Samsung YH-925 review

Given its price and specification, the Samsung YH-925 is a clear competitor to the Toshiba Gigabeat reviewed opposite.

Both are 20GB players based on 1.8" hard disks. They can play back MP3 or WMA files and display JPG images on a colour screen. Samsung's figures suggest that the YH-925 has a shorter battery life than the Gigabeat, but this device has the advantage of an FM radio and a record function.

It is not as attractive or as lightweight as the Gigabeat, but it feels like a well-made product. A simple four-way rocker switch provides navigation through the player's menu system, which is easy to understand and use. Dedicated buttons at the side cover track skip, play, pause and power.

At 4.6cm, its screen isn't much smaller than that of the Toshiba. However, its quality is inferior. Its low resolution means photos are displayed with a grid-like texture and diagonal lines are noticeably blocky. Contrast is sensitive to a horizontal viewing angle. We couldn't find a viewpoint from which detail was preserved in both light and dark areas.

We had hoped the sound quality would be an improvement over the display. However, the YH-925 sounds unusually bad for a hard disk-based player. No custom EQ mode is available and the default Flat preset is simply too flat, with little high-end treble or bass.

Other presets suffer from harsh treble with little clarity, or muddy bass that distorts at less than half-volume. When we tested the device with other earphones, there was little improvement.

The YH-925 has a decent radio, which can receive a signal in areas of the Shopper office that are no-go for most players. We weren't impressed with its battery, which lasted only seven hours nine minutes when playing test MP3 and WMA files.

Music files must be transferred to the YH-925 using Samsung's Music Studio software, which we found unintuitive. The player connects to a computer using a proprietary cable and it isn't easy to use with multiple PCs. However, there is a useful USB host mode that allows the player to act as a backup device for supported digital cameras.

Without a decent display, there's little to distinguish the YH-925 from regular hard disk players. The Gigabeat does a much better job of displaying photos, but we prefer the Creative 40GB Zen Touch in our Hotlist below.