After water damaging my iPod Classic in H2O Audio Amphibx Waterproof Armband for Large MP3 Players and Phones I purchased this FINIS SwiMP3.1G Waterproof MP3 Player and am glad that at least I will not water damage the MP3 player. Going by the reviews on Amazon, as of February 1, 2010, 3 of 9 reviewers of Amphibx large arm band damaged their iPods (only one replaced by H2O Audio), versus none of the 19 reviewers complains about water damage to this SwiMP3 player. Of the 124 reviews of the earlier 250 Mb version of SwiMP3 player, I scanned about 80 and no one has claimed water damage. This would indicate that this is really the only truly waterproof MP3 player! Here are the pros and cons.
PROS
1. Water proof. This is the biggest advantage of this player and is the essential pre-requisite; notwithstanding the claimed advantages of other players, if the MP3 player is not waterproof, every thing else is irrelevant!
2. Small size and low profile.
3. No drag while swimming.
4. Fairly good quality sound.
5. Easy to load music. You can use Explorer In Windows or Finder in Mac to drag and drop MP3 files. iTunes does not work with SwiMP3 but you can download a free software, for Mac & Windows, called DoubleTwist which works somewhat like iTunes for music with any MP3 player or cell phone that shows up as a drive on your computer. DoubleTwist does not support podcasts and audiobooks unlike iTunes.
CONS
1. The cap for USB port is not tethered and could be easily lost.
2. Lacks the screen and polished user interface of iPod: playing MP3 file from where you left off, removing all played podcasts etc.
3. The items play in the order they were loaded. You can skip forward and back, one at a time, but that is about it as far as controls.
4. The buttons are not etched, so hard to figure out with just fingers while swimming in water. You have to remember the location of buttons.
5. Does not come with ear plugs but over the water sound is much better if you are wearing the ear plugs. In my experience it is essential to have ear plugs or snorkel dry or better still, both. Mack's AquaBlock Earplugs, 2 pr is what I use and they work well.
6. Needs goggles which have to be bought separately. Although I use Speedo Vanquisher Swim Goggle, the air-tight seal is probably better in Speedo Air Seal Tri Goggle, Mirrored.
7. User's guide leaves a lot to be desired. Mostly it concentrates on is how to load music but there are no instructions on where to place the player, how to use it with goggles etc. On FINIS web site there is a video that shows how to wear them with goggles.
8. You cannot fast forward or backward.
9. Very hard to figure out when the MP3 player is off because the green light is barely perceptible in bright light and comes on very transiently. You have to cup with hand to make it dark. Sometime pressing it for 3 seconds does not turn it off, and as soon as you plug into the USB, it starts playing again.
10. No way to find out how much juice is left.
11. Just deleting the songs does not remove them from the player, it just moves them to the Recycle Bin and the songs keep playing. So you have to empty the Recycle Bin. In Mac, this problem is even worse, because the Trashes folder is hidden.
TIPS & TRICKS
Here are few other things that I found.
1. If you place MP3 files in folders then the folders work like playlists and you can toggle playlists by pressing forward and back buttons simultaneously. But it works for maximum of 3 playlists. You can also make and download playlists using DoubleTwist. If you change the name of any folders, that playlist will be lost and you will left with only two. Don't change the names of initial three folders, just keeping changing the songs. On Mac you can use iTunes to make three playlists and then drag them to the SwiMP3 disk icon which is called NO NAME; but again do not change the name of initial three playlists, you will lose it if you do and then the only way to go back to three playlists will be by reformatting the SwiMP3 hard drive in FAT32 format
2. The volume on some podcasts, for example most NPR ones, is really low and can be increased by using a free windows software called MP3 gain.
For about 14 years I used Speedo FM radio which has no screen and fits on the goggles. It worked really well, the earphones rarely came out of the ear. But I wanted to listen to podcasts while swimming and after looking at all the choices I purchased H2O Audio Amphibx Waterproof Armband for Large MP3 Players and Phones and the accompnying H2O Audio Surge Waterproof Headphones.
What a disaster! Within six weeks the arm band leaked while swimming, let the water come in and damaged the iPod Classic. Although H2O Audio promises to replace the MP3 player damaged in their armband, they refused to do that and sent me this response:
"During the examination and testing the engineering team did notice some dispersed indentation on the seal (black door frame to the lid). This is indicative of some object(s) or debris being caught between the door and the seal. This type of obstruction can lead to leak as the water-tight seal is never actually formed between the lid and the bladder...So unfortunately, this is a situation where it appears that the door was not closed properly or that it was accidently opened during use."
Personally, I feel that SwiMP3 player is the only true waterproof MP3 player but the following also claim to be waterproof to listen to MP3 audio while swimming:
1. WATERPROOF CASES/ENCLOSURES for iPods: Most well known, and even promoted by Apple on its web site is H2O Audio Amphibx Waterproof Armband for Large MP3 Players and Phones. Since I listen more to podcasts and audiobooks, I wanted something that will work with iPod. So I purchased this Amphibx Waterproof Armband for Large MP3 Players and Phones. But within 6 weeks it leaked and damaged my expensive iPod. Big loss. H2O Audio refused to take any responsibility for the product or the damage caused by the armband. Not to say that H2O Audio Surge Waterproof Headphones constantly keep coming out of the ear, cause drag and have poor audio quality.
H2O Audio also makes H2O Audio ISH4-5A1 Interval 3G Waterproof Headphone System for iPod Shuffle 3rd Gen, but after H2O Audio refused to replace my iPod Classic, damaged in their armband, I am not ever going recommend H2O products to anyone.
Aquapac Waterproof Case Fits iPhone and Droid is not very good quality and it is hard to water proof with headphones. Most of these case leak and water damage to your expensive MP3 player.
2. WATERPROOF MP3 PLAYERS WITH HEADSETS: These are goggle based solutions likeSpeedo LZR Aquabeat MP3 Player and Freestyle Audio 200SPT Soundwave Waterproof 2GB Blue MP3 Player Blue Bundle With Aquapac 916 Waterproof Headphones. But the reviews of all these products on Amazon are not very good.
SwimMan makes waterproof 2nd and 3rd generation iPod shuffles. But they do not have screens and do not last long. Many users have complained that iPod Shuffles get damaged after few uses.
3. BONE CONDUCTION TECHNOLOGY MP3 PALYERS WITHOUT HEADSETS: This FINIS SwiMP3.1G Waterproof MP3 Player with its pros and cons listed above. Audio Bone makes bone conduction headsets, which are even more expensive that SwiMP3 player! Now who would buy that?
We all know that iPod is the best MP3 player and we would like to use it while swimming but I do not think it is yet technically feasible to make iPod water proof, notwithstanding the claims of companies like H2O Audio and SwimMan. Although I miss the screen, FINIS SwiMP3.1G Waterproof MP3 Player is really water proof, just like my old Speedo FM radio, and the audio quality is acceptable. As far as I can make out based on my and others experiences, iPod is sooner or later water damaged no matter what the technology they use to waterproof. FINIS SwiMP3 1 G is what I would recommend to a swimmer who wants to listen to MP3 audio while swimming. FINIS SwiMP3.1G Waterproof MP3 Player - Waterproof Mp3 - Aquatic Mp3 Player - Swimming - Waterproof Player'
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