I've said this before about DAPs: they're not only getting slimmer but also offering a lot more by way of functions. Of course, it would depend on the user too – we don’t all want the same things. I recently tested a Panasonic DAP with a rather lengthy name: SV-SD770V. Clearly the company's unimpressed by snappy monikers from rivals, such as Stone or Shuffle. But to cut to the chase, here’s what I have to say about the SV-SD770V.
Form Factor
The SD770V is quite a slim player with dimensions of 40 x 86 x 9.9 mm, and lightweight as well at just 40g. It’s extremely easy to carry in your pocket. The earphones however are a different story – they look more like a stethoscope. The SV770V has a small 1-inch monochrome display in front right next to the navigation pad.
The center of the pad lights up with a cool blue glow, but that’s nothing new; what's new is that it's touch-sensitive, so you can simply slide your finger to navigate. This feature can even be switched off and the volume keys used instead. There are two other keys for selecting various menus.
On the top of the player is a ‘Mark’ key for marking tracks you listen to often. These can be accessed from a specific folder; kind of like a playlist of your favorite tracks. On one side is the 3.5mm earphone socket and the battery compartment. At the bottom is the micro USB slot. It’s not a standard mini USB, though getting wires will not be problem. On the other side of the player is the SD card slot. Yes, sadly the SD770V doesn’t have ANY internal memory at all.
Features and Performance
Aside from not having internal memory and having extremely large earphones, here’s the other thing I didn’t like about the 770V – it uses proprietary software for data transfer. Although the transfer process is simple and quick, the fact that it pulls an Apple stunt like this cheesed me off. The interface was smooth, with virtually no delay while accessing data or features, even with a 1GB card full up.
The bundled software does however allow users to rip tracks form CDs and transfer them. It also allows you to create playlists in the player, but this means you can’t simply take another SD card full of music and slip it into the player. What's odd about the software is the weird way it sometimes doesn’t allow you to convert and transfer particular files, even though they play just fine in the built-in player. Go figure. Another feature is 'Music Sommelier', which works like Sony Ericsson’s SenseMe and creates playlists of tracks based on tempo etc.
I got this player from importstuff.co.in. I got their number from the site and called them up and they delivered the product. They're very reliable. I should say I'm more than happy with the player and it is exactly what this review describes it to be and has more features than mentioned here (non-stop 12hrs voice recording!). It cost me exactly Rs. 2750. 
