Photo gallery: Samsung S2 PebbleDesign
The Samsung Pebble is exactly what the name says it is: a pebble. Available in three colours (black, purple and red), it's a small, round and glossy stone that fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, measuring 41x42x17mm and weighing 17g. Its glossy surface is prone to fingerprint smudges, but isn't that noticeable.
Similar to Creative's Zen Stone in design and features, the Pebble is lighter, smaller, double the storage capacity and almost half its price at AU$49 as opposed to AU$89.95.
Designed to be worn around the neck like a pendant (or amulet if you see music as a way to ward off boredom) it has a small LED under its surface that blinks different coloured lights when it's playing music. It also acts as a status light when hooked up to a PC, turning blue when it's charging, red when transferring files, and green when it's fully charged.
There is no screen for displaying track info or other options, instead when you turn over the Pebble there are six tactile buttons — play/pause, fast forward, rewind, volume up and down, and the Smart button. Play/pause also doubles as the on/off switch, and volume up and down can be used to add or remove a song from a playlist.
The Smart button does two things: it allows you to select the play mode (Repeat All, Shuffle, and Playlist, all assigned different colours by the LED) and also accesses Samsung's DNSe (Digital Natural Sound engine) technology, which simulates three acoustic environments: Normal, Studio, and Concert Hall.
Features
The Pebble only comes with 2GB internal memory without the option of expanding, so the device will only hold around 380 songs, depending on the bit-rate.
The supplied earphones come in the form of a lanyard-styled cord from which hangs the Pebble, attached via a retention clip to prevent it from being accidentally yanked off. The audio cords are connected to the lanyard via a pair of beads, which are adjustable, allowing you to either adjust the length of cord required for comfortable listening, or to sit the ear buds flush with the cord down by the neck piece in order to tuck them away, making it appear like a normal necklace.
Given its size, the S2 Pebble doesn't have room to bundle in an FM tuner, an AC adapter, or as mentioned previously, an LCD screen — but those looking for a simple player will likely be more than happy with the functionality.
Performance
The Pebble is rated for 13 hours of playback, but in testing only lasted nine hours of continuous use and took two hours to fully recharge. As such it'll take you through most of your working day, but if you're planning on listening to non-stop music for an entire weekend, then you'll have to have a PC at hand to recharge the device.
The USB adapter makes it easy to hook up to a PC: simply plug it in, drag-and-drop your MP3, OGG or WMA files and away you go. When listening to music, it sounded a bit tinny and hollow, but it's acceptable for an entry-level player.
While the lanyard is a clever design, the only pocket the Pebble will reach is your shirt pocket, so if you were to exercise while listening to music you'll have to get used to it thumping against your sternum and wildly swinging around your neck. There is the option of inserting a string into the supplied hole beside the 3.5mm headphone port if you prefer to use a longer lanyard, however, you'll have to replace the headphones if you do this.
Overall, the S2 Pebble is aptly named as it looks exactly like, well, a pebble. It's an ideal MP3 player for the younger generation, yet cute enough to be a viable option for anyone who wants an affordable, no-fuss MP3 player.
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