Samsung Q2

With most digital-media-device manufacturers following Apple onto the touch-screen bandwagon, it's easy to forget how pleasant it can be to use a simple, well-designed device with—gasp!—physical buttons. Granted, the buttons on the Samsung Q2, which comes in 8GB ($99.99 list) and 16GB ($129.99 list) models, aren't plain old buttons, but snazzy backlit and touch-sensitive controls. Like the iPod nano, as well as several Samsung models before it, the Q2 focuses on an intuitive user interface with excellent graphics, and the results are positive.

Available in black or white, the Q2 looks slick, but it won't win any body battles against the nano—its 3.9-by-2.0-by-0.4-inch (HWD) frame is considerably bulkier than the skinny iPod. That said, the Q2 sports a larger screen, measuring 2.4 inches with a 320-by-240-pixel resolution. (The nano's 2-inch screen boasts the same resolution, so it looks a bit sharper.) Below the screen is the now-familiar array of Samsung touch-sensitive controls; when powered up, a central button is flanked by Up, Down, Left, and Right arrows for menu navigation, as well as a backward navigation control and a button that pulls up submenus. The controls are lightning fast and reliable—unlike many touch screens and touch-sensitive buttons out there. I'd even say they're speedier and easier to use than the nano's scroll wheel.
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The player's right-hand panel houses a Power/Hold/User/Record switch, the latter of which can be set to control various functions like photo zooming. The lower panel features a headphone jack and the connector for PC syncing, the back panel houses a mic for voice recording, and the top panel has a lanyard loop. Included in the box are better-than-average earbuds (if only because the foam covers assure they stay in place), a manual, and a proprietary-to-USB cable to connect the player to your computer. Suspiciously absent is a CD with file-conversion software—typically players with limited video format support like the Samsung P3 include one.

Speaking of file support: For video, the Q2 plays only WMV and MPEG-4 files. Audio support is also limited to MP3, WMA, OGG, and FLAC, but at least the last two will please fans of lossless compression. It's still a bummer not to see AAC support like the P3 offers—especially now that Apple has removed all DRM from its iTunes AAC offerings. The player accepts several photo file types including JPEG, BMP, GIF, and PNG.

The aforementioned earbuds are not nearly as poor as most bundled pairs. They stay in place pretty well, offer some bass response, and don't distort at high volumes. Could your listening experience be improved by swapping them out for Ultimate Ears' $50 MetroFi 170? Absolutely, but if you combine the Samsung earbuds with the user-definable EQ (which also has standard presets like "Rock" and "Classical"), the listening experience on the Q2 isn't bad. As always, Samsung includes some special effects, like "Audio Upscaler" and "Street Mode." My advice is to leave them alone—they're merely boosting some frequencies and cutting others, and rarely do anything useful to the sound. When music is playing, you can choose to view album art or flashy and trippy screensaver animations that, despite being gimmicky, look cool.

The player's display is bright and crisp; provided your WMVs and MPEG-4s are of decent quality, videos look very good. But with only two file types supported and no conversion software included, the Q2 isn't much of a video player. Its stronger support for photos—complete with zooming and rotating options—makes the Q2 a better portable digital photo album.

The Q2 organizes all your content in easy-to-navigate menus on the main screen. Aside from menus for videos, music, and photos, the player organizes your text documents (not text messages, but TXT files) and datacasts (aka podcasts) into separate menus, and has icons for FM radio, Prime Pack (which is another name for games and other extras, like the voice recorder), a file browser, and the Settings menu.

The FM radio works simply and intuitively, with 22 memory presets. I can't recommend using the auto-preset function: Rather than scour the dial for the 22 stations with the best reception, it simply selected the first 22 spots on the dial (starting with 87.5 FM), most of which are pure static. Manual navigation of the dial and selection of presets is easy enough, and recording is a snap too: Just use the pull-down menu button and select "Start Recording" when you're on the station you want. It's possible to vary the quality of the recording (64, 96, or 128 Kbps), and all recorded files end up in the Music menu under (what else?) "Recorded Files." Using the Voice Recorder is similarly easy, and the recorded files end up in the same spot.

Samsung rates the Q2's battery life at 50 hours for audio and 7 hours for video—both of which are pretty impressive. We're currently testing the player's battery, and will post our results here shortly.

There's nothing terribly groundbreaking about the Q2. It simply continues the Samsung tradition of intuitive, good-looking, well-designed players with great graphics. Is it better than the iPod nano? No, but the 8GB nano is $150 (the 16GB is $200), making the Q2 $50 (or $70) less for the same capacity player. My major quibble with the Samsung player is its file support, which is far weaker than its more expensive sibling, the P3 (8GB, $150; 16GB, $250). Still, if the Q2 isn't the top dog in its category, it's a nice bargain for a solid player.