Visual Land - 4GB* MP3 Player - Black

With my mother talking about an MP3 player for a long time, and me struggling through this economy, it was serendipitous to find this option. There weren't many ratings, but they were positive, and I was confident Best Buy wouldn't sell anything that was completely terrible. After testing it for about an hour today (so I can teach my mother how to use it), I feel as though I have a good handle on the device now. Pros: Though it's extremely inexpensive, it actually *looks* nice. The sound quality w/headphones is better than expected. It came with a plastic scratch-guard, usb port and decent set of microphones. It syncs fine with Microsoft's music player. There are also a lot of features (music, FM radio, video, voice recorder, external speaker, etc.), but I haven't tested how well all of them work. There's a fairly large color screen (it's not great, but the fact that it *has* one at this price is a plus) and because of that, you can actually pick the music you want, unlike the other shuffle-centric options out there within similar price ranges. Cons: At this price point, I look at "cons" more as the costs of getting a really inexpensive device. So, at $30, where do you lose out? Speed and interface. Right away, when you turn it on, it takes a couple seconds to load. Long enough to be noticeable. Switching between menus takes a moment -- for example, going from the main menu > music > albums takes up to a second between each switch. If you've had quality mp3 player before, you're going to notice it. Thankfully, songs change seamlessly. The user interface doesn't work the way you'd expect, but once you get how to use it, it's not so bad. To navigate, it has four arrows and a button in the middle -- you expect to press up or down to scroll through songs and albums, etc., but you actually have to press left or right. Down controls volume. To "click" through any options, you have to press the top button, to back click, you click the same button again. I hope this makes sense to readers, but if it doesn't, it's a reflection of the UI. The problem with a bad UI is that a lot of people who would buy the device at this price are people who would benefit most from a simple system. It only took me about 5 minutes to learn, but may take my mother half an hour to get the basics. I almost wish they got rid of the other features and kept this strictly a music device (I couldn't imagine playing a video on its screen, anyway), and used that added simplicity as a means to keep the UI *really* simple... but oh well. Others, I'm sure, will be glad for the fact they included other features. Conclusion: It's a solid option for someone who would really benefit from a music player, but doesn't have much money for one right now, or for someone who's not a technophobe and wants a dedicated music player for very casual use -- for example, they don't think they use one enough to warrant buying an iPod or Zune, or they want a 'spare' to take with them places where they're afraid they'll lose it, break it or get it stolen (basketball camp, anyone?). On the other hand, if you're looking for a music player that you know you'll use, and you can afford one, I'd definitely go with one of the more mainstream options.

I have not owned an IPOD but my kids have them so I know how they work. I suppose having used the IPODS this is an adjustment. As a previous reviewer stated it takes some getting used to. One does have to study the manual which is available online. One has to use the right and left menu to go up and down....this takes a while to get used. Once you are used to that you are all set. It does not come with a wall charger as another reviewer stated. The only hookup is a ridgid one for the computer. It's like a jack coming out of the USB. In other words there is no wire on the connection from the player to your computer.....not necessarilly a big deal. It get the job done. It shows up as a removable disk on your computer and you just drag and drop your music.....which is a great feature. I had all my various albums in folders and some folders had more than one album and I just copied them all....very easy and simple as I said. It comes with a black plastic cover which is good as well as ear things. I hook it up to a powered speaker and it works well. So all in all, not a bad deal considering the price of IPODS. I paid $24.99 plus shipping.

I've always owned iPods, but my last shuffle broke and I was low on funds so I went with this. It's no Apple, but for $20 less than a 2gb shuffle you get a 4gb player with a screen that allows you to browse your music. iPod users will find a few bugs - loading music without itunes and waiting for music to copy is annoying, doesnt play mp4 files just mp3, no playlist capabilites, even when loading songs by album they are listed in alphabetical order instead of the correct track listing which is annoying. However, for about $20 you get an mp3 player. If you're on a budget you won't be disappointed

Nice looking, great battery duration but hard to understand operation. Received a one page quick start wrapped around case. Did nothing to explain keys or download. When I plugged it in to my media player it copyed EVERYTHING in my player's files not what I had syched to send. Contacted the company and they gave me a one line explaination that has nothing to help. Need more instruction. Delivery was slow.

This item is truly amazing it comes with a wall charger its small ideal for a child/preteen if you ask me its perfect for anyone so I gave it 5*s!!!!!

It takes a while for the next music to go on since you have to wait and it's not that user friendly until you go through the menu. FM radio only works if you're outside. Just spend the extra $ to get a better one.