Nextar Black 1GB MP3 Player With Voice Recording

I originally had a Nextar MP3 player (MA570) which I bought about ten years ago, but it died this year, I think the internal Li-Ion battery failed. I discovered that the Nextar company went out of business about five years ago, without a trace. However, I found this newer model (MA933A) from various vendors, at various prices. There are also clones of this player being marketed, at lower prices. I tried a couple of these, but they all had serious problems which made them unuseable (I returned them). If you get one which comes in a small plastic bag with a label on it and no accessories, it's probably one of these. The actual Nextar players are New-Old-Stock, in a large plastic retail bubble pack, with earphones, USB cable, (dead) battery, and instruction manual. This one is a different format from my old one, but has similar functions, once you figure out the controls, which is helped by having the manual. My main concern is with a little gear-shift-like lever sticking out of one corner. It moves back and forth, to move along through menus, but it also acts as a "select" button by pushing it in. I wonder how durable it will be. These players were manufactured maybe ten or more years ago (the manual is copyrighted 2007), and have lived in the bubble pack ever since. This has caused the plastic on the player to become sticky. I suspect this is due to out-gassing of the plastic (that "new-car smell") being trapped in the package, and degrading the surface. I was able to clean this off with some "Windex" type cleaner, applied on a cloth (you probably don't want to get any liquid inside the player). It takes a bit of rubbing, but does remove completely, and maybe won't happen again if the player is not sealed up in a container. This long period of storage also explains why the included battery is dead. The player can be attached to a computer via USB to load MP3 files. The "system requirements" list only Windows 98SE through Vista, but I suspect it will work fine on later Windows versions as a USB flash drive. I have used it on Windows XP and 7. As for the device itself, it works well once you figure out the controls. It is not intuitively obvious, even with the manual. Also, the display is rather small and indistinct. Once you set any system options you want, it plays very simply by pressing the play button on the front. Battery life is good, several hours on AAA alkaline or rechargeable NiCad or NiMH batteries. I use it to random-play selections, stored in multiple directories (artist/album), which some other (current) brands I tried would not do. I did not try the voice recording/playback features. There is no FM radio function, unfortunately. There is now another company called Nextar, but has nothing to do with these devices. Their web site even has a disclaimer stating that they are not the company which made them. Don't bother sending in the warranty card!

Just opened package to use MP# Player and entire rubber cover has turned to sticky tar that cant be cleaned and item so old battery inside leaked all acid out as well . Cant touch it without being covered with disintegrating rubber cover

This thing is totally unusable. The body of it is too wide for the USB connector to fit into my PC! On my PC there is a bit of an inset around the USB port. The neck of this unit doesn't reach deep enough into that inset. Stupid design. ....update....I just looked on the Nextar website and I guess I would have to pay $10 for an extension cord to plug this into my PC. *sigh*...

I had one of these before and when it stopped working I searched high and low trying to find another one. Well I found it and am once again a very happy customer of this product. I love it!!

This product did nothing except waste two hours of my life trying to install it to my computer. IT NEVER WORKED AT ALL!

The loading of songs was very easy, however, it doesn't play any songs. No volume at all. Battery is new, menu is available. Don't waste your money.

I would love to operate this MP3 player, however, I cannot find the battery cover! Any suggestions? Yes, I have read the instruction manual! I am ready to throw it in the trash!!!!! DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!

MP3 doesn't work as well as the previous one we owned. Stops on its own.