With the abundant number of MP3 players that we have seen, not often do we come across one that is truly unique.  This product is the MobiBlu DAH-1500i.  What makes this portable MP3 player unique is that MobiBlu claims that this is the world's smallest MP3 player.

What is the point of making the smallest MP3 player?  On one hand, a small MP3 player will enable the user to carry it wherever they are and easily fit it in your pocket; perhaps even around your neck or on your keychain.  However, when it comes to something smaller, you usually have to make sacrifices in features and sometimes usability.  The MobiBlu DAH-1500i is a great portable player that manages to be small while sacrificing little to nothing in terms of usability.  Packed with quite a bit of features in a very small package and this product is capable of becoming the popular choice.
 

The product came in a cube-like package.  At the front, you can immediately see what the player looks like giving you an immediate feel for its size.  When one initially looks at it, they will indeed be impressed by how small it looks.  What's interesting is that the package in a way mimics how the player looks.  On the sides of the box, it has pictures which show largely show the look and placement of the controls.  The picture obviously is the not the same size as the actual controls, but is just a larger representation.

I like how the back of the back displays the features of the product listing each description with an icon next to it.

Don't be fooled by the picture.  The player is indeed very small.  If you would like an idea how small this player is, take six US Quarters and form a cube with them.  At the top of the player, there is a headphone jack and a little notch intended to be held by a string.  On one side, there are two buttons: a menu button and a button with a picture of a lock on it.  On the other side is a small circular directional pad.  Each direction corresponds to a different function.  The up and down directions are used to control the volume whereas the left and right buttons are used to move forward and backward.  There is also a button inside the circular directional pad which is used as a play/pause button.  Although the buttons have been labeled appropriately, several of the buttons do serve more than one purpose to help in the use of other functions.  They do become rather intuitive and easy to figure out since there are few buttons to begin with.
 

The product came with a manual as well as an installation CD.  As soon as I received the product, I was instructed to install the CD which contains the tool to allow you to update the firmware of the device.  I was provided an updated firmware to allow the player to take future firmware upgrades.  In order to clarify again, this product IS capable of firmware upgrades, therefore this player will still be up to date in the future if MobiBlu releases enhancements, new features, or fixes to the product.
 

Before you can begin to use the product at all, you will need to charge the product.  This is done using the provided USB cable.  Notice how the other end of the USB cable has a headphone-sized jack.  Yes, the headphone jack on the player serves more than one function.  It is where you plug in your headphones, it is used to transfer music and data, and it is also used to charge the player.  I commend MobiBlu for this resourceful decision.  The only disadvantage is that you are forced to use the USB port on your computer since there isn't a standard AC adapter provided.

I charged it for a while and waited until the battery indicator on the screen (represented with three bars) was full.  I would like to see a better indicator on the screen when the battery is fully charged.

When you plug in the USB cable to your computer, your computer should automatically detect the player.  In my case, I was using Windows XP.  It will install the player as a new removable drive.  From then on, all you need to do is drag and drop your music files to that new drive.  If you download your music, you can even save it directly to the player.  What I like about this is that there is no need to deal with the hassle of depending on some third party software, which on one hand keeps the costs low for the package.  This essentially makes the player more universal to use no matter what computer you wish to transfer the files from.  This also keeps things simple because the player can act as a USB flash drive and be able to store other miscellaneous files easily.

The OLED screen on the player is very bright making the screen rather satisfying.  The interface is neatly laid out for such a small amount of space.  At the very top, there is a volume and battery indicator.  The volume is represented as a number from 0 all the way to 30.  Most people will be listening in between the low to mid twenties.  At volume level 30, the sound is quite loud. 

The battery indicator is represented with three bars.  At the middle of the screen, it shows the name of the track that you are playing which scrolls.  At the bottom, there is additional information such as the type of file that you are currently playing, the current equalizer mode, the track number, the bit rate of the file, and the current play time of the track.
 

For such a small player, this device is packed with quite a bit of features.  Not only can you play MP3's and WMA's, but this player has a FM tuning capabilities and voice recording.  In order to be able to switch from one function to another, you hold down the Menu button the player and the menu will be brought up to allow you to choose the mode.  You use the directional pad on the player to navigate and select your choice.

The FM tuner relies on your earphones to act as antennas.  I found the FM tuner to be mediocre.  When scanning the frequencies for a signal, I noticed that it bypassed some of the major stations in my area  Even when I manually tuned it to the specific frequency, the stations weren't quite as clear as I have been used to hearing in a car. 

Within the player, you can adjust certain settings such as the equalizer and sound settings and the other little things. 
 

As expected, this player comes with earphones.  The included earphones are a bit different than your typical ones.  Essentially, the earphones have been designed so you can have the player on your neck like a necklace while still being able to listen to the player with the earpieces.  The way it works is that there is a string that goes in the notch of the player to tie and secure it.  It is attached to a loop of wire which have another two separate wires which branch off for the earpieces.  These earphones are slightly large for some ears, therefore, some may feel a bit uncomfortable wearing them.
 

Lastly, there is a small rubber case included to protect the edges of the player.  You just stretch it a bit to fit it on the player.  The rubber case was a nice addition to the package and is useful.
 

I was quite impressed with what this player has to offer and has certainly changed my views about MobiBlu compared with their previous products.  If MobiBlu can maintain this kind of innovative design and features in their future players, they will surely have a bright future ahead of them.  Many users will enjoy the bright OLED screen this player has to offer and its incredibly small size.  Since this device is quite small, don't lose it!  The 512MB version can be bought at Walmart and can be bought for just under $100.  The 1GB version is approximately $30 more at $130.  At $100, this player is at the price point of the 512 MB iPod Shuffle and provides some serious competition.

Reviewed by ronald@digitalreviews.net