Keeping up with all of Samsung’s media players can be quite a difficult job. With features and a size to suit every consumer out there, I am surprised that Samsung Media players are not more popular in the gadget world.
I had the pleasure of using the Samsung Galaxy Media Player 3.6. With an affordable price of $150, I already like this media player. Some people ask, why carry an extra media player when most smartphones have a music player? I for one always carry an extra media player. My smartphone has too much to handle already without me adding the burden of listening to music. The battery will die out in just a few hours. I can’t have that!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab Media Player 3.6 is a very simple media player. It’s one of the reasons I enjoyed using it. I used it mainly on-the-go for music and playing games.
INSIDE AND OUT
It has a very simple layout with the power and volume rocker on the right side. Takes a bit of getting used to since they are bit close on such a small device. The speaker is on the back. The speaker is loud, but I usually don’t enjoy listening to anything on speaker. Also on the back is a 2 MP camera. Nothing to get too excited about, but it’s a nice addition. Headset jack is located on the bottom panel. The Li-ion 1500 mAh removable batter charges on micro USB cable. It’s 8GB but can be expanded with a MicroSD card; which is always a plus.
At 3.65 inches, I wasn’t expecting a gorgeous screen; and I didn’t get it either. At a 480 x 320 resolution, I wasn’t too excited about watching media on this MP3 player. When I did watch a few videos on YouTube it wasn’t so bad. You have to turn the brightness all the way up for an enjoyable view. The great thing is all the formats that the media player supports such as; WMA, MP3, AAC (music), and MKV, Adobe Flash, WMV, MP4 FLV(Video).
EARPHONES
The Samsung earphones provided with the media player are actually quite nice. For stock headphones, the bass was acceptable and the sound clear. The cable is long enough and the rubber heads were comfortable to sport (even during gym sessions). Phone calls were clear, and callers heard me very well using the microphone on the earphones.
OS, INTERFACE AND USE
The media player comes with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Some gadget users cannot think of going back to Gingerbread if they have already used Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s a bit difficult to go back and forth between a more updated OS and 2.3 Gingerbread. But for a media player, Gingerbread provides more than enough utility with apps from the Google Play store to enhance and ease use.
TouchWiz interface is of course added to the Gingerbread OS to get the Samsung experience. With apps like AllShare and Kies Air; sharing multimedia content and backing up your device (wirelessly) is a breeze.
With Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the 3.6 media player becomes a lot more useful when in the city, by a Starbucks, McDonalds, or if you have hotspot from another wireless device. The interface and navigation is pretty smooth. The only times it was a bit edgy was when the Wi-Fi signal is low. Otherwise I had no problems surfing through my music and streaming music through apps.
OVERALL
I must admit this wouldn’t be my first choice for a media player. But I was pleasantly surprised. For the price, size and weight I was more than satisfied with what I was able to accomplish with the 3.6. The battery life was good since I used this device mostly for music. I love how portable it is. I think it’s perfect as a gym media player for its simplicity and small/lightweight body.
Other than that, the Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6 is most suitable for tweens and older adults who don’t have or want the burden of a smartphone. With the front facing VGA camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS capabilities these age groups will find the 3.6 more than useful and definitely affordable.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Display: 3.65″ Multi-touch/ HVGA (480 x 320)
Memory: 8GB, 16GB
Camera: Front Facing- VGA / Back – 2 MP
OS – Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0
