Reviews for SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: price/storage value excellent, Wifi works great, FM rx/tx works great, easy to use, card slot for memory expansion, cool blue screen, comes with real headphones (not those stupid ear buds

Weakness: Large size, carrying case, no replaceable battery

This unit is an excellent value for the money. Try to find a 1.5 gig MP3 player for less than 100 dollars. The initial setup was very easy. Just connected the USB cable and the software setup on my computer and the firmware was updated. Since then all transfer have been done wirelessly. The wireless function works GREAT!! The FM TX has worked flawlessly. It has a memory card slot so the memory can be upgraded to 2.5 gig. The head phones supplied are real head phones not those annoying ear buds.

The only downsides are the size of the unit (not a factor for me) the carry case doesn't have an oppening to access the buttons or screen and the battery is nonreplaceble.

All in all this unit is great and well worth every penny I spent on it.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: good amount of space, hard drive, fm tansmiter, shuffle feature, carrying case, quick transfer, not bad headphones

Weakness: small instruction manual, though there is a larger 1 saved into the player already, had to go online to use it with windows media player 10, can't use media with high bit rate, no car adapter included

To me this is the perfect player. I did a couple weeks worth of research to find the player just right for me. It has more than enough space, and even if I need more, you can use an SD card to expand it. It transfers quickly using USB, a couple seconds for the typical song. It comes with a nice leather case, headphones that go behind the head and have good quality sound, and a USB chord and power adaptor. It is also inexpensive for the amount of space, most 512MB players are double the price and some 256MB are even a little over. The looks aren't bad, and is the size of a 20GB iPod. This player, in my opinion, beats a iPod mini for quality because after you buy for the iPod the fm transmiter, receiver, and other features this has, this player will much better for the dollar, including more than doubling the cost of this to cover the difference in GB. Also, going to the details, it does have a shuffle feature which I was surprised to see many other players didn't. The FM transmitor works very well and can be used at least 1 room away with the door closed (didn't get to test farther than that).
Now for the negative, which is sparse. The instruction manual is weak, however if you have trouble there is a large one saved on the player. Also, the software included on the player doesn't work with Windows Media Player Version 10. However, going online to the manufacturer site will fix this problem. There is no car adapter with this, however there is one you can buy, costing an extra $30. Though I haven't checked, I'm sure you could buy a third party car charger for less. Finally, the worst of all for me is that it has a limit to the bit rate you can put on it, making it to where if you want to put music from a CD on it, it won't work. I have only ripped from CDs in WMP, so I'm not sure if you can overcome this with another program, but if you download from the internet you should have no problem. One other worthy thing to note is it has a higher max bit rate than the iPod.
Overall I love this player so far. I still haven't tried WiFi, and if I do or find anything else to add, I'll come back to add it.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: All the features work well, I especially like the FM transmit feature.

Weakness: The battery life could be better, especially in the FM transmit mode, however there is a car adpater available I have not tried. I also had a small problem with file corruption.

I did not like the support/help, they only respond via email, no phone calls. I am to impatient for this. They did respond with in 2 hrs.

Over all I really do like this unit, it has features I have not seen in other MP3 players.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: price - but don't waste your money

Weakness: Broke in 6 weeks. Can't get an RMA for service. If you buy through internet (pricegrabber) - Soniqcast will not honor your warranty!!!

Broke in 6 weeks. Tried to get service. Only service is through email. All that they send is canned scripts which have no thought behind them. They refuse to honor warranty because I bought on-line. They say that the company I bought the unit from holds the warranty, not me. They won't issue an RMA!!! Now they want me to pay for shipping and service on a brand new, in the box unit!!! Stay away from this one for sure. I'll be real careful what I buy on-line now.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: greatest mp3 player ever, wifi is great, the size of an ipod, better than an ipod not much hd but who has 10,000 files on their mp3 player, no one

Weakness: nuthing at all, it is a great product

greatest mp3 player ever, wifi is great, the size of an ipod, better than an ipod not much hd but who has 10,000 files on their mp3 player, no one

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: The only MP3 player on the market (that I know of) that not only has both USB and Wireless (802.11b), but will also broadcast on an FM station of your choosing. The sound from this unit is incredible.

Weakness: Only comes with 1.5gig space, upgradable to 2.5. Slightly large for a unit with such limited space.

I was so impressed with this item, that I bought one for my 12 year old daughter for Christmas. We both listen to ours continually. I don't even bother with CD's any longer, other than to rip them to MP3 and put them on my player! Excellent item. I highly suggest it for anyone!

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: FM transmitter FM reciever Dual headphone jacks SD mem card slot with optional power adapter - powers on and off with engine in car

Weakness: Wirless - although it's nice, it's not very functional there's little you can do with it, other than sync your playlist. It would have been nice to have advanced features here.

The 1.5 gb HD is a tad small.. i can fit maybe 20-30 cd's on there. Which may sound like enough, and it is for 1 or 2 days use.. so if you dont mind switching your stuff out every few days then it's not a problem.
All in all a good product.. i would recommend it to anyone searching for a good MP3 player.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Weakness: I PURCHASED 2 OF THESE ITEMS ON DECEMBER 15, 2004 - ONE OF THEM DID NOT WORK - HAD TO SEND IT BACK FOR REPAIR ALREADY.

I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF SOMEONE WOULD CHECK TO SEE IF THESE PRODUCTS WORK FIRST BEFORE SELLING. MY NIECE WAS NOT HAPPY TO FIND OUT HER MP3 PLAYER WAS NOT WORKING.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Radio Transmitter is awesome, Functional software included, Sound quality is good, Leather case and ear phones are neat, Second ear phone plug is innovative, Radio receiver is nice

Weakness: Rubber buttons look cheap, Battery life could be longer

All in all, I think the price-to-value-ratio is fair. Of course that device cannot compete against an IPod - but it has not! Built in features like radio transmitter, WiFi connectability or the second ear phone plug make this player worth the money.
Battery life could be a bit longer and the overall appearance looks a bit cheap.
But anyway, I am quite satisfied and it is a very innovative product.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: nice product for the price. FM transmitter works great. Not too bulky.

Weakness: The connection at the bottom of the device broke the 1st time I connected it. I now have to hold it in place to sync and charge. Come on, make a better connection! :( only has USB 1.1 connection.

Device needs a real browser in it. You have to click next next next while in a playlist or play one song at a time.
The boot time takes about 30 seconds to start. That's too long. The software is very confussing. It searches for the device and doesn't see it unless I continue to turn it off and on.
Now for the positive.
I like the fact that it's 1.5 GB Hard Drive and can be expanded with SD card. It has rechargeable batteries that actually hold a charge. It came with a decent carring case. Most importantly it's not over $200 like Ipod's.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Seems to be a very nice MP3 player, although we can't figure out how it works.

Weakness: I'm hoping I selected the right one for my 16 year old. He is having a tough time learning how to work it; he's not dumb, but there are very minimal instructions.

I wish I'd known more about mp3 players before ordering. I think I should have ordered a more popular name brand that would have had more instructions. Just a QuickStart flyer just doesn't cut it for novice users. BUT.. We may figure it out after all.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Good Sound Quality

Weakness: Difficult Set Up

The delivery was excatly on time. Thanks so much for your speedy delivery and quality products.Premium mylar capacitors are employed to filter the tweeter for uncompromising high-frequency smoothness. The system-specific network is housed in a compact, outboard case and features adjustable tweeter output level and solid-state tweeter protection circuitry.

peace.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Large harddrive. Nice having radio on it. Two headphones pull into it.

Weakness: Kind of large.

I love carrying this amount of music with me. There is no shuffle but you can change where you start the song list. You're able to sort by genre, artist and playlist. Came with a pant clip but not arm clip. Background light makes it easy to read. Very solid unit. Great buy for the $.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: wireless, good quality

Weakness: Big and heavy

the AIREO is a good product:1.5GB mp3 and AC power adapter.
With 802.11B wireless downloads. The service is good.I received the order just in 2-3 days.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Wireless feature to listen on any fm radio,Big 2.5 g hd,Easy to follow menu

Weakness: bulky,Freezes up,Cheap looking buttons,poor x-Fi fm reception,

It's not bad for the price,But its bulky and freezs up a bit when used for a long period of time.Cheap looking buttons.But user freindly.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: strong casing ( i dropped it a couple of times, oops) still running strong, great amount of memory for the amount paid ($104), and amazingly loud with the standard headphones

Weakness: you need to make a playlist in order to transfer music

this mp3 is all types of cool. It has two headphone jacks, so you and a friend could listen to music. The quality of the sound is loud and clear. it has plenty of storage space 1.3GB and it gives you the most bang for your buck. I was able to load around 10 albums on it and i still had space left over. and thats all i really listen to, so if i would've bought another mp3 player with more GB, it would've been a waste of money.
I have not tried the Wi-Fi because i don't have Wi-Fi. Also if you have windows media player 10, you have to go the soniqcast website in order to download the most recent firmware, so thats cool.

The only PROBLEM that I encountered was when i transferred my Nas I AM album. When i went to play the album on the mp3 player it was listed as unknown album, so that was annoying. but that is probably because i pieced the album together from different downloads but its not a big deal.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Features, built in wireless transmitter, value

Weakness: Battery life and battery not easily swapped with fully charged battery.

Good value. Wish the 20 GB model had been available before the holiday season. The empty station finder for wireless transmission is very convienient.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: price, features

Weakness: none

I have plenty of friends that have ipods and everyone is jealous of my aerio! It is so easy to use and has plenty of storage space for all the music I would want to carry with me.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Easy to set up and download latest software. Newest software fixes some important features like adding a soft hold button. Rugged design. The FM broadcast feature makes it play well in the car or thro

Weakness: Not a good looking design. Carrying case covers function keys.

I would reccomend this unit for those people who are not "IPOD" sensitive. I bought one for each of my children for XMAS and after they got over the fact that it was not an Apple and understood the additional features (FM broadcasting) they are happy with it.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Memory, ease of use, capabilities, price

Weakness: A little bulky, but for the strengths it has, I can work with it.

Software easy to install and understand. Software updates on-line a plus. Available memory upgrades also a selling point, though I have not check out the cost.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Low cost, high memory capacity, WiFi

Weakness: I find the synch software a little cumbersome

The Aireo sounds good. My daughter likes it as an alternative to an iPod. The PC interface is a little quarky, but seems to work OK. We have not yet filled up the memory -- soon. I was not able to get the FM transmitter to work clearly, but I think it was signal interference.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: A lot of features: FM radio, FM transmitter, nice headphones. All work well

Weakness: Wireless transfer unnnecessary. Unit is a little bulky

I bought the unit because I wanted the most bang for the buck. I got it and more. The unit has worked wonderfully out of the box and even though my daughter is not sporting an I-Pod she is very happy with storage and features.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Wireless download, FM transmit, upgradeable firmware.

Weakness: Bulky relative to memory size, must remove case in order to operate, not compatible with Windows 98SE.

This player works great. I use it in my car. I would have preferred it to be compatible with Windows 98SE as my music library is on my 98SE based machine. I hear there is an Element 20G memory MP3 player on the way which will be about the same size. If you can wait until mid summer that might be a better player to buy. I recomend the 1.5G player if you do not mind reloading your player kinda frequently.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Wireless FM transmitting and receiving. Ease of operation.

Weakness: Unit is a little large. Battery could be of longer duration.

I purchased this Aireo for my daughter's birthday. She is not technologically inclined, nor am I. The price was much better than Ipods, and the storage was significant enough for her purposes. I feared she would have trouble operating it but she sat down and had the computer downloading songs to it in no time. She is pleased with this unit. The size is not a detriment to her lifestyle and she has made no complaints about it, so it looks like dear, old Dad came through on this one.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Good amount of space, hard drive, fm tansmiter, shuffle feature, carrying case

Weakness: Rubber buttons look cheap,small instruction manual

I like it, I recommended. The equipment is very good if we take into consideration the price. It is easy to carry. What impressed me most was the quality of the sound by the radio in the car when I travel.

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SoniqCast Element Aireo 1.5GB Wireless MP3 Player

Strengths: Wi-Fi Enabled; allowing me to connect to my PC without the USB cable.

Weakness: FM Send signal is very weak, I had to get another one from the store for my car to pick it up. Mind you that I do live in a very dense city.

I you have a home Wi-Fi network, and would like an Mp3 Player that works with Audible.com, and don't mind it being the size of a standard IPod, then this is the unit for you.
I was looking at getting an IPod shuffle, but when I saw this one for UNDER the price that I would pay for a 1GB Shuffle, I looked closer. The fact that it has a display, and 1.5 GB for a cheaper price was a major selling point for me. The Wi-Fi was an added bonus to me. I have had a Rio M500 in the past, and enjoyed it, but no one supports it now. I also had to have something that worked with Audible.com, and to my suprise this one does with ease. The nice thing about it is that it even can login to my Audible account, though my Wi-Fi network, and download a book, without touching my computer. I can browse my library on Audible, and select a book, and the unit will download it.
I did have problems with the FM send of the unit, it is not very strong, but that was just a nifty add on for me.
I like the fact that I can throw another $70 at it and get a 1GB Sim Card that would expand the storage to 2.5 GB. I have yet to try out the audio recording abilities, so I cannot speak about that. I did have to purchase a FM Broadcast unit, in order to be able to listen to it in the car. It is kind of debilitating to HAVE to have the music you want to listen to in a Playlist created by either Windows Media Player or WinAmp, but not something that would deter me away from suggesting the unit to someone who has previously owned an Mp3 player.

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