Sandisk Cruzer Micro MP3 Companion The Sandisk Cruzer Micro MP3 Companion allows you to play MP3 files off your Sandisk Cruzer Micro USB Flash Drive. Just slot the Sandisk Cruzer Micro in and get ready to dance to your favourite tunes!
1 Stops from time to time
My boss presented me the Cruzer micro itself, so I decided to spend 40 more bucks and upgrade it to an mp3 player. For this price (not including the memory stick) and 256 Mb it is OK for me, as I am not a huge fan of players anyway. But there is a catch! The Companion plays music fine for some time, then suddenly stops. Then you cannot turn it off or skip the song or do anything at all. The problem can only be fixed by taking out battery (but then you will have to navigate to the point you've been) or taking out a memory stick (which works better than the first way). This is not huge, but really, it is disturbing. And also, after a long playing (3 hours or more) the stops become more and more frequent.
So, if you've got the stick already, the upgrade is OK. But if not, just buy a normal mp3 player with the same characteristics, but more reliable.
2 Cheaply Made, not worth the money
I feel bad that someone actually spent money on this thing for me. It malfunctioned from the start and as I have never had an MP3 player before - I thought I was doing something wrong. The battery compartment wouldn't hold the battery in, when I finally got it to stay in, the thing kept freezing and saying there was no disk in it when there was. Finally after not being able to keep the battery inside the compartment, I ended up breaking it because I tried so hard to get the darn thing to close. Lasted me all of 1 month and because I broke it, there's no way the gift giver is getting his money back. Very cheaply made, I wouldn't pay more than $5 for this item let alone $50!
3 "Good - But Firmware Issue Exists w/512 Micro"
Pros: Small, lightweight, semi-intuitive, "good enough" sound, marries MP# players and USB disk drives
Cons: No directions, firmware issue
There is a compatability issue with the most recently released 512 mb Sandisk Cruzer Micro USB drives. The older 512 Micro drives (ie. SN starting with 0120) work just fine with the MP3 Companion - I've validated this. If you have a newer 512mb Micro drive like me (SN starting with AX), the drive is incompatible with the MP3 Companion. According to Sandisk tech support, the issue was first identified during the week of March 20th, 2005. The engineering team believes it's a firmware issue on the Cruzer, and is working the issue - eta of 1 month.
You'll know if you have that compatability issue because you'll see the message "Insert Cruzer Micro" scrolling across the screen even though you've already inserted it.
I did get it to work with a 256MB micro. Curiously enough, I also got it to work fine with my 512MB Cruzer Mini. (I've read that this is possible, but burns batteries.)
Other than that... I agree that the unit "feels" cheap, but it seems to work fine. The sound is clear, but bass is a little weak - which isn't an issue for me since I use it while skiing, cycling, roller blading... (Maybe better headphones may fix that, I don't know.) The UI is reasonably intuitive. It's definitely not iPod caliber - it's not supposed to be - but it hasn't hindered my ability to listen to music.
The lack of directions was frustrating. It drove me nuts. To turn it on... Press the play button for several seconds, and wait for the power bar to finish loading. To turn off, do the same thing. Then you'll have to play with it for a bit to figure it out.
I *LOVE* the fact that I can use the usb disk for other data storage/transport too.
So my two cents are... If you're looking for audiophile quality, look elsewhere. However, if you're looking for something that's "good enough" to play tunes while cycling, skiing, or working out, and you don't need perfect sound replication, this little unit might work.
4 not overrated or underrated, just right
ive read most of the reveiws for this item and i agree with all of them
when i got it, it wouldnt read my flash drive, so i went through all the neccessary updates and such but nothing would work, i was angry at spending 64 bucks
then i exchanged for a new one, i put the drive in and all the songs were already perfectly organized as i had it on the computer, the sound is surprisingly good, better than my archos 5 gig player, the controls are intuitive and i learned then on my first try
i would suggest buying this if and ONLY IF you already have a micro drive, otherwise its not worth it to buy both jus to play music, but if you have a flash drive and plenty of room for mp3s then its worth it
5 Tries hard, almost gets there...
I like this unit. I bought it after reading reviews that said it WOULD actually work also with the Cruzer Mini since I had one. Some might, but mine doesn't, even after updating the firmware (which you should do as soon as you get it), so I had to get a Micro. The double use of the storage key, now that's just good thinking. The battery door is a little delicate, but it's no prob cause the belt clip will hold it firmly shut. The sound quality (even with the OEM headphones) is pretty darn good.
I've read complaints about the lack of neck strap, but if you are smarter than a stick you'll figure out that you can attach the lanyard to the belt clip...
Cons: Even after the firmware upgrade which is supposed to fix the freeze ups, it will still freeze occasionally.
Be warned: the light of the key flashes when it's reading memory, and can startle people on an airplane (heh, funny story...).
Overall, it's a decent little gadgit, sounds good, and is priced more reasonably than others of the same capacities if you shop around for the USB drive part.
6 working fine after seven months of use and abuse
Firstly a lot of people here seem to be taking issue with the case being plastic and "cheap looking." I disagree but that is subject. The objective fact is that the case and system are actually very robust. I have usead and abused my mp3 companion with daily use, going to the gym a far number of times fropping it, stickign it in a jeans pocket, etc and never had any problem.
I also wonder what the HECK people are talking about with some of the software issues. It must be the first peice of consumer electronics they ever bought! Just call or use sandisks webside to CHECK! Like 90% of consuemr electronics there is a firmware update. Just update and the occassional freezes wwma issues etcf disappear. updadte is EASY as you download and copy to the memory stick.
Now consider some of the negatiev reviews. unfortunately some people do not know what they are talking about:
"won't take other flash drives" (duh does the lexar or others either...NO!);
"had a hard time getting mini into the slot" (duh it is for the MICRO the mini will fit but it is not supposed to or sold to, this is why the person is getting freezes as it disconnects);
"wont play .wma's (ok, this person OBVIOUSLY does not own this unit, it plays wma's fine
"sticks when fast forwarding through several songs (this is common with MANY mp3 players. get the firmware update, it takes four minutes to dowlnload and install.)
Lastly if you have any problem with the battery cover sandisk will replace your unit NO QUSTIONS asked. My sister had the same unit and the batter cover had a problem (she sat on the unit). sand disk sent her out a new new one, total turnaround 4 days. As anyone who knows their long excellent reputation in memory devices knows their customer support is always rated excellent.
7 Good idea - if they fix it
Beside the problems with the shuffle, music quality etc. the extraordinary cheap construction had to be duct taped to hold the unit together after a few tries by my 16 year old.
Great idea - poor quality
8 Don't waste your time...
SanDisk's mini-cruzer jump drive works beautifully as a storage device...and that's wonderful, but SanDisk is a pro at making portable storage...not digital audio players.
I purchased this despite the negative reviews, only to find that everything was true...the player skips on audio files that play perfectly fine on the PC and it will freeze when you try to move to another track.
There is no way to shuffle the tracks or create a playlist...this player is even worse than early-generation MP3 devices. I felt like I was going to break it.
9 POS
This is my first MP3 player (yeah, I am behind the times), but this HAS to be one of the worste out there.
I bought it cause I already had the Sandisk Micro, and still wish I would have bought something else.
It freezes alot, like... 1 for every dozen songs or so.
The USB flash drive doesnt really fit in too well either, took me about 5 minutes to wiggle it in the first few times (but it does seem to get easier each time)
The playlist shuffle is the worste ever, it will literally play songs like... 1 the 16 then 93 then 80 then 91... EVERY time.
Battery life is like... 4 to 5 hours max...
I am going to try and return it, and buy an iPod... I assume they at least dont crash!
10 not really happy, simple changes could make it great
It DOES have decent sound and the removable jumpdrive can be handy but i think i have used it like twice for data in about 4 months. The jumpdrive lights up blue as songs change and even during songs for no apparent reason and looks like you are getting pulled over by the cops if you are using it at night to play music on your car radio. Aside from that, the battery door is horrible. If you dont use the belt clip(poor quality also) the battery door will open and shut the music off.(from day 1) The door eventually had the plastic connectors break off so occassionally the door will go flying across my car when changing batteries. You can not rapidly change through songs as you would a discman or other mp3 players(RIO is good) so that gets REAL annoying. Doesnt perform well in the cold. I get error messages pretty frequently during the newengland winter if i have left it in my car. Battery life is decent. Quite loud, more so than i had expected. It is not a bad player but the downfalls seriously irritate me. My brother has a circular Rio that is all over the sandisk but it needs an adapter to connect the player to usb port to add music and it is a tad larger in size. I personally think i might go buy the rio because i cant stand the sandisk anymore.
11 Bad Product
I bought this product because I thought that using a flash disk with an MP3 player was a great idea. I still think it's a great idea.
This player, I must say, is terrible. I don't have much experience with MP3 players, but when it freezes up every three songs, it's not a good product. I'd rather use a portable CD player!
I've had these problems despite downloading all the latest firmware updates. Customer support's solution is - "don't use the shuffle mode." Even in normal mode, it's constantly freezing up between songs. I thought Sandisk was better than this!
12 Once you figure it out, not bad for the price
I already had the Cruzer Micro, which I had bought thinking I *might* eventually buy the player, too. I finally got fed up with using my big clunky CD player at the gym (I put a cart-load of MP3s on a CD, so the amount of music I could carry wasn't the problem). I'd read all the reviews, pro & con, and decided to try the Cruzer mp3 companion and see for myself.
I'm the sort of listener who, when wanting to listen to high quality audio, uses my living room stereo system. I am willing to compromise some when it comes to portable audio. I am also not "plugged in" to some kind of music all of the time, like some folks. So that's how I use my portable audio.
The sound from this little player, with all three of my after-market headphones was really good. The earbuds that come with it are not nearly as good. I have had no problems with skipping, freezing, or anything like that, and it plays the songs in my folders in the order I have them arranged--maybe I'm just lucky. You can skip through the songs, or, using the menu, go from folder to folder.
At first, I could not get the menu to work. I don't know whether it was just a mechanical problem--there was a contact not being made, or what--but I almost gave up on it. I took a look at the manual mentioned by another reviewer (he gave a link to it); I had looked for the manual on the Sandisk site and could not find it--using either the search engine or the various menus, even though I registered & supposedly have access to more stuff. Thanks to whoever posted the link, I downloaded the manual, which actually tells you how to use the menu. I persisted in trying to get the menu to work, and it finally, suddenly started working, and so far it's okay and working consistently.
The selection of settings is actually more than I expected from the mp3 companion, given the price, size, and the fact that it's an add-on to a usb flash drive, not a dedicated mp3 player.
I agree with the customers who said that the battery cover is chintzy. Mine is very difficult to remove--very sticky--but also has a flimsy feel. Being forwarned by the reviews here, I've treated it carefully.
Once the memory is inserted, the device is a bit heftier, but does still have a very "plastic" feel--probably because it is! But it doesn't have the nice feel that some high grade plastics have these days.
Anyway, if you have, or want to get, the Sandisk Cruzer Micro USB drive (which I REALLY like & depend on), and would like to be able to have a little mp3 player to plug it into, this is a great buy. It may not have all the features of the other players out there (some of which seem too big too me--like the iPods), but it plays nicely, and your usb drive can do double duty
13 It's Ok but It could be better
Its my first flash drive mp3 player, when I saw the pics I did think that It was small and thin but it doesnt.
The battery supply only 5 or 6 hours (The led light consume a lot energy). Theres no way to select a specific mp3 file.
Well next time I will buy an Ipod
14 Sounds great, but has a few quirks.
First, I love the thing... despite it's quirks. I love the size, I love the battery life... one Energizer NH12 1.5V 850mAh rechargeable AAA NiMH battery lasts me 3-4 days of back to forth driving, about 2 hours a day. I plug it into a 1/8" jack AUX in my car and the sound is pretty good... not as full as the sound form my Archos MM20, but decent enough. I have become quite adept at the controls, so I have no complaints about the controls... I like how I could flip the menu orientation... I hang the drive from the rear view mirror and can grab it at lights to check the menu easily. I like when the battery dies, it remembers what song it was playing when you replace the battery. I love that I can just plug hte mem sticks into any usb jack with out needing to carry a special cable all the time.
What I don't like: It locks up occasionaly for no reason... It can be annoying when driving as it requires to remove the battery to restart it. Also, the shuffle is not shuffle... it is "play the same order of random songs EVERY TIME!"... that REALLY is a pain... say you are driving for an hour, it shuffles 20 songs, then you turn it off and later turn it back on... it will finish the song it is in the middle of, but will then restart the same order of shuffle of the same 20 songs you listened to earlier. ANNOYING. To combat this, I will rename songs on the device and not use shuffle so the unit will play songs in the order of the directory ( I stopped using folders and put everything in the root directory). Also, I do NOT like the battery cover design... love to meet the brainiac who thought that was a good design move there. It is very thin plastic... I am very careful with my technology, but I am sure if there is one point of failure to render the unit useless, it will be a broken battery door. Oh, and another weird quirk... sometimes it makes up its own new alphabet or numbering system. If you have a group of songs that are numbered 01, 02, 03 etc... no spaces, all that... the unit might play the songs 04->03->02->01. My guess is it uses the ID3 tags to order (???) and not the filenames... i was going to do some experiments on that but I am still waiting for a government grant to fund it.
So, I used this daily for the last 2 months, and still use it to grab a quick listen group of songs for quick trips... i will also be using this in the summer while mowing the lawn... it will be perfect for that application. I have returned to using the Archos MM20 for back and forth to work.
Sandisk has a firmware update, my firmware is 1.1.0 and the file is called ccmp1110.rom, they do not have a CHANGELOG file listed on the site to explain what changes have been made in each version... I have not flashed mine yet to see if it upgrades yet.
Long and short, I LOVE using the micro cruzers and the sound is decent but hate the shuffle (lack of), the cheap battery cover and random lock-ups.
I will be using mine till I drive it into the ground.
15 Beware!
Plays songs quite nicely but beware; Will Not Accept usb flash memory cards from any other manufacturer. Even though they fit perfectly into the player it rejects them saying Insert Valid Cruzer Micro.
So don't think you can use your existing usb flas memory sticks from other makers!
16 It is Junk
I'm on my second one, the first one was returned to SanDisk under warranty as it played back with 'scratches' here and there. Company was great about return but it took about a month to get the replacement.
The replacement is worse than the original it also has 'scratches' playing WMAs and this one has locked up on me now 4 times in less than 20 minutes of playtime.
I will agree with other comments here as well on 'quality'. I've never seen such a chinsey battery door.
I will have to rethink purchasing anything with the SanDisk name on it after seeing this piece of @#%$!
17 Do not buy it!!!!
I got mine about 3 weeks ago and it is already NOT WORKING!!!! The battery cover is probably the worst battery cover I found in my life. It WAS so hard to close and now it is broken. Second, it freezes just exactly like a 386 PC with Windows 98 OS. Anyhow, I dont think people should buy this item and I wanna pay my most regrate for people who have already purchased it.
18 Great Sound.
I've had the Companion for about a month now. This is the third mp3 player I've owned and probably the best sounding. The EQ settings are great. I do find that it stops every now and then. It just doesn't like certain songs I guess :-) Only seen this a couple times though. I did find the volume quite low too. Much lower than the others I've had. Battery door looks flimsy but I believe it's quite strong actually. Battery life is pretty good. I run every day and I've gotten about 7 hours on one battery. Belt clip is useless. Luckily the last player I had came with an arm strap. I use that. Perfect size too. SanDisk should come up with one for the Companion.
19 Unusable.
The idea behind this product is pretty cool. Unfortunately, I just can not make it function properly.
1) It frozed on me every second times I tried to forward to the next song.
2) It seems down grade the mp3 file to a lesser quality file before play it. It may not be very noticeable for my 192kbps files. But it make my 24kbps files(audio books) into segments of sound pieces like hearing a radio station just out of range.
Eventually, I have to return it even though I bought it in a very attractive price ($45 AR with 256MB drive).
20 Very nice, Use a fresh rechargeable battery
This has been a very cool device for the price it was available, just make sure you have strong batteries. Because once they get weak, this unit will start locking up with some strange behavior.
I recommend RAYPS64B 15-Minute NiMH Recharger (Amazon product code B0006OKYS8), recharge in 15 minutes.
21 Lots of freeze ups
Update: I got a new player from the RMA process which took a month. The new player does not lock up! But after a couple of months the battery cover will not stay closed. Now I guess I will have to RMA again and see if the fouth unit works. Unbelievable....
Like others, I have experienced many lock ups. I returned it and got another that was a little better but still locks up. Sent it to SanDisk on RMA and am hoping to get a functional player.
22 A great player for a low price.
This is my second mp3 player and I love it. I went with Sandisk since I love every product I have from them. This player was appealing to me since I knew I could upgrade it later when their flash drives drop in price again.
I use a 512 MB cruzer micro with it and can store nearly 16 hours of WMAs or 8 hours of MP3s. It's hard to keep track of all of that music if you just drop it in the root directory, so I recommend organizing everything into a number of folders. This allows you to jump to the first song of any folder (much easier than clicking through 200+ songs).
One AAA battery lasts pretty long (6-8 hours depending on use). I end up using a battery every two or three days so I invested in some Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. I also replaced the supplied ear buds since they keep falling out (the right is long than the left).
The casing is plastic, but very durable (already dropped it a few times without damage). The included belt clip also adds another layer of plastic to protect it.
The micro cruzer is a very slow flash drive (rarely writes faster than 12 Mb/s, reads much faster). I wouldn't recommend it as a stand alone flash drive, but it works fine in the player.
If you do buy this, please read the manual. Some of the features may seem a bit quirky, but once you're used to it you'll love it.
23 Real Value For The Cost
I originally bought the SanDisk Cruzer Micro 512MB flash drive and then decided to buy the MP3 Companion.
The device looks a bit fragile (all plastic construction), but so far I haven't had any problems. Yes, the battery door looks like it could easily break, but you should be ok if you're careful. The belt clip completely covers the battery compartment, so even if the door breaks the belt clip should hold it shut.
I previously owned a Creative MuVo, the really basic 64MB model with no screen. Moving to the SanDisk Cruzer Micro MP3 Companion was a breath of fresh air! Adding a screen really makes a difference and allows you to do so much more. The screen is easy to read and the back-light makes it possible to use in low-light situations or in the dark.
So far I haven't had any crashes, which I sometimes had with my old MuVo. True, you can't specify the play order, but this is a problem that all flash drive based MP3 players have (as far as I know, certainly my MuVo had the same problem). It's really only the more expensive devices that let you create play lists. However you can use a utility called FolderSort that will re-order the files in alphabetical order, [...]
The included documentation is poor so go to the SanDisk website and register yourself. You'll then get access to much more comprehensive documentation and updated firmware (which may well fix some of the problems that other reviewers have reported).
Battery life is very good.
All in all I'm very happy with this device and think it is great value for the low cost.
24 Changed my opinion!
Below is my original review. It turns out my problem was basically a documentation (or lack thereof) issue. Nothing--including the user guide, if you can find it--tells you that .wma files don't work if they're ripped with copy protection (i.e., license) turned on or at a greater bit rate than 64 kbps. (I think those are both violated if you use the out-of-the-box Windows Media Player default settings.) After a couple of rounds of support tickets, SanDisk came through with that information. With the new .wma files, I'm very happy with the performance of the player. I still think the controls and battery cover are risk areas, but all in all this seems to be good value. I'd change my rating to ***.
I really think this is a dreadful product. It's a fine idea (memory stick + player = MP3 solution), but the controls are really hard to use. The multi-purpose Menu/Select control works inconsistently. It helps not at all that the packaging includes only a quick-start guide (duplicated in .pdf format on the Cruzer), which gets you to the point of inserting the memory stick, then helpfully reminds you to register the product and stops. Thanks to the Amazon site, I got the user guide, which provides information on how the controls work, at least in theory.
That said, I thought the thing was completely dysfunctional when I loaded it with .wma files, which according to all the literature are supported. But it refused to play them. Turns out it's only semi-dysfunctional: .mp3 files work just fine. I have an ongoing e-mail support ticket open at SanDisk. Their first answer about the issues was partly acceptable; they pointed me toward a user guide very well hidden on the website (same one as Amazon). Unfortunately, they skirted the .wma issue by including an FAQ on troubleshooting problems with other SanDisk MP3 players that are loaded using Musicmatch Jukebox. It mentions neither .wma files (except to say they work) nor the Cruzer product.
By the way--besides the control issues, I've already encountered a couple of the low points mentioned in other reviews. The battery cover is an accident waiting to happen, and I've had the unit lock up a couple of times during my experimentation. The only way out is to remove the battery.
All in all, this has been a very painful experience. I bought two of these things as Christmas gifts, and I now need to round up the packaging and return them so I can substitute something that really works. It appears that there was a real rush to market here, and SanDisk has put out a shoddy, unsupported product.
25 "Works great for me, but it's plastic all the way..."
I just plugged my half-gig Micro Cruzer into this unit, and despite many negative reviews, it works fine for me!
Let me preface that by saying that this is my first MP3 player, and all I wanted was mobility and inexpensive. These are apt descriptions of this little unit.
It runs forever on a good AAA rechargeable battery, and although it's pure plastic and seems a bit fragile, I dropped it on the concrete while jogging, and it came up working fine.
The instructions tell you very little, so be advised. On the other hand, there's not much to learn. Just plug in the thumb drive (SanDisk only) and play away. It even remembers where you stopped on the next insertion.
Don't expect to read the MP3 indicator text in low light, and the thing desperately needs a case (which I can't find). Nevertheless, for basic MP3 playing, it serves my purpose well. The two-year warranty doesn't hurt either.
26 Very Nice
I read so many complaints. Well I just go mine today. Only knew about this player because I bought the memory stick for work and read the documentation.
Anyhow mine came with the new firmware 1.1.0 already......it has a hold/pause button that is right on the front, someone else complained of no hold button. Maybe mine is a newer version.
Anyhow I have used it for about 4 hours almost non stop, and it works great with BIG wma and mp3 files of high quality. I have the 512meg stick so I can put about 200 songs on it.
Yes the screen is small but it works fine and gets the job done. The battery door worked fine for me, has a little plastic strap to keep it from being lost. Personally the clear belt clip will always be on it for me, helps protect the device.
It does have a plastic feel to it...but does not feal cheap. Sound wise its great with lots of volume. The cheap ear pods that come with it should be tossed right away. I have used the Sony ear buds and they sound much better. Right now I have my Sennheiser HD 497 head set plugged into it, playing Gwen Stefani and it sounds great.
I recently sold my 3gen 20 gig ipod my wife gave me a couple years ago. The ipod hardware was great....battery life sucked, and mine was fading. 20 gigs was over kill for me...I never ever put more than 300 songs on it. Having a large collection of mwa files the Ipod and I never got along. Itunes, while it looks great has some major limitations compared to WMP10, like folder monitoring. If the Ipod had worked with wma and wmp10 I would not be writing this.
Anyhow the Sandisk player is simply amazing for the price. Sounds as good as my Ipod with good head phones and it is so simple to use with wmp10.....and being able to simply use the memory stick for other things is a GIANT plus.
27 decent purchase, if battery cover survives
Initially thought it was a great deal at about $40 USD for each ... ($40 for 512MB Flash Drive and $40 for an MP3 drive) but it is only a good deal if things work.
I can deal with the slow transfers (either this is NOT USB 2.0 or my 2.0 512MB SanDisk Compact Flash Card/Reader is super-fast USB 2.0 because I benchmarked them side-by-side and transfers to the Flash Drive are very slow), and I could deal with the periodic freeze-ups of the MP3 player except that you have to remove the battery to reset the device.
The battery compartment door is the weak link. I am very very careful with my equipment but the cheap plastic and poor design of the door will result in failure LONG before the flash drive or the MP3 player unit fail. It looks like it will be virtually impossible to rig this so a unit with a broken battery door is still useful.
There are also well-documented song sort-order problems that are difficult to resolve.
Pros:
+ very cheap/modular solution
+ small size
+ intuitive controls
Cons:
- battery compartment WILL fail sooner or later
- hangs frequently
- slow transfers to flash drive (quick from drive)
- song sort-order problems
28 Lousy battery cover......
Sound is quite good but the construction is really bad. Specifically, the battery door. Have had to replace two of them because of bad doors and my current one is less than 2 months old and starting to act up. Hard to close and will not stay closed. Wish I had spent my money on another brand.
29 Cannot close battery cover
I cannot close the battery cover ! Belt clip must be used.
It is brand new.
30 It ok MP3
I have the update rom when i bought it ver 1.1.0
it froze like everytime i scroll through the songs to find the right one.
yea and the battery cover suck mine broke and today is the first time i used it.
31 Just OK
Forwarding a song is not friendly. you need to keep pushing for the next song and sometimes it skips the next song
32 okay player when works...but too many bugs...
I totally agree with "Reviewer: Stereo Batman" about some of the flaws in this players. I experienced the same problems. The most annoying problem is the constant freezing, which forces me to pull out the battery and put it back in, which doesn't help the battery cover at all since it will eventually losen or break because of such terrible design.
It's an okay mp3 player if it works.
It's a very nice idea/invention, but has too many problems needed to be fixed.
33 Terrible design, almost unusable
I purchased this item about one month ago, and it has been very finicky from the beginning. At first I couldn't get the menu to respond at all. I would press the button, and it simply wouldn't respond. After several days this seemed to fix itself, I have no idea why. Maybe there was some sort of mechanical blockage that was fixed with use. There was also a lot of random freezing (even while using the updated firmware). I discovered that this was partially caused by my having formatted my cruzer micro with FAT32 instead of FAT. After I formatted it to FAT it admittedly did start working acceptably for a while; however, recently it has started to freeze again. The freezing seems to increase when you have more than just the main folder on the cruzer micro. Today it froze about five times in five hours.
There is also another major problem. The battery cover is way too loose. It is now necessary for me to keep the belt clip on the device at all times to hold the battery cover closed, otherwise the force from the spring pushing the battery against the latch pushes it open. This also makes it even more of a bother with the (now increasingly) constant freezing, as I often have to pop the battery and put it back in in order to reset the device. To me, this is completely unacceptable. I assumed originally that I had received a defective unit; however, I see that other people have had the same problem. It's not as if batteries are a new invention, or anything that's tricky to implement into a device. How such a non-functional design could go through and actually become a product is beyond me.
There are also the problems with playlist order that other people have mentioned. I haven't really had problems with the equalizer, but I have no doubt that they're there. I have, however, had difficulty accessing other folders. Like before, sometimes when I select the folder, it either does nothing or just goes back to the normal playlist. I often have to select it multiple times to get it to do anything. The fast forward is also very slow.
So to sum it up, the problems I've had with this device are as follows:
1) Loose battery cover that eventually renders the device completely unusable without belt clip attached.
2) Frequent freezing that often requires the reinsertion of the battery to reset the device. Sometimes removing the micro and reinserting it works.
3) Unorganizable playlist order. (It seems to order them based on the order that they were saved to the device. Be careful when copying many files, windows won't necessarily copy them in the order that they are shown in the folder.)
4) Non-responsive menus.
Unfortunately, I am unable to return this, having thrown away the packaging. I was not looking for anything more than a simple MP3 player that worked, to be used mostly for educational purposes. I wasn't looking for anything too special. I figured that any product on the market that I could buy should at least perform its basic functions without problems, but apparently SanDisk disagrees.
I know this review will not dissuade many from buying this item, but perhaps if I am able to save just one person from the unending agony and sorrow that I have endured from this horrible product, my sacrifice will be worthwhile.
I hope only that this review helps you in your decision, and may the force be with you.
34 A reluctunt buy...a reasonable deal (w/firmwhere update)
I bought this unit very reluctuntly after reading all of the reviews. It seems that a lot of people have had issues with this unit, but a few mentioned the firmware update...so I bought it. After the first 5 songs it crashed. After restarting it 3 times, I had to pull the battery out to get it to work for 5 more songs.
*** FIRMWARE **** After an hour searching the sandisk website for the firmware, I found it. It is found on sandisk.com, retail/consumer, customer support, self help, MP3 Players, MP3 companion. One of the support question is how to update the firmware and it has an upto date link that is not found anywere else on the website. With version 1.1.0, the unit has not crashed yet!
There is not much need for me to do another review. It the cheapest unit out there, you get what you pay for - and you so get quite a bit for the buch. I do wish it had a "more" random shuffle as this one always generates the same playlist.
35 Does not necessarily work with the Cruzer mini but.....
Contrary to what a previous reviewer wrote, this unit does not necessarily work with the Cruzer mini. After buying it, i tried it with my 512mb stick, but it wouldn't work. I called tech support, and they told me they have found that some work, while others don't and they aren't sure why. This is, I'm guessing, because of power consumption, or firmware. I was bummed, to say the least.
But I got a great deal from Staples on the unit, and they also have a a great deal on the micro cruzer 256mb drive, so I picked up one of those as well.
I must say, even though there was the initial setback, its a pretty good player. The size is surprisingly small when matched with the micro cruzer drive. The controls are pretty simplistic, even though the options are somewhat scarce. Quality of the sound is good, paired up with my sony headphones. If you aren't looking for all the bells and whistles, like FM radio or voice recording, and like to save money, then this guy is right for you. Only thing I might be a little wary of is the construction, it seems kind of flimsy to me, but the warranty on it is pretty good, I think 2 years.
36 one great little mp3 player!!!
I order this one from buy.com because they got this for 41.56 and I got 10.00 redeem money so I pay total of only 31.56 free shipping for this mp3 companion. I second order the 512mb micro cruzer here at amazon for 41.00 and take 20.00 rebate out its only 21.00 total :) i don't there is another mp3 player at 52.56 can be this good.
when I first got this Mp3 Companion .. the first thing come to my mind is dang i just wasted 30 bucks... the mp3 player doesn't look that good, the plastic and design just kinda "ugly" my opinion, the belt/pocket clip is just junk!. but man when the 512mb came in later i test it out and i can't believe it. the sound, the blue LED, many equalizer setting and a custom one too, not to mention i was about to scream when i didn't see the hold button but its locate in the menu button.
total i gave this 4 stars because there is always room for improvement wait.. no radio? no voice recorder? battery life could of been better, i would rather pay a little more and get extra package and quality!!! i've only test this with mp3 and regular wma, i don't buy song from online nor have any protected wma. so i have no clue if it will work or not.
pro. sound, small, cheap, many equalizer setting..
con. cheap belt/pocket clip will not hold in place, ugly plastic paint will chip off if you're not careful, no dedicated hold switch, the menu/select button is a little hard to control, cheap headphone (come on you should know this. all headphone come with mp3 player are usually junk!)
37 It's an accessory, not an MP3 player
I bought this, together with the 512MB Cruzer Micro flash drive, looking for an inexpensive but functional MP3 player. I didn't get what I wanted. There's a reason this is sold as an accessory to the flash drive, as opposed to an MP3 player: it's an accessory, not a real MP3 player.
Most disappointing, you have almost no control of the order of play from the player. I contacted SanDisk tech support asking how to create playlists, and was told "The MP3 Companion does not support playlists, only shuffling within folders." But A) you can't create a folder from the Companion, and B) I don't want to shuffle, I want to play in order. The "solution" is to create folders when the Cruzer Micro is connected to your PC, and drag the songs you want to the appropriate folder one at a time, in the order you will want them to play. They do NOT play in alphabetical order. If other's saw this behavior, it's only because they copied their songs to the Cruzer Micro in alpha order. If you want to change the order of play, you have to delete all the files after the last one you want to keep, and recopy them in a different order.
However, even if you have files in folders, selecting a folder to play doesn't just play the songs in that folder. Selecting a folder to play in "Normal" play mode just picks the first song in that folder that was copied to the player and starts playing it. When that song is done, it picks the next song that was copied anywhere on the Micro, not just the next song from that folder. You could probably use "Shuffle Folder" or "Repeat Folder" to stay within a folder, but there's no "Play Folder Once" option.
A side effect of folders instead of playlists is that you can't have the same file in multiple playlists; you must have a copy in each folder that you want it to play in. (I tried shortcuts first, but the Companion ignores them.)
Another problem: This device ships with virtually NO documentation. There are pictures of how to insert the batteries and attach the belt clip, and THAT'S IT. If I hadn't surfed SanDisk's web site, I'm not sure I would've figured out how to turn the #*!$ thing on (hold the Play/Pause button down for >4 seconds). SanDisk tech support did send me a link to their manual (http://www.sandisk.com/tech/docs/mp3-companion-manual.doc). I can't upload to Amazon 'cause it's not a PDF, but if the link above survives Amazon's editing process, you can check it out. You'll note the absence of information about how to control the order of play. That's because you can't.
Finally, not that you expect much from bundled headphones, but I could only wear the ear buds for about 10 minutes before experiencing pain. Plan to buy/use other headphones.
On the positive side, the equalizer function is very nice. And the beastie's very small. They could've made it slightly smaller by inserting the flash drive perpendicular to the display instead of parallel. But even as it is, it's not much bigger than the AAA battery and flash drive together.
Bottom line: If you have the Cruzer Micro flash drive anyway, and you don't care about play order, and you have your own headphones, this is an okay accessory. But I'm going to return this and get an MP3 player that supports real playlists.
(The 512B Cruzer Micro flash drive is very slick, however. I may keep that half of the package.)
38 maybe a little early for a review
i've only just received my SanDisk Cruzer Micro Mp3 Companion, and have only started playing with it ... but i like it. i'm very happy with the idea of it to start with. i can carry my cruzer micro flash drive in my pocket every day, and listen to music off my home or work computer. i can drag and drop to and from the thing (using win/mac/linux) ... and then when i'm away from the computer i can switch to this player.
i was a little bit amused that the included directions only took you as far as starting the thing, but the Companion's features are pretty easy to figure out (once you know to press the menu/select flipper to start).
someone at work pointed out that car stereos, and even home stereos, should have usb slots ... so that we can plug our flash drives into those. that would be fantastic ... let's see if it develops. even better if some cross-manufacturer standards develop ... but in the meantime i'm happy with the SanDisk brand. they may be sole-source, but they go on sale quite a bit.
39 Nice, small, and only need 1 AAA battery
This is a good MP3 player that takes flash memory. Don't forget to register and download the file from SanDisk to upgrade the ROM. So far so good.
40 Backwards compatible with 'Mini Cruzer'
Cheap and cheerful little tune player--and it works with the (longer, less elegant) Sandisk 'Mini Cruzer' USB sticks as well.
Has a very long (two year) warranty as well, much longer than alot of the 'dedicated' MP3 players on the market, at any price.
41 Your search has ended.
I like it. It's small, it's cheap and comes very handy in many ways. I experienced no problems so far. The sound quality is good and might be improved by using headphones of better quality. When I connected the Companion to a stereo results were just fine and the party was saved since the cd-player died. It has a build in equalizer with different settings such as bass boost, hall, classic, normal, rock... There are just a few things that bother me but I can live with them: 1.There's no option to browse through the songlists while the Companion is playing. Thus, you can only skip to the next file or back to the previous. (But you can fast forward (and rewind) within a playing track.) 2.There is no Sleep timer that would come in handy for using the player when hitting the hay.
I think Sandisk could solve these problems by adding fixes to a firm ware update.
You can easily create several folders containing the songs you like on the USB stick on your computer. I just copy the songs from my playlist in my itunes music software and paste them to the folder on the USB memory drive. They always appear in the right order on my Companion. I can only recommend this player when you are looking for a versatile low prized solution to make your USB memory drive sound.
42 Don't Waste Your Money
This player worked fine the first month. Has some nice features for the price.
I first noticed problems on long motorcycle trips. I don't want to bother stopping every 45 minutes to change a cd so I thought using this player with a 512 mb card and a days worth of mp3's would be perfect. It would pause on certain songs and just turn off.
My latest problem is that even with a new battery, it will power up for 5 seconds then turn off. Thought maybe it was a problem with my files so I deleted the songs and installed other songs, no luck. Tried erasing the drive and putting songs back on, no luck.
I unfortunately have misplaced my users manual and the Sandisk website has no downloadable version. If anyone has it, kindly upload it to Amazon.
Bottom Line: Sounds like my unit may have a unique problem (won't power up)and the same freeze up problem as others. Can't even get the firmware update to load b/c it keeps turning off. Anyway, I'd recommend buying something else.
Guess I'm stuck with a lemon.
43 Simply great. Does what it is designed for very well.
I don't know why some people are bashing this player... it is simply great. I've been looking for a mp3 player that would plug directly into the USB port without some crappy cable.. and this is it. This was not available 6 months ago and so I bought my son the Creative 256 mb unit. (which also works very well.) My favorite part about this unit is that as memory increases my player will not become obsolete. I like this unit.
44 The MP3 Companion is friggin' SWEET!
I have the MP3 companion and got it on sale for 40 bucks, along with a 512 micro for 40 bucks, they are friggin SWEET! Compared to what MP3 players cost on average, this is one of the most versatile and user-friendly items out there. I've been through several junky MP3 players and the Sandisk one by far is the best (for the money spent - less than 100 bucks total) and now I have a 512 thumb drive on my key chain to carry around. I rarely post on Amazon but I had to this time because I feel some of the reviews below are COMPLETELY wrong about this product. Anyone considering the MP3 companion should give it a try, the ability to use the memory for other things along with plugging it into an MP3 player to boot is one of the best ideas going, plus this MP3 player even has several optional "equalizer" settings that other brands for the same price do not. I even listen to this thing while I mow the grass on my riding lawn tractor and it's awesome! Easy to use, nice and loud volume (which I can lock so it doesn't change), and great EQ settings to get a really good sound. More companies need to develop versatile products like this and I applaud SanDisk for taking the leap and developing an excellent MP3 player/thumb drive.
The only thing I did not like about the product were the enclosed "generic" earplugs... but I never use those kind anyway and have a more robust pair plugged in.
45 Excellent MP3 Player - No Problems
I'm not sure what MP3 player these other people bought but it sure wasn't the Sandisk Cruzer MP3 Companion. I bought the unit, upgraded the firmware right away and have yet to have a problem. I copy whole CD and it plays them in the order of the song numbers. Has never crashed once, and the battery life is far beyond what I expected. I got three 8 hour days out of a single battery, playing it non-stop. I take it to the gym and run with it and nothing goes wrong. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a new MP3 player with the versatility to store other files as well. I take it to school, save my work and programs, and still listen to the MP3s on the way home.
46 no problems
I think reviews sometmes draw a minority of people who have problems. I have had this unit for five months (since it came out).
firstly I would suggest that owners fo anything take a big five minutes and read the manual! they might hen understand why the song ordering is how it is (it actually gives you more control) and how easy it is to change it on the fly. it certainly is NOT only in the order you stored them.
I am having no problems with EQ halving the volume. indeed the companion's volume and much much longer than average battery life are quite notable.
It is also pretty robust, I take it to the gym.
compared to other units, such as its competition the lexar jumpgear, the interface is much easier, not to mention you can actually read the display on the sandisk. thejumpgear doesn't even have a clip!
47 Worse than I though
Don't buy this, it will just disappoint. After writing my old review, I discovered that the custom EQ was screwy (it nearly halved the volume of "normal"). I asked about it on Sandisk's site. Later that same day, it began crashing on me after every 3-5 songs. I asked about it on the site (added to old question), I also sent it back to amazon for replacement hoping it was defective.
That was 8/27, today is 9/2 and I finally got a response. After asking about why the EQ volume halved and why it started crashing so much, they replied and told me.....to look at the FAQ about "How does the Cruzer Micro MP3 companion order the songs it gets from the Micro?" What is that? I wait almost a week for something wholly and completely unrelated to what I asked?
Their service stinks, the player is barely usable, stay away (I know I wish I had).
48 Has problems, have workarounds...
I've had this player since the day they hit the shelf. I have been working with SanDisk support on the play-order problem, but they have not indicated that it is solvable. The player plays the files in the order they are put on the flash card, regardless of the name of the file. It gets even more complicated if you delete and add files. If you understand the old FAT file system and how it stores directory entries, you understand how this player plays the files. It is really a mess when you try to listen to audio books. I have a work-around: I have created a DOS boot floppy with DOS USB drivers, and use a program called LFNSORT.EXE to sort the FAT folders and files after copying whatever I want onto the flash. This isn't perfect because it plays the files in forward sort and the folders in reverse sort, so I have to name my folders zDisc1 yDisk2 xDisk3 etc in order to play a lot of folders in the right order. When some of the audio books are 10+ CD's, playing them in the right order is important. I have also had the player corrupt the FAT once in the last month, requiring me to format the flash and start over. So much for keeping anything important on the drive I play music from. The ff/rw scan speed is very slow. You can FF about 1 minute of audio in just over 10 seconds, and RW is even slower. That's a big pain; if you need to FF 9 minutes into a track you will be holding down FF for at least 90 seconds. Do not try to listen to huge audio book files without splitting them! Check out mp3splt.sourceforge.net for a work-around to that. So with all these problems why do I give it 2 stars? It has never locked up on me unless I ignore the low battery flashing and let it go completely dead, then changing the battery fixes it being locked up anyway. Every issue I have with it except the slow FF/RW I have worked around. For a novice user who can't handle DOS boot disks and USB drivers and command-line LFNSORT utilities, it promises to be unending frustration trying to get this thing to play anything in correct order. Your only hope is to format, create folders in the correct order, and copy files in the correct order (dragging lots of files does NOT sort them correctly, but XCopy seems to...) It's a quirky player but I use it a lot. It's just sad that it has so many problems for the average consumer to deal with.
49 Good idea, poorly executed.
I bought this unit as a replacement for my RIO 500, which has bit the dust after serving me very well.
What I liked about this unit:
No cables or drivers, relatively cheap storage (for a flash-based player), smallish, light.
What I didn't like:
Poor construction quality. Feels like a cheap toy. The buttons feel as if they will break at any moment.
Out of the box, the unit will lock up if you press any button twice. Or if you press "menu". Or if you look it at the wrong way. There's no way to reset it when it locks up other than removing the battery, and the battery cover is so cheap that it will only last a few open-and-close cycles. A firmware update from Sandisk solves most of the locking issue, but you have to wonder how the player ever was shipped.
In short, I'm dissapointed. Sandisk can do better. I hope they do- it's a great idea.
50 The battery cover is not tight enough
Another reviewer has already gave us a very complete, honest and sexy review.
Just an additional comment to his comments - the battery cover is not designed well. During my first five day use, the cover has come down about three time during my Gym time (very light movement such as jogging). Very annoying.
I decide to ask Amazon.com to replace one for me. If the new one will still have the problem, I will then throw away my 50 bucks and let it collect dust at the corner of my drawer.
51 It's cool enough, but just barely
It's a decent little piece of equipment, that expands the Cruzer Micro flash drive into an MP3 player. It's a fair value for the price, since (now, August 2004) other players with 256MB are going for much more. But it feels a bit cheap in construction and features.
What's good:
The sound is decent, and it interfaces well with my car stereo inputs.
It runs for more than 8 hours on a single AAA battery.
File download is relatively quick and easy. It plays MP3s and WMAs, and ignores other document types one might have on the drive.
What's not so good:
There are very few controls: An on/off/play/pause button on the front, a volume up/down rocker on the side, and a menu/function flick-up/down/in button for traversing all other functions next to it. One can do a fair amount with just these controls, but it takes a lot of care and attention, not good for the car.
There is no easy way to move between folders of music files. One must concentrate on the tiny display and flick in/up/up/in and then in/in... until one is at the folder one wants to play, then up/in to select it. Not great when driving, or even walking around.
Construction feels a little cheap, and bulky. If Sandisk has gone to the effort of designing a truly compact and elegant package for its flash drive, why make a player that's twice as deep and wide as it needs to be? Peering inside its cavities when changing batteries and drives reveals a great deal of empty space.
Despite the order of file names (I order them by track number first), the player will often decide a different order completely, and not allow re-ordering.
The unit has crashed several times. Hard. Frozen. No response to controls. Pulling the drive out will sometimes fix this, but I have also had to pop out the battery to clear it.
It is indeed a cool little idea, and a nice form factor, but all in all, I'd like a little more quality and function for a $50 piece of equipment.
