Packaging & bundle
The box has a large plastic window in the front, through which you can see the player when its on display in store. It seems sturdy enough, too. It took a bit of a beating during delivery, but the contents were unscathed, so appears to have done its job. Below are some snaps of the box.
Icons lining the top of
the box front correspond to mainfeatures of the player (click on the image for a larger version)
On the back are some tabulated
stats, explanations of someof the main features and a full length graphic of what could well be
a cross between Golem, ET and Shrek (it's those ears!)
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The right and left sides of the box (not shown) tell you the system requirements and what’s in the box. The contents are pictured below.
Build quality and looks
Here’s how the player looks from various angles.
Front - note the mic at top right
Around the back, there's not much
apart from the reset button and serial number
On top are the scroll wheel, a socket for
line-in, a headphone port and a recording button
The right side has two combi
buttons, one for Eq and menu, the other for interact/nav
The left side carries the volume
button and hold switch
The base is bare, apart from a
covered USB socket
They're nothing special but the
earphonesare comfortable and don't sound
at all bad
So, does it look good enough to win over the casual buyer? Well, that's a very personal thing but I think it just looks a bit unremarkable (more accurately, a bit like a small bar of soap) and, hence, somewhat lacking in the “coolness” department. It's definitely not a bad-looker but it's probably a player that won’t be turning many heads. But what's important is whether or not you like it.
The body case has a smooth texture and a light matte finish. Casing and buttons are made from the same hard plastic and that seems fairly resistant to scratches. That's just as well because, even though I've only used the player for a few weeks, I’ve already dropped it unintentionally a couple of times.
And that - I have to warn you - is because the player is almost as slippery as it looks. Each time I dropped it was onto carpet but the built quality suggests that the player would have survived even if it had landed on a hard surface - the joints are solid and the buttons reassuringly firm. The weight feels just right too, not so light that it feels cheap and not so heavy that it feels uneasy in your pocket.
From the marketing material provided, I reckon that Sapphire hasn't concentrated so much on looks as functionality and sound but we'll get to those next.
