Toshiba Gigabeat S reviewed, iPod advantage "wiped out"

Boy oh boy, we knew the Toshiba Gigabeat S was good after our initial hands-on at CES, just not this good – according to CNET's review anyway. See, they just snagged a 30GB model which sports Microsoft's "super-intuitive" Portable Media Center (PMC) 2.11 software and is almost identical in size, weight, and battery life to the 5G iPod it's gunning for. The FM tuner and dedicated controls along the side were found to be a bonus and that cross-hair controller was both "tactile and delicate" allowing for "fluid and responsive" navigation even while multitasking. It also comes with a USB-conversion cable for transferring snaps off digital cameras without additional accessories. The only real drawback is due to the Gigabeat S' support of Microsoft's Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) over USB Mass Storage -- a choice that limits its use to XP systems, only. When the swooning was over, CNET bestowed their Editor's Choice and an 8.7/10 rating on the S – easily besting the scores of both Apple's iPod with video and Creative's Zen Vision:M. But the accolades didn't stop there. See, according to this CNET review, the introduction of the Gigabeat S in combination with Windows Media Player 11 (now in beta), MTV's URGE music and the Vongo movie subscription service has "wiped out" any advantage the "iPod/iTunes ecosystem" had over its WMA competition. Maybe, but we've seen so-called iPod killers come and go many times before, so we won't be issuing a deathwatch just yet, dig? Still, if you're running Windows Media Center Edition (or thinking about it)... what's keepin' ya from dropping the $280 or so required to bring this mutha home?

[keefcop @ Jun 7th 2006 1:30PM]

Can't wait. Does anyone know when this thing will be out in United Kingdom/Europe?

[shirizaki @ Jun 7th 2006 11:26PM]

It's probably out for the gray market already. Everyone has it by now i think

[matt @ Jun 14th 2006 2:59AM]

I am definately not an ipod fan but I felt that I should comment here. I bought a gigabeat S60 while studying in Japan and everything about it was great, except the audio. I have a pair of shure e3c headphones which normally produce good bass, but the lack of an equalizer prevented the s60 from producing anything respectable in terms of bass response. I have actually given the s60 to my mother and reverted back to my old clunky Iriver IHP120 because of the superior audio.

I will repeat however that everything about the Gigabeat S other than the audio is excellent.

[Justin @ Jun 18th 2006 8:20PM]

Anyone know when the Gigabeat S will be in Canada? because man its been a little bit annoying how everytime the release date gets changed. Plus its been available for about a month, but it's still not available in Canada.

[Andrew @ Jun 24th 2006 8:51PM]

To the Canadian- just order it online!

[C Campbell @ Jul 28th 2006 5:58PM]

And TOshiba has great customer service, too. My daughter has a Gigabet 40G that she has used hard, and had to keep in a real humid dorm room. The toggle on the front got sticky causing perpetual downward scrolling. We sent it in, even though it looks like its lived a hard life. It came back fixed, with a firmware upgrade (at least, we saw new screen features) free of charge. Great company. Great service.

[Mr.Gadget @ Aug 23rd 2006 3:22AM]

Does anynoe know if you can organize and browse your gigabeat without WMP11? I don't like silly software. >_

[ikyouCrow @ Sep 28th 2006 11:43AM]

you can use explorer to manage music on the gigabeat.
the only difference being that the album art might not show up.

[edgarv @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:33PM]

I want to know how I could load the contents of my DVD (music or movie) into the the Toshiba Gigabeat S60?

[Amos @ Feb 2nd 2007 3:40PM]

Generally, DVDs are in DivX format. If you rip the DVD then download a freeware DivX to media converter from somewhere trustworthy such as Download.Com (run by CNet), convert your DVD to mpeg or wmv format and then transefr it, it should work.

Good luck ;)

[Human @ Feb 4th 2007 5:45PM]

I don't think it does, but does this (or any other Gigabeat) have a replaceable battery? Also, how many charges does it get before the battery dies?

[cheema @ Feb 11th 2007 1:02PM]

battery life is awful,
action should be taken

[Chada @ Feb 12th 2007 2:59AM]

Can I use the gigabeat as a hard drive to transfer files to and fro from school without installing any extra software at school?

[Gregory @ Feb 28th 2007 12:28AM]

I am planning on purchasing this mp3 player very soon, the 60GB Version to be exact and I had a few questions to ask. First, I was wondering how do you get your music files on to this device. Do you use some sort of Giga software or can you simply drag and drop directly from a folder or media library on your computer to this device(plug-n-play)? I use Winamp and Musicmatch and I was also curious to whether or not this product is compatible with either one of them. Both of these programs have a portable devices feature and it would be really cool if i could transfer music through them. Also, what is Microsofts Portable Media Center software and how does it work in relation to Windows Media Player? Ok last question and a little off topic...........I recently installed a CD player into my car that also has a USB input on the front of the deck, do yall think I could play my music files from sweet if it could. Thanks!

[J @ Mar 2nd 2007 3:37PM]

You'll need to use WMP to load files. First create your playlists then under the sync button located at the top tell which playlists you want to sync w/. This unit isn't a Universal Mass Storage type unit. You can't play the unit through a USB you'll need to use the headphone jack to do so, so hopefully you have an import jack for that.

[Peter Evans @ Mar 2nd 2007 4:05AM]

>>Human @ Feb 4th 2007 5:45PM
I don't think it does, but does this (or any other Gigabeat) have a replaceable battery? > Neutralcheema @ Feb 11th 2007 1:02PM
battery life is awful, action should be taken>NeutralChada @ Feb 12th 2007 2:59AM
Can I use the gigabeat as a hard drive to transfer files to and fro from school without installing any extra software at school?

Yes. It is seen by Windows as an external drive. I've tried it and transferred files from one PC to another.

>>NeutralGregory @ Feb 28th 2007 12:28AM
I am planning on purchasing this mp3 player very soon, the 60GB Version to be exact and I had a few questions to ask. First, I was wondering how do you get your music files on to this device...........I recently installed a CD player into my car that also has a USB input on the front of the deck, do yall think I could play my music files from sweet if it could. Thanks!

[Peter Evans @ Mar 2nd 2007 4:09AM]

It works extremely well with Windows Media Player 11, much better than with Winamp or Monkey-whatsit, both of which I've tried and didn't like. I don't understand the fuss about WMP11 it works perfectly for me.

As to the USB-car radio connection, I don't know. I use an FM unit in one car and a cassette adaptor 'reader' in the other, both of which take the audio output signal from the Gigabeta's headphone socket.

The Gigabeat S60 is a brilliant piece of kit. One of those things you wait for and can't believe it when it finally arrives. Is it perfect? No, nothing ever is? Is it cool, great to use and is it great value? Yes!!

Hope this helps

Pete

[Peter Evans @ Mar 2nd 2007 4:13AM]

I don't know what went wrong with my first post but it was meant to contain a reply to "Human" stating that I found the battery life (at 12 hours for audio and 3 for video) to be perfectly adequate in the real world.

[J @ Mar 2nd 2007 3:40PM]

Anyone found a cigarette light power cord for the Gigabeat 60 or a cover for that matter (Toshiba has discontinued them.

I also just had to send my unit in for repair as the battery was toast after only 3 weeks!

[Adam @ Apr 20th 2007 12:25AM]

J,

Get the Radio Shack iGo, and the Gigabeat tip. The only downside is that the plug sticks out of the side rather far. Worked for me, because I have two cupholders with a handle notch between them. Adapter plug went right between the two cup holders.

[shehreef @ May 5th 2007 5:26PM]

I had my Toshiba Gigabeat in my pocket then a dime got stuck in the bottom port of the device... so it shorted out my battery. Does anyone know where I can find a battery for 60 GB Gigabeat?

REEF

[mark @ May 29th 2007 4:21AM]

what is a ok kinda price to pay for one of these. there are grey imports available pretty cheap or there are ones from other online shops (which could be grey imports) that are much more expensive. The difference between the cheap ones and the expensive ones is huge.

[Sofie @ Dec 15th 2007 7:21AM]

how do you delete everything on the gigabeat?