Digital Home Thoughts: MusicGremlin MG-1000 Review Roundup

"We've been following start-up Music Gremlin for some time now, from its ambitious beginnings as a software company through its transition to a reference device designer and finally into a self-branding manufacturer, so we were more than a little disappointed to learn that lukewarm reviews of the recently-launched MG-1000 DAP indicate that it contains no small number of bugs and frustrating restrictions. Like the prototype Zing player that we recently spotted (but unlike the similarly-equipped SoniqCast devices), the MG-1000 offers direct-to-device downloads along with device-to-device file transfers thanks to built-in WiFi, but these features are limited to customers who also pay $15-a-month for the proprietary Music Gremlin service, on top of the $300 they already shelled out for the unit itself."



I can understand that a device can come with some lacking features that would later be fixed by firmware upgrades (I invested in my iRiver many years ago and was happy with every firmware version that came) but hardware shortcomings like a small 8GB hard drive, relatively weak battery life, and inability to share any tracks besides subscription downloads with anyone but fellow subscribers are inexcusible, especially if we are talking about one of the more eagerly awaited music players in a long time. Either way, there are three reviews of the device linked to in this Engadget post in case you are interested, plus one on Sean Alexander's blog.