For our first review of Samsung products at Tweak3D, we chose to take a detailed look at the T10 MP3 player (4GB), which is a solid Ipod alternative, for a decent price (around $120 USD).
Features
Available colors: black, lime green, red, white
Storage capacity :4GB / 8GB
Screen: 2" 320x240 pixel 262k Color
Size: 1.63” (W) x 3.76” (H) x .39” (D)
Weight: 43g / 1.14 oz.
Battery (Lithium-ion): 30h (specs), 15h (test) / Video 4h
File support: MP3, WMA, SVI, WMV9 at 320X240 resolution (30 fps),TXT, JPEG
Other: Voice Recording, FM Radio, Datacasts (RSS Feeds), Bluetooth 2.0Link for features and specifications:
Installation
The T10 comes with a USB cable, the software / drivers CD and earbuds. Also, thanks to Samsung for the re-usable package instead of using a popular “clamshell” piece of $%&%&! This way, the player and accessories can be stored in the small box when not in use.
Samsung’s software installed properly on my Vista x64 machine (it also works on Vista and on XP SP2+). Since the T10 is a MTP device, it’s impossible to use it on a Mac or with Linux.
The player also works fine with other media players such as Windows Media Player and Winamp (for drag and drop). Still, I suggest using Samsung’s software, since it permits you to upgrade the player’s firmware and use the other features (video conversion, RSS feeds, etc).
Controls and graphical interface
Firstly, you need to power on the player with a sliding power switch which is on the right side. A delay is needed to activate the power on / power off sequence, so there’s no worry to shut the player off by accident.
The rest of the controls are all touch activated. The buttons are invisible and light up when needed. There’s a menu button, a back button and a directional pad with a select button at the center of it. Also, you will have to wipe the player quite often, especially if you buy the black unit. Finger marks can be quite a problem with a dark touch interface.
To be honest, even if it contributes to the slick design of the player, I’m not a fan of the T10 touch interface. The buttons are seldom irresponsive and accidental presses happen quite often. Separate volume controls would have been welcome, because of the lack of precision of the touch interface and the incapacity to get to the volume controls quickly. If you are in another menu (options, playlists, etc), you have to back up until you reach the main menu to be able to alter the volume again.
Aside from this flexibility issue (volume), the menus are easy to navigate, without feeling any lag. Lots of eye candy was added in the interface, but you can easily skip the animations by continuing to navigate through the menus.
Sound and audio quality
According to my ear, the sound quality of the T10 is above average while plugged to a pair of quality headphones (I tried with a pair of Sennheiser HD437) or a home sound system.
On stock settings, I felt like it was set with way too many bass. I just had to play with the bass boost option, along with the equalizer (seven bands) which was easy to use and responsive. On the other hand, I tried the DNSe sound “enhancing” system and I was unimpressed. Frankly, I prefer to listen to my tracks as they were intended, so I never use the features that permits to add effect that mimics being in a particular place. There’s also a “Play speed” option that is totally useless with music, unless you crave for a cheap new bootlegged Chipmunks CD.
The stock earbuds, while still comfortable, did nothing out of the ordinary, so I don’t recommend using them. It was easy to hook Bluetooth headphones to the device, so this is great if you want to get rid of the usual wires. It’s a plus for the T10, compared to its direct competitor, the Ipod Nano, which doesn’t offer Bluetooth compatibility.
The FM radio option worked well, with possibilities to customize your preset stations, etc.
As I noted earlier, I stress-tested the player to play continually until battery exhaustion. It lasted around 15 hours, which is half the time indicated in the specs.
On top of that, the music was played at a very low volume, with the screen off. Fifteen hours on one charge is more than enough for the regular user, but the enthusiast will have to plug it in every night on the computer (or any other USB source of energy, such as a game console).
Screen and video quality
As with larger Samsung LCDs, this 2-inch screen is great. The colors are vibrant and it offers a wide viewing angle. Also, the suggested battery life was true for videos, it lasted at least 4 hours during my tests.
Most video files need to be converted by the software to fit the WMV9 320x240 @ 30 fps standard. This was a lengthy procedure, so be aware that preparing videos won’t take the same time as managing audio files which mostly require a simple drag and drop.
The picture viewer feature also worked very well! The software resizes your files to a 640x480 resolution to ease on the loading times and the high quality screen will do great justice to your various pictures and mugshots.
In conclusion...
The Samsung T10 offers a great deal of functions for its price. At first, I asked myself: “With all the Ipods all around, what will it offer to compete?” Well, for around 10 bucks less than a Nano, you get the same functions plus some neat features such as the possibility to hook up wireless headphones. This feature is especially great since Bluetooth headphones gained in popularity and are much more common nowadays. The T10 is a good choice for fans of the underdog, the one that doesn’t want to go “mainstream”, or the one that just wants to try something else than the Apple “standard”.
The Samsung T10 earns a solid 4 out of 5!
Pro’s:
Great screen quality
Good sound quality for the price
Bluetooth compatibility
Con’s:
Hard to reach volume
Touch interface / gets dirty easily
Lengthy video conversion.
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