Toshiba Gigabeat 30 GB Review - Features

The Gigabeat has a great feature set including the ability to play video, TV shows, movies, JPEG images, music, and listen to the radio with the built-in FM tuner.  I like how the Gigabeat is compatible with some of the largest music providers on the net, such as Napster, Rhapsody, and eMusic.  You can also download movies from Vongo with this player.

The Gigabeat is compatible with a wide variety of formats including MP3, WMA, WAV, WMV, and WMA.  It is also compatible with the video formats MPEG-4, AVI, DivX, and MOV.  The wide range of formats that are accepted by the Gigabeat make it a very versatile player.

Another cool feature of the Gigabeat is the ability to hook directly up to an Xbox 360.  This give the user the ability to control the player with the Xbox's interface, and also the ability to listen to music from the player while you play video games on the Xbox.  The Gigabeat also has the ability to connect directly to a digital camera, via the USB, and download pictures into the player for viewing.  This is a great time saver, because you can bypass the computer and download pictures directly to the player.

The Gigabeat runs via the Windows Media Player 11, which I like very much.  You must use Windows XP or XP Media Center to run this software.  One down side is that it cannot be connected as a hard drive to Mac or non-XP systems.

The built-in FM tuner works well with this player.  It offers 30 presets, and an auto-scan function to find the clearest stations.  It is also nice that the player will display the frequency and the call letters of the station on the screen.

The Gigabeat comes well equipped straight from the box.  The following items are included the box:

• 30 GB Gigabeat player (blue or white)
• Cradle
• USB cable
• AC adapter
• AV cable
• Stereo headphones
• Software CD-ROM
• Limited warranty card

I don't think that any additional accessories will be necessary, except for an optional protective case which is very inexpensive.  The warranty on this player is pretty standard at a length of one year from the purchase date.

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Comments On: Toshiba Gigabeat 30 GB Review

· Sorry, but for me, restricting it to WMP would be a deal breaker. I could probably...    · Some people like WMP, while other don't. I guess it is just a matter of preference....   >>> Post your comment now!

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