Nike Personal Sport Audio Play 120 Review - PAGE 4
Anthony Roberts - Thursday, November 2nd, 2000

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Conclusions

The PSA all Hooked Up

In spite of the really great design of the player, there are some things that just don’t make sense. For one thing it’s NOT a waterproof, or even water resistant player. Its intended purpose, its design, its looks, and its materials would suggest it could withstand at least some splashing. I mean half of the main unit is rubber. Unfortunately, the battery compartment isn’t sealed at all, which could lead to some seriously awkward situations for owners that assume a little too much. Neither the documentation nor the box make claims to any water resistance, but come on, this is a sports player afterall!

This is also a very simple player. People have complained that sometimes a specialized player can lack features that are often desirable. Well the PSA is missing a radio tuner and voice recorder. The latter you can do without, but an FM tuner would really have come in handy for those morning jogs or when you start getting tired of your play list! The player also doesn’t have any sort of playlist management. Missing are repeat, shuffle, and other similar functions. This simplicity might not affect the target market too much – when you’re busy with a workout you won’t start complaining about the order of your music, but these missing features ultimately hurt the appeal of the player.

The final flaw? Well perhaps not a flaw, but definitely something that impacts your purchasing decision. How about a $300 price tag? Yowza. Either that’s Rio licensing biting down hard, or it’s Nike’s brand image boosting up the price, because I can’t imagine how this player can cost more than the much more fully featured Nomad II.

Don’t be mistaken though, the player has its place. Factor together it’s great looks, above average sound quality, and barebones features, and you really don’t have the perfect all-round MP3 player, but once you throw in it’s sports angle, you’ll find it’s a whole new playing field. I don’t think anyone so far has gone to such lengths to make a portable digital music product that would be better suited to an active lifestyle – at least not the way Nike and Diamond/S3 have done it. So if you are one for morning jogs or the more than occasional trip to the gym, this is a portable player designed with you in mind.

Final Score: 79%

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