ilo 256MB Digital Audio MP3 Player

I recently decided to get a flash-based MP3 player to take with me when I walk to work.  I wanted a unit that would function as a USB mass storage device--that is, something I could install music on without any special software on any modern OS (Win2k/XP, OS X, or Linux), and also use to store other data if needed.  Also, I thought an FM radio would be nice.  I was leaning toward getting a Creative MuVo Micro N200, but then I noticed Wal-Mart carried an "ilo" brand MP3 player with similar features for $20 less, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  This page shows my impressions of the unit, along with some pretty lousy photographs.  (I've acquired a better camera since I wrote this review. ;)

Here's a picture of what you get in the box:

The ilo256 and its included accessories

Unlike the MuVo, which plugs directly into a USB port, this unit requires a cable.  On the plus side, the USB cable is included (HP, are you listening?), and it uses a standard mini-B connector, so you can easily replace it or get a second cable for another computer.  The earbuds also use a standard connector, which is good, since I prefer a set of headphones that are less prone to falling out of my ears.

The CD includes Win98 drivers as well as backup copies of the 16 mediocre "bonus" tracks that ship with the player.  The unit also includes a rather bulky armband that I almost didn't find, since it's well-hidden near the bottom of the impenetrable plastic packaging. 

The manual directs you to www.rave-mp.com for technical support.  A quick trip there shows that this player appears to be a repackaged GoVideo Rave-MP AMP256. 

Features

Although Wal-Mart's website doesn't say so specifically like it does for the Creative MuVo, the ilo256 is indeed a USB mass storage device.  Both Windows XP and Fedora Core 3 saw the unit immediately.  Although you can copy ripped tracks to the player without any special software, the manual points out that DRM'd music (such as that purchased from most online stores) has to be installed by Windows Media Player or a compatible music management program.  The manual also states specifically that the player is not compatible with iTunes (no surprise there).

The ilo256 plays both WMA and MP3 (up to 320kbps including VBR).  The sound quality sounds good to me, but I'm no audiophile (I admit!  I use my motherboard's integrated audio!  And five-year-old speakers!)  FM radio reception is surprisingly good considering the the unit's diminuitive dimensions and lack of external antenna--although with weaker stations, sound quality can be quite sensitive to the orientation of the player.

Unlike the MuVo, it is expandable via SD/MMC card (although it only supports up to 512MB cards).  Like the MuVo, it can record voice or radio; however, it does not encode MP3s; it records both voice and radio to abysmal-quality 4-bit 8KHz ADPCM.  The ilo256 also lacks the line input feature that the MuVo has.  In short, the recording features of the ilo256 exist mainly to fill a checkbox in the marketing material.  Don't buy this unit if those features are important to you.

The unit is powered by a single AAA battery (included!). 

The display is nice; it shows the song title, artist, and album all at once, along with a progress slider, elapsed time, battery strength indicator, and other miscellaneous bits of information.  The backlight is also very bright.

The ilo256 backlight

User Interface

The ilo256 user interface is fairly straightforward.  There's a typical navigation control on the front, and menu, volume, and lock controls on the side.

side view

Surprisingly (for a flash-based player, at least), you can play music by artist, album, genre, or track name.  However, you can't play files by folder.  It will find files in any folder, but it doesn't give you the opportunity to only play files in a certain folder.  Make sure you've got those ID3 tags complete--any missing information will lead to blank menu entries.  The downside to the player's ability to play music by ID3 tag information is the fact that it takes several seconds each time you turn it on (or unplug the USB cable) to index your music collection.  I've got the 256MB pretty much filled up and I have a 15-second wait; I suppose it would be correspondingly longer with an expanded unit. 

The user interface for FM radio could stand a lot of improvement.  Tuning it requires holding down buttons until your fingers become sore.  Once you've got your presets selected, though, you can switch between them quickly and easily.  But you can't record from a preset; you have to tune the hard way in order to do that.  Also, when you switch to the preset screen, the player will highlight a preset but keep playing the old station until you switch presets.  What's more, the menu that selects radio recordings is broken; sometimes it displays things that are not radio recordings (they're MP3s from elsewhere on the unit), and it doesn't seem to matter which selection you make anyway; it will just play something apparently at random.  Oh, and let's not forget the fact that sometimes you can't hear what you're recording. And once, while in the radio menus, the player froze and I had to remove and replace the battery to get it to respond.  The tuner interface, in my opinion, is the major wart on the ilo256.  I'm hoping a firmware update will resolve most if not all of the problems.

Conclusion

Pros:
Cons:

The Firmware Update

The firmware update mitigates some of the player's user interface issues.  If your player has 1.x firmware, you may want to consider updating it.

Comments? Flames?

Please send me any comments on this review here.
No ilo256 technical support inquiries please; I do not have the resources to help you.

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with ilo, Rave-MP, or Wal-Mart. The opinions expressed on this page are my own. I just bought the player.


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