Samsung YP-C1 (1GB)

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For all the bells and whistles that find themselves into high-end MP3 players nowadays, there is still a market for the average digital audio device that prides itself more on performance than anything else. With an impressive battery life and decent features, the YP-C1 managed a respectable outing in our labs.

Design
The YP-C1 finds itself with a slightly thick-ish design in part to accommodate the AA battery enclosure, though in our opinion an AAA battery would have done the job just as well in a smaller package. Buttons are well-spaced out and feel solid enough to offer a reasonable perception of quality. This sentiment, however, cannot be extended to the quad-directional control on the side of the LCD screen which, though responsive, feels a tad shallow in the tactile feedback department. We also like the fact that the display for the YP-C1 shows the next track that is in queue for playback.

Navigation-wise, this Samsung supports a root directory navigation layout (the sort you see in Windows Explorer) which is accessible with a short press of the Menu button while in playback mode. The root directory is good for folder navigation and, despite the 1-inch screen, surfing though the folder contents surprisingly does not prove to be as much of an eye strain as we had earlier thought. Selection of songs to add to the playlist is also performed here (each short press of the Menu button adds a star icon to the side of the track), though the interface can be improved by having a provision for adding multiple tracks at a single go.

	So there's no color, but at least it's clear.

The monochrome LCD is certainly nothing to write home about, though the white illuminated backlight is much easier on the eye than conventional blue-lit ones on cheaper MP3 players. In terms of carrying options, there is an eyelet off the top of the player for the insertion of a lanyard, but given the size of the YP-C1, style-conscious types may give it a miss.

Features
Trying to be big on sound, the YP-C1 hams it up with SRS WOW, three preset equalizers, and for the music nitpicker, a nine-band manual equalizer, though it smacks a bit like overkill. OGG, MP3 and WMA also form an audio format cocktail for the YP-C1.

There is also the standard slew of features: FM radio, FM/voice/line-in recording and a playlist function which sadly is limited to just the one. For playlist junkies, there is a quick workaround; simply dump your selection of songs into a folder within the YP-C1, name it, and select the Folder Play option on the device.

Performance
Sonically, the YP-C1 turns out an above-average performance on the highs and mids, sounding out vocals and background instruments with clarity and aplomb. Yet we were surprised that the low end was a bit neglected, though the Trubass feature on the YP-C1 helped to even things out a bit.

Using 240MB worth of assorted MP3 files, we hit an average transfer rate 2.14MB per second using USB 2.0. Samsung's 42-hour battery life claim proved to be understated as the YP-C1 hit an average of 45 hours and 8 minutes in our battery drain test.