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Oono miniDAB: The DABinci Code
Woody Allen once said that "80 per cent of success is showing up", and by this rationale the Oono's unbidden arrival on our desk this morning assures it a positive response. Luckily for Oono (dangerously close to sounding like the exclamation "oh no!"), this pocket DAB-MP3 player-voice recorder combo is not just a headline writer's dream -- it's actually rather good.
Expecting a dismal, patchy performance from the on-board tuner, we were greeted by fairly reliable reception that dealt well with the challenges of the building we're in. Tuners tend to rely on good aerials to maintain a strong DAB signal, but the Oono uses the headphone lead as a replacement for the traditional telescopic aerial.
The LCD readout on the Oono will please radio enthusiasts, as there's a reassuring amount of technical-looking information on the screen. Most illuminating of all is the information on the bit-rate of the DAB station you're listening to. DAB haters will load up on plenty of ammo from this meter as it quickly becomes apparent that many DAB stations are broadcasting at around 80Kbps (as well as using an inferior codec to MP3).
Low bit-rate is no great loss for listening on the move, where environmental noise will be more distracting than audio quality, but still, talk about rubbing salt in the wound of broadcasters who struggle to convince us that DAB is sonically superior to FM.
The Oono is no looker, but functionally we're impressed. Expect a full review soon. -CS
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anonymous 17 September, 2006 01:05
I have recently purchased a Minidab but find the reception on digital radio is so poor that it is unusable.
I live in South East London and am told that the digital signal in the area is good.
Another problem is that it is impossible to use the Minidab for anything when it is charging as there is a loud hum.
I don't know if this a fault on my Minidab or if it is common to all?
anonymous 25 September, 2006 21:18
Tried it for a week now. Very dissappointed. The user interface is so bad, it makes me want to cry. Another annoying thing: an empty battery causes date and time to be resetted to 1-1-2000. So programmed recording doesn´t work anymore. The only good thing is that it can record radio in DAB, but you´d better wait till professional manufacturers of mp3-players come up with the same trick...