The YP-F1 leaves behind boxy designs in favour of a beetle-inspired casing that in a sense is telling the iPod shuffle: "Hey you, the white stick thing, small MP3 players can have displays, too!"
Although the Samsung YP-F1 cannot lay claim to being the smallest MP3 player, we find that at 29 x 65 x 19mm, it is an inconspicuous thing whether it is tucked into a pocket or clipped to a bag. We like the fact that the S-curve of the metal clip can do double duty as both a clip and a lanyard hook without looking too bulky at the same time.
Besides a back plate finished in black with sparkling highlights, the faceplate of the YP-F1 is removable and therefore changeable. We give kudos to Samsung for making the three faceplates (in Australia cherry red, chrome and white) part of the standard package as opposed to making them an optional purchase. Removing the faceplate is also a simple procedure of flicking out the current incumbent and snapping on the replacement. And no, the snap-on plate is no flimsy affair; it fits securely with the main unit and is pretty smudge-proof as well.
What does not quite work on the YP-F1 are the buttons. The depth of the four buttons on both sides of the player (Play, Record, Forward and Back) is too shallow to garner appreciable tactile feedback. However, the clickable rocker switch feedbacks perfectly adequately.
Though most of the buttons are difficult to activate by accident, introducing a Hold function on this unit would have prevented instances of unintentional triggering of the rocker switch mentioned previously. We were also surprised by the fact that USB connectivity to the computer is via the YP-F1's audio jack instead of a separate mini-USB port. This means that you will not be able to listen to the YP-F1 while charging it at the same time.
The screen, though admittedly small, is still serviceable with adjustable contrast for indoor lighting. The playback display also manages to squeeze in information such as track number, current equaliser preset, battery gauge, track name and playback time elapsed. Though the YP-F1 supports a tree directory style of navigation, the meager screen size means only two track names can be displayed at once, which can be trying at times when the track in question belongs to the bottom half of the alphabet.
Features
Although it's tiny, the YP-F1 manages to hold a decent set of features under its belt. There is the typical FM radio, voice/radio recording and preset equalisers (classic, jazz, rock and a five-band user-determined equaliser). Radio reception turned out a good performance even with the weaker stations on the radio spectrum.
For readers intending to plug the player into their USB hubs, they should be aware that the YP-F1 cannot be detected in this manner. It can be charged or detected only through a direct USB connection. So for those with limited USB ports on their computers, this can be a problem.
With ID3 tag support, the YP-F1 is one of the few flash MP3 players that supports playlist creation directly from within the unit itself. Though only one playlist can be made, the YP-F1 ensures the procedure is as simple as the iPod's On-The-Go playlist. We also found that the tagging of the songs for the playlist is available only through the unit itself and cannot be exported to the computer or vice versa.
Samsung claims a battery life rating of 10 hours though our lab testing revealed it to be at 8 hours 5 minutes. Out transfer test rated it at 2.8MB per second.
Performance
With our test track, Massive Attack's Futureproof, and using Sennheiser PX100 miniheadphones, the YP-F1 did very well in capturing the low bass tones on this track. In Diana Krall's I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You, the throaty voice of Krall was rendered with a delicious richness though we felt that the highs on this player were not too stable. Sibilance was also kept to a minimum.
For users who demand a richer, though artificially enhanced, audio experience, the YP-F1 boasts sound technologies like SRS, WOW and Trubass on top of the preset equalisers to cater to their needs. There is also a bass booster option to further the lows on any of the preset equalisers though audio purists may refrain from exercising those options.
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