Samsung YH-J70

Samsung’s latest entry into the increasingly crowded color screen arena is a 20GB player measuring 2.5 x 4 x 0.5 inches and weighing 4.8 ounces. The stylish player is wrapped in a shiny black finish and contoured to easily fit into a pocket. It looks sleek, but shows fingerprints and smudges as soon as its out of the box. The YH-J70 touts audio and video playback, image viewing, direct recording, and games among its many features.

Music sounded clear and the included earbuds delivered crisp sound with deep bass. The YH-J70 gets very loud, but even with the volume cranked up, songs were not distorted. MP3 and WMA files are supported. The direct recorder converts CDs and radio broadcasts into MP3s without a PC. The YH-J70 claims the longest battery life of all of the players in this roundup, topping the charts at a whopping 25 hours of audio playback.

The YH-J70 includes a standard 1.8-inch color screen. The display is not as bright as the Gmini 402, but it’s fine for quickly viewing photos on the go. Video files are converted into SVI format through the included software. When we watched King Arthur, the picture looked clear, without any stutters. During some action sequences there was some minor pixilation. Overall the YH-J70’s output is watchable, but prepare for some eye strain and a long load time (over a minute in our tests) if you plan on watching a feature film. The load time might have been a quirk of the preproduction model that we tested; we hope that Samsung fixes this issue before the player hits retail.

The controls and menus on the YH-J70 are intuitive. The basic Menu, Tool, Play/Pause/Power, Forward, Backward, and Navigational controls felt a bit flimsy on the model we tried, but were responsive. When scrolling through menus, animated icons make it easy to see what you’re searching.

If you want to pass the time playing some games, the YH-J70 comes loaded with five. The games start up quickly and are easily seen onscreen. Familiar favorites like Tetris and Othello will keep you entertained once you get the controls down.

If you want a sleek device that plays music and video as well as photos, Samsung has your player. With the YH-J70, you’ll have hours of on-the-go entertainment in your pocket.