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the screen due to the pixels not being able to refresh quickly enough. The player also uses the AMV video format used by
many other MP4 players. To skip forward or backwards through a video you simply press and hold the up or down (next
track, previous track) buttons. The fast forward speed is quite acceptable and it performs this quite smoothly too.
Photos
Viewing pictures on the AU822 is just as easy as using the above mentioned features. You simply drag your jpeg images
onto the device and it’s ready to play them back in either a slideshow mode or manual selection. The only downside to the
photo playback feature is that images which are sized down to be shown on the AU822’s screen seem like double pixel
images.
Music
Of course it all boils down to how well the device can cope with mp3 playback. After all it is designed primarily to serve
that purpose. As mentioned earlier in the review changing volume is a bit annoying as you first need to go into volume
setting mode by pressing the volume (left) button. This makes changing the volume a bit tedious especially if you have
the device in your pocket and reach in only to perform this function. What’s even worse is after a period of inactivity the
screen which becomes blank turns on after pressing any button. Sort of like waking up a computer from standby, so if you
were to change the volume whilst the device was in your pocket you would first need to press any button to wake it up,
then press the volume button and then finally adjust the volume. Skipping through a track is a very painful procedure and
when you compare it to skipping through a video the results are kind of disappointing. It took us a pathetic 47 seconds
just to fast forward a 4 minute audio track. How slow is that?!
There are some nifty playback effects however, and this doesn’t apply to just mp3s but also video files. Upon pausing or
stopping tracks you get a nice fade out.
Settings
There are a good number of configuration options to tinker with such as date & time, lcd set, language, power saving,
replay mode, and online mode. Online mode is basically how the device acts over an active USB connection. There are
three options to choose from being: Multi drive, Normal, and Encrypted. You also get to see memory information,
firmware version and there is an option to upgrade it too.
Finally you may also like to know that when turning the device off you are presented with a very feminine “Bye Bye
screen.
Conclusion
Overall we’re quite pleased but at the same time quite disappointed with the AU822, there are so many things wrong with
it and yet it offers so many cool features at the same time. The player is very slow and responds with delays while playing
back videos or music. Navigating through the menus and doing something as simple playing back an mp3 can be quite a
hellish experience. For first time users it will take a good while to get used to how the player works. There is no logic in
the way the buttons work and so as a result this is definitely one mp3 player you will be needing the quick start guide for.
While the design is almost a complete rip off the iPod Nano, if you get past that aspect, the goofy startup and shut down
screens, and the fact that it takes a while to master the menus you will find that this player certainly has a lot to offer. It
is for this reason we bring out Tech-Gear’s new award.
Page 5 of 6
Tech Gear - Hardware Reviews, software reviews, games reviews
10/18/2006
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