by Tim Gideon
When the YP-K5 was released by Samsung in 2006, its unique built-in, slide-out speaker design was a real head turner. And though the device was bulky, it had strong battery life and even a pair of decent earbuds. The update, the new flash memory–based 
YP-S5 (commonly known as the S5), keeps its predecessor's innovative design but loses some of its bulk. Available in 2GB ($130 list) and 4GB ($180) capacities, the S5 features the familiar Samsung graphics, a top-notch interface, and the snazzy feather-touch buttons found in all of the company's players. The pull-out speaker is a fun option for the beach or a hotel room, and you get nice Bluetooth 2.0 features here, too. The player's robust EQ options—particularly when paired with an upgraded pair of earphones—make your music shine.
The sleek S5 comes in black or white and appears to have no buttons on its front face when its 3.8-by-1.8-by-0.6-inch (HWD) frame is powered down. In fact, the only physical attributes are a 1.8-inch, 176-by-220-pixel screen, a power/hold switch, a headphone jack, and a proprietary connection (which connects to USB via provided cable for PC syncing). Turning on the 3-ounce player reveals a four-button array of controls, with an Enter button in the center, along with Back and Menu keys. The underlit controls switch orientation depending on what the device is doing at the time. The slide-out speaker offers stereo output through a good-looking circular design imprinted on its metallic surface. I found the included earbuds better than average, but as always, I advise upgrading if you want to maximize the audio quality from your player.
Navigating the menu system is intuitive and enjoyable. Samsung players have developed a reputation over the years for superb graphics and intelligent interface organization. The only annoyance that folks are likely to encounter with navigation is the sensitivity of the touch controls: It's easy to misfire, and the buttons often fail to respond to a first tap.
File support, however, is not a strong suit. For audio, you can load MP3, WMA, and unprotected AAC files. Video is limited to SVI—Samsung's proprietary codec (you'll need to convert files with included software), and photos are JPEG only. No one wants to do homework to load video and photo files onto a player, so it's beyond me why manufacturers don't make devices with better compatibility.
The menu is broken down by Music, Videos, Pictures, FM Radio, Datacasts, Prime Pack, File Browser, Bluetooth, and Settings. The former three selections are organized in the typical Samsung way, allowing you to search music by artist, album title, and various other factors, while video and photos are organized by filename or folder. Photos can take a while to load and don't look particularly good on the player's small screen. The same can be said of videos. I've seen poorer displays for viewing, but the S5's certainly isn't a joy to watch.
The FM radio is easy to use, with 30 programmable presets—and it offers FM recording. Datacasts houses podcasts and audiobooks, keeping them separate from your music. Prime Pack is a odd designation for a grab bag of extra features—like voice recording, which works simply and organizes your recorded files for you; a world clock; an alarm; and preloaded games. (I'm not so hot at the included baseball game—I've got no swing whatsoever, and I hit about seven batters with the ball when I pitched.) The File Browser is simply a grand list of everything on the player, organized by type.
Samsung has started to step up its Bluetooth 2.0 offerings, and it shows in the S5's list of wireless capabilities. You can pair a stereo headset or a mobile phone, and transfer files to and from the S5 to other Bluetooth devices. Pairing your phone means you can place and receive calls via the player's mic and a pair of earphones—without ever having to pick up your phone. When Samsung's P2 debuted this feature, pairing was a big deal, and we like seeing the company roll it out in less-expensive devices.
Like Sony with its Walkman line, Samsung outfits its players with high-quality EQ settings. I wholeheartedly urge you to bypass the Rock and other standard presets and play with the user EQ, where you can easily customize your own sound. When I checked out the audio through a pair of Ultimate Ears UE11 and fiddled with the EQ to my liking, the results were fantastic.
Powered by an internal rechargeable battery, the S5 has a claimed battery life of 24 hours for audio and 4 hours for video. Its results on our own battery rundown tests will be posted here shortly.
I like the S5—I really do. It just wouldn't be my first choice among Samsung's quality line of portable media players. The slide-out speaker looks cool but sounds, well, like a tiny speaker with little bass. To some, this won't matter, and the ability to break it out on a bike trip or at the swimming pool and have some background music, without toting around an extra speaker dock, is a huge plus. I tend to gravitate more toward models like the YP-T10, which has an almost identical user interface and feature set but is slimmer. One last bit of advice for Samsung: We want better video support! Compatibility with more files would make every player in the company's line far more valuable.
For more information, link to http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2314477,00.asp
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