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Durability
Durability and this player go hand in hand as it was seemingly made for people on the run and athletes. From the all rubber design to the design and belt clip, I'm guessing it was designed for athletes who use it when weight training, running, etc...and are prone to dropping it once in a while. The rubber construction makes this player durable as you will soon see in our tests.
Drop Test
Dropping this player from a height of 4 feet 5 times onto a hard wood floor.
The player survived the drop test admirably, the damage on it was very minimal a scratch here and a scratch there, I was surprised that the plastic cover didn't crack at all. There were some scrape marks on the rubber that can be taken care with alcohol wipes, but that was it.
Heat Wave
Ever have your car in the heat for a long time and the inside gets as hot as 115 degrees? Well, it does in Texas and that's what we used in our second real world test. This player was left in a black car in the heat at 115 degrees F for 5 hours to simulate real world torture.
The player did well, came out of it with nothing at all in terms of damage and was working just as well as before...maybe this test needs to be revised.
Water Torture
Mp3 players and water...not a good combination. Placing the playeri n a bowl of water for a second, then taking it out.
This is not a good pick for a third test because it might kill the player and then there's no fourth test. Well, people are always running in the rain for some reason and they need a player that can run with them. The player was completely submerged in a bowl of water for a period of one second, then taken out. I thought it would survive this test due to the construction which looks airtight and very conscientious about these thigns. I took the player out and hit play… the power came on, started playing, then turned off. I waited for about 8 hours until I knew the player was completely dry, then I played again… it worked. I guess water did get in and stopped the player but all it needed was for it to dry. DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME. Runs in the rain where you can get the occasional drops on this player probably wont affect it but submerging it in water might not be the best idea.
Cold Test
Negative 2 degree weather in Lubbock, Texas...go figure. This was a perfect tie for me to go running with my player.
Holding the player in my hand, I ran outdoors for an hour with the mp3 player in subzero weather. It lasted longer than I did for sure. The great thing is that normally on a metal player, it would get cold, then my hand would warm it up and form perspiration on the inside and short out but this player, since its rubber, is not affected by that at all. A very good thing too, the player was fine after the run, although a bit cold.
It looks like the Intel Audio player passed all of the torture tests just fine.
People It's Good For
Like I mentioned earlier, it is good for athletes who do not need to always look at the LCD, and also good for the fashion conscious crowd who wants a good looking player that they can customize. I would also go as far as to say that it is good for everybody who wants a cheap, good, player.
>> Pros & Cons/Conclusion
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