I’ve since done a complete about-face regarding my Pine SM200C MP3 CD player, as reviewed below. I still love the concept of an MP3 CD player (much more than a hard drive or memory-card player), but the Pine still leaves too much to be desired. Other players from Rio and TDK and Memorex are already surpassing it, as well. So it’s time to reassess.My greatest problem with my Pine is its paltry skip protection. It supposedly has five seconds of skip protection, but this is more like “skip delay” since your music will still skip albeit a couple seconds after you hit that pothole. The audio seems to “splinter” or “shred” or crackle more than skip, which is almost more annoying.
Equally annoying is the flimsy lid. Though not as flimsy as the MPTrip, the Pine lid is easy to wiggle, especially when trying to place the player down. This is due to the player being constructed like a clamshell, joining at the sides, rather than the lid closing into the top. It’s difficult to hold the player in your palm without your fingertips touching the join, but this will seriously interfere with playback, causing the Pine to either skip or in some cases completely freeze.
Further, the SM200C has a tough time with AC power if batteries are also in the player. Say you’re in your car, you stop to get gas, you leave the Pine connected to your cigarette-lighter adapter but you shut off the power in your car. If you’ve also got batteries in your player, you’ll invariably discover the SM200-C has completely frozen. The only way to clear the LCD and get control of the buttons again is to pull the power and pop the batteries out.
The Pine was a good player for its time. The LCD was a welcome addition. But it still needs better navigation, better shock protection, and better construction — especially with superior players on the horizon.
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| The Pine D’Music SM200C |
