Gateway’s first MP3 player, the flash memory–based DMP-300 (reviewed in April 2001) was quietly introduced while iPod fever swept the nation, and its bland design and lack of distinctive features seemed to guarantee an extremely short life-span.

That player might have appeared lackluster, but it was a decent performer. The sound was excellent, the interface was extremely simple, and there were none of the superfluous features or uptown design flourishes that discount knock-offs of superior products typically sport. Gateway’s taken the same approach with its hard drive–based MP3 Photo Jukebox, and its modest simplicity is a welcome respite from other players that poorly mimic the iPod’s design and interface.

The MP3 Photo Jukebox plays MP3s, WMA (including DRM-protected tracks), WAV, and—surprisingly—AAC tracks (but not protected tracks downloaded from iTunes). The 6GB internal hard drive, which can also be used to store data files, provides more than enough space for a player this size. We weren’t impressed with the player’s 1.6-inch 128x128 full-color display—it’s fine for navigation, but the coarse dot-pitch sucks for photo viewing.

Bare-bones is not an understatement. There’s no FM tuner, no voice recorder, no AV-out to your television, and no rotisserie for cooking low-fat chicken breasts while sealing in the flavor. And that’s the beauty of it. The MP3 Photo Jukebox does what an MP3 player should—it delivers great sound (although the volume ceiling is lower than we would have liked) while making playlist selection and management efficient and nearly effortless.

Two elements in particular are emblematic of Gateway’s design approach. First, the company wisely avoided imitating the iPod’s touch-sensitive scroll wheel in favor of a simple four-way rocker switch surrounded by playback control buttons. And although the MP3 Photo Jukebox is bundled with Windows Media Player 10 for syncing and PC-based playlist creation, you don’t have to use it. You can avoid the mysteries of WMP 10’s interface by simply dragging music and images into the appropriate folders on the player’s drive in Windows Explorer.

Despite the piss-poor display and a proprietary USB connector, the MP3 Photo Jukebox is a welcome alternative to the preciousness of the iPod Mini, and a reminder to its feature-crazed competitors that in consumer electronics, less really can be more.
—Logan Decker

FRONT ROW: Plays AAC tracks; is charmingly simple and easy to use.

DEATH ROW: Color screen is pathetic of photo viewing.

Month Reviewed: August 2005
Verdict: 8
URL: www.gateway.com

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