The U3 looks like a stick of gum, has a cool retractable USB connector and feels right at home clipped to our shirt. But would we want to take it running with us?
Review summary of the Samsung YP-U3:
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 The U3 is a cute little mp3 player. For such a small and low-budget player, we were impressed that it played more than just MP3 and WMV, with ASF and OGG support. We liked the small OLED screen, and think Samsung got it right by including only artist and track data on the Now Playing screen. We hate Samsung's anti-Mac stance, eschewing support for the Apple OS on all their portable media players, but WMP11 worked well enough. The included clip was fantastic, and while we liked the color coordination between the earbuds, cable organizer and player, we feel the device would be better served by spending that time and energy into making at least a comfortable pair of headphones. Despite its shortcomings, the U3 is a device we would definitely use, especially while working out. Release: June 2007. Price: $79.
Pros: OLED screen despite small size, retractable USB connector, included clip
Cons: Uncomfortable earbuds, no Macintosh support
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Full review of the Samsung YP-U3:
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Design – Very good
The U3 is about the size of a pack of gum, with a headphone jack and a retractable USB connector on opposing ends. Physical buttons include a hold switch, a USB release switch, play/pause button and a "user" button that can be assigned one of four tasks. The “user” button also serves as the record button for the voice recorder. The five touch buttons on the device’s face are fast-forward, rewind, up and down (all of which serve as a four-way D-pad) and a back button. The U3’s 2GB capacity is on par with devices in this class, although its main competition--the iPod Shuffle—doesn’t have anything to match its one-inch OLED screen.
Interface and Transfer - Good
Navigating menus on the U3 was relatively easy, but there was no fast-scrolling option. The quickest way to scroll through all the songs was to hold down the up or down button, but scrolling wasn't nearly fast enough for our tastes. The menus were basic, organizing music by album, artist, song and genre. The tiny screen displayed the track name and artist, along with track progression in the form of a progress bar and clock. It wasn't not the most full-featured screen we’ve seen but we think it suits the U3’s needs perfectly.
The U3, like all Samsung PMPs, is Windows-only; no Macs allowed. For Windows users, the transfer process in Windows Media Player 11 is standard MTP, synchronizing whatever folders we selected and manually adding or deleting songs and videos. Speeds were on par with other USB 2.0 devices, but on-the-fly transcoding with MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) was extremely slow, taking about a minute for every minute of video. Files could be added manually in Explorer, but we found using WMP11 easy enough that it became our method of choice.
Using Samsung Media Studio was all drag and drop. Songs were added by simply highlighting them and dragging them to the player window. It's not as automated as Windows Media Player's setup, but it definitely offered specific control over which files were on the device. Both WMP11 and the Samsung Media Studio required transcoding for videos, as the player can only handle Samsung's proprietary SVI format and select WMV files.
Audio – Very good
The U3 had a surprisingly wide range of supported audio formats, including OGG, MP3, ASF and WMV (including DRM 10 aka PlaysForSure). This was a pleasant surprise, since its recently reviewed (and decidedly more expensive) cousin, the Samsung T10, had a dearth of supported formats. As a shuffle device, we loved the U3. It’s not designed for full album playback (the “Now Playing” screen doesn’t even show which album the track is from) and that’s OK with us. Amplification was as good as could be expected from such a tiny device, but even with good headphones, the sound left something to be desired.
We like seeing FM radio as an option on portable media players, but generally frown upon those that don’t record from the tuner. While disk space is certainly an issue, we still would have liked to see some sort of FM recording option here, perhaps at a low bitrate?
One of the more peculiar audio options on the U3 is the ability to alter the speed of audio playback. We're assuming this is most useful with the voice recorder, allowing voices to be slowed down for clarification or transcription, but we imagine it could be fun listening Tom Waits with a fast, squeaky voice as well.
Accessories – Very good
The U3 comes with a respectable amount of accessories, including a cable organizer that matches the included headphones and the device itself. While the color scheme-matching is certainly cute, the included headphones are pretty atrocious. Ignoring the mediocre sound, we were unable to keep the earbuds in for longer than 15 minutes before our ears began to hurt.
The clip was a nice addition, letting us clip the U3 to our shirt, jacket or pants. Paired with the rubberized surface of the device, it makes the U3 perfect for the gym, running or any other physical activity that doesn't require aural alertness.
Price and availability
The Samsung YP-U3 is available now for $60.
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