Toshiba Gigabeat MES30VW

188 reviews

Nov, 2024

Positive
usability (129)
sound (47)
design (41)
size (35)
performance (33)

Negative
battery (44)
durability (9)
reliability (9)

General overview
Price comparison

alaTest has collected and analyzed 188 reviews of Toshiba Gigabeat MES30VW. The average rating for this product is 3.8/5, compared to an average rating of 3.9/5 for other products in the same category for all reviews. People really like the performance and design. The portability and sound also get good feedback, whereas some have doubts about the durability and reliability.

usability, sound, portability, design, performance

battery, reliability, durability

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other products in the same category the Toshiba Gigabeat MES30VW is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 84/100 = Very good quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 188 reviews)

Expert Reviews

User Reviews

Review Ratings

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Features

usability
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battery
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sound
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portability
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Showing 1 - 115 of 187 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (1)

Consumer review (amazon.com)

Amazon.com review summary for Toshiba Gigabeat MES30VW

alaTest has collected and analyzed 105 user reviews of Toshiba Gigabeat MES30VW from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 3.6/5, compared to an average user rating of 3.8/5 for other products in the same category on Amazon.com. Opinions about the sound and portability are generally positive. The design and performance are also mentioned favorably. There are some mixed reviews about the battery. The durability and reliability get critical comments.

usability, performance, design, portability, sound

reliability, durability

74% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Nov, 2024

Expert review by : Eric Butterfield (pcworld.com)

Toshiba GigaBeat S30 Portable Media Player - Silver (2.375

Toshiba's Gigabeat S30 (MES30VW) is meant to be more than just an audio player. It's a Portable Media Center, meaning that it runs Windows Mobile software and is able to download and play TV shows and movies in addition to playing music and displaying...

High quality audio ; Bright, sharp 2.4-inch LCD

Navigation can be unintuitive

The Gigabeat offers TiVo Series2 and Xbox 360 integration. Navigation could be more intuitive, however.

Aug, 2006

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Expert review by : Eric Butterfield (pcworld.com)

Toshiba Gigabeat S30

This svelte device performs multimedia tasks very well, though navigation could be more intuitive.

High quality audio, Bright, sharp 2.4-inch LCD

Navigation can be unintuitive

Jul, 2006

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Expert review by : James Kim (cnet.com)

Toshiba Gigabeat S review: Toshiba Gigabeat S

Toshiba's Gigabeat S series --shown off by Bill Gates during his Windows Vista -centered CES keynote last January--looks like a bona fide iPod challenger, as it incorporates an improved version of Microsoft's superintuitive Portable Media Center (PMC...

The Toshiba Gigabeat S makes its mark as a supercompact 30GB or 60GB portable video player. It supports many music, video, and photo file types, including subscription services, and it has a bevy of features, such as an FM tuner and support for digital...

Unlike many portable video players, the Toshiba Gigabeat S does not record audio or video. There is no voice or FM recording, and the two-cable AC adapter is cumbersome. Also, the Gigabeat S is an MTP device and requires Windows XP. Finally, rated...

Many prospective MP3/PVP buyers have been waiting patiently for this compact, easy-to-use, one-stop shop for media files--looks like the Toshiba Gigabeat S was worth the wait.

Jun, 2006

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Expert review by : Grahm Skee (anythingbutipod.com)

Toshiba Gigabeat S30 & S60 Review

The highly anticipated third installment of Thoshiba's hard drive based MP3player has finally been released after many months of waiting. Released in two different capacities, 30GB and 60GB, this player is graced with an amazing interface, powered by...

Jun, 2006

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Expert review by (dapreview.net)

Toshiba Gigabeat S30

Introduction Ever since Apple released the iPod, people have tried to label players such as the iRiver IHP-120 as an iPod killer. Fact is, players like the IHP-120 are far too complex and, quite frankly, nerdy for the majority of the population. What...

The S Series really has two competitors: Apple's iPod and Creative's ZVM. The S Series are quite similar to the iPod in that they both put simplicity, integration, and size ahead of features while having both 30gb and 60gb versions, however, the S...

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Expert review by : Ella Morton (cnet.com.au)

Toshiba gigabeat S30 Review - Portable Video Players

Those turned off by previous gigabeat players' messy interface should take a look at this Portable Media Center model, which shows a huge improvement in the usability stakes.

Comfortable, Trendy design, Pleasing sound quality, Support for digital camera transfers, Portable Media Center interface is a dream to use, Easy integration with a home Media Center set-up

Poor noise cancelling, Relatively flat bass response, Only compatible with Windows XP, No recorder for voice, radio or line-in, Chunky adaptor

With its much improved interface and solid performance, the S30 made us very happy indeed.

Sep, 2006

Partner Source

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Very good MP3 player

Very compact (about the size of a 4G iPod), gorgeous screen, loads all my songs very quickly (even changing to different albums and artists) as well as pictures and videos.

Can't figure out how to put on album artwork, doesn't work with iTunes, some file formats don't work that should, there's no "Now Playing" selection to go back to what you're listening to.

Jan, 2007

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Utter piece of junk

Its a great MP3 player, EXCEPT for that fact that it will NEVER get its rated 12 hours of battery life. You won't even get 10 unless you use WMAs at 64kbps. With me just using MP3s at around 260 kbps, I got 5-6 hours of battery life. Furthermore, the...

Easy to use interface ; Good looking (display) ; Small (this is also a disadvantage) ; Easy to upload music using WMP11

Battery - due to trying to make the player smaller, they skimped on the battery

Dec, 2006

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Fantastic mp3 player

This is a fantastic player for the price. Very strongly recommended.

Intuitive, user-friendly interface; big screen with rich colours; easy synchronisation using Windows MP 11; great sound; video is good for the size

Cheap-feeling headphones (though good quality sound); mediocre equaliser (sounds better without it); WinMP 10 works but playlists only transfer with WinMP 11; can only be used with WinXP

Nov, 2006

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

BEST MP3 PLAYER YET

This thing does everything. Seemless with Windows Media Player, radio tuner(works very well), super clean menus with great architecture, smooth scrolling through artists, album art, MOVIES LOOK AMAZING!, picture storage architecture is great. VIDEO...

none, if you like windows media player and thing *pods are for zombies

Oct, 2006

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