Toshiba gigabeat S60 (60 GB) Digital Media Player

If you look at all the reviews online about this PMP (Portable Media Center), you will see some varying results. On www.Cnet.com, they scored this as the highest ranking PMP, even higher than the Ipod and the Zen Vision: M. On other sites though, they talk about how dissapointing it was and how it did not live up to the hype Microsoft and Toshiba led it to be. Being an owner of one, I find that there is a big mixture of both. This PMP is absolutely wonderful. I love it.

On with the good:

Don't let anyone fool you who says that the audio quality is bad. It is great, and there is nothing wrong with it. Everyone agrees that the GUI (Graphical User Interface) is one of the best, and I can say that it is absolutely beautiful. The navigation is a breeze. Also, since it's MTP and not UMS, you have to use ID3 tagging, just like the Ipod, or many other PMP's out there. With this, you have to sync with Windows Media Player 10 (WMP10) or higher instead of, for example, Itunes. It's really not bad at all as some people say. They might say that their WMP10 locked up and froze their computer, but I believe that to be user error, since I've synced up over 30 gigs of music, videos and pictures. Works like a breeze.

On with the bad:

There are a few bad points on the product which makes it almost not worth having (sad, but true). There is almost NO SUPPORT for this product from either Toshiba and Microsoft. No firmware updates at all so far, with no word about it. There isn't much 3rd party support either. Almost no accessories to go with it. A big thing about this is the battery life. Many people seem to have troubles with the battery life, and this might be an error with Toshiba. It's only 12 hours, and it's way too short (about as long as an Ipod). Many people also prefer UMS to MTP, as it is more free roaming. Other than these factors, there isn't much else hindering this product. But these problems, are all somewhat large, especially since this gets no support. With the Zune coming out soon, Microsoft and Toshiba have basically focused most of their efforts to that. Also, with the Ipod price drop and increase in hard disk space, that is a good alternative now. Since the Gigabeat S60 is $400 retail, the Ipod is only $350 retail. But, you can get the S60 off of ebay right now for about $300 since its not in too high of demand.


There you have. Is the Toshiba Gigabeat S60 really worth having? I really wish they supported this product more. Does the good really make up for the bad? I think so. I still like the player a lot, even with lack of everything. I don't really need accessories, but for some people, it's a problem. When you get right down to it, pick a PMP or DAP (Digital Audio Player aka MP3 player) that's right for you. Pick one that's suited for your wants, and needs.