Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I use this device to download photos from my camera. I haven't bothered with music player yet.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

This thing is absolutely awesome and a must have for any serious photographer. I use this thing constantly and the upload time is really fast. This thing was easy to use straight out of the box just charged it turned it on and was ready to start downloading my pictures to it. I use this in my photography class as both my portable hard drive and also on field days so I don't have to travel around back and fourth to my own computer. This device comes with everything you need including a case to put it in. Also another very important feature is the battery life. I have only used it to download pictures from my SD cards and have not used it for music or anything else but for what I am using it for the battery life is long lasting. I have never had it just quit on me but you want to make sure to completely charge it the first time before you even turn it on. The only thing that you might want to do especially if you are traveling is pick up an extra battery for it. Not because you will always need it but because it is very nice to have just in case.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I first bought it to store pictures when i'm traveling. I didn't want to keep all my pictures on SD card for a three weeks travel. So, the Wolverine does it well.

However, I found that the conception is not what I would expect. My SD cards are hard to insert and remove. The first time, I thought that I was inserting the SD card in the wrong slot. Then, I thought that I would breake it. Finaly, it works ok, but still a little hard to insert and remove.

I choose this devise thinking I would sort my numerous pictures quietly at the hotel. Well, it works, but its 10x faster on my camera than on this devise. My camera read high quality pictures faster than the devise. When I want to erase a picture on my camera, only two clicks. On this devise, 4 clicks. When you get hundred of pictures to sort, it's a little annoying.

So it works, but it could be better.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I am an advanced landscape photographer (not quite a pro) who in the past would have to carry along a bag full of memory cards when ever I went out to shoot. The EPS120GB Portable Multimedia Storage unit by Wolverine will now allow me to get out and only take a couple of media cards. It works great with the CF and SM cards; however I like to keep a quick back-up picture just in case so I bring along my 8.1MP point and shoot... The SD Memory Stick PRO Duo will not fit into the unit without using an adapter. Other than that, the unit is fast on downloads and the other features listed work really well. I like the fact that I can shoot photos and also record (voice) where I was shooting. Battery life is good (however it's best to pick up a back up battery if you do a lot of shooting). I have recommended this unit to some of my professional photographer acquaintances and to the photographer organization I belong to. As I said... so far, so great...

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

Chances are that if you're looking at this product as a possible MP3/Media Player, you have more specific needs than the typical iPod user OR you're fed up with he fact the ruler's of the larger capacity media player market have decided to short-change their customers.
This player loads up like a mass storage device, so no drivers or hideous and bloated 3rd party proprietary software are required. This means you will have to find your music elsewhere and make sure it's DRM-free, as the player does not work with DRM loaded media. There is no search on the device, so you will have to keep your music, videos and pictures organized and use playlists (m3u) for your music. When playing music, the player loads up all files in the same folder into memory, so you can't have folders with 500+ songs in the folder and expect to search through the menu screens looking for your next song with ease. The shuffle function will also only work in the current folder, not your entire library. Video loads up pretty nicely, but MPEG-4 Video seems to be choppy, but watchable; unless you're using the AV-Out to watch on a larger screen, which just makes the effect worse. I found that using Xvid compression will make it run like a dream. The battery is removable (THANK GOD!); which really SHOULD be a must-have, but to my amazement that feature has faded out of view in the primary market for larger capacity media players (cough! --iPod-- ahem- Zune). Also, if you're using it to backup data, it works great. The neat visualization on the jukebox player is nice. The case will mash the buttons as you slide it in, so you need to make sure you put it on key-lock before you slide it into the case. The media card slots work snappy and you can copy data individually, do a full backup or access data right off the cards. This function alone really makes the device worth it, as transferring files from cameras or phones with the proper adapters are insanely easy. If you're not concerned about warranty, you can actually easily upgrade the hard drive, so the device is expandable and can last you quite some time. The sound is incredible. GREAT Bass. The headphones that come with the player are pretty good, too. The keys are very firm, but can be quite loud when you click them. The device as a whole is very heavy and bulky, but feels like a tank. No concerns about it falling apart. Battery life is as advertised. You can customize the colors of the player's cursors and text as well as change the background image, which is definitely a good thing, as the yellow on yellow with a bright blue background was like a smurf threw up all over himself. Even with all of the device's short-falls, I still absolutely love it. I have control over my media and control over this device! I can throw whatever files I want to onto the hard drive, I can hook up the device to a TV and share my movies on my friend's TV's, I can use a memory card adapter to copy a song or recording my friend might have on his phone... If the battery dies, I can just buy a new one, if the hard drive dies I can just throw in a new one. This device isn't deciding for me where I buy my music or what I can do with it; I am truly a happy customer. The sad part is that this is really the direction the media player market should have been going from the beginning. I am excited about finding this device and I hope WolverineData goes ahead and addresses some of these limitations in their future like-devices.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

product works great. I love the screen size and the fact that I can use it as an mp3 player and a movie player is def an added bonus.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I love this thing. I say it is a must have for anyone who travels or is on the go. I hate having to carry multiple CF cards around so I take take pictures. Now I don't have to worry any more.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

This is a very portable way to secure and backup your field shoots and its reliability is second to none. It is a good way to ensure you will never run out of cards to keep shooting. Only hope is that it would be a little faster download so I could just get even more shots in before the end of the day.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I use this product to back up photos in the field, I specifically bought it back up pictures on vacation. I like the ability to review pics and even set up slideshows on a TV using the supplied RCA jack. Battery life is sufficient to back up several full 4mg CF cards without recharge.

I did experience problems with backups, if the machine times out before the card is transferred you don't get all your pics backed up, same with transferring to your computer, it times out to quick and not all your pics get transferred to your PC (I even adjusted the time out time to the max and still had problems.)

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

This machine seems wonderful out of the box, radio, game,recorder,backup. I ve been shooting for 19 years and am not an angry person take this information for what it is worth, I bought this item so as to backup images instead of carrying a lap top thru Thailand. The machine was purchased 16 months ago but never used just charged to keep battery up. The ESP was only used for this trip/job. So loaded images into system on CF and SD cards from Nikon and Leica systems. After 21 days after downloading machine froze! First the machine had hard time shutting down then the battery fell out during shut down stage which caused the HD to crash reset button never worked. I am not hard on gear in no way,my gear is how I make my living so I treat it well.[...] could not fix, hard drive broken, nor can they give me any idea of what went wrong, this never happens! Read [...] reviews way down the list some people not so happy. SO if you are serious about your money or making images. Best bet buy a Apple lap top $999 and Hard drive $120 and go that route or carry enough cards for work. This also enables emails and music movies for $700.00 more! The Wolverine ESP is a waste of time and your hard earned money. I am just passing on info so to save you $300+ and some stress. Please don't take this as a angry review did I get a lemon who knows can YOU take that risk. Am I upset sure but mostly that the machine cost $300+ and really doesn't work.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I have over 40 full length movies, music and pictures stored on my player with plenty of room to spare. I've had it for three months with no problems so far. Picture quality from movies and pictures is good and sound quality is good.
I wish that music management was better. Using Media Player is cumbersome. I find it easier to copy files directly.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

We use this product for our Pentax K20D and it shows DNG files. It is easy to use and store images. It is fast and light weight. I only wish that the card slots were less tough. It is hard to insert and eject SD cards sometimes. Maybe in the future if there could be a direct USB connection to camera, it would be perfect. However, among all the products I investigated, it is so far the most confortable and efficient device.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I have only recently purchased this multimedia storage devise, after several weeks of online research trying to find just the right sized photo storage devise that would accept with adapters both CF, and SD cards. The Wolverine came very highly recommended with very good reviews everywhere, and all the options I was looking for. So far I am very happy with it performance, I have not used all of its features yet, but I was mostly interested in the photo storage ablity. I have found that it is very easy to load photos from a CF and a SD card, and as those are the only two cards that I currently use that is just fine with me. I have also had no problems uploading to my computer. My nephew discovered the games and played them at his sisters graduation, so they work, LOL. I would recommend this product to others.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

The ESP 120 has exceeded my expectations thus far, having recently purchased one. Downloading images from a photo card is easy and fast, the added MP3 player, FM radio, and hard drive features were an unexpected bonous. The unit is compact and the review screen is large and VERY clear. As I shoot mainly RAW files, cards fill up quickly, so the ESP 120 is an excellent 'offload' storage device. The only thing I'd like to see improved is a better manual with the unit. The booklet included is too basic, as the units file structure takes a little to get used to. A 'quick start' updated sheet, or perhaps a web link would be useful. Lastly, works well with VISTA OS (although there is no mention of this in the documentation.)

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I purchased this with the intention of using on my impending travel to Europe and abroad and will be perfect for downloading photos onto it while in different counties, can upload music and movies to listen and watch also. I would describe it as perfect except for the limited movie formats, for example even when loading AVI files onto it you have to watch out for the resolution otherwise it won’t play.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

When I first received this unit it was the bomb, did everything I thought and a little more, since then the little more has quit working. One feature that I was getting use to using was the audio record which was nice when taking a lot of photos and not having to jot down foot-notes of the shots you're taking, just record a quick audio foot-note. It keeps giving me an error message unable to create a playlist or something like that, plus some PS002 error.However, everything else does seem to be working ok. It works nicely with my Nikon D200. It'll even display your RAW images, may take a few seconds/minutes, depending on how you view the photo list, in List View the pics usually load faster, switch to Icon View and it will take a while if you have 100 or more RAW images to display. The LCD screen clarity is acceptable, nice to be able to zoom-in on the photos as well. The transfer time from the CF card slot is surprisingly good.I have a couple of music videos on the unit, the screen really does good in this dept. The radio feature works well, it's probably the best radio I've heard on a portable, your headphone cable will act as an antenna. It does a good job recording the radio as well.When everything is working on this unit it's pretty hard to beat, just beware of the durability.

Expertise: Electronics Junkie

Problems Encountered: As mentioned, the audio recorder has failed, will not record at all.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I was torn between the ESP and the Epson P5000. I choose this model for the extra storage for the money and more features.It downloads cards fast, has extra room for some movies, and even has a Tetris type game on it ( great for when you need to wait for that perfect light ). I do not have personal experience with the Epson, but the ESP seems a little more geared for general use as an all around media player than just for photography.

Expertise: Part time pro

Problems Encountered: Small list.1. Down sizing of large images for the display is very choppy. ie poor anti-aliasing. not a big deal.2. couldn't play wmv video files. Again no big deal, I just convert them to avi

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

In response to the prior review - there are 2 settings on the ESP for use with a computer. The default setting allows the ESP to be used as an external hard drive and media reader, the other allows it act like a portable media player and PictBridge device for direct output to a printer. Go to Options > Display > and change USB mode from MSC Device to PictBridge/Media Player.I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of my ESP and I'm reading every review and online manual I can find.

Problems Encountered: It hasn't arrived yet.

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: iPod Video 30GB

Items I Recommend: Add-on dock and additional battery

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I just purchased two units. I loaded with over 30,000 pictures and much more other data.Every single one is crisp and sharp as beautiful as it can get.Nice. Very nice.

Comments about Wolverine ESP 120GB Portable Multimedia Storage and Player:

I am an advanced amateur and I owned the other generation of Wolverine before I bought this one. It is a very nice feature to be able to check on the photos loaded. It reads RAW files from Nikon without any firmware upgrade. It has a good memory size because I can browse through the pictures very fast. It is very easy to use and very intuitive too.I really love it. I didn't need all the juke box features, but I am enjoying them too, it has a good sound and includes an equalizer. I can also tune in the radio which I like.

Problems Encountered: It is not really an issue, the fact that when I have it connected to the computer with the USB port, it only works as an external hard drive and there is no access to music or radio.Second one is that to charge the battery you need to do it with the battery inside the wolverine. It won't stop you from fully using it while charging. Though the first time you should charge with the device off.

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: Wolverine 60GB

Items I Recommend: Extra battery and an external battery charger