Gadget Reviews : RCA Pearl

I had my reservations about the RCA Pearl. Since RCA isn't known as a popular mp3 player manufacturer and the Pearl was very reasonably priced, I expected that the Pearl might have less than stellar quality.  However, I was pleasantly surprised. Read on to learn my impressions.

Once I loaded the Pearl with my songs, my first impression was "Wow. The sound isn't bad!" The sound was crisp, clear, and lacked static noise. My songs sounded almost as clear as if they were coming out of my computer speakers. Even the radio feature is very good, considering that it has no antenna. Since the ear buds act as the antenna to pick up the radio signal, playing the radio in stereo is a little tricky and requires some repositioning of the ear bud cords.

"The sound quality is good," but you may be wondering, "How practical is the Pearl to use?" RCA got some features right, but other features could use improvement.

If you are looking for a player that is so easy to use that you don't even have to read the manual, you may find this device lacking. After reading the quick start manual, however, you should be on your way. The left, right, up, and down buttons are self-explanatory. However, the power button and the menu button are the same button, which may cause some confusion. The user interface is not a standard mp3 menu layout, but again, read the user manual and navigation will be easy.

The Pearl with its flip out USB extended

One of my favorite features of the Pearl is the ease of transferring songs to the player. First, flip out the USB connector and plug it into the USB port on your computer. Then you have two options. You can simply use the RCA easyRip application to transfer the music from your computer to the player or go to Computer from your computer's Start Menu. From there, you will see the RCA Pearl icon. Open a separate window containing the music you want to transfer to the Pearl and select the desired songs. Just drag the songs you have selected to the Pearl Icon and drop them there.

The Pearl has an ample amount of storage (2 GB) for my use. According to my estimation, that should hold about 370 songs at 5 megabit per song. However, if you have or plan to have a large music collection, this may be too small for you.

One of my not-so-favorite features of the Pearl is its bulk. It weighs one and three-fourths ounces. Its battery compartment and optional belt clip makes it quite thick at three-fourths of an inch. If you want something super light for exercising, you might want to go with a different player.

The battery life of a Pearl is satisfactory and has several options for battery savings. However you will likely want to have a pair of rechargeable batteries.

All in all, the Pearl exceeded my expectations. It provides respectable sound quality with a decent user interface at a very affordable price.