Neuros Technology Forums

I still have both a Neuros I and a Neuros II.  Both are happy at this time.  The Neuros I is used daily by my wife at work, and is almost always plugged in.  On our last road trip, the battery (unplugged) lasted for 5 hours.

Well, I didn't really answer your questions, Blessed B, but the units have lasted a long time for us.  I now use a Creative Zen (1 gig) that records to MP3 for school lectures and voice recording because of the smaller size.

I think there was a great advantage being an early innovator, and I love the neurocast feature, but there's no perceived advantage to entering the market last.  NeurosAudio must believe the R3 will have a better profit margin if they can get it finished.

At least we know, and now we can make better consumer decisions.  Like Todd and mrchyles, I'll just have to wait and see if the N3 is better than the other players I have at the time (so far, an N1, N2, and two creative zens, and will begin looking for a slimmer 40G player).  We'll still use the N1 and N2, but may not need anything the N3 has to offer a year from now.

Who knows?  Maybe the timeline will improve over the next few months ...

Rick

Well, it's been a month since Joe asked about the 442v2, and nobody from Neuros has been heard from since. []

I could handle the size, but the recording wasn't working too well for my situation.  I record classroom lectures, which are hard to record anyway.  During playback, I have the sound turned up and hear the harddrive cycling every so often.  Lately, I've switched my recording the a Creative Zen.  The recording isn't any better sound-wise, but doesn't have the harddrive cycling (since there's no drive).  Also, it IS much smaller, lasts 8 hours, and has plenty of room for weeks of recording.

I think I'll use my Neuros at home for now on, and just carry a couple of zen players with me for traveling.  It's easier to carry 2 or 3 zens and an extra battery in my pocket than the Neuros with an adapter.

Anyone remember the Amiga computer?  Best 128-meg computer around, could format 4 floppy drives and still multitask!  All this in '87!  They were the best, except for their marketing.  I think Neuros is operating the same way.  So many questions from the die-hard users, and no response.  No exitement.  No more newsletters.  no more ... anything?

What marketing?

The only marketing I've seen for the 442v2 is the upgrade policy for buying the original 442.  Maybe these forums aren't the place to get information on products, but I don't know where that place might be, either.  Personally, I don't know if the 442v2 will work for me because, as posted earlier, I have no idea how long the wait might be, what type of pricing it may have, or what the final product will end up being.

It's not just the N3, either.  From other posts, the N3 is on the back burner until the next recorder and 442 comes out.  Unless I'm not reading the right forums, there's been no real word on anything for months.  I can't afford to buy something now, and a Neuros later.

I feel like Linus.  "Just wait, Charlie Brown!  The Great Neuros will come up in the sky, offering sales merchandise to every good boy and girl!  Just you wait and see!"

Without some sort of timeline, I can't make any informed decision as to wait or go elsewhere.

When's the last time anyone has heard definitive news from Neuros?  I own an N1, N2 a recorder, and the 442, and can't wait for the N3 []
 
I'm no marketing expert, but all the features we're waiting for are starting to show up on other platforms.  That by itself wouldn't stop me from waiting for the N3, but when months go by without any updates or email notices, then one wonders how active Neuros really is [8]

To be fair, I'm sure there's many people who are probably testing and helping out, and have a decent idea what is going on.  I just wish the rest of us would get some marketing words of encouragement every now and then.  A good public relations plan might include using the forums for two-way communications [?]

As a future posible customer of American Techpushers, I'd like to see how all this turns out as well.  []

quote:Originally posted by KeAz

[xx(]Docs/Manual = 3 (Very little and mostly useless)

[]-1 for dodgy quality(from other users posts) and docs(wrong and lack of)

I agree.  After I read the manual (which I always do before using a new item), I was nervous that I might have bought one too early.  I do wish the manual and docs was better written, and much more accurate.

But, I can live with that since the device works so good.

I know the feeling.  I hate getting burned with a purchase, especially when I hear horror stories from other people.  There's been some bad stories here as well, but there's also a lot of peer pressure here when issues are posted to find solutions when that happens.

Besides the audio players, I also own the MPEG4 recorder and the 442 digital recorder.  So far, they all work as advertised, with no problems.

I am an average user, and bought my first Neuros 20G, what, several years ago?  Since then, I've bought a 30G and the newer 80G.  Now, I use the 80G every day, my wife uses her 30G every day, and my daughter uses the older 20G off and on.

We haven't had any issues, warranty or otherwise.  So, there's no reason for me to gripe in the forums.  My thought is that the majority od users are happy and never complain.  Well, the size could be smaler, but other than that, I don't have any negative comments.

I love hearing the gripes before I buy, but I'm also glad I took a chance on the neuros.  I love the recording features missing in others.  It works well for recording college lectures.

That's the point I am trying to make.  You won't know if it is charged by looking at the blinking display.  It is a fault of Neuros.  Your unit will blink whether it is empty or fully charged.  The only way to know is to unplug the unit, turn it on, and look at the battery indicator.

I believe the unit is shipped uncharged, so I would definately leave it plugged in just like the manual says.  Hopefully Neuros corrects this in the future ...

That's normal on the 80G model.  The blinking indicator means it is charging.  The bad news is, the indicator will continue blinking even after a full charge.  So, it's impossible to tell if the unit is fully charged or not while plugged in.

The manuals don't seem to keep up with the changes.  []

Does this include proofreading? [] It is amazing how many user guides I've read just full of errors and mistakes.  I think the worst is the Prima game guides, IMHO.

I thought I'd share my thoughts, now that I've had a chance to play for a week (Thanks, Johan, for the support!).

There is one advantage to reading all of the forums before getting the unit.  I may be one of the few who have had no issues with any of the recording I did pre-delivery.  Thanks to all who posted the issues and tutorials.

The shipping box slippage did not happen.  With the way the cardboard was box was built, I do not believe slippage would have been possible (maybe the box design was changed?).  I am one who actually reads all of the documentation before playing with something, so there wasn't any surprises on the way to use it.

The cover hasn't broken off, and seems like a good fit.  The line-in is trouble-free, and no cables had to be played with.  The SD card (1 gig) works fine.  I have no problems with the scroll buttons (not hard to press, and very responsive).  All in all, a great product.

Now for the wishes.  
1. I do wish it had an external speaker that could be turned on/off.  I would use it more often without headphones if I could.

2. Timed recording would be great.  I also would like to see more options for the length of automatic recording (maybe 5 min increments?).

3.  Maybe I am doing something wrong, but the Ulead software PVR editing tool edits fine, but the saved quality is not what I would have expected.  I didn't see an option for high or low quality.

4.  A rename function would be helpful.  This comes in handy when recording voice while away from a computer.  Those files can add up pretty quickly in college classes.

5.  A built-in microphone for voice recording.  That feature is really handy on the Neuros MP3 player, and since the 442 is a voice recorder ...

6.  Playlist functionality like the Neuros, even if they should be built on the computer first, would be good.

7.  I would have traded the case for a stand.  Preferrably, a stand that could be 'hooked' to the 442, similar to my Garmin V GPS device.  The stand clamps onto the unit, and is completely adjustable.  This way, the 442 could be placed on the desktop (or other surface) at the approproate angle for viewing.

All in all, I am very impressed.  Nothing is perfect, but this comes awfully close.