3-in-1 Geek Pen: 2GB USB, MP3, & Voice Recorder

If you plan to purchase anything from Hottest Deal Ever (HDE) via Amazon, I recommend you understand “caveat emptor”. It seems HDE is an Amazon company; however, I am not exactly sure of their relationship when it comes to customer complaints. I did file for relief under Amazon’s A-to-Z Guarantee Program.

I purchased a 3-in-1 Geek Pen: 2GB, USB, MP3 & Voice Recorder for 39.95 plus shipping. The product was either defective or a piece of junk…not sure which because it would not take a charge nor would any of the various lights come on as visual indicators of it various modes of operation.

I was told to return the product in the original packaging marked return to sender. I did exactly that and I watched my mail lady put it into her mail pouch. So from my prospective I mailed the pen back to HDE. Naturally, they have never received the unit even after three weeks. So I am out 40 plus dollars. It will be a cold day in hell when I order anything from Amazon if HDE is the ultimate provider of the product.

Beware of HDE, remember caveat emptor, or you may become a ripped off victim as I have been…

Rating: 1 / 5

Looks a bit like a toy. So a MP3 player and BP pen. Well why not? Well for one thing this is the ugliest BP I’ve ever seen. Also a bit bulky measuring 6″ long and 9/16″ thick. It does have a bp filler which actually writes but I suspect not for long since it is only about 2″ long. I have no clue where one would find such a refill! So you don’t want this for a pen? Well then, why buy this monstrosity then when there are hundreds of cheap USB mp3 players out there with better form and function.

Ah yes…function. That brings me to the MP3 side of this GEEK pen. Music files (MP3s) are easily loaded by drag and drop to the device. I figure the 2gb will allow for approx 400 songs at 192 kbps or about 20 hrs. That should hold me a while! Plugging in the supplied earphones I fire up the device and voila I get very acceptable sound. The earplugs hurt a bit and are going in the trash as soon as I can get better ones because darnit I can’t use one of several pairs I have laying around. You see the manufacturer thoughtfully fitted it with a 2.5mm mini-jack rather than the more common 3.5mm earphone plug.

Now…the main problem and for me fatal flaw. The songs play in the order loaded. AND there is no way to shuffle play nor to jump around. You can skip forward and backward ONE SONG AT A TIME. So you have to press the button repeatedly for each song. There is NO fast forward function since holding the “skip” button down activates the volume control. Great!! Now I’ve got 400 tunes loaded in there and no way to play what I want. For God’s sake don’t put that favorite album down to the end! I reloaded the music organized into albums rather than as one big pile hoping the player would at least hop from one folder to another. Nope! Plays in order loaded and folders are ignored.

I haven’t used the voice recorder function. I’m afraid of looking like Maxwell Smart by talking into a pen. Note there is no LED window. An internal battery is Li-ion and doesn’t appear removable. It is listed as 150MAH which isn’t much. Seller claims 6+ hours on a charge. This toy charges via USB either from a PC or via a 110-240V to USB adapter.

One further point. Don’t expect to listen to your music through your car radio with one of those plugin MP3 adapters. Doesn’t work. Just sits there blinking red. Yup,pitiful design.

So, in summary this toy MP3 player/pen isn’t much use as either a pen nor a player. I suppose it might serve on a long haul flight or drive if you just want to set it in motion and let her rip.

With better design the concept has potential…maybe!

Rating: 3 / 5

i like it very much. Is very usefull and it works well. i have no reason to complain about. And shipping was very fast with HDE. Thank you HDE.
Rating: 5 / 5