Company Ritmix - «dark” horse in the domestic market. Is known that it is based in Korea. One of its latest products to hit Canada’s market and is known as portable mp3 player RF-9000. Player itself suspiciously like iRiver U10 both in design and functionality features. Nevertheless, the new model is interesting at least that is very different from the mass of faceless craft, which so gloriously sunny Korea.
First of all, I want to note the expected trend - flash drive “get fat”. After the recent falls in prices for NAND-Flash memory manufacturers have rushed, pushing each other’s elbows, raise the maximum amount of memory in players. In recent months, more and more high-end gain at its disposal a spacious solid-state storage media that can dramatically increase storage capacity without prejudice to the dimensions of the player. Not an exception and RF-9000. In its model range budget option has 1 GB of memory, and wasteful users can afford to fork out for topovoe proposal with a 4-Gbaytnym chip.
Fresh idea in the XXI century is a priceless value. It also may be the key to success and a step to failure. It is a versatile tool to attract new customers, which requires careful consideration, balancing and accounting of a number of critical factors, so the industrial design of today is one of the most difficult parts of the production process. Large corporations can invest in the development of a unique design and thereby reduce the risk of failure of sales to a minimum and get the maximum, while the developing companies, this problem often can not afford. However, and due to frequent choice of “trodden” path in the development of external design device. Let us look at portable mp3 player RF-9000 more closely, to understand what actually was written the entire text above.
The general concept of the device was very similar to iRiver U10. To deny this fact can only blind. Aged colors, used similar methods of visual processing, not to mention the identical form factor of these players. Although, of course, differences where as more than coincidence.
Differences in the bulk of these relate to management. In the U10 portable mp3 player used a unique and patented D-Click, while RF-9000 uses a judicious combination of sensory and motor elements of navigation buttons. The most used functions carried on the front panel, and the less popular keys - on the top line portable mp3 player. Do not forget about the lucrative and bright red LED backlight. Thus, the ergonomics of the device calibrated as well as possible, though not without its drawbacks. For example, several embarrassing lack of sensitivity of the touch panel, from the common to achieve the desired effect have to duplicate the press.
RF-9000 is made entirely of plastic and practically devoid of any irregularities or gaps were. Due to this, the machine is securely placed in the hand and not slip out, while management is carried out with two fingers of his right hand. For left-handers did not fit him, so they control where the player will be as difficult. Trying to reach the buttons with your fingers of his left hand, make sure you close the display hand. In this case, to work with him have to “blindly”.
On the opposite side put the headphone output, line input and multi-slot USB-hub. The latter is used both for communication with PC and for connecting other devices on the USB-host. Between connectors sustained an impressive range, which ensures a comfortable seamless connection of three cables to the compact portable mp3 player RF-9000. At the bottom, next to the USB-connector, deeply concealed button «Reset». With her at the time of testing the player never had to meet.
The rear panel has two speakers with a total output of 1000 mW. Both brothers eat the battery just behind the 4 pairs of headphones and two “ritmiksa. They would not hurt to put on a diet, but given the “noisy”, a weakness they can be forgiven. The main thing you need to clearly understand their primary task - to play sound. With music, they fail because of design features. No doubt, it is possible, of course, put favorite “metallchik” in order to surprise the surrounding onlookers ’singing’ a pack of cigarettes, but more would not come. Neither you bass or high - from the music remains one name.
Finally I would like to mention an incredible athletic shape recruit. Yes, the dimensions of RF-9000 is big enough to “flash drive”, but the weight of its extremely small and slim body fits in any pocket. Wear it even in tight jeans, at least in the breast pocket of his shirt, discomfort will not.
Once again, before us presents a classic youth portable mp3 player with all the ensuing consequences. The development of chip engineers primarily have focused on expansion of functionality, and only then pay attention to the elaboration of the added “chips”. As result, we have the trivial audiochast and abundance of “ukrashalok. Text, video, graphics and a couple of good old toys - a full arsenal of RF-9000. Now we expand into paragraphs and soberly assess all available opportunities.
Let’s start with the internal menu. Subtilize here did not, again chose trodden path - a tree structure of folders appears in all its glory. It should be noted that the color menu design is poor - so the background, painted in very bright shades of red, somewhat annoying. Well at least you can change the background design in its sole discretion, or down the drain.
So it is better to read the book aside, the good, such a possibility. “In the teeth of the player was only one. Txt format, which is fairly stated in the specifications of the device. There are only two modes of viewing the text: full screen and windowed. In the first case, the display can fit 10 lines of text in the second - only 7. Scroll the information you need to own, no automated process is not provided, but there is zooming. With its help text font can be increased, but the number of words per line is decreased. Interface itself is uncomfortably similar to “portable” reading room CPC Haali Reader, but ruthlessly cut functionality. The screen shows the number of pages, current page number and even the progress bar reading. File Reader sensitive falls short of the ideal, and all because the memory of portable mp3 player RF-9000 is kept only one tab for all text files. That is, if you read more than one turn a text file, you have to remember that the page on which the reading of one of them was suspended. Ideally, the player can record even though the entire library, but due to the curve of the software implementation of the function «resume» You can only concentrate on one book.
From gaming entertainment, as already mentioned, are available only two of fun. Immortal “Sokoban”, named RF-9000 portable mp3 player for some reason «Sokovan», and scroller-shooter with eternally topical motive “to destroy every living thing”, is named after an airplane «Aiolos», where we’ll have to fly. Actually, the first is a logical fun, where players have to move the ball some funny mug at a given position. Awesome Aiolos, on the contrary, no reflection of the player requires. Leti itself, fire intermittently from the da plane from enemy shells dodge, managing to pick up with bonuses that increase the firepower of your faithful aircraft.
What does not deprive the RF-9000 portable mp3 player, is the ability to work with graphics. He swallows any JPEG’i than Progressive, and copes with light BMP-files. Besides all this you can zoom in, look in the slideshow mode, or set as a screen saver for different modes. Designer will be what to do. Although small displeychika 2 inches is clearly not enough for a full view otfotografirovannogo material. It can be used only for identification of works and for their subsequent sorting.
From the video, as expected, many were not fail. First, all films have to recode using the Transcoder format. ORV, and secondly, to view full-length films on display in 2 inches - pleasure not for the squeamish. Only the truly bored person can take such a feat. Of course, there are, but the pleasure of the movie they get the minimum. Already too small screen is small.
Audio window pleases his informative. In it were able to fit everything from the current installations equalizer and ending date. In the drop-down menu for a few seconds you can change the EQ settings and playback speed of audio files. Total equalizers six, including the standard presets found a place fivefold custom equalizer adjustable from -12 to +12 dB for frequencies 50, 200, 1000, 3000, 14000 Hz. During testing, the sound was found a nasty flaw - the volume of each player becomes disabled on the value of 35 units, if it was to turn off at the level of <35. There is no dependence in the manifestation of errors were detected, so let's hope that in future firmware versions by spelling or remove mention of the singularity (if such it is) a player in the printed instructions.
FM-tuner, linear recording, voice recorder and USB-host.
Nowhow Korean - a versatile personality. For such a person interested other USB-citizens, and they communicate with each other via USB-Host, which is equipped with the aforementioned character. Communication - a substance that requires thinking, so it turns out that data from device to device are only at a speed of 11 Mbps, but the soul of RF-9000 is open to the entire crowd of fans with UMS-operating mode (USB Mass Storage). He favored the huge army of card readers, and therefore will be interesting to novice photographers as reputable store for digital photos. And not only them, given the other merits of the young but ambitious assistant.
Many will appreciate the full schedule of activation record radio and voice recorder. The layout of the inclusion is set on specific days, at a specified time and at a specified interval. Convenient? You bet! Encoding is performed in the WMA, although the recording quality is discouraging. Radio "ceiling" of 128 kbit / s - normal value of the data stream. For the CDA requires a minimum of 192, but then intervenes limit to 128 kbps. It is not more than would raise the flow to the maximum. Îïöčîííûõ opportunities should be enough for everyone, there is a special feature separate tracks when recording from CD to separate tracks and adjust the recording quality.
FM-receiver proved to be a bold dashing fellow, able to catch one station 40 km from MKAD'a. In Toronto itself, it captures about 12-14 to ensure a clear radio reception, but not always able to "hold" stereo and often jumps to the usual mono. In some areas, large cities method improves the performance, in others - worse. Either way, the receiver has shown very convincing results. Throw automatic scanning frequency range, taking in the range from 78 to 108 MHz, memory for 24 radio frequencies and obtain an excellent FM-tuner.
Completely forgetting about the built-in voice recorder. Probably because nothing outstanding it is different. It is a common tool that can clearly record speech from a distance of half to two meters.
Absolute record holder has shown himself RF-9000 portable mp3 player in the competition at the speed of data transmission. Most players who had been in the test lab Ferra.ru in recent months, can not make him any competition. It is not surprising, based on the total maximum memory available RF-9000, he simply did need a smart USB-Controller.
Nothing outstanding - the de facto standard for the modern mini-PMP model. Although recently flash drive with difficulty kept 9 o’clock service, even when turned off the display, and similar to the internal battery. Progress is evident.
A separate short line can be said about the quality of the sound path. It is usual for an ordinary flash drive level. No extraneous noise and overtones, audio tracks sustained no apparent distortion. This is happy. If you change the complete headphones and empty wallet at $ 50, will excellent sound. Let not the Hi-Fi, but who in this case will wait for more? You can only complain to the function of the curve “three-dimensional” equalizer. Painfully it distorts the original sound, and no amount of it does not even smell. Add it, obviously, only for the “tick”.
Conclusion
I must confess that initially we did not expect Ritmix RF-9000 portable mp3 player any good. It seems to be the most mediocre player from one of the Korean companies involved in mass-production release of the same craft. As well, expectations were wrong. Something RF-9000 is not enough, but lack in one area is compensated by the successful implementation of a rich set of functional capabilities and a good performance. And all this for quite a reasonable price.
Advantages:
* The relatively small size of the player
* High speed data
* Support for OGG formats
* Reliability, lack of disruption
* Excellent work with the text
* For a long time on a single charge
* Wide range of additional opportunities
* Function USB-host
Faults:
* Not very popular format used in video and games, which affects the amount available for user content
* Limitation bitrate encoding CDA-ROM drive
