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Mobiblu DAH-1500i
mmm...sugar-cube
on Sunday, September 04 (2005) 12:00AM
by Alex Leopold author list
comments: 32
author awarded score: 88/100
hits: 12502

Mobiblu takes on America in style with the DAH-1500i!

Overview

The Mobiblu DAH-1500 first took the gadget world by storm when photos appeared comparing it to the supposedly super-miniature iAudio U2. Three of the cubes were piled up to equal the height of the U2. It was an amazing sight for all of us DAP-geeks. Never before had we seen such a tiny player. Couple that with its high-quality looking finish and smart-looking LCD, and Mobiblu seemingly had a mega-hit on its hands.

This 24mm cube player took a while to get to the United States. It had already been imported by a few who complained of slow transfer speeds and lack of Wma DRM support. Well, Mobiblu decided that Americans deserved better and released the DAH-1500i which added USB 2.0 and Wma DRM support. The DAH-1500i has now made it into the mass-market store that is Walmart. It's too early to tell if the player is a hit or not, but if Walmart and Mobiblu play their cards right, they could be raking in the dough.




Features + Specifications

.94 x .94 x .94 inches
.63 ounces
OLED display
1gb flash memory (also comes in 256mb and 512mb versions)
Built-In Lithium-Ion Battery (charges via USB)
Audio playback: Mp3, Wma, Wma DRM
Voice recording:
FM Radio
FM recording
Clock
5-Band Custom Equalizer and 5 preset settings
USB 2.0 connection
Folder navigation

Design

The DAH-1500i has been one of the most talked about flash players in recent memory. Obviously, that is because of its miniature cube design. Most of us have never seen an mp3 player so small. Technically, it may not be the smallest player in the world, but at 24mm all around, its really quite a remarkable feat achieved through a “rigid-flex printed circuit board”.

The cube itself was obviously designed to be rather clean and smooth with as little clutter as possible. The OLED display blends in with the black face surrounding it. This black face really attracts fingerprints, but thats not totally surprising. Mobiblu seems to have wasted quite a fair bit of space for the screen. I would have rather seen them stick their company name somewhere else on the player and enlarge the screen. Another side of the cube is used for the controls in the typical circular manor with the play/pause in the middle, rewind/fast-forward on the left/right, and the volume up/down on the top and bottom. The other 4 sides consists of headphone/usb port, reset, menu/lock, and the white FCC/product name side. The reset side is kind of odd. There is a sticker with a strange number near the bottom. I guess its the serial number, but why not put that with the product name and FCC information? It dilutes from the generally pleasing simplicity of the player. It is also important to note that the headphone port doubles as the usb connector (it comes with a special cable).

Most reasonable people would realize that a cube design is not really the most practical way to design a DAP. Operating the controls was really a pain. I do not know how to describe why it was difficult. It just felt sort of strange and awkward trying to use the controls while looking at the screen. With the cube design, however, there probably is no way around this sort of awkwardness. Also, as one might have predicted, the cube design is not meant for pocketability. Mobiblu wants you to wear it around your neck, but who does that? Luckily, the player is so diminutive that its sharpers corners do not present a problem for those who want to store the player in their pants.








24 x 24 x 24mm 18 grams: Mobiblu DAH-1500
60 x 34 x 14 mm 30.5 grams: Safa Q100
83 x 45 x 15mm 54 grams : Samsung YP-T8X
62 x 37 x 15mm 36 grams: Samsung YP-T7X
86 x 36 x 17mm 25 grams: Transcend JetFlash
84 x 25 x 8 mm 22 grams: Apple iPod Shuffle
76 x 33 x 20mm 28 grams: SanDisk Digital Audio Player
66 x 33 x 13mm 23 grams: Creative MuVo Micro N200
64 x 46 x 18mm 37 grams: JetAudio iAudio G3
74 x 25 x 18mm 34 grams: JetAudio iAudio U2





As you can tell by the comparisons, the DAH-1500i is plenty small. Its the smallest on the list above, and it really makes an impact when you first open the box. My jaw literally dropped, and I screamed for other people to come look. Its hard to believe that someone could fit an mp3 player, radio, voice recorder, etc all into one tiny little cube.

Accessories

Earphones – What is with all of the white earphones? I know it looks very appealing, but white earphones are actually dangerous now. Many thieves target people with white earphones because they believe the person owns an iPod. I guess since the player's buttons and a side are white that it is excusable, but I really would prefer non-white earphones so I am not a target of every common thief in the United States. The cord for the earphones is also really small. I can't even put the player in my pocket. They were obviously hoping everyone is into the necklace thing. Bottom line: just use your own phones.
Necklace – Yes, it has a necklace. Do I want to try it out? No.
[i]Cables[i] – The audio and usb cables do their respective jobs. I suppose its of note that it is mini usb on the Q100 to the computers usb 2.0 port.
Case – I was sort of surprised to find out that the DAH-1500i came with a case. Its a translucent rubber case that covers the corners of the object. No screen protection to be found here, but its still nice to have. It takes a little bit of work to slide the cover over the player, but its worth it to keep the corners protected.



Controls

Playback buttons – One of the major negatives of the player. They all feel rather cheap and require a real solid push to activate the function. They make a unsatisfactory click sound that also screams “cheap!” I really expected better since the rest of the player is so eloquently designed.
Menu button – Same material as the playback buttons, so it is just as disappointly cheap feeling.
Lock button – Same feeling as the playback and hold buttons. Would have preferred a slider to be on the safe side, but the menu and lock buttons both seem to be slightly embossed into the player so that seems to help protect against accidentely presses.



Screen

The 1.5 x 1cm OLED screen is very clear and is relatively easy to read, but you just wonder if Mobiblu couldn't have moved their logo somewhere else and made the screen larger. They did manage to fit all the required information onto the screen without it appearing to cluttered, however. Obviously, in the super-portable DAP genre, its just a blessing to have a screen at all. Yes, that was a subtle snipe at the Shuffle.



GUI

Creating a GUI for a microscopic player is pretty tricky for any company. Its even harder when the screen is not in color. Mobiblu's system seems easy enough, but a lot of the functions are hidden via presses and holds. For example, when in radio mode, you press “menu” and it brings you to the FM radio options such as FM recording. Hold down the “menu” button, and you are sent to the main menu with the music, radio, settings, recording, and “listen.” One scrolls through these primary options horizontally using the fast-forward and rewind buttons. As I mentioned earlier, these buttons are a pain to use effectively because of the cube design.

Navigation through songs is rather difficult due to the folders music organization. The DAH-1500i does indeed support id3 tag information, but I would have much preferred id3 tag organization as well instead of the folder system.. Text seems to be too large and not allow enough characters to make tracks easily recognizable when scrolling through lists.

The GUI's speed is just fine. It reacts how you expect it to react. No loading times or anything silly like that.

All in all, I really feel that the player's GUI does indeed have a small learning curve due to all the “hidden” functions. Not everything is self-explanatory like many people would expect. Of course, I do not see a way around this, as players with such small screens simply do not have the room to label every function.

I have two digital cameras are both are totally worthless. They could not capture a screenshot even with a tripod. I have a few pictures in this review that have the screen fairly well focused so check those out instead. If I ever get a decent digital camera, I will post pictures as soon as possible.

Equalizer

Surprisingly, this player actually has a fair amount of equalizer options. Most people really don't fiddle around with the EQ settings, but for those who do, you will be happy to hear that it has 5 Preset modes, and a bass/treble 5-band custom setting. There is not too much range to fiddle around with at +- 7db, but it is still a nice feature to have especially on something so small.

Output

Sound Quality – Most flash players sound really good especially when compared to hard drive players and this player fits right into that mode. I am not sure if its quite up to the standard of my Rio Karma, but the DAH-1500i does provide a nice listening experience. The gaps seem pretty long, and I guess its sort of irritating coming from a Karma, but, at least for me, its not a make or break deal.

Power - This thing is so small it has to be quiet as a mouse. They must have taken short cuts somewhere, right? Wrong. Volume goes from 1 to 30. 30 is sort of an odd number to end with, don't you think? Anyway, 30 is plenty loud enough, and I usually have it set around 15.

The headphone output power 16 ohms / 15 mW. Statiscally, this should not work very well with those big, meaty, and power-hungry headphones a lot of audiophiles wear. I do not actually own really good headphones, but being the loyal servant that I am, I tried some out with it, and it worked fine, but you never know.

Software

The DAH-1500i does come with a little mini-cd, but the software that it installs is only used to update firmware. Otherwise, it is just drag and drop with windows explorer.

Firmware updating is not really that simple despite the included software. You still have to manually download, unzip, copy, and paste before running the software. It would have been really nice to have a one-button update system instead of this complex scheme.

Battery Life

Sadly, the battery life is the weakest point of this player. Mobiblu advertises 10 to 12 hours of playback time, but I honestly received around 8.5 hours with my songs encoded mostly at 160kbps mp3. I would have definitely liked to see more, but, for the target audience, I think 8.5 is just fine, but it really is frustrated that yet another company overstates their player's battery life.

The lack of an ac adapter hurts as well, but you find a cheap usb to ac adapter if you travel a lot and need to consistently charge the DAH-1500i.

Special Features

FM Radio – It does not seem to pick up that many stations using the seek feature, but the stations it does pick up seem to actually be of pretty clear quality.

FM Recording – Unlike its inferior sibling, the DAH-1500, the DAH-1500i does have FM recording. It works, and its easy enough to use. What else is there to say?



Customer Support

I have not heard of any problems with Mobiblu, so you should be all clear, but Mobiblu is new to the game is the United States, so only time will tell.

Value

Since they managed to fit so much technology into such a small package, it must be expensive, right? Wrong again! The DAH-1500i is nearly exactly the same price as the iPod shuffle in both 512mb and 1gb versions. Around $100 for 512mb, and $130 for the 1gb at your local Walmart. Great value!

ProsCons
Duh, its freakin' tiny.
Akward shape for navigating
Unique and cool look Battery life could be better
OLED screenOnly file-tree organization
FM Radio and RecordingGaps are too long
Main screen is packed with infoControls feel a little cheap
Drop and drag transfer system Screen's size makes navigating tracks difficult
DRM supportNo ac adaptor (only USB 2.0)
Equalizer optionsButton lock instead of slide lock
Useful CaseNo Line-in recording
Great valueUpgrading firmware could be easier
Playlists
Conclusion

Well, well, time for the conclusion I guess. Nothing really too much to complain about. Sure its not perfect, the buttons are a little bit cheap, the cube shape isn't ideal, and the battery life kinda sucks, but, all in all, I really like this product. Mobiblu truly has a winner on their hands with the DAH-1500i. It is incredibly unique, ridiculously small, and just so damn cool!


Comments

shiftis
Location: Canada
Comments: 369
Aug 30 (2005) 05:23PM  

You put file tree organization as a con? Heh, I love file tree organization. I find tag organization to be a big hassle.




chicubs

Comments: 915
Aug 30 (2005) 05:30PM  

Hehe, it is for me. I think its a con for the majority of users as well and thats why I put it.




ZaphodB
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Comments: 129
Aug 30 (2005) 06:17PM  

Great review! Looks like Mobiblu's got a winner on their hands with this thing - smaller, much more feature-packed, and just plain cooler than the iPod Shuffle, and at the same price. But I have to ask - how did you manage to get your hands on a Safa Q100? Any chance of a review of that?






Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
Aug 30 (2005) 06:29PM  

i knew it, someone just had to throw a puch at the shuffle....ok well i agree with all of zaphodb's comment, but i wanna replace the shuffle with packerd bell audiodream 1gb....




cikuit

Guest
Aug 30 (2005) 08:05PM  

just got mine. Definately cool. Nice addition to my DAP family. It joins Gmini XS200. The screen works and looks great. It pumps out good sound. Drives my Shure E3C's very well. Glad to have the adjustable user eq. really works. Can't wait to go running with it. I think it will be the perfect workout companion.




Chinsen

Guest
Aug 30 (2005) 08:26PM  

Hey nice review, and i gotta agree with ZaphodB, hope this can weather the apple media storm out.

Howevr,it'd have been nice oto see where the usb port is as well!




Chinsen

Guest
Aug 30 (2005) 08:27PM  

oh and also, I can't remember if this player came out before the shuffle (not in the states) or after... cos the control circile thing looks mighty similar, and I wouldn't mind seeing apple sued for something retarded for a change




chicubs

Comments: 915
Aug 30 (2005) 08:46PM  

oops! Forgot to mention the usb port goes through the headphone port!




Anonymous

Guest
Aug 30 (2005) 09:01PM  

A couple of questions;
- What is the quality of the voice recorder like?
- What KHz & bitrate does it record at?
- Is it Mac OS X compatible?
- Can you copy the voice recordings back to a computer?

Thanks




Anonymous

Guest
Aug 30 (2005) 09:03PM  

Oh, one more question;
- In what format are the voice recordings encoded?




chicubs

Comments: 915
Aug 30 (2005) 09:26PM  

quality seems to be pretty good. picks up a lot.
mp3 160kbps
i think its only windows machines...not quite sure.
yes, you can get recordings back from the computer.
audio output is 20khz




Steve

Comments: 1197
Aug 30 (2005) 10:27PM  

Very good review overall, though I can't say I agree with the conclusion. The review seems to support my initial impressions of this player: that too much was sacrificed in the usability department in order to achieve the remarkable dimensions. Generally small is good, but that doesn't mean smaller is better, and if the smallness starts to infringe on usability something has gone wrong. Though the cube shape may appeal to greeks and geeks, it's just not a dap-friendly shape.

As a novelty item, or a state of the art technological artifact, I agree it's hard to beat. But as a dap, I think after the novelty wears off it will leave you feeling boxed in.




chicubs

Comments: 915
Aug 30 (2005) 10:30PM  

Yah, the cube shape isnt all that great for usability, but its not like you are looking at 1000s of songs...this is sort of like the shuffle in that its more meant for press it and go people who want extra features like FM and a screen. I really didnt find it too hard to use at the end of my reviewing period either. I found a good grip to use and im not really too bothered by the shape hence the high score i gave it.




Steve

Comments: 1197
Aug 30 (2005) 10:51PM  

That's true, with a limited memory you don't need to mess with it so much. Still, if I was looking for a small flash player there's lots of 'small enough' feature rich players that I thnk I would rather use than this one, but hey, i'd take this over the Shuffle any day, and I agree that it will probably do good simply because it's so cool it's hard to resist. I mean, it's not a disaster, especially for a first timer, just not for me. It's still cool they can fit all that stuff in there though.




chicubs

Comments: 915
Aug 30 (2005) 10:54PM  

yah, ideally, they would flip one side over next to the screen with the controls to make it a rectangle, but i do not think anyone has that kinda of technology yet. The cube shape was probably pretty crucial.




Steve

Comments: 1197
Aug 30 (2005) 11:09PM  

Damn that's a great idea! You mean make the side with the controls flip over so it's next to the screen, then fold it back into a cube when not in use? That would be great. I bet they could do it too, maybe not in that small a size, but you'd just need one of those flexible connectors into the controls and the control section would be in its own flat box so you fold it over seperately.




enCORe_XTG

Comments: 317
Aug 31 (2005) 01:26AM  

nice review for a 'freaking cheap small' player
...tiny size can be a problem...






Shogun

Comments: 3
Aug 31 (2005) 06:57AM  

I absolutely love the size of this dap. Personally i think its a step in the right direction for daps. Eventually id like to see my 20gig hdd based dap replaced by something of this size or maybe even smaller!!!

Navigation is really not much of a concern for me because more often than not, i select an artist, an album and then just listen to the whole album before changing to a different artist/album.

Nice review btw and lovely comparison shots!!




krispykreme487

Comments: 1
Aug 31 (2005) 01:48PM  

For all you owners of this mp3 player, could you tell me, someone who just bought this, when you know when charing is complete. Thanks




chicubs

Comments: 915
Aug 31 (2005) 07:03PM  

i believe it says "ready" or something or the battery indicator is full.




GreedySmurf

Guest
Aug 31 (2005) 09:54PM  

Ive been to three Walmarts in the Dallas area and still cannot find it. (and the customer service - OMG) I know it's available online but I don't feel like waiting. Has anyone seen these at the actual stores?




Brian

Guest
Aug 31 (2005) 10:09PM  

Not sure, I'll be going to a local Walmart tommorrow. I'll let you know if they have them. Great review, btw.




mobiblu user

Guest
Sep 01 (2005) 12:18AM  

customer support from mobiblu basically does not exist. they never respond to e-mails unless you are a media / review organization and trying to plug their product. they do answer their phone, but very unprofessionally and makes you wonder how many people are actually working at their "headquaters" in so cal.

if you get a defective product dont bother with mobiblu, just return it to walmart. seems like that is the only way you will actually get a working unit. lots of defective ones and seems like the firmware updates are one of the few that will actually have a pretty good chance of killing the player forever.




Raleighs

Guest
Sep 01 (2005) 12:58AM  

I just received mine from Walmart.com and a few pixels turned on and flickered. I did charge it up for 4 hours. I can connect it, move and play files, but no screen. I went to my local wal-mart and they refunded the total price, including shipping. Went home and bought another..... Now I have to wait another week!
I guess they don't have good quality control.




Pong Generation

Guest
Sep 01 (2005) 04:09PM  

I e-mailed Mobiblu 2X & both times they e-mailed me back almost immediately & answered my questions.I'm seriously considering getting one of these,all the reviews seem good with little to complain about.I definately would like to see an available AC adapter for this though.Great review BTW!On another note,are you guys going to review the XEN(not ZEN) EMP-400 1GB?I saw it's review on a UK site & it's reviews placed it tops for flash based players.Any idea if this player will make it to the USA?I'd like to see a comparison to the Mobiblu DAH-1500i.PS....I e-mailed you guys a few days ago about this with no response,inquiring minds need to know!




Pong Generation

Guest
Sep 01 (2005) 04:12PM  

Oooops! Sorry! That was Gizmodo I e-mailed!But I'd still like to know more about the XEN EMP-400 1GB. Thanks!!




ZileXa

Guest
Sep 01 (2005) 05:14PM  

I have the 1500 for a while (no 1500i, since i is only sold by Wallmart and I live in Europe, the diffirence is the non-i only has USB 1.1)

It charges through usb 1.1, so you don't need 2.0 for charging.

Also, the screen might seem small, but I was suprised how big it was when I turned it on... screen works great for me, also for navigation.
I have a SlimX 2 (iRiver imp400 discman) with a very large display so I was bit sceptic at first!

To navigate with the buttons on 1 side and the screen on the other is new, you have to get used to it. I don't have any problems navigating... goes perfectly!
The sound is fantastic (tested with KOSS kc35).

but whats that about Voicerecording? i don't think it has that kind of feature.
(does have fm + rec.)
Button lock... what 's the con about that?? a slide could slide back...

and firmware upgrading could be easier?
how?? check this:

1. unzip the zip file to the cube
2. disconnect the cube
3. turn the cube on and wait

thats all for me! (already done it twice!)

btw I mailed about OGG VORBIS support, they said it is planned, but no date yet.




chicubs

Comments: 915
Sep 01 (2005) 07:38PM  

The 1500i has voice recording. Trust me.

Sliders do not slide back very easily. buttons on the other hand are easily pressed.

ZileXa, that process is easy for me and you, but all those shuffle and iPod users thats complicated and hard.




chicubs

Comments: 915
Sep 01 (2005) 07:38PM  

The XEN EMP-400 1GB is not in our review plans, but the safa q100 is.




Pong Generation

Guest
Sep 01 (2005) 09:17PM  

I wish you'd re-consider on reviewing the XEN EMP-400 1GB,it really looks like a good player & I'm sure your readers would be very interested,most probably never heard of it.Any Idea if it will be sold in the USA?Any info would be GREATLY appreciated!




chicubs

Comments: 915
Sep 01 (2005) 09:25PM  

if they sent us a review unit, trust us, we would do it, but they havent.




Thebassness
Location: In a crappy little place called duluth,ga
Comments: 168
Feb 06 (2006) 10:43PM  

Its not that bad....I'm in a three wya tie between this,the new sandisk player and the creative zen vision m.




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