Kubik Evo 8GB MP3 Player with Radio and Expandable MicroSD/SDHC Slot - Black

I purchased the Kubik Evo 8GB MP3 Player in February 2014. I was looking for a small MP3 player to use in the gym and for my commute to work.I was originally going to purchase the SanDisk Clip but then my friend told me about Kubik and for the price I thought why not.Good Points:Great Sound with Microsoft PlayFX Sound EnhancementExpandable microSD or microSDHC memory card slot (mine has a 16GB microSD card)Small and lightBattery lasts 2-3 days on full useEasy to useUsing the Menu for the first time was easy enough.It has view photos, videos and e-books but I’ve not used this, don’t fancy watching videos on a 1.8 inch screen got my smartphone and tablet for that.In March 2016 after 2 years of using my Kubik day and night, it stopped working, the battery was no longer keeping charge and it was my fault I didn’t look after it- it had been dropped numerous times.I contacted Kubik if it would be possible for them to fix the battery and asked them how much it would cost. They replied:‘’We will charge a small amount of £10.00 to repair/replace the player for you as its warranty has been finished already, only if you are interested’’I sent the player to them and made a payment of £10, I couldn’t find any reviews and thought I’d never see my money or the broken MP3 player again. After a week I received an email from them:‘’We have received your item. A replacement will be sent to you within 2 working days’’They sent me a Brand New Kubik Evo MP3 Player! Happy days!If you want a no nonsense cheap and cheerful MP3 player buy this one 10/10.This is the BEST MP3 PLAYER I have ever owned.

Before I bought this before I properly read the reviews ( my old creative Zen MP3 player died on me and I needed a replacement fast) and was terrified! So many people going on about it just not starting up and having a really bad interface, I was really worried I had just wasted my money but I didn't need to be.The packaging, as promised is fuss free and delivery was really quite fast. I was very careful to set it all up properly but the instructions were very easy to follow and after charging if for 2 hours (full charge) and moving my music across ( so simple! just a copy and paste job on the files) it started up and worked brilliantly and the sound quality is great.The battery life is worth mentioning. I've had the player for 9 days, I've used it for about 2 hours a day, I skip songs A LOT! and have forgotten to turn it off standby more then once ( you have to turn it off via the switch, there's no automatic cut off / I haven't set one up yet if you can) and this is the first time I have had to charge it.People has said the interface is difficult to get used to but I didn't find this the case ( however I am 21 and doing a technical degree so I am a little bias and I can see if being little more difficult to get used to for someone less so tech savvy).The only bits I find a little annoying is it doesn't shut down on its own after say 15 mins or so like my last player did but it didn't seem to effect the battery too much ( and I'm sure there's a setting to make it do so) and you need to click the standby button before changing the song IF its gone into standby, if it hasn't you just pause the song before changing it, again not a huge problem and easy to get used to but I have been left wondering why nothing was playing more than a few times.The main thing people have brought up has been the quality of manufacture and that the player feels very cheap and plasticy.It is. The on/off button rattles a little if the player is shook and the centre button feels as if you could pop it out . Having said that its an 8gb player, that can be expanded with an Micro SD card, with a nice large(ish) screen for under £30. Be realistic in your expectations. In terms of value for money this player is great!

***************************(UPDATED May 30th 2013)The unit does have a lock function! You press and hold the 'Standby' button (top-right on the face of the unit) with the 'main' button (center of the unit) -hold for about 3-5 seconds -and the unit will lock! Great. Now I have finally figured out how to lock the MP3 player it is a perfect item and I am glad to bump my original rating from 4 stars to 5. I hope more people can read this review to 'unlock' the potential of this surprisingly resilient and reliable piece of kit!****************************THE GOOD* excellent price/capacity ratio. 12 month manufacturer warranty.**THE BAD** no 'lock' button. **UPDATED: it does have a lock function!*****THE UGLY*** bizarre button layout.Two important notes:--------------------(1) POWER ON: turning your unit on is a two-step process: (i) push the ON/OFF button to ON, (ii) now push and hold the 'Standby' button for 3-5 seconds. The 'Standby' button is the top-right button on the front of the unit marked as 'Play/Pause'.(2) SAVING SETTINGS: to save your settings you must: turn the unit off using the Standby button. Push and hold the 'Standby' button for 3 seconds to turn the unit off. You only need to do this once to save your settings.REVIEW:-------A player with potential let down by an appalling button layout and interface. The price:capacity is very competitive as is the ability to expand upon the 8GB capacity with its built-in Micro SD slot. However you will be left frustrated if you are using this unit on a regular basis, more than once a day, as the software and button layout are counter intuitive. Once you are past the design quirks, however, the unit can be relied upon for decent sound quality and features adequate playback and repeat modes to satisfy most MP3 collections.The unit is let down ultimately by a bizarre button layout. The 'Back' button, most of the time*, is the 'Volume' button. *However, the 'Volume' button becomes the Volume toggle** whilst a track is playing. **The main 'M' button serves as 'Back' [to menu] when music is playing, and the volume (control) is toggled on/off and then controlled via the 'Previous track' and 'Next track' buttons... sound confusing? Yes, it is, and serves as the basis for how the rest of the menus work too -using the lower left and right 'Previous track' and 'Next track' buttons to navigate 'up' and 'down' the interface menus.The software could be better, too. The software designers seemed to forget the units' primary purpose: a music player. Instead, it takes you many clicks just to access your music library every time you power on. I would be happy to give the unit 5 stars, despite the odd button layout and shortcomings, if it gave you quicker access to music once powered on. As it is, the unit in my opinion, would be too infuriating to use more than once a day.In use, the MP3 player provides adequate sound quality. The absence of a 'lock' button loses the MP3 player at least one star in my opinion as to me this is of importance: I do not want to be walking, commuting or working out to then be interrupted and having to concentrate on the unit's bizarre button assignments to navigate back to where I should be. That said, the buttons are quite 'clicky' so given enough pocket space or fastenings I doubt the player would succumb oftenly to accidental button presses. I do fear that the 'Power On/Off' (side button) could be pulled to 'off' though.The supplied earbuds look quite impressive actually, though sound muffled, close and tinny in use. The headphone cable is pretty robust, not feeling too cheap but does tend to knot easily. They were quite comfortable in the ear, though they leaked quite a lot of noise. I purchased the Sony MDREX50LPS earbuds to use with this unit instead, and combined they sound quite good giving adequate bass and space. The unit does provide several Equaliser presets and the ability to create your own -of which I chose to use the "MS Play FX" preset.*** In Summary ***It is disappointing that so many 'design' choices have not only flawed its use but resulted in so many negative reviews -of which some are simply incorrect. Many criticisms such as the inability to 'save' settings are simply untrue, whilst Power On/Off issues I fear may be due to users not having read the User Manual. Once all of these quirks are understood however, the Kubik Evo 8GB MP3 player can be seen as a reliable, extremely well priced unit. Fatally, the Kubik Evo 8GB fails on two accounts: (1) does not have an ability to remember 'where' you were when you power on/off and, (2) does not have a 'lock' button.I would only recommend this unit to people who use their MP3 player many times a day or whom fear they will need a lock button. Otherwise, the Kubik Evo 8GB makes an excellent casual-use MP3 player that is dependable and includes a 12 month warranty.