Moser Baer is in the Mp3 game now, but that’s not news. The players may not be much to look at but they do fall within a very enticing price range and do seem to have aesthetically sound designs – like this the MP565-2G - and here’s how it worked out during testing.
Form Factor
The MP565 is a slim USB styled player. It has a metal clip attached to the rear so it’s very easily portable and comfortable to wear. On one side is the Menu key that acts as a return key as well. On the other side, the top to be specific has a 3.5mm earphone socket and a mini USB port for data connectivity and charging via the same. A hold slider is available on the other end. The clear LCD display in front is easy to navigate via the joystick navigation key beside it. You can also choose to set the color from among seven different options.
Like I said before, it’s not a great looking player but it’s quite well designed. What I particularly find a bit unattractive is the steel clip. It’s a simple light weight, compact design and if the clip was any other color I might have looked it more.
Features and Performance
Music
The bundles earphones, although comfortable to wear are not up to par. Using a better set for testing, I have to say the audio was so much better. Navigating the User Interface and menus in general will take a bit of getting used to, but you’ll get there. There didn’t seem to be any facility for creating a playlist though you can play files via folders. The overall clarity of music play is not too bad. The higher frequencies tend be just a little brighter than the others. In this case the EQ presets are quite handy to help adjust the tone to a more personal preference. A manually customizable option would have been better but it’s not something I missed really. It reads MP3 and WMA formats.
FM Radio
The radio’s reception was pretty good. It took just about 17 seconds to locate and preset all nine channels. In certain areas the reception did tend to get a little shrill but in most places it was quite clear. There’s no recording option but that’s just something else that wasn’t absolutely necessary.
Other than a music player with EQ presets and an FM radio, the MP565-2G has no other features, not even a voice recorder that you’d otherwise find in most other lower-end DAPs.
Battery Life
One of the main things that the MP565-2G doesn’t manage to deliver on too well is the battery life. On an average I got just about 7 hours and change of non-stop audio playback.
The Bottom Line
With a price tag of Rs. 1,490 for 2GB, it’s not a bad deal. The only thing not going for the Moser Baer MP565 MP3 player is its battery life. This strictly simplistic player is highly portable and decently priced. If you don’t mind charging the player every now and then, which is just a matter of keeping it plugged in to your laptop or PC, the MP565-2G is a good enough player. You may prefer to invest in a better set of earphones though.
