Trevor Baylis Eco Media Player Full Review
Posted: 20 February 2008 by Nate Lanxon
This is an MP3 and video player that will potentially work for years without ever being connected to a computer. Powered by a hand crank, an internal dynamo and a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, it means an end to toxic disposable batteries. One minute of furious cranking will give you about 40 minutes of power, and you can charge via USB if you prefer -- a full charge will take about nine hours, but the battery will play for 20.
Beyond its wind-up power, there aren't many more eco-credentials to the Eco Media Player. Trevor Baylis does tell us, though, that many of its manufacturing waste and by-products are recycled, much of it locally (that's China). And packaging materials are sourced from recycled material where possible, or from managed sustainable sources.
Ethically speaking, the factory is monitored by global inspectors SGS International, which says, "The operation appears well-managed and run under modern working conditions." Trevor Baylis has also visited on several occasions, and the company has donated free products to disaster relief areas, which is pretty generous.
The design of the Eco Media Player is something of a giant wind-up -- it's a chunky, rubber-coated device with a palm-sized plastic crank on the back. Fortunately this clicks into the player's enclosure, giving a semi-snug fit. Large plastic buttons on the front sit below a low-resolution, full-colour 46mm screen, capable of displaying full-motion video.
Probably the most interesting aspect of the design is the torch on the top -- apparently Trevor Baylis thinks torches are important to MP3 players. In addition there's an SD card slot, a USB port and a few function buttons scattered around the external casing. The 2.5mm line-in socket seems utterly counter-intuitive though -- why on Mother Earth wouldn't this be made to fit standard 3.5mm cables?
Our main gripe is that, although its large size is justified by its inclusion of a dynamo and crank, this chunky player doesn't have a belt clip, and it should have. But we're going to forgive the lack of a belt clip because this rubbery friend of the Earth plays OGG format music files, as well as WMA, WAV and good old MP3.
If you're more into video, then the Eco Media Player's bundled software will convert your favourite clips into an eco-friendly ASV format. But without a doubt the most useful feature is the phone-charging capabilities. Using the supplied cable and one of many adapters for a variety of mobile phone manufacturers (Nokia -- new and old -- Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola it seems), you can use the crank to charge your phone.
You could argue this is just a rambler's tool that happens to play music. But it includes seven different EQ presets too, an FM radio, not to mention simple drag-and-drop management of files and the ability to record voice at a variety of MP3 bit rates. It's also got a loudspeaker for headphone-less enjoyment. Would a rambler really need all that?
Sound quality is more than acceptable -- above average in power, clear, and perfect for camping trips. Do invest in some better earphones, though, because the ones in the box make the player sound appalling, when it's actually not too bad.
Sadly, what it achieves with usefulness and earth-friendliness, it seriously lacks in user-friendliness -- it's a very unintuitive player to use at first. You don't have access to a list of artists or songs. Instead, you simply skip -- slowly -- through one long list of songs one-by-one, or switch it to 'shuffle'.
And video quality is poor, in part thanks to the low-res, low-power screen. It's also painfully slow to transfer music onto. But the built-in microphone makes a great dictaphone with very good sound quality, and with up to 2GB SD cards supported, you can offload those recordings to removable storage.
It's just too hard not to like this thing. It's so convenient if you're a camper, hiker or festival-goer. It's no replacement for an iPod and certainly not an advisable alternative, especially considering the £150 price tag. But if you spend any time in tents or sleeping up mountains, you'd be mad not to ditch the nano and snag yourself an Eco Media Player -- it will try its best to love you and you'd be dead inside not to admit you kind of love it too.
Quality
Value
Ethics
Green
