Insignia Sport Bluetooth MP3 Player Review

I happily brought in the New Year with lots of cheer and good wishes but I also got the opportunity to merrily put Best Buy’s Insignia mp3 player to the test. You may also recall this brick and mortar electronic giant, acquiring the on-line Rhapsody digital music store. Thus, this began their foray into the digital download era. However, not satisfied that their digital store could work with various manufacturers’ mp3 players, they decided to launch their very own brand of mp3 player. Dubbed the Insignia Sport mp3 player, Best Buy wanted this player to have what most mp3 players (such as the iPod lacks) and that is the ability to use A2DP Bluetooth. The Insignia player is compatible with Windows 98, 2000, XP, and Vista as well as Mac OS 8.6 or later.

Weighing less than one ounce this 4gb player measures 043” x 1.6”, sports a 1.7′ viewable resolution, plays music, videos audio books and photos and has built-in Bluetooth wireless audio (which enables one to pair it with Bluetooth stereo head phones) as well as a built-in FM RDS tuner which shows the Song and Artist. The latter feature is only available if the FM station has this service. Additionally, this player comes with Wired Ear buds, a mini USB 2.0 cable, and a full hard copy of the User’s Manual, Software and can accommodate extra external storage by way of a SD Micro slot on the player. We should also point out that we were supplied a pair of Insignia Bluetooth Stereo headphones for the testing of this unit (however, you can use any comparable Bluetooth stereo headphones).

I was very impressed with the copious amount of information that is provided on the full as well as the quick start manual (an electronic version of the full manual is only available on the software CD). Although, I was tempted on several occasions to “jump in”, I decided to familiarize myself with this unit by reading the quick guide which by the way, was a rather fast and easy read. I found the quick guide was all I needed to get started; the full fledge manual was very useful and extremely helpful in answering and addressing additional concerns regarding the operation of this unit which gives a more detailed breakdown of its features.

The Insignia player strives to itself apart from other mp3 players by offering a seemingly good mix of software. For starters, there is the Arc Media converter software that converts video, audio and pictures. You can convert DRM free (digital rights management) music formats into mp3’s, and can convert non protective videos into the MPEG4 format that will play on the Insignia Player. The picture converter uses .JPG file compression format and its worthwhile mentioning that music purchased from the iTunes store will not play on the Insignia. The conversion software was very easy to use with its drop down window that correctly chose the appropriate format.

Secondly, there is the Rhapsody Digital Music store software; while you don’t have to use this software it does offer some pretty cool advantages such as having the ability to convert music on the fly or signing up for a free 30 day account to Rhapsody Music Subscription service. Additionally, the folks at Best Buy have teamed up with audible.com which enables one to subscribe for a free trial account that will give one the option of purchasing Audio books to download onto the Insignia Player (software is included as well as a card for a free audio book download). One of the best features that I liked about the Insignia is the ability to drag and drop mp3s, pictures and video without the use of subscribing to any kind of music download service. The way that this works is very simple in that when the player is discovered on a PC or either a Mac it automatically goes to the hard drive mode, which means that you can click on the Insignia Player once its discovered by your computer, open it up and drop applicable media into the music, video or picture folder. Thus, the media automatically syncs with the player upon proper disconnection from your computer. I tried this feature on both a PC and a Mac and I was pleasantly surprised that it worked without nary of a problem.

The square and box like physical attributes of the Insignia Player kind of reminded me of San Disk’s Sansa e200 series of mp3 players (however, that is where the similarities end). Also, the Insignia stands out from most of the mp3 players currently on the market because of the horizontal viewing presentation. Viewing media at this angle wasn’t a problem for me.

It took me a few minutes to get the hang of operating the Insignia and fully charging this unit took about three hours (which is dead on as the instructions indicated). This player employs a click and scroll and press functionality. Turning on the player is done by pulling and holding the power button for a few seconds (the power button is on top and to the right. This very same button also serves as the hold button and reset button. Directly to the left of that is a rating wheel; simply move the button to the right to rate media while playing it. The rating is indicated by stars. Underneath and to the left is a slot for external storage via a Micro SD memory card (sold separately). The left side of the player houses one ear phone port as well as a USB input. The meat of the controls is directly to the right of the viewing screen. The upper left is the menu button and right below that is the play/pause and scroll wheel. Also, Insignia gets kudos for the ice blue ring (eye candy) that illuminates around the click and navigation wheel when pressed.

Pressing the menu button takes you directly to the Insignia various features like the now playing, music library, video, photo, audible books, FM Radio, Rhapsody Channels, and the Settings button. The navigation is done by using the scroll wheel and then pressing down on the middle of the scroll wheel to gain access. At times I found this process to be very cumbersome and I discovered that by pressing the star rating button (which is on top of the player), that this serves as a short cut to all of the mini-menus as well as eliminating extra clicking and scrolling.

The music was extremely crisp but did slightly crack and fizzle when I turned the volume up to the maximum. The pictures were blurry and videos where extremely faint and difficult to watch on the display. The supplied head phones proved to be a painful experience when I attempted to use them for any length of time (can we say cheaply constructed). Although, the instructions stated that these head phones are to be used when listening to FM radio broadcasts because they contain coiled wire. The truth to the matter is that all earphones or ear buds have wire in them. Hence, my ear buds worked fine when listening to the radio on this player. Also, when the wireless bluetooth was enabled the Insignia discovered it within seconds and I was able to listen to my music without those dreaded wires! My music never sounded better! Suffice it to say, I was hooked!

All in all, the Insignia mp3 player provides a good feature set and has added a few new and cool wrinkles for a player of its price point. The Insignia may not be an iPod killer, but it is a contender in its own rite. And while some may not see this player as an aesthetically pleasing head turner, I think it is a viable alternative for those who seeking and wanting something different in an mp3 player.

The Insignia Sport is available in a choice of blue, black or red colors. The 2GB version retails for for $89.99 and the 4GB for $109.99 and the Insignia Bluetooth Wireless Behind-the-Head Headphones retail for just $49.99. Insignia also has a compatible Bluetooth Speaker system that retails for $79.99.

Conclusion:

The Good: Bluetooth, FM tuner, light weight, media conversion software, affordable, decent sound quality and craftsmanship, good feature set including cool illuminating blue light around scroll wheel and the ability to book mark music and videos. Great Quick Start Guide and full Operations Manual.

The Bad: Poorly constructed ear buds, blurry videos (which make it difficult to view in such a small foot print), bland design of player (how about adding some curves to the design).

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