Insignia Amigo flash-based MP3 player

It's fairly obvious that anything sold "exclusively" in Best Buy might be a bit suspect, and their Insignia house brand is no different. The Amigo, however, is a surprisingly decent looking flash-based DAP with a built-in FM tuner and OLED display. Not much bigger than an iPod Shuffle, it comes in 1GB and 2GB flavors, supports MP3, WMA, Audible, WMA-DRM (PlaysForSure-ready), and touts the ability to display pictures and album art on the external display. The removable, rechargeable battery keeps the tracks spinning for 18 hours, and they even toss in a carrying case and mini-USB cable to boot. While the package is far from remarkable, and the branding isn't likely to boost your social status, the Amigo is well-suited for conquistadors on a budget; if you can wade through the pestering boys in blue, the Amigos are available now for $99 (1GB) and $129 (2GB).

[Via DAPreview]

[Zhao Wen Xio @ Jul 28th 2006 11:25AM]

They should have called it the "Best Buy Beaner".

[DM @ Jul 28th 2006 11:29AM]

Actually I think this player looks darn good... esp the buttons, they seem to have a very "classy" look to them...
A few chrome touches would make it perfect (looks wise, that is) :-D

[Alex @ Jul 28th 2006 11:29AM]

That actually doesn't look like a bad deal at all.

And hahahahah @ "Amigo is well-suited for conquistadors on a budget", that had my dying in my chair laughing

[dj-ronald-mc-donald @ Jul 28th 2006 11:32AM]

I can't find this player on their website.

The Gay Amigo
Format: DVD
Release Date: 05/25/2004

Browse more: Action

[sausage frank @ Jul 28th 2006 11:37AM]

No, Sony made the Beano MP3 player, not BB.
It was shaped like a kidney bean.

[icruise @ Jul 28th 2006 11:44AM]

"and touts the ability to display pictures and album art on the external display."

An external display?

[hoaxMail @ Jul 28th 2006 12:11PM]

Does anybody else not think this looks like it came from the '60s?

[Alex @ Jul 28th 2006 12:25PM]

icruise: "An external display?"

Pretty cool huh?

[Jay @ Jul 28th 2006 1:11PM]

There's no EQ whatsoever. So if you like listening to crappy sound quality, go ahead and buy one.

[aarron @ Oct 11th 2006 3:11PM]

actually this mp3 player has been very good to me i have been riding with it everyday and i have fell on it i have gotten it run over muitlple times and its still kicking for your moneys worth dont get an ipod they suck this is much better plus its cooler and it also has an EQ so you can change it around to make better sound but yeah its rad go buy it

[Ragz @ Jul 28th 2006 1:32PM]

5 EQ Presets, 1 custom EQ setting

That's according to the dapreview link. Sounds like the standard equalizer you see in most players. Probably not great, but it'll do the job.

I agree with some of the comments here.. this thing looks pretty snazzy for the price. Not a bad deal at all if you need a cheap flash player to beat around.

[sheauxdown @ Jul 28th 2006 1:58PM]

I recently left best buy, but I've got to say I'm actually impressed with these things.

2GB for $129 is a good deal, especially when it comes with a rechargeable battery, a case, and has a nice rubber-ish outside lining that makes it feel durable.

And get this: it comes preloaded with a little bit of music; you get some angels and airwaves, rise against, and other bands I can't remember. Only about 12 songs or so, but something you don't really see on other mp3 players. It's a nice little surprise.

[tc2 @ Jul 28th 2006 2:20PM]

"pestering boys in blue"

haha ...I guess I'm a pest.

554

[DM @ Jul 28th 2006 2:34PM]

@sheauxdown
Actually the old Creative Jukeboxes used to come half full with Classical music (don't know if they still do)... but unfortunately it was some DRM protected crap that could not be copied anywhere!

[Big Sam @ Jul 28th 2006 2:40PM]

"sheauxdown"
The Sandisk players come with 19 songs (without DRM). They even include album art. Most of it is crap though. Two short videos are included as well.

[BB4U @ Jul 29th 2006 2:25AM]

"pestering boys in blue"

Umm...yea, kinda-sorta annoying, but we're told to do so
for "customer centricity". Prolly one of the main reasons why I chose to work there over *coughs* Circuit City, who has a lack thereof. Oh well...

338

[egloskerry @ Jul 30th 2006 3:14AM]

551, transferring to 424!

[sheauxdown @ Jul 30th 2006 11:39AM]

383 represent

[Jeremy @ Jul 30th 2006 9:30PM]

Ok hear is the short review of this player. I just purchase the 2 gig ver. Scale from 1 to 10..10 being the best.

>Sound quality: 8..no distoration or background his..5 Band Equalizer as Default settings (Shuffle,Repeat,A-B Repeate)
>Display: very hard to see in bright daylight, otherwise very good in other lighting..its a 3 line OLED display, last 2 lines show a timebar and the time counter & length of song..Can adjust display brightness, rotation(for left handed people)and backlight times
>Construction: 9..top plastic is black gloss that will leave fingerprints, the back is a rubber like surface.
>Battery: takes 2 hrs to charge/have not used it long enough for full review on this topic. 3.7v Li-ion
>FM Radio: 7..the few good stations in my area sounded very clear..can be changed from Stereo to Mono..user can set upto 20 preset stations
>Buttons: nice click feel, easy to navigate. Persons with large fingers may have trouble.

Also:
Auto Power OFF (5 or 10 MIN)
Sleep (30,60,90,120 MIN)
USB Mode
System Info

Overall I like this player, its thin, light and sounds great.

[D @ Jul 30th 2006 11:02PM]

The player does actually seem suprisingly good.

360~

[wavesguy @ Jul 31st 2006 12:18AM]

I went and checked out this player at Best Buy today. I had high hopes. Unfortunatly it is a piece of s***. It locks up too easily and the buttons are too mushy. They are small and when you press down on one, the rest of the buttons follow. Doesn't look as slick in real life either. Oh well.

[Harriet Egertson @ Oct 25th 2006 2:43PM]

Does anyone know whether it will handle large (e.g. 10 hours) recorded book files? is the buffer large enough to play such a file all the way through? Does it have a Resume feature (some call it bookmarking)? Thanks!

[Cnet Guy @ Jul 31st 2006 11:06AM]

Check out instead of this player the following alternative.

Sony Ericsson K750i + 2gb ms

You end up getting an mp3 player, a 2mp camera and a cell phone.

[Jeremy @ Jul 31st 2006 12:44PM]

-I loaded 400 songs onto this player. It locked up once and have not had an issue since.
-I did mention that large fingers may have a problem with the buttons.
-This is (so far) a very good device.

[Digitaldel @ Aug 1st 2006 8:12PM]

I believe there will be a new version of firmware available shortly which will address some of the issues listed above.

[Jim @ Aug 1st 2006 10:55PM]

I got the 2 gig ver. I like it very much so far.
Sounds great, looks good, nice and compact.

[Dave S. @ Aug 2nd 2006 10:12PM]

I bought the 1GB model earlier today (for when I don't want to risk the HDD of my Zen Micro)

It's not bad at all, looks nice, very small, but still easy to use. The back has a nice rubberized feel to it, and the buttons are better than I expected, they feel pretty solid.

FM reception here was great, although it had trouble picking up some of the weaker stations.

It's a UMS device, which means I didn't have to even touch the included RhapsodyBestBuy CD, although it's a bit tricky to delete files from the player unless you use a program to sync your files.

Definately worth looking at if you just need a cheap player for the gym.

[Denise Hunter @ Aug 6th 2006 4:52PM]

I actually bought this player a few days ago and it's the best MP3 player I bought yet. It DOES have an equalizer . . . with your 5 basic bands that can be adjusted +12/-12 . . . freakin' awesome. I love the sound quality, it's surprisingly lightweight, and I love the color-scheme they used for the menu. Not to mention the FM radio works inside a building. I use the player overnight at the Super Target I work at and no other MP3 player I had with a radio, worked. I can be anywhere in the building and get crystal-clear FM radio. So, I get my money's worth. *grins*

Now . . . all they need to do is make a carrier for it with a clip and it will be perfect for me. I wonder if DLO is on the ball with that one? *smiles*

[Mikal Donovan @ Sep 19th 2006 10:44PM]

I just had a Creative Labs Nano plus 1 gig give out on me after only about 8 months of use. Fortunately, this is one item I opted to purchase Best Buy's replacement plan on because of the massive amounts of use and abuse it would get. I use it at work every day and I'm a pet groomer. I opted for Amigo 2 gig as a replacement and I love it. Right out of the box I could tell it was a better made product than my previous MP3 player and I've found it incredibly easy to use. I loved it so much that I went back and bought a 1 gig for my 15 year old son. It may be a 'Best Buy exclusive' and not some big name brand, but they've certainly done a wonderful job with this one.

[Harry L Goodman @ Oct 1st 2006 9:40PM]

screen cracked after 2 hours

[benny-k @ Oct 16th 2006 7:58PM]

Alright......my creative muvo n200 shelled out for some reason. When I turn it on, the letters and numbers on the display are all jumbled, and when i try to scroll to the next song, the dang thing turns off. EVERY TIME!! I have heard mixed comments on the quality of this insignia player, and i'll admit, 2 gigs for 130 bucks is a good deal. Should i buy it, or shouldn't I?

[brian @ Oct 20th 2006 11:37PM]

I just bought the 1GB today.

First, though, I was going to buy the Sandisk m240. Best Buy internet site had the price at 56.99, Store only had it at 69.99. So, since I wanted it TODAY, and the store wasn't going to honor the "internet only" sale price, I looked at the Sandisk c140, on sale for only 5 buck more at 74.99. It had the color screen which is much better than the b/g screen of the m240, so I figured, "Why not?".

Got the Sandisk c140 home.....annoying clicks between the songs. And, the FM tuner, for whatever reason, when the srceen would power down, would start a strange hummmmm on the FM signal. Veeeery annoying.

When I picked out the Sandisk c140, I saw the Insignia 1GB and 2GB there, didn't recognize the brand name, so just over looked it. But, with my bad experience with the Sandisk, I went straight back to exchange and gave this Insignia a try.

So far so good.....sort of. Much thiner body. Much better tactile feel than the Sandisk. No hmmmm with the FM tuner, even when the screen powers down or out.

But, it still has the same, "click" between songs. I collect bootlegs. 98% of what I listen too are concert bootlegs, so, the tracks, for the most part, are seemless, and having this "click" or "space" between songs can become veeery annoying. This is my first ever mp3 player, is this "click" something that occurs in every mp3 palyer, or just the cheaper, smaller sized players?

Anyway, I will keep this. It is sooooo much better than the Sandisk c140 of similar style and price. it will do for a throw around, gym and other type player.

I look forward to investing in a bigger player 30-60-80 GB ipod or Zune, when it comes out. Till then, this seems, so far, to be a decent and fun little player.

[Harry L Goodman @ Oct 29th 2006 4:44PM]

Just bought the 2 gig...not a bad player...have yet to figure out how to make a custom playlist....give it a 5 out of 10....sounds good.fyi you can buy a replacement battery on the best buy parts site

[nwaites @ Nov 7th 2006 5:38PM]

Yes to audible book support, the latest version of F/W will support audible.

[Ruth @ Dec 19th 2006 5:57PM]

can someone just say in plain english if the sound on this thing is good? I dont know if i should buy this for my bf and id like to know if its a good idea or not...I need the Music to sound as good as possible so is it?

[djharryg @ Jan 1st 2007 10:52AM]

This is an absolute perfect MP3 player. It works flawlessly with Windows Media Player 10 or 11. It is the best sounding and quality Mp3 player I have ever owned. The sound is clear. There is no "hiss". The battery life is fantastic. It's menu's are easy to use. I love the thing!