Gadgets: Epson P-3000 Multi-Media Storage Viewer – 57
Epson makes a range of multimedia storage viewers that are the ideal partner for anyone who takes photos, enjoys music or loves video. The P-3000, with its sublime 4-inch screen, is part toy, part tool but essentially a gadget that’s worth taking on tour.
Epson has gone out of its way to make this device easy to use, so you don’t have to fumble through a handbook to get to grips with it. The layout is simple, with control buttons on the back and the two card slots in the top. Even though the slots are only for SD and Compact Flash cards, I sneaked an xD card into the P-3000 as well by using an xD/CF card adapter. It also had no trouble downloading images from a Canon SLR, including RAW files that it recognized and displayed without hassles. This chunky device with its 40GB hard drive is designed with photographers in mind.
The screen can be viewed from almost any angle, making it a cinch to brag to your workmates about your last overseas trip. The beauty of this big screen is the great dollop of pixels Epson has used: over 1.2 million of them. This many pixels gives a smooth image no matter whether your picture is a diminutive 640×480 shot you took for TradeMe or a monolithic RAW file. Using the zoom button inflates the image size, letting you blow up the picture then scroll around it for a better view.
A device like this wouldn’t be much fun without music, and the P-3000 is a funky music machine. Download your favourite MP3s using the Epson Link2 software, which instead of coming on a CD is already on the machine itself. There’s a version for PC and Mac, so neither camp will feel left out. To listen to your assorted sounds you can either use the built-in mono speaker – blah – or plug in a set of headphones. Insert your favourite noise cancelling headphones and you have a magic mix. Hip cats can flip through their music by genre, artist, album or playlist, and when watching a slide show you can even assign a playlist to accompany the images for a more rounded viewing experience.
By far the best feature is the ability to back up images and data on a USB stick. In fact, it will back up all the images and files on a card, camera or a USB source plugged into the P-3000. This one function outweighs all the cutesy tasks the unit can do, as it makes backing up data so simple.
The P-3000 is powered by a beefy 2600mAh rechargeable lithium ion battery, which ensures hours of downloading and viewing, and a multi-voltage mains adapter comes in the box for the jet-set crowd who take in those countries that insist on using 110V as a power source.
Epson’s P-3000 is an all-rounder that makes listening to music fun, saving images on the run a breeze and has a big enough screen that watching your favourite home movies will be an affair every one wants to join in on. It may not replace the lithe iPod as a music player but it could replace your photograph album, as it is magic for the working photographer or family snapper thanks to the range of files it reads, the huge screen and its ease of use.
FRASER KITT
Epson P-3000 Multi-Media Storage Viewer $999
CONTACT
www.epson.co.nz
SPECIFICATIONS
LCD Screen: 4-inch (low temperature poly-silicon TFT, four colour filter, white LED backlight, 1,228,800 pixels)
Media: Both SD and Compact Flash card, PictBridge compatible.
File Format:
Pictures - JPEG (up to 30 million pixels), RAW (RAW from select digital SLR cameras; compatible raw – Epson, Nikon, Canon, Konica Minolta, Pentax, Olympus, Fuji Film, Adobe DNG)
Music - MP3/MPEG4-AAC/WMA
Video - MPeg1/2/4-ASP, DivX, Motion JPEG, WMV.
Batteries: Removable lithium Ion rechargeable
Dimensions: 150 x 88.7 x 33.1mm
Weight: 426g (including battery)
PROS
Wicked 4-inch screen packed with pixels
Replays more image formats than other brands
Big battery
CONS
Not a pocket product
Weak in-built speaker
Headphone socket looks cheap
VERDICT
Versatile storage unit that could be your best friend in no time at all
Aesthetics: 75%
Performance: 90%
Features: 90%
Functionality: 85%
Price Value: 80%
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