Acer 20Gb mp3 player for €93.20 delivered

Thanks for the review DrM. Very interesting. I presume you know that battery life will probably be better with continuous/sequential play mode than automatic or manual random track switching play mode (less random access seeking for the hard disk to perform)? [Sorry - just noticed that you cover this in your last post!] Good point about the old style screen possibly being less of a power drain than newer higher res colour screens. Did you try the USB host mode (which I presume is basically a form of USB OTG)?

BTW - three different people from directtvs.co.uk (who seem to be on and the same with laptopsdirect.co.uk and presumably the Irish version of the site) got back to me about P&P to Ireland and one told me that it was £4.95 as stated on the website, another told me that it was £14.95 (which is c. €22) and another told me that it was £17.57 or €22 in spite of the fact that £17.95 is actually c. €26. Hmmm.... Anyway, I presume it is actually €22 as per DrM's experience.
 
Re: Acer 20Gb mp3 player for €93.20 delivered

Cheers. Yeah, I know that about the continuous/sequential playback, but I have to say I'm fond of the random track switching. It adds a frisson of unpredictability to my otherwise impeccably ordered life. ;)

And no, I haven't tried the USB host mode yet, because — oddly enough — the USB host cable provided has a 'male' connection at both ends. Surely it would have been more logical to have a female, since most devices you'd use it with would have either a built-in or cabled male connection? :confused:

[Edit: posts crossed. Maybe the guy who quoted you £4.95 is thinking of N.I. as opposed to 'Southern' Ireland?]
 
Ordered mine from laptopsdirect and the 4.95 postage applied to my order. They sent a mail yesterday stating status had changed and to email the sales. Emailed the sales team with order # and just asked them to confirm the order recevied a message later yesterday evening that payment had been processed and item sent.
 
this is what my invoice states:
Carriage - 4.95
surcharge .9% .43
Player 42.53
tax 8.39
total = 56.30
 
The original price of c. €100 seems pretty good but c. €85 would obviously be even better!
 
Re: Acer 20Gb mp3 player for €93.20 delivered

Got mine, aside from the radio issue I am very pleased. Its a nice piece of kit and as you mentioned its a perfectly handy portable hard drive for photos etc . I went on a 3 week hol last year with all the clan and had to bring my laptop to download pics every evening so this will be very handy.

Recommned: most definetely.. less than €100.. bargain
 
Just wondering - would the battery be replaceable if/when it eventually fails to charge any more? Or is it sealed or some proprietary type that might not be easily sourced? Even at c. €100 it would jar with me personally to consider the player a disposable item to be ditched one the battery stops working.
 
Re: Acer 20Gb mp3 player for €93.20 delivered

That's a good point, and one on which the manual says nothing at all. The only reference to the (1200mAh/3.7V Lion Polymer) battery is a warning about not over-charging it. Nothing on the Acer website, either.

The back of the unit looks easy enough to open — four precision Philips-head screws — but over one of the side seams is a tiny sticker saying (and I quote) "Attention! Broken without warranty".

I might try ringing the technical helpline (01-4073214) to ask about that...
 
Thanks DrM. BTW - any comments on the playback facilities? I thought I read some criticism of (a) the lack of playlists and (b) the fact that when switched on the player doesn't resume from where it left off but starts at the main menu. Hardly showstoppers but just curious. Is that an Irish support number?

P.S. I love the classic [broken link removed] messages in the manual and on that sticker!
 
Re: Acer 20Gb mp3 player for €93.20 delivered

ClubMan said:
(a) the lack of playlists and (b) the fact that when switched on the player doesn't resume from where it left off but starts at the main menu. Hardly showstoppers but just curious. Is that an Irish support number?
Click to expand...
Yes, yes, and yes. But the idea of playlists goes right against the grain of that 'frisson of unpredictability' I mentioned... :D

Incidentally, for those who really, really want/need an FM radio and are prepared to spend a bit more, I gather that Xtravision are selling off the for €199 — although it doesn't appear on their website, only the (perhaps more interesting?) [broken link removed] for €269. See this thread on Boards.ie.
 
My Acer arrived by courier today but as the box was damaged had to refuse the product as could not establish if the product was damaged. Prompt delivery and have emailed them to send a replacement.
The charge on my credit card was 85.40.
Hope to receive the replacement without any hassle.
 
Re: Acer 20Gb mp3 player for €93.20 delivered

DrMoriarty said:
Incidentally, for those who really, really want/need an FM radio and are prepared to spend a bit more, I gather that Xtravision are selling off the for €199 — although it doesn't appear on their website
Click to expand...

I picked up the photo version in the US in September for around $200 and so far so good, although the Vision M is a nice piece of kit.
 
Re: Acer 20Gb mp3 player w/FM radio for €93.20 delivered

Bazoo said:
Mine arrived today - charging at the moment. It's looking good but pretty peeved about the lack of radio - would have been the clincher for me. Thanks for posting link to that other site Clubman with the even better deal - hubby is thinking of purchasing one for himself (he wouldn't be bothered about the absence of a radio). We'll see how mine goes.
Click to expand...


Bazoo, if the radio is the clincher for you would you not be better off giving the Acer to your hubby and getting a different one for yourself with fm radio rather than getting another non fm one? Ok maybe dearer if you really need 20gb.
 
Possibly stupid question but the manual does not clarify - I presume that if you navigate the folder hierarchy and then choose a track to play then the player will play sequentially from that track onwards in whatever order the tracks were loaded or in alphabetical order or what? I presume that "Once-Dir" is sequential play mode and "Random-Dir" is "shuffle" mode? Also - does the player's firmware menus contain the sort of "Engrish" misspellings that the manual includes?
 
Thanks - never found that with several Google searches! Very comprehensive review. I see the reviewer also refers to [broken link removed]! :D

Any update on the battery? Do you reckon it's replaceable? Also - is the power supply 110-240V?
 
Re: Acer 20Gb mp3 player for €93.20 delivered

I didn't get around to ringing them yet to ask about the battery, and until I do I'm kinda reluctant to open it up and break that 'broken without warranty' seal. I'll try during the week...

The power supply is 100-240V AC.

One other thing I was glad to confirm was that the USB host function works well with my [broken link removed]. I was able to backup the contents of an almost-full 512Mb card in a couple of minutes. :)
 
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