Best Buy's Insignia NS-DVxG DAP: watch out, iPod

Like many of the TiVo VIPs who rushed to order their Series3 boxes so that they would arrive the next day (unfortunately, things didn't turn out so well), we're big proponents of immediate gratification, which is why we still shop at brick-and-mortar retailers like Best Buy despite the increased selection and better prices found online. One thing we don't go to Best Buy for, however, is the Insignia Store, which sells super-cheap "top-notch quality" OEM gear that is supposedly full of "high-tech features" -- but which is really just targeted at consumers on the tightest of budgets. Anyway, the latest "feature-filled" product to take its place among the rest of the Insignia elite will be the NS-DVxG DAP from Joytoto, an absolutely hideous looking player that AVING amusingly implies could topple Apple's reigning champ. Besides the flimsy controls and cheap-looking case, the DVxG does actually offer some compelling functionality, including video playback on the 2.2-inch LCD, wireless headphone and file transfer support via Bluetooth, PlaysForSure compatibility, and a microSD slot to supplement what appears to be 6GB of internal storage. These players should be joining the illustrious ranks of the Insignia family come October, and though pricing hasn't yet been announced, it wouldn't shock us one bit if you end up getting a good deal of change after slapping down two Benjamins.

Update: It went through the FCC, so there you go. Here and here.

[Joshua Ochs @ Sep 18th 2006 1:57PM]

Holy fugly site, Batman! What the hell happened? Text is poorly laid out, logos a freaking HUGE, and there are three columns of crap off to the side now.

Ugh!

[Carmen SanDiego @ Sep 18th 2006 2:01PM]

Why does Engadget look so weird right now? The layout is so cheesy and un-appealing. Was there some overnight corporate takeover I didn't read/hear about yet?

Change it back, or Gizmodo may be getting the tech blog award this year (yes that was low, but desperate times....)

[Liquid @ Sep 18th 2006 2:27PM]

Clear your cache and reload. It looks great!

[CooterPunch.blogspot.com @ Sep 18th 2006 2:08PM]

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Soo, WHY should I buy a $300+ iPod over this again? I still don't see why sites are all on Apple's nuts when the iPod STILL doesn't have built-in Bluetooth or good video options. I have no problem checking out this Insignia player.
http://CooterPunch.blogspot.com

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[DeShaun @ Sep 18th 2006 4:27PM]

The problem is that people like pretty things. A lot of times, people are willing to sacrifice functionality for appearance. Think about it, we have fashion cell phones, fashion laptops, fashion cameras, and fashion media players. It's annoying.

I personally wouldn't get this player, either, just because I like a friendly medium; something that is physically attractive, but functional. This just looks cumbersome and odd. I wouldn't get an Apple product, but I'd go for a Creative or one of Samsung's products instead.

[Mick O @ Sep 18th 2006 2:22PM]

Could Best Buy have the long awaited Zune-killer on their hands?

[Eric @ Sep 18th 2006 2:29PM]

Nice comment on the design, in a media player post. Kindly try reading the rest of the site.

[Warhorse @ Sep 18th 2006 2:35PM]

Insignia vs IPod? Well at least we know who will win the war on pricing. Hopfully this does well enough so they introduce new models with larger memory.

[Goodman @ Sep 18th 2006 2:42PM]

I can definitely get behind bluetooth headphones. I hate untangling headphone cords. It's ugly, but if it works and the price is right, I could be on board. A Zune-killer for sure.

[gorkon @ Sep 18th 2006 2:47PM]

Engadget.....you are so Jaded.....this thing does not look half bad. Granted, you can have my iPod when you rip it form my cold dead hands, but if I had a few extra bucks I might buy something like this.

[Stutz @ Sep 18th 2006 3:19PM]

i liked the "new face".

[thriftytechie @ Sep 18th 2006 3:37PM]

Best Buy has no sense whatsoever. Isn't it obvious that they can take out both the iPod AND the Zune?
If they only ordered this NS-DVxG in brown...

[Eli @ Sep 18th 2006 3:45PM]

Is this going to even compete against the iPod/Zune? No, obviously not. But depending on the price it could be a pretty cool little player. Bluetooth headphone support is pretty neat (now they just need to come out with bt headphones that aren't hideous), and although it's ugly it seems to have solid features.

As with most things like this, a lot depends on the price. For its storage size and features, I think this could be a very successful player at around $180-200.

[anonymouspimp @ Sep 18th 2006 3:50PM]

A Zune-killer? I hope for your sake, you were kidding... lol MS will spend so much on advertising, I bet it does just fine (not likely it will top Apple tho lol). Especially after they release a few more players next year.

Lets be realistic people. This thing isn't killing anything. There will, however, be a lot of these hideous things sold, thanks to Best Buy.

Mother: "Hi, I am looking for an MP3 player for my kid for Christmas"

15 yr old Best Buy professional: "I think they are over here. I don't know anything about them. No you can't play with one before you buy it. This one looks like it has the same amount of memory, but its a lot cheaper."

Mother: "OK, I will buy the one thats $100 cheaper."

They will sell a lot of these things... but your chances of seeing someone listening to their Insignia NS-DVxG on the train are slim to none.

[Jeff @ Sep 18th 2006 4:46PM]

Best Buy may have its (large, horrendous) faults, but they do have all of their audio and video players out for people to play with. They generally don't go so far as to actually load them like the Apple Store does, but they're not shy about letting you handle the merchandise before buying it.

[Khidr @ Sep 18th 2006 4:10PM]

so negative engadget... I'll have you know my insignia dryer has performed every bit as well as the three I'd gotten off of craigslist before this one.

[Mini-Me @ Sep 18th 2006 4:45PM]

DeShaun, dumb people always allow fashion to beat function.

[ben @ Sep 18th 2006 7:30PM]

Why do they come up with this crap? I'd rather have an ipod without video functionality than a badly made mp3 player with video. I love my ipod and I can't see anything coming near to "klling" it.

[Ayle @ Sep 18th 2006 8:48PM]

and dont like the layout of the controls...By the way Insignia mp3 player are not piece o junk like some people might think I have a 1gi one and I'd never never trade it for an Ipod....

[JeremyS @ Sep 19th 2006 12:08AM]

I agree. My 2Gb has been working well for the past 2 months.

[Ron @ Sep 18th 2006 9:00PM]

I think you guys are hilarious. How do we know this gadget sucks. Engadget writes a one line review on the buttons and case and everyone is talking like they've used and tested this product. I'm not saying its going to be great - it could suck for all i know. I just think its funny that its not even out and we are bad-mouthing it.

[Jeremy S. @ Sep 18th 2006 11:56PM]

Stop beating up on Insignia. This look ok to me. And as for quality, I don't know the company that makes their 1 and 2 Gb DAP but the 2 Gb I have works and sounds great. Albeit the controls are a bit small the buttons on this being bigger would be a benfit.

[techvaluemgr @ Sep 19th 2006 1:53AM]

Depending upon what formats this has I might try it for $200. I bought a Sandisk cheapo 1GB MP3 player over a year back to get me through between iPod models and I stuck with it over the screen-less shuffle. Heck it even has FM and audio record in mic included�are you listening Apple?

The interface is not as nice, but I learned it used it and made it play nice with my Mac OS X by sweeping off ds_store files using FinderCleaner (Mac system icon marker files would disable the device unless cleaned off before ejecting device). My point here is, that your Engadget readers are a resourceful group and may be more prone to trying more devices than your average group if they save 1/3 the price on a purchase.

[egloskerry @ Sep 19th 2006 12:00PM]

You guys are all saying this sucks, but the insignia amigo they released is actually a damn good product. It's not going to compete with a high-end samsung or sandisk 2GB DAP, but for people who are considering a sandisk c100 or a sony bean, it's a very, very good choice. I'd imagine this product is fairly decent, as most BBY-branded products are.

BBY has what is called "good, better, best" products. It's basically how they categorise your options. For example, if you wanted to integrate your mp3 player into your car, good would be an fm trans, better would be a cassette adapter or line in to a headunit, and best would be bluetooth. Most BBY-brands are designed to fulfill either the good or better categories, with very, very few in the best category.

The insignia amigo fulfills the good category, now they release one for the better category.

By the way, there is an insignia LCD tv that is just a rebranded LG, except it's a few hundred cheaper. Just because you got burned by the Durabrand Walmart DVD player doesn't mean all house brands suck.

[egloskerry @ Sep 19th 2006 12:01PM]

However, I do agree that they need a new name. I;m sure they will come out with one by launch.

[JeremyS @ Oct 12th 2006 12:38PM]

Just saw the player at Best Buy.
Overall it does not feel flimsly, the screen is pretty large and that 4 way controller also rotates to find music faster, 2 headphone jacks, mini-SD slot, and bluetooth.

4GB for $149
2GB for $119

[Chris Baker @ Oct 16th 2006 1:54PM]

I picked up the 4BG one. Very nice little DAP. The video playback is 320x240 and 30fps. Granted on a 2.2" screen the image is a little small, but it's crystal clear and the audio is synched properly.

There's no BT support on it. But otherwise an overall solid player.

[Trace The Hedgehog @ Oct 28th 2007 2:57PM]

lol Chris Baker, I laughed so hard cause there's some guy I know with that name.

ANYWAYS, I saw one of these at Best Buy...it was frozen. =/ Have you had any problems with yours?

[Fab1175 @ Oct 19th 2006 4:25AM]

Hi Chris !

Nice that you got this player. I should get mine soon too ;)

Could you please tell me if the player features games. Is there any equalizer to personalize sound?

You mentioned too headphones jacks but one of these is the line is, isn't it?

Thanks in advance ;)

Fab

[Fab1175 @ Nov 3rd 2006 3:49AM]

I got the player and it is great ;) !

[vick @ Mar 12th 2007 12:53AM]

this actually seems like a pretty decent player, i fooled around with the floor model, and it does seem to be selling well, currently it is on back order. and you cant beat the price for its usage,

i am one of the poor college kids looking for a functional player and i think this could do the trick

apple does rock, or so i am told, i don't know, i could never see buying the company name just to be like most of the other digital audio population. but i surely wouldn't mind toting this baby around showing off a preview of my video-pro folio to some potential clients nor would i feel a single twinge of disdain from watching some converted dvds on the long bus rides to campus. on top of all that it can play my music collection and has expandable media just in case i feel a need to gain some more giggs

but yeah, thats my view on this gadget

[Fab1175 @ Mar 11th 2008 5:29AM]

Man, what a weird site and what a weird article about a player that presents quite a few advantages !!

Hum, let me think a second... Ha! I understand what bother you people of engadget : the new Insignia is not white and doesn't have the logo "Apple". Ha, sorry I misunderstood you.

Maybe you should go out sometimes and then you will discover that there are other stuff than Ipod over there and that some people buy mp3 player for something else than star wars design.

The new Insignia is definitely on my buying list.

[Drive-In-Freak @ Apr 27th 2008 10:44PM]

Line in, FM, real equalizer, drag and drop compatibility, subscription music service compatibility, and most importantly a USER REPLACEABLE BATTERY.

Tell me how this PMP isn't superior to an iPod in every possible way but looks.

[Star-Raptor @ Aug 12th 2008 8:22AM]

I have the NS-DV2G (2 Gig model) and it is much, much, much, much, much, much, MUCH better than the ipod. Granted, it could use some restyling, but it plays video at resolutions (supported officially: 320x240)
over 1080P HD (1920x1080) and views pictures at over 400 mega pixels. This thing is really impressive when you trash the included media converter and use Rhapsody or WMP11. This thing didn't crack when it hit the concrete floor after i tripped on a stair, and it didn't crack when it fell down the stairs. The external battery (removable), the Micro SD slot, and the great value (got one off amazon for $40, no kidding) makes this an ipod killer. So don't judge the DVxG if you don't have one.