It appears every day that about 10 or 20 new digital audio players (DAPs) appear on the market, but try as they might, the iPod reigns highest. The behemoth known as Microsoft has been trying to get into the market for a while now, with various moveable media centers made by Creative and others, but besides a few media junkies getting into the fray, they haven’t seen wide achievement. Even big Dell just recently folded their brand of DAP devices.

Enter CES 2006 – during his important speech, Bill Gates announced Microsoft’s first real serious competitor to the iPod, their new transportable Media Center software, and the first tool to use it, the Toshiba Gigabit S (MES30VW). It’s a 30GB, or 60 GB player, the size and shape of an iPod, which also plays videos, and does it well. After the debate, Toshiba stated that they’d break it out on the public in March. Well, that came and went, and here we are in the summer just finally in receipt of the chance to enjoy this small player. Was it value the wait? For the most part, I’d say so.

The Gigabit S comes in at $369.00 (CAD) for the 30 GB model (in white), and $469.00 for the 60 GB (in black), which places it attractive well against its paddy rivalry. When you open up the box you get several unlike cables that’ll allow you to connect to your computer, or your home theatre (or audio system) without much problem at all. As well as an AC adapter and headphones of course.

Advantages:

(1). More audio and video format compatibility than the iPod

(2). Not an iPod

(3).Lighter than the iPod

(4)Better interface, navigation and screen than the iPod

Disadvantages:

(1). Not an iPod (not as many accessories)

(2). Short battery life for a DAP

(3). Messy media management system via WMP

(4). Can crash, especially when working connected to USB

The player itself is actually quite a bit lighter than what you’re used to with an iPod, coming in at about 127 grams, vs. about 136 for the iPod. This in fact makes the machine seem a bit hollow though, and doesn’t precisely instill in you a sense of toughness. That’s not to say that the device is poorly made, far from it. It has a very nice sleek plastic front panel with the recognizable Toshiba cross control method, a very large 2.4” 320×240 TFT LCD screen, and the back is wearing clothes in aluminum.

On the bottom of the player you’ll find the AC adapter jack, a battery on/off switch, as well as a dock that I’m sure in the future Toshiba will be license different attachments with which to work with. On the top side of the unit there’s the AV-out/headphone jack, as well as a hold switch.

Over my time with the device I tried to run it though as many different scenarios as possible. Being an MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) device, the Gigabit requires at least Windows XP and Media Player 10. When using MP10 I ran into several problems transferring music, and converting movies from DiVX and the like. This isn’t necessarily a fault of the device and more so that of the MTP process and MP10. When I upgraded my player to MP11 I found the process much more streamlined, but still not as slick as the iTunes interface, or just using self-administration via Windows Explorer (I know, I ‘m a luddite, but I like my control).

Also, during my time I did end up with 2 notable problems. First off, the aluminum backing has printing on it, with the company name, model number, etc… the usual. After only a few weeks of relatively little handling, the print started to wear off in a section. This really made the device seem a little cheap. The second problem I had was again with the whole MTP setup. When transferring some songs my WMP crashed, and my Gigabit didn’t seem to register that the transferring process was over, so I ended up unplugging the USB after 10 minutes or so. At that tip, the system acted as though it had no battery power left. Even after plugging in the AC adapter I couldn’t get it to turn on, and as a last resort I plugged in the USB again after a restart of my PC, and the PMP sprang back to life. Maybe it won’t happen to everyone, but I was actually able to replicate it, so it’s something to definitely watch out for.

Overall, my time with the Gigabit was attractive pleasant. I think it’s a very viable option to the iPod, and watching videos on the screen was very nice contrast to the information found on the iPod video. Though I had a few hiccups here and there, and Media Player 10/11 isn’t really the best choice for device organization, I think that if you’re in the market for a new DAP you might want to give the Toshiba a look.