Samsung YP-T8Z (1GB)

As Samsung's latest flash-based MP3 player to hit the market, the YP-T8 is an eye-catching device with a noticeably large LCD display which distances it from similarly-speced players. Laden with a slew of features, the YP-T8 not only manages to avoid tripping on its varied functions, it also proved its mettle in our lab test. We heartily recommend it to users looking for a pint sized multimedia solution without the sacrifice in performance.

Design
Other than the 1.8-inch display which dominates the front of the player, the YP-T8 embraces an elliptic-like design with a gentle curvature on its front, back and sides for an overall comfortable feel reminiscent of the first time we laid hands on the Zen Micro.

	The navigation key makes for a hor hum alternative.

Though the buttons have relatively good tactile feedback, the layout is all over the place. Rather like our beef with the iRiver H10 which has the Play button sitting on the right side of the device, the YP-T8 employs the same concept which dampens the intuitiveness inherent in players with playback controls located only on the front panel. The YP-T8 uses a clickable rocker switch beneath the display to scroll up and down the menu. While this may not be as convenient as the iPod's Click Wheel, the commonsensical layout of the buttons: Left arrow to enter a menu, right to backtrack, up/down to scroll, eases the learning curve a little. Though most of the functions have their own dedicated buttons, the menu key can be dual-activated--press and hold to exit to the main menu, a short press to access the contextual sub-menu for the feature e.g. preset controls and manual tuning while in FM radio mode. The same also goes for the rocker switch.

	Now that is so much cleaner.

Oddly, the microphone is located on the bottom of the YP-T8. It's not a major quibble for us, but if you need to check the length of the voice file while recording, it helps if you can read upside down.

Display is bright and colorful with ample space to display basic ID3 tag info like artist name, album, song title and bit rate. There are even three mini visualizers though two of these are not reactive to music playback; they are simply graphics put on a perpetual loop.

Though the YP-T8 comes in a very pocket-able design, a condom belt-clip casing is also included as well as a corded lanyard (looking like a length of rope) to hang off the neck. Not exactly very stylish options, we would rather whip out the YP-T8 every now and then to show it off.