RipFlash PLUS 128MB Digital MP3 Player with Voice Recorder

Average customer rating:

Windows-Only, Faulty Software

Outstanding product and unsophisticated interface

BUYER BEWARE!!!!!

RipFlash Plus: know what you're getting into

Great sounding, stable, AAA battery-driven gem.

RipFlash PLUS 128MB Digital MP3 Player with Voice Recorder

Manufacturer: PoGo! Products
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

Digital Voice Recorders | Portable Audio & Video | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics
128 MB to 512 MB | Flash Drive-Based | MP3 Players | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics
Office Electronics | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics
Digital Voice Recorders | Portable Audio & Video | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics
MP3 Players | Portable Audio & Video | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics
Audio & Video | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics
Block Products | Brands | Electronics Features | Electronics
PoGo! Products | Brands | Electronics Features | Electronics
Accessories:

NETGEAR Wireless Digital Music Player

Sony MDR-V700DJ DJ Style Monitor Series Headphones

Sennheiser MX500 Lightweight In-Ear Headphones (Blue)

Sony MDRG72LP Behind-the-neck Compact Foldin

Sony MDR-G57G S2 Sports Street Style Headphones with Reflective Ear Piece

Product Features:

First of its kind digital-music player with direct MP3, WMA encoding--no PC required

128 MB storage holds 4 hours of near-CD-quality WMA audio

Over 30 hours storage for WMA voice recording; internal microphone included

ID3 tag support (shows track and artist names) and backlit display

Offers SD/MMC memory expansion slot; accessories include stereo earbuds and an arm band/belt case

ASIN: B00006RVH2

Product Description

The RipFlash PLUS is not only a full featured MP3/WMA Player with fast USB connectivity, but also records MP3 files using the on board microphone for voice and live recording or directly from any audio source, such as a CD player, through its line-in connector. Create MP3 files without a PC!

Amazon.com Product Description

The RipFlash PLUS is a first-of-its-kind Flash-memory-based combination MP3 player, MP3 recorder, and voice recording device that actually turns analog audio into high-quality MP3 data--without the need for a desktop PC. This means it's possible to record directly from any audio device, such as a portable CD player, record player, tape player, or even radio, into the RipFlash's 128 MB internal storage. It has a Smart Media Card slot for additional memory, and you can also upload and download MP3s traditionally, using a desktop PC and USB cable.

Quick voice messages are a snap using the recorder's internal microphone. A high-quality stereo microphone (not included) will suffice for recording anything from live music to training seminars. The recordings can be played back through the onboard internal speaker, through the included earbud headphones, or through any home or car audio system using the appropriate cables.

The efficient WMA format provides over 30 hours of voice quality or up to four hours of near-CD-quality music. RipFlash can detect the "gap" between the tracks of a CD when recording, so each song on the CD is saved as an easily identifiable individual MP3 file. The unit is supplied with earbuds, a direct recording (line-in) interconnect, a USB cable, CD software, and an arm band/belt case.

Customer Reviews:

Windows-Only, Faulty Software.......2005-01-25

I bought this gadget to record school talks. I'd bet Pogo
is full of good sound engineers, but not-so-good software
ones.

Pros:
- good voice recording quality, even in bad environments
- relatively nice user interface, once you learn it.
- resistant (I don't use it that much, though)

Cons:
- it's Windows only. I don't really understand Pogo's decision
to make their own driver. The only interaction the gadget
needs from a computer is uploading/downloading files. The
evident solution is to make the device an USB drive. Instead,
the RipFlash obligues you to install (faulty) software,
while precluding its usage from Macs or open-sourced OS.
- software is faulty: when installing the driver, you should
expect your PC to crash. Reboot and things typically will
work, curiously.
- AAA batteries is the wrong solution. I'd love to be able to
recharge this gadget from an USB plug.
- when running out of batteries, it should alarm you. Losing
part of an important talk because you didn't realize the
batteries have just died is a terrible experience.

Outstanding product and unsophisticated interface.......2004-12-29

Functioning as it was intended, as a recorder and player, this product is OUTSTANDING. When recording, one has to remember that the sound level that one is putting in is the one that one gets out: so when using a microphone in the "line-in" -- one has to make certain that one is using a mic (which PoGo sells -- an excellent one at that) which has an adjustable sound sensitivity function. I used RipFlash Plus, with the mic, to record speeches and the sound quality and clarity is really astounding.

Where this product loses a star is in its user-friendliness: it is not a product which shines as something which is either elegant or intuitive (much like a Mercedes motor in a Model T Ford). And with a little bit of patience and ingenuity (such as renaming files using Windows, outside of the software interface), it is definitely a product which one can work with. I highly recommend it for someone who wants to do what it really shines at: recording into Mp3.

There was one reviewer who spoke about converting the Mp3 files to WMA files for saving space -- but at equal bit rates, the WMA were actually LARGER -- besides which, most techies will tell you that when converting from one compressed format to another, one is going to lose quality

BTW, have a look at PoGo's site and you will be surprised at the pricing advantage there

BUYER BEWARE!!!!!.......2004-08-13

I received this product as a Christmas gift. Less than 6 months later, the case began to crumble. The device was never dropped or abused in any way - quite frankly it was only used 2 or 3 times to record attached via line in to a sound board. I had been really impressed with the product until having to deal with Pogo Tech support regarding replacing the item. I was basically told I was a liar and the damage would only occur if the device was abused. I was talked down to, demeaned and they refused to budge on a $15 repair charge. I do not recommend purchasing a product from Pogo unless you consider it a disposable product, not an investment.

RipFlash Plus: know what you're getting into.......2004-07-03

I purchased a RipFlash Plus 256 MP3 player/recorder in June 2004 to record voice interviews. Major flaws in its construction and in its download software mean you are very likely to lose your recordings. To make matters worse, customer support is very resistant to issuing refunds for faulty equipment.

---------------------

It produces decent sound quality, though the recordings have a constant low-level hum in the background.

Two main problems with the unit make it very problematic for capturing recordings:

1) The software provided (and required) to download the sound files to computer over USB is very flakey - sometimes it works, sometimes does not connect, sometimes downloads only part of the sound file but indicates it is "done." This happens on both of the newer Dell computers that I've tried it on. By contrast, all other devices I attach to the USB ports on these same computers exchange files flawlessly.

2) The RipFlash Plus is able to hold a SmartMedia card and record to it. This would seem to be an alternative to downloading through the USB connection - just remove the SmartMedia card, insert it into your computers card reader, and copy off the files. BUT . . . the ejector button on the RipFlash broke the second time I ejected a card, and appears likely to break on any unit. The ejector button pushes the card out with two very tiny brittle plastic tabs. It takes almost nothing to break one (in my case, just ejecting the card did it.) Then, you can't get the card out, or if you do fish it out, you can no longer position it in correctly without the button in place.

Regarding customer support . . . when the unit arrived in the mail, I discovered that they had thrown in a "voice activated TV remote" - at no charge, and without any advance notice - a device they don't sell on their site. I can't imagine anything more useless than that so I tossed it immediately. After obtaining an RMA from them and returning the broken RipFlash, they at first tried to charge me a "restocking" fee for the useless recorder. After I put my credit card company on their case, they finally refunded the full amount. Then, they decided they needed to charge me $40 for the throw-away remote that they had sent unsolicited, so they made a new charge on my card for it.

You might want to consider the options before you decide to try the RipFlash Plus.

Rob

Great sounding, stable, AAA battery-driven gem........2004-05-19

I loved my player/recorder. It sounded great, recorded well, and had good expandable memory with the SM slot. It even looked slick. A friend bought one, seeing mine.
Only downsides: First, no recording level, so you have to experiment with the external source for line-in and use the built-in (very capable) mic for voice. (and you can adjust the recording quality setting beforehand. Second, the order of the songs are unchangeable, playing in the order that they were downloaded using the software designed to use with the player. Third, relating to the second, it cannot be used for an external flashdrive as it does not have a drag-and-drop feature.
Those faults were minor for the price and quality I experienced while I had mine. Alas, after many months of happy use, mine was stolen. I've tried two other players from other companies since (one a flash-drive, one a hard-drive, both with the external drive feature and fm radio, but both exhibiting poor quality). I should have just bought this one again.
So, consider buying the Ripflash Plus for its AAA battery freedom and $100 price (IPODs are a problem for both these reasons). Once you buy it, enjoy its rich feature set and good sound. And now Pogo! has added a a theft protection service. That doesn't mean you'd get it back if it got stolen, but nice thought anyway, Pogo!

RipFlash 128MB Digital Voice Recorder and MP3 Player/Recorder

Average customer rating:

My Adventures with the Ripflash Player
Think twice before buying a RipFlash
Excellent compact device
RipFlash
Great performance, Poor ergonomics

RipFlash 128MB Digital Voice Recorder and MP3 Player/Recorder

Manufacturer: PoGo! Products
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

Digital Voice Recorders | Portable Audio & Video | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics

Office Electronics | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics

Audio & Video | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics

Block Products | Brands | Electronics Features | Electronics

PoGo! Products | Brands | Electronics Features | Electronics
Accessories:

Product Features:

Direct MP3 recording from any audio source (no computer required)
Fast USB transfer speeds (up to 4mbps)
Doubles as voice recorder for the business people and students
SmartMedia card slot to boost your memory
Up to 10 hours playback; runs on 2 AAA batteries

ASIN: B000066HOH

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Outstanding sound quality and a low price make the RipFlash an excellent flash memory-based MP3 player. However, its ability to record MP3s in real time via the built-in microphone or line-in connection takes this player to the next level. Whether you want to record a lecture or convert your old LPs and tapes to MP3, this versatile little player gets the job done.

Smaller than a pack of cards and weighing just 65 grams, the RipFlash looks like an ordinary MP3 player. Installation was simple using the quick-start guide. We just loaded the MP3 Manager software on our PC, then connected the player to our USB port and copied our MP3 and WMA files to the unit.

When we put on the earbud-style headphones to take a listen, we were surprised by what a clear, noise-free, rich sound the RipFlash delivered. The lows were especially robust, giving bass rhythms a visceral feel, and the built-in equalizer let us optimize the sound for classical, rock, pop, or jazz. The unit's small display was easy to read and the buttons on the front and sides were logically laid out and easy to press.

To test the recording capabilities, we simply pressed the record button and started talking. The sensitive, built-in microphone recorded our speech clearly and accurately. The line-in jack on the top of the unit lets you connect it to any audio device, such as a tape player or a CD player, and for us this performed equally well. Using the menu-based interface, you can set the recording-quality bit rate. For instance, you can record voice at a lower quality for up to 30 hours of recording time, or record music at a higher quality for less recording time. Either way, it's simple to copy the MP3 files back onto your PC, so you can send them via e-mail or burn them to CD.

Of course, since the RipFlash uses flash memory and has no moving parts, it's impervious to shocks and jolts. It runs on two AAA batteries, offering about 9 to 10 hours of playback, and comes with a wristband. In addition to its built-in memory, its memory can be expanded via a SmartMedia card.

Low price, excellent sound quality, and, most of all, the ability to record audio directly into MP3 format, make the RipFlash easy to recommend to music aficionados who want to record live audio, students looking to record lectures, or anyone who needs an easy way to record dictation. --Ken Feinstein

Pros:

Inexpensive
Records MP3s via built-in mic or line-in
Excellent sound quality and fast download

Cons:

Small display
No rechargeable battery

Customer Reviews:

My Adventures with the Ripflash Player.......2005-08-31

I purchased this product a few years ago and thought I'd share my experiences with it. Overall, despite what I'll write below, I like the player's features. I'm an amateur musician and I've used to record my own playing--I just put it in my pocket, turn it on and forget it's there. The built-in mic is adequate but very sensitive and can become saturated at noise levels over normal conversation levels. I also bought their accessory stereo microphone and it has a volume adjustment which eliminates the built-in mic's sensitivity.
I have had problems with it:
(1) Soon after buying it, I found that when the batteries ran down, all the data I had stored in it was fried (I had to reformat the memory). This, fortunately, was a one-time problem and the player WILL retain data even when it has no batteries in it.
(2) The instructions are quite brief--don't expect extensive explainations on all the features and don't expect model English.
(3) The line-in jack broke after a year or two, which is my biggest complaint about the player. It happened AFTER the warranty expired. I did not expose the player or the jacks to any excessive forces (it stayed in my room except for the occasional rehearsal). Not wanting the hassle and expense of having to deal with their customer service, I decided to carefully take the player apart. I found that one of the solder joints on the line-in jack had come lose(!) I resoldered it and found it worked fine. I would expect a solder joint to be more durable than that.
(4) I was browsing through the microphone's warranty a few days ago and found it was only valid in Korea(!)

I would shop around more if I had to do it all over again but I really wanted something portable that could record in stereo and, at the time, there didn't seem to be much out there. Now that the player works properly, I like the features it has and give those 5 stars. As for it's durability and reliability (considering every other piece of electronic equipment I've bought has had a much longer trouble-free period after purchase), I give it 1 star. Buy at your own risk.

Think twice before buying a RipFlash.......2004-07-03

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Two main problems with the unit make it very problematic for capturing recordings:

Regarding pogoproducts.com customer support . . . when the unit arrived in the mail, I discovered that they had thrown in a "voice activated TV remote" - at no charge, and without any advance notice - a device they don't sell on their site. I can't imagine anything more useless than that so I tossed it immediately. After obtaining an RMA from them and returning the broken RipFlash, they at first tried to charge me a "restocking" fee for the useless recorder. After I put my credit card company on their case, they finally refunded the full amount. Then, they decided they needed to charge me $40 for the throw-away remote that they had sent unsolicited, so they made a new charge on my card for it.

You might want to consider the options before you decide to try the RipFlash Plus.

Rob

Excellent compact device.......2003-09-30

After doing much reading on MP3 players, I decided to go with the RipFlast Plus 128MB recorder. Holds as many songs as a CD, even more if you use .wma (which is compatible with this player). Expansion slot allows you to keep tons of songs on flash cards.

RipFlash.......2003-07-15

I can't wait to try this one out!

Great performance, Poor ergonomics.......2003-05-16

I bought this RipFlash primarily for voice recording, including memos to myself while driving.

What I like about the RipFlash:

1) Since receiving the unit about 6 months ago I find myself using it for *SO* many things I never thought it would be good for. For example: The "Line In" allows you to capture sound from ANY audio/video or audio-only source. Big deal, right? Well I happen to subscribe to an Internet real estate service that hosts ALL of the author's lectures in streaming media format. Very inconvenient if you don't want to sit in front of the computer for 40+ hours to listen to all the tapes. Enter the PoGo. I unplugged my PC's speakers, plugged in the PoGo (it comes with a Line-In patch cord) into the back of my PC, pressed the "Record" button on the PoGo, clicked the audio file I wanted to capture, then walked away for 1/2 an hour. After downloading several hour's worth (since it is voice-only capture I picked a lower quality level, which uses less memory) I transferred the files from the PoGo to the PC as MP3 files, then burned the real estate lectures onto several audio CDs. Now I can listen any time - anywhere - to what originally forced me to sit in front of my computer for hours!

That's just one example of an innovative use for this product. There are literally dozens of useful applications - I think of a new one every few weeks!

2) Software for the PC is good, easy to use, and uploads/downloads are pretty darn fast using the provided USB cable.

Now for the things I don't like:

1) Battery life. Uses 2 standard Alkaline batteries. They last about 10 hours. I found the "Ultra" batteries go about 50% longer, but they cost more. There is no way to plug in an external power supply.

2) Documentation is poor. REALLY poor. There are actually CUT OUT pieces of paper with new print on them covering the old print in the manual!!!

3) Menu doesn't work well for deleting specific files. Since this base model doesn't identify songs/entries by title, you only get to reference entries by number. The numbers change (re-number again) as you delete entries. I've found the best way around this is to use the PC software that comes with the unit.

4) No back-lighting for the display. Hard to view in low-light conditions.

(Number 3 and Number 4 are addressed in the RipFlash Plus - spend the few extra bucks - it's worth it!)

5) Ear bud headphones sound great, but you gotta have BIG ear holes to have them fit comfortably. I can't go longer than 1/2 an hour before it hurts.

I'm very happy with my RipFlash over-all, but I'd recommend spending the few extra bucks to get one of the more expensive RipFlash models of this product line.

Product Description

With more speed and more capacity, the Iomega Zip 750MB drive is the fast and durable portable storage solution to back up your important data. Zip 750MB drives are the smart data storage choice.

Customer Reviews:

A solid product.......2003-06-28

I ordered the zip 750 to go with a new computer, that would no longer recognize my old, parallel port zip 100. Overall, i have been extremely pleased with the drive. The 750 mb disks are massive, compared to my old 100mb disks. With the firewire connection, it is as fast or faster than another zip i have with a atapi connection. There are only a few things that prevent this drive from recieving five stars. Fist, in order to connect it to a computer with a four-pin port, you need to call iomega and ask them to send you a power supply. Although they send the adapter quickly, and it is free, the additional step is a pain. Another problem i encountered is that the drive only comes with a six pin cord. If you want to attach the drive to a computer with a four pin port, be ready to shell out another thirty bucks for another cord. Although this should be no suprise, for some reason, the new drives can read but not write the old disks. It is evidently clear on the packaging that this is the case, but i still am frequently annoyed by that. My final complaint is that occasionally, on startup, windows XP does not immeadiatly recognize the drive. If you pull out the chord, wait a few seconds and then plug it back in, the drive is accesible. Agian, not a serious problem but an occasional hassle.Other than these minor problems, the zip 750 drive is an exceptional piece of equipment, and a true heir to this long line of sturdy, well designed storage devices.

Very Useful, But Slightly Dangerous.......2003-03-02

A year ago, I would have cheerfully told you that there was no reason for anyone to waste money on a Zip drive. The largest capacity model then available was the 250, which was less than half of what a CD-RW could hold. CD burners were shipping pretty much as standard on all new computers. I grudgingly shelled out the money for a Zip drive on my new machine only because I needed some way of transferring data from the old one, which had a Zip 100 drive but no CD burner.

It didn't take me long to realize what a very wise investment I'd made. I prefer to synchronize my important documents and system settings using something like Windows Briefcase (barely useful) or Scooter Software's "Beyond Compare", which does a tremendous job of not only synchronizing files and entire directory trees, but scanning each file byte-by-byte for any signs of changes and/or corruption. It's very easy to update or repair any file the program flags.

What I discovered very quickly was that CD-RW drives were utterly worthless for this task. It didn't matter whether I used Roxio's "Direct CD", which came with the computer, or Nero's much-touted "InCD". The former constantly and reliably corrupted my data, while the latter just as reliably crashed my computer every time I tried it. Windows XP has built-in CD-writing software, but it is useless for the kind of file synchronization that I do.

"You can treat your CD just like a giant floppy!!!" Yeah, right! Nice try, guys!

Worse yet, as I troubleshooted Roxio's software, I discovered their nasty little secret. CDs created under Version 4 of "Direct CD" could not be read by Version 5, and people running Windows XP couldn't load Version 4 without crashing their computers. I wondered: What would happen when Version 6 came out?

So suddenly I found myself using that Zip 250 as my main means of file backup, along with a spare external hard drive. But, of course, 250 MB is not, by today's standards, a great deal of space. I needed three disks to do the job, and these were almost full. Plus, the Zip drive was painfully slow.

Thus, when Iomega announced their new Zip 750, I took immediate notice. I have actually worked with two of these devices. The one at work is a USB 2.0 model running on Windows 2000, while the one at home, running on Windows XP Home, is the nearly identical FireWire model featured on this page.

Setup of the FireWire device on Windows XP is very simple. You plug it into your FireWire port, wait for Windows Plug-and-Play to recognize it, then insert a Zip 750 disk and start working. Windows XP has built-in support for Zip drives, so you don't need to install anything from the included CD for basic file system operations. If, however, you want to write- or password-protect your Zip disk, you'll have to install Iomega Tools from the CD. They also offer a basic file backup utility. Since I haven't done anything with these, I can't comment on how well they work.

I started using the Zip 750 at home on December 10th of last year, and basically I've been very happy with it. While not as fast as a hard drive, it's certainly a major improvement over the Zip 250. I have yet to see one file be corrupted, and "Beyond Compare" has done literally dozens of very thorough scans on my backups. This is the very first time in my nearly 20 years of working with PCs that I can say with reasonable certainty that my backups are secure.

One performance bottleneck I've encountered is, according to Iomega's web site, due to the way Windows XP operates. Namely, copying (or comparing) large numbers of small files is drastically slower than copying small numbers of large files, even if the overall byte count is the same. So I use PKZip in a few places to create larger archives for faster copying.

The only reason I don't give this drive five stars is because of a dangerous design flaw. This is a very handsome-looking drive with a bright, shiny, metal plate on top. Unfortunately, said metal is an excellent conductor of static electricity. The very night I installed the drive on my home computer, I zapped it with my finger while attempting to insert a disk. This immediately knocked the drive off-line, and nothing but turning the computer off, then back on, would get Windows to recognize it again. My heart about stopped until I was satisfied that no permanent damage was done, either to the drive or to the computer.

Considering how light the drive is, there is no way to avoid touching it while doing an insert. Otherwise it simply slides backwards as you push.

The solution? Decidedly low-tech! I powered everything down, unplugged the drive, took that handy little anti-static bag the thing shipped in, wrapped it around the drive, and Scotch-taped it in place! Since then, I've had peace of mind and no problems at all!

The Zip 750 will reliably read and write the older Zip 250 disks (albeit more slowly), and will even read (but not write to) my ancient Zip 100 disks. Unlike some of those CD writing programs, Iomega takes backward compatibility seriously.

So, if you want speed and reliability, this drive is well worth the money.

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