Hands-on (again) with Samsung's P2

Yeah, we already got our P2 touching on back in those heady days of August, and we even saw this sucker unboxed in September, but now Samsung has made everything official and thrust it into some impenetrable plastic packaging for our own unboxing pleasure. Seriously, this thermoformed plastic was some of the worst we've ever encountered, and due to a sudden absence of scissors at the Engadget HQ, we were literally risking life and limb to get this thing open. Once we broke in, it was smooth sailing. The device is pretty slick, and Samsung seems to have tweaked the touch sensitivity a bit more to our liking. The default scrolling menu is still pretty bad, but it's easy to switch to a basic grid interface. The preloaded songs were of course smooth jazz bad techno, but it was no trouble at all getting some of our Rhapsody tunes onto the device -- no installation necessary, we just plugged it in and it worked, and we got similar results with Windows Media Center for some TV transfers. It's hard to get used to that little round dot at the bottom of the player not being a button, but the screen controls are easy enough, and the side buttons are a nice touch for when you're operating the device without looking. The included headphones are naturally horrible, but you're going to be picking up some stereo Bluetooth headphones for this one anyways, right?

Gallery: Hands-on (again) with Samsung's P2

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[John @ Nov 1st 2007 6:00PM]

Your scissors have vanished? I would think it would be dangerous to run away with scissors.

[Chrisboff @ Nov 1st 2007 6:04PM]

I get the feeling this device was cobbled together in a rush.

[Sam @ Nov 1st 2007 6:24PM]

For it to be "rushed", its my favorite mp3 player out of all the ones I've ever owned. Its really slick and works great with Bluetooth stereo headphones.

[MeDammit @ Nov 1st 2007 7:44PM]

And I have the feeling you have absolutely NO idea what you're talking about. I have this unit and am thoroughly pleased.

[shuyin198x @ Nov 1st 2007 6:35PM]

Did you:
Use the lighter to heat up the plastic,then poke it with precision screw drivers.Seeing that it didn't work, you proceeded to use the Big guns[larger screw drivers]to sharpen your knife before you butchered the plastic case?
In fairness to the headphones included, audio wise > BT headphones. Stick a shure in there,then you're all set.

[vdogg89 @ Nov 1st 2007 6:05PM]

video please

[resource @ Nov 1st 2007 6:11PM]

At least when you stab yourself opening the blister pack from hell you will have a pretty PMP to keep you company in the hospital.

[holycow @ Nov 1st 2007 6:18PM]

Got mine a week ago.. from Best Buy in Canada.

I guessed i missed my chance to be featured in engadget.. le sigh..

[Tony @ Nov 1st 2007 6:23PM]

So what does the little round dot do?

[Sam @ Nov 1st 2007 6:25PM]

Its the power light

[Tony @ Nov 1st 2007 6:27PM]

That's it? You'd think the screen would be a big enough power light.

Thanks, I was seriously wondering.

[Sam @ Nov 1st 2007 6:37PM]

The screen goes blank after a while if you are listening to music so I guess its there to let you know its still on. Plus the light turns red when charging.

[norino @ Nov 1st 2007 6:32PM]

It's still isnt available in my crap country :(

[shaun @ Nov 1st 2007 6:44PM]

Yer, lets be honest you don't see many pmps that can better the iPod but this looks like it would come close, especially with the bluetooth. Am i right in thinking the P2 doesn't have WiFi though? Does it do albumart?

[shuyin198x @ Nov 1st 2007 6:51PM]

No to the wifi,yes to the art. I think...

[Homeboy @ Nov 1st 2007 6:58PM]

This reminds me off when I bought Vista and fought with the package using knifes in 10min until I gave up, sat myself in front of the computer and searched for tutorials for opening the Vista case. I really had no clue about how to open or unfold the CD-slot.

And no I'm not stupid.*built my first PC without any help at the age of 14, 6 years ago*

[Leo @ Nov 1st 2007 6:59PM]

What resolution of video does it support? I'm looking for a compact PMP that can do decent res video (none of this 320x240, I want to download a show and dump it on there).

I feel dirty when I say this, but I'm actually considering the iPod touch 16GB!!!!

[Dude @ Nov 4th 2007 6:25PM]

according to Samsung's website, this player supports 16:9 video at 480x272, which is pretty descent really... i really like this player, and am considering it as my next... waiting for the zune for a comparison.

[TS @ Nov 1st 2007 7:07PM]

Are there any seriously good bluetooth headphones available at retail levels? Seems to me the general complaint about them is poor audio fidelity...

[insertAlias @ Nov 1st 2007 7:38PM]

What the hell is going on here? Is this a weak attempt at spam or just stupidity?

[Sirocco @ Nov 1st 2007 7:55PM]

I use a razor knife for such things, always being careful to point and cut AWAY from me or my fleshy parts.

[eflyersteve @ Nov 1st 2007 8:06PM]

As far as I know, this only supports headphone profile and not AVRCP (remote control of track, pause and play) which makes the blue tooth a slightly less interesting feature. If it had that function, I'd snatch one up quickly.

[Sam @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:12AM]

It absolutely does support AVRCP. I can play/pause, skip forward and back with my bluetooth headphones.

[calvin @ Nov 1st 2007 8:07PM]

mm id love to see those smash a w/e people buy this, pull out their hammer, then get owned by the packaging.

[annoia @ Nov 2nd 2007 7:04AM]

I'm considering upgrading my old (somewhat broken) IOPS for either this or the Creative Zen... I have an idea that Creative delivers awesome audio quality (and probably also a quality product at that). I haven't really heard anything about the P2, so I assume that the quality is fine - but great? Also, while the bluetooth is spiffy and all, I doubt I'll ever use it. On the other hand, the Zen has an expansion slot for extra memory which is a huge plus for me. However, it lacks the really neat interface of the P2.

[John @ Nov 1st 2007 8:52PM]

How hard would it to be to block any comment containing a URL with myspace in it?

[gjp303 @ Nov 1st 2007 10:35PM]

Seriously WTF? why is this person reposting over and over all this crap?

[feoysolo @ Nov 1st 2007 11:19PM]

Seriously? $250 for the 8GB model? For $50 more I can get the ipod touch with wifi, safari web browser, email, and multitouch.

Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to be convinced to get something other than an ipod (damn apple and their propensity towards the proproetary), but until this thing hits $200 or less for the 8GB model I'm not interested.

[Sam @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:17AM]

The Bluetooth alone is worth it to me. I've been waiting on a decent player with stereo Bluetooth for a long time. This is even better than I was hoping for. And I have no desire to surf the net on my mp3 player. Plus I don't want to be locked into using iTunes are any other music management software. I can plug the P2 in and copy music directly to the player. The only time you have to use their software is to copy video since it transcodes. But I bought this for music while I'm working out, not to watch video. And now I don't have to worry about wires getting in the way. I don't even need to touch the player since I can control it from my headphones.

[Adam @ Nov 7th 2007 9:20AM]

Yes, Touch has wifi (BIG plus) but, I just have to have my DRM tracks
(Rhapsody-To-Go) I just can't bring myself to get screwed by iTunes
every time I want a new song.

[Alex @ Nov 2nd 2007 7:11AM]

do embedding videoes work? this is a review from a korean site..

if that doesnt work, click here http://dory.mncast.com/mncHMovie.swf?movieID=10015873520071030032522

It's simply amazing : )

[b_a_boone @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:04AM]

Thanks for the Vid, I'm considering getting this and I have no need for it.

[Flyingaero @ Nov 4th 2007 8:57PM]

I know someone who has an ipod touch...the wifi is slow as dsl. if im gunna wait that long for a web page i might as well do it at home. the reason these aren't flying off the shelves is because ipod is more popular.

[Tom @ Nov 3rd 2007 12:52AM]

now we need some decent Bluetooth headphones. why aren't more manufacturers stepping up and making cool BT stereo headphones?

[symmetryx @ Nov 3rd 2007 6:17PM]

I totally agree. After buying this I looked around for some decent bluetooth headphones, and came up empty handed. Ended up leaving with a pair of corded Shures.

Can anyone confirm whether or not you can use the player as a headset replacement? I read somewhere that you could have the pmp detect your phone, then hear calls through your headphones and speak through the pmp's mic. My phone doesn't have stereo bluetooth, so I can't check.

Even without using bluetooth, I really enjoy this device. Great buy. Oh, has anyone else been able to apply the screen guard? Cause I've failed so many times.

[applefreak @ Nov 3rd 2007 8:38PM]

give me one for free (i couldn't think of some postive to say, since this is ,like, the 5000000000000000000000000000000 review of the thing I've read)

[Andrew @ Nov 5th 2007 12:37AM]

I LOVE Mine, and my box didnt look like that after i was done with it, you could hardly tell that it was open except for the fact that their was no player in it.

[KD @ Nov 9th 2007 5:45PM]

I'm looking for bluetooth stereo headphones for it, anybody know of any high quality ones which would work? Or what about the ones that can change tracks that Sam suggests, i've no idea where to look or what to buy :(

[applefreak @ Dec 5th 2007 2:29PM]

yess the P2 does album art

to steal a line from the NFL
I WANT THAT