegant graphics user interface and tab browsing to access different features.
In a nod to the music sommelier feature found in Panasonic's music management software, which analyses songs by their acoustic characteristics, the Media Studio has a scaled-down version called My Music Style. Clicking the My Style button will have the software analysing all songs in the active window and classifying them according to four styles: Passionate, cheerful, sweet and quiet.
In our test of the software, it was spot on, sometimes. The program had surprised us such as when it classified Garbage's Boys Wanna Fight as "cheerful". We think it's a lack of categories that's limiting the software. After all, fighting can be considered a cheerful activity, depending on who's on the receiving end.
Besides being able to burn CDs, rip music and edit ID3 tags, the Media Studio also has a song rating feature, though it's not available on the YP-K3. Like the smart playlist feature in iTunes, Samsung's own is called auto albums. It allows users to input multiple rule filters such as song ratings, play count and artist name, and import the playlist into the YP-K3.
Performance
Bass was loud and tight with Massive Attack's Angel and vocals were clear on Diana Krall's You are Getting to be a Habit with Me. But if it is not enough for you, there are some preset equalisation options (vocal, bass boost, 3D sound, concert hall). A small detail we liked was that once the earphones were tugged out, playback would stop immediately.
Radio reception on the YP-K3 was stellar. It captured all the stations in our test location and audio quality was good. Battery life for the YP-K3 was above average at 26 hours 50 minutes which we obtained from looping 240MB worth of MP3 tracks. We obtained a drag-and-drop transfer rate of 2.5MB per second using 240MB worth of assorted MP3 files which was pretty average. However, the speed was slower (1.69MB per second) when we drove the tracks via the Media Studio software.
The YP-K3 is also available in a 4GB capacity for $299.
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ameeck
07/10/2008, 08:03 AM
rating
9/10
A great player, not expensive, easy to use and stylish
Pros: Good sound
Nice design
Battery life is long
Cons: Proprietary cable
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Eggy
18/09/2008, 07:00 PM
rating
10/10
Fabulous is the best had since christmas I love it!!!!!!!!
Pros: Everything
Cons: dont lve the way it turns on
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ozzie
15/09/2008, 05:21 PM
rating
9/10
Looking for a Samsung K3 USb cable...love everything about the little player..just need to find another cable. Any ideas where I can get that from..
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rodney
22/07/2008, 11:15 AM
rating
7/10
I have just purchased a new yp-kej ar 4gb red player but i have lost the usb cable, so i cannot recharge it. Can anyone help me
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Seanz
06/07/2008, 06:15 PM
rating
8/10
Ive got a K3 and it holds up to 300 songs, sound quality is Great! and plays 4 days.
Pros: Battery life is great
Sound Quality is the Best you will find!
Perfect Cosmetics!
Cons: Will not last for years
no where near water-proof..
hard to navigate thought songs (if you have alot, if not Easy)
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Seanz
06/07/2008, 06:14 PM
rating
8/10
Ive got a K3 and it holds up to 300 songs, sound quality is Great! and plays 4 days.
Pros: Battery life is great
Sound Quality is the Best you will find!
Perfect Cosmetics!
Cons: Will not last for years
no where near water-proof..
hard to navigate thought songs (if you have alot, if not Easy)
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wombat
07/06/2008, 03:01 PM
rating
10/10
I LOVE my K3! The main reason I chose it was because it's bright green and if you're into this colour you'll know that no matter what you're looking for, it's hard to get in this awesome colour. After that there's the touch pad instead of buttons, excellent screen quality, outstanding sound quality and very easy to use menu. Radio reception is stellar, even in the city and it's just a sexy little thing to look at. LOVE IT! I've got the 2 GB and it hold 263 songs.
Pros: there's nothing about this device I dislike.
Cons: as above
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tommmmm
21/05/2008, 11:42 PM
rating
10/10
pretty sweet love the coulor, just got mine and the sound qaulity is boss
i like that you can change the equalizer manually and not just have preset things
only problem at all is it charges through USB would be the best mp3 out if it had a wall socket charger
Pros: good sound
light
slim
sexy as
equaliser
good battery life
EXTREMELY easy to use
Cons: no wall socket charger
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tojeem
11/05/2008, 03:55 AM
rating
10/10
absoloutly perfect mp3 player. i've had 4 or 5 differant ones, including an iPod, and this is by far the best. i got the 4gb one, it it works like a charm.
it doesn't play videos, but if you've had experiance with an mp3 player that DOES play videos, you will know that they are an inconveniance, and you can't even see the video on its screen.
4GB sounds small, but it more than plenty of space, i've put all my songs on it (about 200), and about 100 pictures, and i've barely filled 1GB yet.
the quality of the screen is amazing. the pictures are really clear, and you loose hardly any quality, even with all the shrinkage of the pic.
it's a very compact design and fits perfectly in your hand. it's so so thin. the on/off/hold switch is nothing special, but it's very well placed, and secure.
the touch pad is my favorite part. it has beautiful buttons, with a nice, blue, futuristic feel... which when the mp3 player is turned off, you can barely see. the interface is great too. the buttens are very sensitive, which can be annoying for the first week or two when you get it, but it's actually very good, once you get used to it (which doesn't take very long), you'll love it.
it has a hold button, so that if you keep in in you're pocket, it doesn't change tracks. the menu is one of the easiest menus to interprate. it's not hard or anything, and in between changes and basically everything you do, there's a little animations that are amazing, and you don't even notice them, they just give it a cool feeling to it.
the sound amazing too... so clear, and with no background noise or blurred sound at all.
it also has the added extra of an fm radio. i don't use it very much, but when i need it, it is very useful.
i love the fact that it has so many extra settings built in. there are lots of screensavers including the best graphics, picture slideshows, clocks, lots of things....
in the description, it doesn't say anything about it being shockproof, but i've dropped it about 200 times (not exaggurating) and it still works the same as when i first got it (almost 2 years ago). also, i'm one of those people that likes to listen to music when i'm going to sleep, and i use this. during almost every night when i'm asleep, i roll around over the top of it, and during the night, i will wake up, and half asleep, i pick it up and chuck it on the floor. not only is it still ok, but the battery is still almost full. i onceleft it on for 3 days before the battery ran out. 3 days, non stop. i even through it at someone once when i was angry. not even a dent... i've also spilled coke on it, and it's all still fine.
i think the metal body protects it from all that . it's great.
another good thing is that you dont just have lots of space to put it, but you can get them in any differant order (alphabetically), there's albums, tracks, artists, genres, and all stuff like that.
the back of it scratched. but that's the back, you don't notice it. the screen is fine, so i don't think it's that much of a problem.
i suggest getting the black colour, like mine, it is so much better than the others, the others look ugly, and with the black you can barely see the buttons when it's turned off.
Pros: everything. everything about this mp3 player is a pro.
-interface is great
-battery life is GREAT
-only takes about 1 hour to charge fully
-touch screen is great
-fm radio
-pictures with brilliant quality
-comes with free program compatible with it, alot like itunes, but better.
-compatible with windows media player. for audio: mp3, mpeg4, wmv, and a few more. for images: jpeg, gif, PNG, and a few others...
-sound quality EXCELLENT
-samsung, a very trusted and great, and reliable brand. not one of those dodgy ones that nobody knows about
-hard metal body, almost shockproof, screen doesn't scratch.
(altough some people say that the screen smudges, it never has for me)
-avalable in differant colours
-can make playlists
-reasonally quick file transfer
-ULTRA slim
Cons: -in order to transfer data, and charge it, it relies on a cable to connect the mp3 player to the usb port. i lost it once, and when it ran out of battery, i had to wait a month for a nother to ship in before i could use it again, since they don't sell them locally.
-there aren't that many accessories, and it isn't compatible with many docking stations.
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Reevee
01/05/2008, 09:21 PM
rating
9/10
I love it so far, and the cons, while diverse, are very minor. I was particularly stoked about the equalizer.
Pros: Sleek
Good battery-life
Superlative Functionality
Cons: No Track-Rating System
No Video Function
Smudging On Screen
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