I recently purchased two nano clones on ebay, 1.5" 2GB and 1.8" 4GB versions from two different sellers.
The first one is a 1.5" 2GB version bought from "marketingrus*com". This is what was stated in the item description:
- Digital music player
- Digital video player
- Digital voice recorder with built-in microphone
- FM Radio player
- Photo viewer
- Ebook viewer
- Games
- Phonebook function
- USB mass storage / removable disk
- 3.5mm headphone jack
As it turns out, the player doesn't have games. A bit dissapointing but truth be told, I don't care. The 3.5mm jack is in fact a 2.5mm which means you'll need an adapter to use your own headphones or use the ones provided (which I don't recommend because they suck). Navigation is ok and song skipping is painfully slow (mostly due to the fade-out and fade-in). The buttons are pretty good except for the play/pause which for some reason doesn't always work. Some simple modifications to the navigation system and button layout would make things a lot more pleasant.
On the plus side, the unit has a real 2GB hynix chip and has a free spot to add another memory chip. The LCD display is crisp and bright but doesn't refresh fast enough to enjoy videos, it has major ghosting issues. The built-in microphone isn't that bad and gets the job done. The FM radio player is a nice touch as is the recording option. Don't expect clear and noise free reception tho.
The ebook is extremely basic and a PITA to read. I haven't used the phonebook function and probably never will since you can't add anything from the player.
The device works good as a mass storage disk but uses a "not very standard" usb plug.
Build quality is ok I guess. Nice metal case and smooth buttons. USB and headphone jacks are tight. Display is well glued to the circuit board (although it's a bit crooked). The LCD isn't protected very well and could suffer damage easely.
Second one is a 1.8" 4GB version bought from "rapistore". It has the exact same advertised features as the 1.5" player. However, as you might suspect, it's not a true 4GB player. Upon disassembly, I found a single samsung chip of 2GB capacity. There isn't any space to add another memory chip and the way the player is made makes it nearly impossible to add the chip above the one soldered to the board.
This player did have games installed and a real 3.5mm headphone jack. The LCD is crisp and bright and does not suffer from any kind of ghosting when watching videos. Navigation is a lot faster and intuitive but could still use some work. Song skipping is, again, painfully slow because of that stupid fade-out/fade-in "feature".
The device works good as a mass storage disk and uses a more common usb plug (same as my canon camera and many other devices).
Build quality is way better than the 1.5" unit. Metal case and buttons are nice. LCD is protected by a real glass screen. The buttons are mounted onto a daughter board that's screwed on a plastic frame and clipped to the main board.
Both players are nice but the 1.8" does everything better than the 1.5". It's faster, has a better screen, nicer menus and is more intuitive.
However, they both will not be used as MP3 players. Why? Because they both suffer from MASSIVE interference. Don't get me wrong, both players have amazing sound quality (when listened to with good earphones) but there's non-stop popping, whinning and whatnots going on in the background. It can't be heard when listening to rock but anytime a song slows down (like a ballad), you'll hear it and hate it. If I pause a song and hit "menu" it goes to a page with numerous options like "equalizer" and "repeat". These text, when selected, will scroll from right to left one letter at a time. Everytime it scrolls one letter, you'll hear a pop. Same thing when it's loading a menu or song.
Some people won't or don't even care about sound quality. Not me. I was planning on using these as MP3 players in my car thru the auxlliary input but the interference would make that torture. I guess they'll serve and storage devices.
They both share the same firmware version (9.1.50) and were manufactured by " Wilson Co. LTD." s1fwx sees the 1.5" unit as an S1 MP3 Player and the 1.8"unit as a LISONG MP3 Player. Sadly, s1fwx cannot extract the firmware from the dump.bin files.
I took some pictures when disassembling the 1.8" unit.
1.5" and 1.8"
1.8" front and back
Whole thing appart. The glass screen is glued to the white pastic frame.
Close-up of the case.
Close-up of the plastic frame and main board.
Mainboard. Everything you see is hidden under the LCD display.
USB plug, microphone and headphone jack.
Accessories. I really hate those small CDs. My slot loading Imac can't read those (it'll probably break if I try). The rubber sleeve doesn't look really good but gets the job done. I won't even talk about the earphones, throw 'em in the garbage. The USB cord is short but has standard plugs.
Packaging was really bad. I can't believe it made it from Hong Kong in one piece. The player was wrapped in bubble wrap and the rest just tossed in there. The 1.5" unit came in a cardboard box and the player and accessories were in a cool transparent plastic case.
Overall
Build quality (materials)
1.5": 7/10
1.8": 8.5/10
Build quality (engineering, related to sound quality and interference)
1.5": 8.5/10
1.8": 6/10
LCD quality
1.5": 7/10
1.8": 9/10
Navigation/user friendlyness
1.5": 7/10
1.8": 8/10
Sound quality
1.5": 6/10
After isolation: 8/10
After freezing+isolation: 8.5-9/10
1.8": 6/10
After isolation: inconclusive...
After freezing: 8/10
1.5" 2GB and 1.8" 4GB Ipod nano clone review
) anyway, even though you detest the supplied earphones, looks like you got a lot better than what I did! (1-cent ipod knockoff earphones that sounded washed out and tinny while listening to music - painful, just painful). Love the pics, and keep us up to date with the longevity of your players! (I personally havent heard of one lasting over a year - feel free to prove me wrong though!)
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