The Maxfield G-Flash! Lots of light but also plenty of shade!

I have the G-Flash by Maxfield now for several months and feel because of the high Amazon sales rank (currently No. 1) but called to tell my (unfortunately ambiguous) experience with this device potential buyers.
Basically the G-Flash is a solid MP3 / WMA players, which is offered here at a reasonable price. The Otto-Normal buyer will need some time to explore the existing errors. Since my old CREATIVE Rhomba has passed away and I have to rely on an MP3 player with microphone, I bought the G-Flash as a substitute and used extensively.
POSITIVE:
With 1 GB of memory is obtained for his money a properly processed player that is small, chic and particularly robust. The shell consists mostly of a "soft-grip" surface, which makes the device lie comfortably in the hand. The manual is well structured, written of course in German.
Operate it can be over solid keys with tactile feedback. Even a "lock" switch has the device, which prevents accidentally back by pressing keys on the menu and is hergesprungen.
After buying can be losgelegt principle immediately. The firmware installed and update-face has caused no problems with me. Also, the device needs unlike my old Rhomba no driver software under XP, so the stick from any PC immediately recognized with USB support and is ready for use within seconds. Although I use XP, but the sake of completeness it should be mentioned that computer with Windows 98 USB support despite need drivers for the G-Flash. However, these are included. In that regard, to the device as a removable disk absolutely nothing wrong. I had been neither "crashes" with data loss nor were any files copied from the stick "defective".
To this end, there's a perfect score.
The problem that the little chunky top of the G-Flash's (hidden behind a well-fitting cap) is not in any narrow USB slot fits (to myself) has Maxfield solved by a special USB transfer cable is supplied, which in the existing USB Slot comes and as it were like a bridge for embroidery work. Loss of speed in data transmission I have thus not been established. The (unfortunately very small and thus in the menu selection a bit confusing) LED emits in a pleasant blue color, whose contrast is desired by settings on the player even variable. At night, I therefore use the stick even sometimes referred to as mini flashlight (which on short distances really works!)
Storing music on the G-Flash is problem with the Windows Explorer drag and drop method. Again, no additional software is required. The USB 2.0 port is a great advantage, because in less than 10 minutes you have loaded 1 GB of data on the player, or pulled away.
Additional accessories offer a strap, one AAA battery and headphones are included. About the quality I wrap the cloak of silence - but at the price you can not expect any great equipment. In this respect goes ok.
A firmware update can be extremely simply by downloading from the Internet and run works fine under XP - simple and without many opportunities to do anything wrong!
Nor can download mp3 files with a constant but a variable bit rate playback. That can not each device and should therefore be mentioned positively.
But where there is light, there is usually also plenty of shade!
NEGATIVE:
Unfortunately, G-Flash does not create MP3 tracks in the voice recording. Feasible are three recording formats which complain to PCM, ADPCM and IM-MS-ADPCM. PCM is a format that consumed in the (mono) recording of one minute per microphone almost 8 MB of memory (in WAVE format). In an empty stick is enough for about 4 hours. The other formats compress the recording and use significantly less memory, but this dramatically at the expense of recording quality. Should to create good voice recordings you select the PCM format, then but a conversion to MP3 files is manually needed to get file a "handy". Here Maxfield has saved, for the implementation of an MP3 converter in a USB stick / MP3 player is not rocket science and is already available from various other manufacturers with diverse settings. Anyone who operates many recordings with a microphone, which it is very annoying in the long run, constantly having to process so to obtain acceptable, small files.
Big minus!
Unfortunately, the supply and return of the G-Flash is pretty much the slowest thing that has ever come to me with a MP3 player under the nose. In order to "fast forward" a long file, it takes a seemingly endless long time. The jumps must be in the fastest variant (six seconds forward / reverse) in about half a second in real-time. So if you want be running ahead one minute you need at least 5 seconds. In short songs disturbs not, at long voice recordings even more. Also you have to press and hold the fast forward / reverse button all the time. That's better!
The principle clearly arranged keys does not help much. These are not illuminated, placed identically on the top as on the bottom, so you can swap it in the dark before and accidentally one audio track more jumps, although you will only regulate the volume.
Despite good care of G-flash, the display is simply too soft material. We see every scratch on it and (at least me) interferes with the then immensely but because the device (as already described) is otherwise very robust. Even a Shuffle button does not offer the G-Flash. This is really annoying.
The maximum that I have taken out with a good battery, 11 were hours with normal batteries (at the discount) is approximately 8 hours. I do not know how people have measured at the Maxfield.
The most important thing for an MP3 player is of course the sound. Here lies, in my view, the main shortcoming of the G-Flash (just after the voice recording). Maybe I'm spoiled by my old MP3 player a little, but no matter what setting you choose when installed (extremely primitive, not individually adjustable) equalizer, it lacks any dynamics and the sound is muddy - whether through headphones or good CANTON boxes. That has not changed through the firmware update to the latest version. Only the "Rock" mode adds a bit more pressure, but that is far from my expectations. Those who never owned an MP3 player, which is probably this criticism while listening not entirely understood but I strongly recommend time trial listening other equipment and yourself to take a picture.
A radio is missing the G-Flash also, but that can not be considered negative because that is clear from the product description. It is listed only for completeness.
Conclusion:
Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of the G-Flash can give a score of 2-5 points, depending on whether it primarily as a USB flash drive (5 points), for listening to music (3 points) and a digital dictaphone (2 points) wants to use. Therefore, I find it very difficult here to give an overall score, as the functions have such qualitative differences. Given the good price, the software support and processing (the soft display is also excluded) I choose 4 points and recommend the one buying the device, which requires a good USB stick and wants to hear from time to music with it. Anyone expecting really good sound, which is hereby warned.
I hope to have helped in choosing the products something!