Features:

What lacks in looks apparently makes up for it in the features department with a plethora of onboard functionalities. First and foremost, the NEX 3+ supports MP3, WMA and DRM WMA audio formats, which are all well and good, but we would’ve preferred OGG Vorbis support as well. Then again, considering the price of the unit, maybe we shouldn’t be too picky. Similar to other MP3 players, the NEX 3+ also has support for equalizer settings including preset Jazz, Rock, Classic, Latin and Dance.

There are also select options such as Smart Play Functions that incorporate repeat once, repeat all, single folder, repeat folder and random in the navigation menu. Other options include auto shut down, sleep timer, multiple folder support, menu scroll during song play and resume. Even though majority, if not all, of these features are integrated in pretty much all recently released MP3 players, at least Frontier Labs isn’t behind in the features area.

Continuing on, the NEX 3+ has built-in FM tuner, FM recording capability in MP3 format, direct line-in encoding in MP3 format, and built-in FM transmitter (bit-rate and frequencies are selectable on the aforementioned options). Now that we are done with the standard features, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the NEX 3+ is the "bare" model vs. the "loaded" models.

Frontier Labs offers the NEX line of MP3 players in three models: bare, 512MB and 1GB (in four colors). The prices, as you would expect, are set accordingly. While the 512MB and 1GB models cost $129.00 and 149.90, respectively, the bare version of the player only retails for $99.00. The idea behind the bare model is that you can purchase any SD card and select the onboard storage capacity according to your needs; this was the flexibility option we hinted earlier in the review. Although we would hold off on stating our final words about the product till the end, we’ll go ahead and pass on this word of advise. If you do decide to purchase this MP3 player, it’s actually better to get the bare version than the ones with onboard memory. We found Kingston’s 512MB card online for $35.00, which doesn’t exactly save you money, but at least it gives you the option to add more storage in the future. Plus, you never know when you might get a better deal on a SD card.

The package contains the player itself, earphones (not worthwhile, as always) with neck strap, Windows Media Player 10.0 software, instruction manual, USB cable, line-in cable and a car adapter.