Does it have UMS, screen auto-off, and does it play loudly?

[mirajai]

I recently lost my Samsung Z5 which was, as far as I am concerned, close to perfect. I got a Creative Zen instead which is supposed to be superior, but I really miss some features! The Insignia Pilot might be a candidate replacement for the Zen, but can it do these things:

• Full UMS integration (so I can create any folder and file structure I want using any program I want and then navigate using that structure on the player)?
• Plays loudly (the Creative Zen plays at half volume compared to the Samsung Z5)
• Tactile buttons (play/pause, previous/next track, volume up/down) for operation through my pocket.
• The "tap twice" feature (one to wake it and bring backlight on, two to change the setting) to reduce inadvertant tactile changes (instead of requiring hold switch all the time) or better. The Zen only turns the screen off if I use the hold switch which is really inconvenient. If I don't use the hold switch, the screen drains power.

These are crucial design points for me, but for some reason I haven't found them addressed anywhere.

[CrowdAds]

[jamma]

I am not positive about UMS integration, but there is an option to explore music by folders and not by artist, album, etc so in theory it should be possible. Don't quote me on it or anything.

It plays loudly, loudly enough for the highest volume to be extremely uncomfortable - if you turn the mp3 player off at max volume and turn it on with earphones in, it will scare you/hurt a little. With it all the way up and plugged into my car's sound system, it's comfortable at 3 bars out of 20 and really loud at 7 or 8.

There are tactile buttons for song change and pause. The scroll wheel also clicks up, down, left, and right. If I remember correctly, up goes to an enlarged album art and then to the current playing menu. Down pauses, right is next, left is previous.

Be it a good or bad thing, it does have the tap twice feature you mentioned. If you spin the wheel or click a button, it will bring the backlight on and you have to click again or spin the wheel for it to respond. While I think it's a little annoying sometimes and should definitely be an option in the menu instead of being on no matter what, it does prevent song changes in your pocket.

There is a screen auto off too that you can change to how many seconds before it fades to black.

Hope this helps and sorry I couldn't be more exact, I don't have mine sitting in front of me and I'm much too lazy to go get it. What I would recommend is going to a best buy with one on display and play with it extensively to make sure it has all the features you want. If not, by some miracle maybe you can find somebody around you that has one and use theirs for a little, but the first option seems more probable.

[Cruleworld]

Originally Posted by mirajai

Full UMS integration (so I can create any folder and file structure I want using any program I want and then navigate using that structure on the player)?

Originally Posted by abi's review

The Pilot is both MSC and MTP compatible. It automatically selects which protocol to use depending on what operating system it communicates with. You can also force it into MSC mode for all operating systems by either changing the “Connection type” setting to “File and folder”, or temporarily by sliding the hold switch on before connecting it.

looks like it supports UMS (UMS and MSC are the samething)

[mirajai]

Thank you for your replies! This certainly sounds like a player I would like. Now all I could wish for were dedicated volume up/down buttons and greater capacity... but this comes really close!

[jamma]

Well, the scroll wheel is dedicated to volume up/down when it's playing and of course menu navigation when it's in the menu so... kind of sort of maybe dedicated volume controls?

About capacity, it has an SDHC slot for up to 16GB, but from what the other thread in this forum said, the 16 gig isn't worth the money because of a 2000 file limit or something like that. Still, for a flash player 24 gigs isn't too shabby.

[drwowe]

Yes UMS works. I use it exclusively and I always choose songs with the folder browser just like on my iAudio. Browsing by MP3 tags is too awkward for me.