gadget

It just feels wrong to criticize, when someone does something nice. In this case, the folks at Best Buy sent along a little REDI mp3 player for my Aged Mother to take with her when she went into the hospital, back at the end of June.

Great idea, eh?

Well, it was… sort of…

My mother (yes, same one; I’ve just got the one) always said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” — and, fortunately, I do have some nice things to say about the player. But it’s not all good, so I’ve been really stalling here, not much wanting to write about it…

Okay, here goes:

Basically, it’s a $40 1GB mp3 player, pre-loaded with music so you can start using it right away — or as soon as you get another battery to replace the highly questionable one that comes in the package. When you do want to change the selection, it comes with the USB cable to glom right on to your computer and go to it. And the screen isn’t too hard to read, as these tiny LED screens go. Oh, and there’s an FM tuner, too — essential for we who are avid fans of public radio.

And I’m sure, as a $40 mp3 player goes, it’s about as good as one can expect to get. In fact, the sound is surprisingly clear and true.

The problem is in getting the damn (sorry, Mum!) thing to work.
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