If you thought the Samsung YH-925 was little more than a colour version of the Samsung YH-920, well, you were right. It's somewhat less, having lost key features such as an FM radio, a docking cradle and a wired remote. Plus, it's still stuck at 20GB -- Samsung has yet to offer a model with more storage. Sound quality and battery life haven't improved either. On the other hand, the YH-925 offers the best interface this side of the iPod, and it supports a wealth of audio formats, including secure WMA, Audible and Janus subscription services. It also lets you upload photos directly from compatible digital cameras -- not bad for a colour player that sells for as low as £179 from many online vendors.
Design
Like its greyscale predecessor, the 770g Samsung YH-925 packs everything into a slim but slightly long case. Its 46mm (1.8-inch), 160x128-pixel screen looks bright and colourful -- perfect for viewing photos and navigating menus. The menus themselves remain a marvel of simplicity, as do the player's controls. Admittedly, the large four-way control pad lacks the panache of the iPod's scrollwheel, but it makes for extremely easy operation.
To make a voice recording, you just slide a switch on the side of the player and start talking, then flip the switch back when you're done. Regrettably, voice notes can be recorded only as 32Kbps stereo MP3 files, while line-in recordings -- which also encode directly to MP3 -- are limited to 160Kbps. Support for higher bit rates would be welcome, and so would the charging cradle that came with the YH-920. All that's left is the proprietary Y-cable that splits between USB and AC connections -- not ideal for travel.
Features
The Samsung YH-925 accommodates Windows users like few other players. It supports not only MP3, WMA and DRM-protected WMA files but also Microsoft's PlaysForSure spec and Janus subscription services such as Napster To Go. The latter required a firmware update, but installation went quickly and smoothly.
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User reviews4
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Phil Mollicone 21 November 2006
Good: Nice size, 20GB is plenty of space, robust
Bad: You get only 2 hours from 10 hours advertised battery life. Bothersome charger.
Comment: I got this to transcribe my old vinyl onto MP3. It works OK for that, but I can't find a way to rename/manage the resulting files. So I have a huge, long list of files under "line-in recordings" and have to scroll through to find what I want. Firmware was recently upgraded to Napster compatability, but the process was very fiddly. It holds photos, but is not compatible wtih my camera, so I had to buy an additional hard drive for photo storage on holiday. OK for music, but I think better is out there now.
ZF-B 24 October 2006
Good: Sharp colour, voice recorder
Bad: Battery life is far too short
Comment: If the battery life could be extended to 15 hours and if it was made thinner and more compact, the Samsung YH-925 would be ideal.
Ray Szajewski 23 September 2006
Good: Very easy to use. Large screen. Easy interface
Bad: No clear instruction on how to produce a mobile playlist
Comment: Bought it in June this year at a great discount. I think it has excellent playback and good sound, and it's very easy to use. I have no problems playing any WMA/MP3 and no problems with files or photos. I'm really glad I bought it. Well done Samsung. Highly recommended
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