[michiganjfrog]

I received my black Bianca today, so I thought I'd just say a few words about it. I'm not doing a full review, because someone already posted a very detailed and lengthy review on the player, complete with pics better than what I would have been able. It was shipped on the 19th, arrived on the 26th, so by my calculations, that's.... lesee... ONE WEEK from China to Quebec. Including the weekend.

It is indeed quite small, smaller than an FMP (2nd gen Nano), and slightly thicker. The screen quality is nice, about that of an FMP,maybe the same. It comes with a really good demo of the movie capability, featuring a 3d computer animated Santa Claus. The speaker is very much tilted toward the highs so a bit of a sqauwky sound, but clear as a bell in that region. (I was told my freeze technique can improve the sound of the speaker as well, so....).

I prefer the buttons on this to the FMP. Small but separate, so easy to press, and not flat like the glacier, so you can have a tactile feedback when you go to press them. They may seem a bit cheap to some, but I'm really not sure they will last any less longer than that of the FMP. The FMP clickwheel can exhibit sticking problems for some on occasion, and I dont see that happening as much on the Bianca.

Ergonomics:

The shell is NOT aluminum no matter what the specs on the site say! The only metal appears to be the tiny loop for a lanyard. It appears to be the same unbreakable plastic found on the Glacier, and even though it isn't aluminum, again I'm not sure its any less fragile than an FMP. Remember, the FMP has pretty fragile end caps. So if you drop one hard on a hard floor surface, its possible the end caps will break apart. If you drop a Bianca, it may still survive simply because its lighter. In my first impression opinion, the Bianca should be fairly durable, maybe just slightly more so than the Glacier, on account of its slighter smaller size, lighter weight, more rounded corners.

Sound:

What can I say, sound on all the UXCell players is good, and no less so on the Bianca. I didn't listen to it for long, just on the silly song that it came with, but it is comparable to the FMP or Glacier. I dont see anyone being dissatisfied with the sound, it will beat out the Panasonic MP3 player I reviewed here.

Menu:

Works exactly like all the other Chipods, surprise, surprise, same firmware. However, the opening and closing screen is a lot classier! Shows a pic of a nature scene, water/forest, natural colors (not all green and sickly like), and the closing shows a dog! But very briefly, as it seems to open and close faster. (I didn't check if the selections in the menu were any faster than an FMP).

Well, sorry I couldn't go into more detail. I had purchased this for my friend's daughter, and decided to give it up sooner than later, so never really got much time with it. But my first impressions are that I think I prefer it over the FMP. I really like how small it is, which means it fits around the neck like jewellry, but can do a heck of a lot more than a gemstone. The fact that its battery is reported to last over twice that of the FMP, makes me not miss the (possibility) that Steve Jobs bullied UXCell to get rid of their Apple clones (can ANYONE confirm this?! Last I checked, there are stilll 3 billion Apple clones being sold in the world, and that doesn't even include the counterfeit ones). Not only is it lighter and smaller than the FMP, its even a bit cheaper in price.

It has a bit of a "wow!" factor, simply BECAUSE it doesn't look like everyone and their grandmother's nano and nano clone. And when you demonstrate it, you don't need the headphones so thats cool too!
By the way, about the headphones, I don't think it needs to be said you do NOT keep the original Uxcell headphones with any of these units! If you do and cos you think they're fine, you need to get your hearing checked. See my reviews for better earbuds. Dont forget that better quality buds is also likely to mean longer lasting, even if you dont care the slightest about sound quality.

I dont remember what kind of problems people were having with Biancas, so I dont know how reliable they may be, but for the time being, i cant foresee having problems with it.

I also purchased an LED flashlight with my order, and I thnk I'm equally as impressed with the flashlight as the Bianca! (I was quite into LED flashlights at one point). This is the model with 21 LED's I believe (the most they have). It was REAL cheap, like $4.99 and then $2 ship (if you buy a player or something). It's a lot shorter looking than the photo, which is actually good. Takes 3 AAA's, and shines a light bright enough to annoy someone considerably when you shine it in their face (I know, I tested this aspect while they were driving...). The light is brighter than my small Maglite, which no longer works because its tiny special bulb is dead. I'm done with maglites! (n.b. The UXcell flashlight is also aluminum and has a click switch on the rear end, which again is AMAZING for $5! But you cant focus the beam like with a maglite, which doesn't reeally matter as it has a concentrated spot and throws a wide beam at the same time. Do not expect the machining on the alumimun to be as good as the maglite, its more cheaply made overall, but I expect it to last about as long anyway).