Transcend T.Sonic 310 MP3 Player

Reviews: Multimedia

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David Graham
Kurtis
Transcend
May. 15, 2006

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Features

Unit Overview

Bundled in the package with the T.310 unit is a set of ear buds, foam ear bud covers, a driver/utility CD, user manual, a USB cable with a male and female end, and the unit itself. Let's go over each part in detail. The T.310 unit that I received was in a red and white checkerboard pattern. Very smooth looking and definitely not unattractive. On the top of the unit there is a lock switch (more on that in a moment) and on the front side there is the power/play/pause button and the Touch Panel used for advancing tracks and for volume control (more on that in a moment, too). On the end with the power button, there is a small 1/8" stereo jack and lanyard route for the supplied earbuds. On the other end is the USB connector, hidden underneath a firmly attached end cap.

The earbuds are a mixture of good aesthetics and what I can only describe as a questionable design. They feature a silver braided wiring scheme underneath a clear outer wrapper, and the earbuds themselves are on the large side. The individual earpieces are attached to individual wires held in place by two movable silver balls that function similar to a lariat. On the plug end, there is a combination of lanyard and stereo plug held in place by a silver cylinder. These wires are long, also, with their length being close to 26", somewhat ungainly if you want to shove the unit in your pocket. Additionally, the wires tend to get caught up on things and thus, I'd heartily recommend different earbuds. Also, the way that the lanyard and 1/8" plug attach to the T.310 allows one to easily get caught on different coat pocket items thus causing somewhat of a hassle if you have, for example, keys in the same pocket.

The USB cable functions as the device charger and data transmission device when attached to a USB 2.0 compliant computer. So, just like Apple's iPod nano (and many new players on the market), you'll need to plug the player into an available USB port when your battery is running low or you need to transfer some files/music.

Software

The driver software comes packed on a mini CD (3 inch) that launches promptly when inserted into your CD drive. You can choose to install the Windows 98 driver, the standard T.Sonic utilities, or view the manual. The T.Sonic drivers and a small suite of applications include a locking function, an encryption function, and a formatting function. These three software functions load into a small toolbar-like window that, when activated, allow you to perform the aforementioned functions with ease. The T.sonic utility sits in the tray when not in use and provides the following utility functions:

PC Lock: Creates a secure "key" for locking and unlocking your workstation or home computer. Remove the device, your workstation is locked. Plug it in and proceed with working.
Boot Disk: Creates an MS-DOS © compatible boot sector on the T.Sonic which enables you to boot your system up to apply BIOS updates, etc.
Partition: You can create a "Public" partition and a secure, password enabled "Private" partition for storing secure information.
Recovery: If the T.Sonic ever becomes corrupted or has errors in the file system, it can be recovered (or reset to manufacturer's shipping specifications). Each of these tools were tested during the course of the review in a Microsoft Windows XP Professional environment ONLY. The T.Sonic does support Linux (kernel 2.4 or greater) and Mac OS X but several of these functions will not work with those operating systems. Additionally, changing your password via the utilities needs to be done in a Windows environment.

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Page 1: Introduction & First Looks
Page 2: Features
Page 3: Testing
Page 4: Conclusion + More Photos

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