Samsung YP-T10 (8GB)

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By Jasmine France, CNET.com
Dec 12, 2007

Adding to the ever-growing crop of media players with wireless features is the Samsung T10, a 4GB flash device with integrated stereo Bluetooth functionality. At S$249, it's not the most competitively priced player on the block, but it's packed with features and comes in your choice of five, high-gloss colors (black, white, green, red, and purple). For style-conscious users who want a multifunctional device, the T10 hits the mark, but audio purists and those who prefer tactile controls should look elsewhere.

Editors' note:

This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some other products or telcos in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia.

The YP-T10 is also available in 2GB and 8GB memory capacities.

Design

The Samsung T10 may be the successor to the T9, but it looks more like the love child of the Samsung K3 and the flash-based Microsoft Zune. The face of the T10 features the same smudge-prone, high-gloss finish and backlit touch controls as the K3, but the 2-inch color screen and brushed metal backside are distinctly Zune-like.

Overall, its sleek and stylish look (measuring 96 x 41.5 x 7.9mm) that will appeal to design-conscious users. As with both parental players, the T10 has a proprietary dock connector (bummer) and offers no dedicated volume buttons (double bummer). The right edge of the player houses the solitary tactile control: A power/hold switch.

In Sammy mode, a bunch of dogs rock out across a graphic equalizer, while the main Sammy below holds an album art thumbnail. This screen displays song title and artist, as well as time elapsed/remaining, playback mode, time of day, and a battery meter.

Features

The interface of the T10 is also decidedly designy. You can choose from three interface styles: A standard Samsung mode called Pendant, a customizable wallpaper mode, and Sammy, a Flash-based option featuring an animated dog and other moving graphics. Sammy is the most engaging interface, though some may find it distracting. We're hoping that in the future, Samsung will open up the system for custom Flash-based menus.

Overall, the menu system is clear and easy to operate, though the touchpad isn't always accurate. Music (MP3 and WMA only) is organized into the standard Creative-based structure, with step-downs into artist, album, playlist, and so on. Sadly, there's no separate podcast sort, but there is an option to browse by folders, which gives the opportunity for manual organization. Thanks to Rhapsody DNA integration, there is a menu item dedicated to Rhapsody Channels. This integration also allows users to save songs from the Channels to the player.

In addition to Rhapsody support, the Samsung T10 offers a multitude of other features. As the color screen (QVGA; 320 x 240) suggests, you may play back photos (JPEG) and videos, though video support is limited to Samsung's proprietary SVI format and very particular WMV files. Transcoding to SVI via Samsung Media Studio is a mixed bag, so we recommend just running videos through Windows Media Player, which will (in most cases) convert to the proper-size WMV.

The player also offers a voice recorder and an FM tuner with an auto preset mode and recorder, as well as support for Datacasts (RSS feeds, put simply). Lastly--though certainly not least--there is the integrated stereo Bluetooth capability, which allows wireless streaming to compatible headphones and speakers. (The T10 cannot yet be paired with cell phones but will gain that capability in a future firmware release.)

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