One feature I've always wanted on my DAP was an AM radio. Sure most of the airwaves are filled with crap, but it'd be worth it for the sports and news stations. Sadly because of the size of AM antennas and the potential interference it'd cause, it wouldn't be worth it to manufacturers. The only example I can recall came from a company called PoGo!, but I just tried to access their site and it appears they're no longer in business.

So who will take over the highly demanding DAP w/ AM tuner market? A company called "C. Crane" apparently. They've just released a player called the "Witness" which really has the vintage DAP look down. There's the clunky body, the super small monochromatic screen, the minuscule 2GB's of memory, and lots and lots of buttons. Don't you feel nostalgic just looking at it? Cnet was brave enough to review this...thing and they gave it 3 stars. They liked the players' ability to schedule recordings, but weren't too pleased with its $229 price tag:

The good: The C. Crane Witness AM/FM MP3 Player has both AM and FM tuners built in and the ability to schedule recordings from either band. It also offers mic and line-in recording and includes an SD-card expansion slot. It's easy to use and has a sturdy feel.

The bad: The C. Crane Witness is pricey and only comes with 2GB of internal memory. The screen is small and monochrome, and there's no ID3-tag sorting for MP3s or playlist support. MP3 playback is more complicated than it needs to be.

The bottom line: The C. Crane Witness AM/FM MP3 player is expensive, has some questionable interface issues, and doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles of most modern MP3 players, but if you must have an AM tuner and the ability to schedule radio recordings, this is the device for you.

Score: 6.0/10 (or 3 Stars)

I think I'll just stick to my $1.99 portable AM radio, thanks.

Cnet Review
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