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Samsung's YP-P2 multimedia player is the Whopper Jr. to the Apple iPod Touch's Whopper. The YP-P2 looks like a slightly smaller and skinnier version of Apple's flagship MP3 player; and like the Touch, it provides a touch screen for navigation.
Available in 4GB ($200) and 8GB ($250) flavors, the YP-P2 features a crisp and colorful 3-inch wide-screen (480-by-272-pixel) display, which makes video viewing a pseudo-cinematic experience. Its abundant EQ settings and audio presets are ideal for people who love tweaking audio settings.
Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity lets you pair the YP-P2 with a set of Bluetooth headsets or speakers. Unfortunately, the player's FM radio doesn't support Bluetooth 2.0, so you can use Bluetooth only for digital audio and video playback.
We tested the YP-P2's wireless performance with Samsung's own portable BS300 Bluetooth speakers, and the device demonstrated good wireless range. Given a clear line of sight to the speakers, audio streamed without interruption from about 85 feet away. Through a closed door, audio streamed uninterrupted from about 30 feet away.
Though menu navigation is clean and intuitive, it took me a little while to get used to the YP-P2's touch-screen control. When you turn it on, the main screen displays three options: videos, music, and pictures. But more menu options lurk below those; to see them, you must swipe your finger downward on the screen. Doing so brings up the Bluetooth menu, settings options, a file browser, an FM radio with 30 presets, and podcasts (which Samsung calls "datacasts").
File support is a bit limited. The YP-P2 works with WMV and MPEG-4 video, MP3 and WMA music files, and JPEG images. Digital video download/rental service support is restricted to CinemaNow and Vongo.
You can drag and drop files directly onto the player or use the bundled Samsung Media Studio software to put music, movies, photos, and datacasts on the device via the bundled USB cable.
To supplement its touch screen, the YP-P2 has volume buttons (on the right side), a power button (on the left side), and a hold switch You'll definitely want to engage the hold switch while wiping off the screen because, otherwise, accidentally wiping the player with your sleeve can trigger the player's customizable "horizontal swipe" function, resulting in skipped tracks.
I found the touch screen responsive and even a bit better than the one on my Apple iPhone. The screen does smudge more easily, however, and a few navigation shortcomings make the iPhone or iPod Touch's interface slightly more user-friendly.
For one thing, the YP-P2 screen lacks the pinching and multitouch gesturing features of Apple's touch screens. And to select menu items on the YP-P2, you must double-tap them. Though this makes for fewer missteps when you're navigating menus and selecting songs, it adds a frustratingly redundant step for accurate touch-screen touchers.
The YP-P2 is packed with adjustment options, including ten equalizer presets, full manual control (if you want it) over the EQ settings, four manual bass settings, and a "3D sound" control that generally improved audio richness. The bundled earbuds are adequate, but they favor treble while offering a merely serviceable low end.
You can choose any of six on-screen visual options to look at while the music's playing: album art, an animated equalizer graph, artist info, and three trippy animations.
The YP-P2's wide aspect ratio and superb screen support great viewing, while excellent audio quality and an abundance of equalizer options are major draws for serious sound buffs. It's a somewhat pricey option for anyone seeking a better overall experience than the iPod Touch provides, along with integrated Bluetooth connectivity. The navigation, design, and touch-screen experience fall short of Apple's latest, though.
