Samsung YP-T9 hands-on

Some might say it's too little too late now for a hot new PlaysForSure device, but we got our greasy meat-hooks on Samsung's latest nano competitor, the YP-T9, and we have to say, these guys are finally on the right track after the huge disappointment that was the YP-Z5. In fact, despite the glaring and persistent lack of mass-storage mode, the device and its interface might finally give Samsung a bit of cred with, you know, people who want to use their player on a regular basis, and it's got a few niceties -- like OGG support, games, movies, audio recording, and FM radio -- to fill the gaps that the reigning champion of flash players still hasn't plugged. Click on for a ton of shots.

For us? Why, thank, um, us.

Lessee here, player, sync cable, headphones, ear poofy thingers, software and guide.

Bonus: those rubber screw caps poke out just enough to act as skids.

That's the record, back, menu, and play / pause / power button.

Vs the Sansa E200 series it's pretty minuscule.

And also significantly thinner, although that doesn't necessarily come through in this shot.

The interface is clean and iconic; up and down move you through, and that white dot on the left shows you your position in the menu. Very easy to learn the first go.

The screen is very decent and rather bright.

Photos are much better shown off here than the Sansa.

Oh, and it does video, too. Granted, it's not-quite-even-QCIF MPEG4, but hey, that's still better than some flash players.

Ah, we're having a Zune moment here.

What's this? Games?

Whoa man! Let's deliver some damn pizza!

Ha.

Oh yeah, it plays music too.

File browser, standard stuff.

And, of course settings.

[Racer X @ Nov 22nd 2006 8:29AM]

Hey guys, what's this? NO mention of how many gigabytes for storage in the post???? HELLOOO!! Has the tryptophan kicked in early?

[ipodssuck @ Jul 13th 2007 10:49PM]

HEY, DOES ANY ONE KNOW HOW TO PUT THE SONGS YOU LIKE THE MOST FROM YOUR MUSIC LIST TO YOUR FAVORITES LIST, I HAVENT MANAGED TO FIGURE THAT OUT YET AND I CANT SEE ANYTHING ON THE QUICK START GUIDE ABOUT IT SO PLEASE HELP ME!??????

[Mark S. @ Nov 22nd 2006 8:43AM]

At provantage.com, 2GB for $126, 4GB for $162

[Phil @ Nov 22nd 2006 8:48AM]

the feature i really need with one of theses is itunes compatability. much as i'd like to see something other than my trusty ipod mini by now, since i'm a mac user anything else than a 'pod makes no sense for me right now. some sort of universal itunes compatability is what good DAPs need!

[JL @ Nov 22nd 2006 9:25AM]

Ummm no, it should be the other way around - Itunes should be able to manage media on commonly supported devices other than the iPod. Especially for those of us who use windows where we aren't locked into one device. Winamp beats iTunes there, it supports with plugins the iPod, Plays For Sure and USB mass storage devices...

Its not the hardware's problem, its the software, but since Apple is content to keep you locked into the iPod ecosystem, it wouldn't make sense for them to all of a sudden allow you to manage other DAP hardware with iTunes..

[Noam @ Nov 22nd 2006 9:13AM]

"Oh yeah, it plays music too."


That made me laugh.

[Kazolar @ Nov 22nd 2006 9:21AM]

Apple has made it so that any player that tries to be itunes compatible is at their mercy. Apple has no -- and I mean not incentive to make Itunes work with any other music player. Blame Steve.

[marco @ Nov 22nd 2006 9:38AM]

I won't buy unless the bluetooth version comes out. It doesn't make any sense ... bluetooth would really set this player apart.

[Leomar @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:05AM]

Off the topic; I've watched so many hands-on on Engadget that I immediately noticed it was Peter's had holding a shiny new flash based mp3 player. On the topic; It seems like a good competitor against the Sansa but it needs something different. Also what's the battery life like?

[Ryan Block @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:34AM]

Sorry, try again. That's my hand. ;)

[alex @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:19AM]

Why stop at bluetooth, why not add in wifi. Why not 8gig like the Sansa or Nano. Why not have it have widescreen w/DIVX/XVID. Why not have it lay gold coins for you while it's at it. After a while it's just pointless waiting for your wishlist of features because it's going to be a painfully long while before any of those features are going to be showing up on one device. So if the coins aren't burning a hole in your pocket you might as while hope and pray something along the lines of what your looking for comes out next year.

[cuby @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:22AM]

instead of having it lay coins, maybe it could _eat_ coins, and after it's had 5 or so, it could poop out a baby yoshi?

[Ras Thavas @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:19AM]

"despite the glaring and persistent lack of mass-storage mode,"

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2006/07/samsung-ypt9-bluetooth-mp3-player.php

If you follow the link from anythingbutipod to the FCC site that has the owners manual you will find that on page 24 it says you can use the player as a removable storage device. It also says "Once files are transferred to the removable disk, it is required to run in media studio." and "Otherwise, transferred files can be found only in and those files will not be listed in
and from the main menu."

[willieboy @ Nov 22nd 2006 1:12PM]

Is that phone??? Looks to much like my fugly LG phone... Cheap feeling plastic nobs and switches!!! Yuck

[bitstream @ Nov 22nd 2006 1:31PM]

I always wondered why manfacturers don't create an iTunes plug-in. I have an older MPIO FY200 (256mb) and the iTunes plug-in works great... though you can't transfer protected AAC tracks.

It'd be cool if someone not only created an iTunes plug-in, but included some sort of transcoder which would automagically convert protected AAC to some sort of format that another player supports... heck, even some hackneyed proprietary encrypted format.

Of course, Apple won't allow this any more than Microsoft would allow the inverse to happen.

Is it just me, or does the Windows Media (PFS) vs iTunes AAC format war remind you of HD DVD vs Blu-ray? Two quality formats that aren't winning technical merits, just marketing. Neither side will ever concede defeat, so us consumers are stuck in the middle...

[mike @ Nov 22nd 2006 1:53PM]

ive got the yp-t8 and its great the t9 doesn't look much different though

[marco @ Nov 22nd 2006 2:01PM]

well the bluetooth version IS OUT. Just not for sale in the united states ... I'm not asking them to add on feature after feature ... just don't give the US market a watered down version!

[raph @ Nov 22nd 2006 2:08PM]

it's nice, just needs cell phone capabilities and i'll buy it.

[GJP303 @ Nov 22nd 2006 4:07PM]

"for you"... for some strange reason i thought it would start playing for you i will by teddy geiger.. lol pretty slick player though.. add some bluetooth and im in.

[trev @ Nov 22nd 2006 4:11PM]

"...are finally on the right track after the huge disappointment that was the YP-Z5."

Eh? They were never off track to begin with! I would describe the Z5 as anything but a dissapointment: good sound quality, its sturdy, easy to use, has a great battery life, you can load music onto it via ums, scratch proof, only a few mills thicker than a nano, and it doesn't look half bad!

This player looks like a streamlined Z5 (even the supplied wallpapers are the same), if its an improvement on its older brother then its going to be a fantastic little dap.

[iampiti @ Nov 25th 2006 6:34AM]

My thoughts exactly. I'd like to see the reasons why engadget thinks the Z5 is a failure. I've got mine for 3 months and I love it. It's small, battery lasts a lot, it has radio (it's a Z5F), it works as a USB storage device... no complaints

[Negro @ Nov 22nd 2006 7:58PM]

i work at best buy and sometimes our display goes into bluetooth mode and u have to reset it to get it out of that mode

[ravenfury @ Nov 22nd 2006 8:09PM]

you can use the latest ver. of winamp to do similar tasks as itunes

[J Shaft @ Nov 22nd 2006 9:50PM]

I've heard on some forums that the YP-T9 can be turned into a UMS-compliant device if flashed with European or Asian firmware (and yes, they're in English).

[canucks554 @ Nov 29th 2006 9:21PM]

can you download any new games on to the yp-t9???

[Ian @ Dec 8th 2006 6:32AM]

Hi,

Where/when can I buy one of these in Europe?

Checked amazon.co.uk but not there! did find it on Amazon.de

is there likely to be any software difference if buying in Germany rather in UK? I don't care about the printed/supplied manual, only the software/firmware on the actual device.

Thanks
Ian

[PeteC @ Dec 10th 2006 8:55AM]

Engadget! You're in trouble! I just got mine and there's no OGG support which basically ALL my music is in! It does not state OGG support in the feature list but the Z5 doesn't and I checked that did work with it before I bought one. I purchased this in the same knowledge that you said it did too despite it not being on its official features. Is there some firmware update that might work as for now, I'm unable to use it!

[Darryn @ Apr 25th 2007 7:04PM]

I bought the Sansa, the dial felt cheap, the interface pissed me off. Among many other disappointments. THEN I found this.. (at Sears, who would have thought).. and it was nice..

The interface was excellent. Feels nice, looks nice.. and plays nice.

Left Sears... went home checked online.. found a cheaper price (at bestbuy, but I generally dislike bestbuy. so I took the print out to sears and price matched it).

I'm a linux user.. Linux didn't quite enjoy this with the standard firmware, so I switched the firmware to an overseas version which uses mass storage instead. Now linux loves it..

I could go on and on about how much I love this unit, but I'll spare you.

I haven't figured out how to transcode (linux) videos yet. It's on my list of things to figure out, but with a 1.8" screen it's not all that important.

Recommended ? HELL YES..

Personal dislikes: Ipod (hd based models tend to fail, flash based lack features, and I've never been a fan of itunes even when I did use windows.) m:robe 500: cute unit, hardly has battery life and generally slow. RCA Lyra: surprisingly durable, tho basic. Sansa: junk, cheap and returned within a week.

[Shailaja @ May 28th 2007 6:25PM]

Help! I had to format my system.. so lost Samsung Media Studio-that we use as i/f to transfer music on to mp3 (YPT9). And, looks like I lsot the original CD I got with the product too... anywhere from where I can download the media studio, please... ? Thanks in advance!!

[Rebecca Scott @ Jun 22nd 2007 8:15PM]

I have had the yp-t9 since Feb. and it refuses to hold a charge! I will charge it completely, attempt to use it less than 24 hrs later and it's dead! Very frustrating. Too late to return it, so looking at contacting Samsung for a replacement.

[Henry @ Jul 3rd 2007 5:09PM]

Has anyone figured out when recording FM and saving it, the files tend to stay there until you do a unit format erasing all files. There is know way of saving or editing the FM tracks on PC you only can play them not move them or erase specific tracks.

[Ron @ Jul 22nd 2007 4:18PM]

Files can be deleted/played thru PC using Studio5 or transfered/saved on PC using Explorer

[ryan @ Jul 8th 2007 6:51PM]

somebody help i am having a tough time deciding whether i shou;d get the samsung ypk5 or the samsung ypt9. please someone help. which one would you get? why?
i like the k5 for the speaker and the looks but the t9 has video and bluetooth.
i need help please
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