TrekStor vibez First Look

[dang]

Checkout our latest First Look of the TrekStor vibez (http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/firstlook110.html)

[Ioman]

I think the look is pretty cool. What is kind of odd is the screen, I think it should have been round to match the rest of the player. The chrome on the back looks sweet, but I would worry about the scratches.

[PabstBlueRibbon]

If you were to invert them and lay them on their side they would look like binoculars. Anyways, I think the design is innovative. I would expect the price to be a little lower in oder to compete in the market, simply because for 249.99 you can get an i-Pod video. My biggest problem is the wheel. As with other wheels I've seen recently (Sansa e280) they are not up to the level of function and conveniece that Apple seemed to perfect on their first try. I wonder how well this one works, and if it's fluid or not. I also noticed there was no visible button in the center of the wheel, rather arrows on the outside, so is it really a wheel or just a round button with 4 contact points? Either way I love new design and innovation, that's exactly what Apple did and the i-Pod arguably saved the company. Keep the crazy designs coming and Kudos to TrekStor for designing the Vibez, like it or not design features like this are progress.

[Ioman]

Looks like J&R has it for a decent price: http://www.jr.com/JRSectionView.process?InSearch=t&N=0&Ntt=TrekStor+vibez&Ntk=All_Record_Search&lastSearch=&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=GO

[dang]

$249.99 must be the MSRP, because J&R has it for much cheaper @ $199.99 for 12GB and $169.99 for the 8GB. Those are pretty good prices. Since the wheel protrudes out a bit I wonder if it can get nudged easily.

http://www.jr.com/JRSectionView.process?InSearch=t&N=0&Ntt=TrekStor+vibez&Ntk=All_Record_Search&lastSearch=&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=GO

[PabstBlueRibbon]

Ioman, I know you found it for a better deal than listed on the web, but as it comes out of the pack it doesn't include the ability to play FM, or to play videos. They said that there was a slot on the back to add the optional card to enable it to do FM radio, but after checking the site, I can't confirm that it will play video. It might be a valid contender against the Nano rather than the i-Pod itself. Also, the screen quality of the Vibez is 176x132, same as the Nano. The i-Pod is 320 x 240 pixels. The 480 x 480 is the top MPEG 4 resolution it can process (this will of course be scaled to fit the 320 x 240). I still don't think its a valid contender on overall value, on overall design definetely.
Can anyone confirm if this critter plays videos?

[dang]

the website says it does. However, this is not meant to be a competitor to an iPod. I can see it being a competitor to the shuffle.

The card that is available for it currently is a FM Tuner.

It can playback music and images, but I dont see anything on their site, features list, specs or the quick guide about being able to playback video. However, Nino says in the article that video playback is available via the optional card, but maybe it's not out yet? I'll ask him.

[dang]

Ok, Nino says that the FM card is the initial card that was released, but sometime in 2007 a FM/Video card will be released which will allow video playback.

This product was originally released in Germany and is being brought to the US.

[PabstBlueRibbon]

I can't see this as a comparison to the shuffle because the shuffle has no screen at all and no FM capability. Did you find out what the cost of that adaptor would be? I'm assuming quite a bit for it to handle FM and to make it video capable.

[dang]

Oops, I meant Nano, not shuffle.

The FM card is only around $20. It's on that J&R link above too.