BenQ makes another addition to the popular flash-based mp3 player market with the Joybee 130. BenQ is known for introducing innovative products into the market, and the Joybee is no exception. As well as being a full featured mp3 player, the Joybee has a few tricks of it's own that make it very unique.

Aesthetics
The Joybee is a slim, stylish mp3 player. The review unit had a matte grey front and back, with silver binding connecting the two. There is an unsightly bulge at the base of the unit that houses the single AAA battery that powers the unit for 5-7 hours, but it had to be put somewhere. There is a backlit LCD display that is exceptionally clear in all lighting conditions. It shows less information than some other mp3 players, but the displayed information is large, easy to see, and well-chosen. The screen is the only item on the front or back of the unit, which gives it a nice clean look. There are some interesting designs on the battery case which make it look like it has some function, which usually leads to first time users accidentally popping the battery out during use.

User Friendliness
The real problem with the Joybee is the control scheme. In order to keep the front face clean, the buttons were scattered throughout the sides of the unit. A 3-way toggle joystick is located on the right side, the headphone jack and volume control are on the top, and a control lock, and record button on the left. For the most part, the control scheme is unnatural at first, and takes some getting used to. Even after extensive experience, you'll still find yourself searching for the button to unlock the controls while the unit is in your pocket. And the Joybee will be in your pocket, because it doesn't come with any accessories to mount it anywhere else.

Frankly speaking, the only way to make the control scheme any more difficult to use would be to make the buttons randomly change functions. The Play/Pause/Skip joystick works decently well, although it is small. The rest of the buttons?Volume, Mode, Record, and Locking, are too small, and too randomly distributed to be easily used. The mp3 player does have a nice clean look because of the control layout, but the tradeoff in usability is too much. The Joybee is a good piece of technology, with an impressive feature list, but you just won't be able to use it easily.

Features
The market for flash-based mp3 players is getting more and more crowded every day, so the core features of any mp3 player have to be solid in order to compete. The Joybee comes in both 256 and 512 MB variants, putting it near the top of memory capacity when it comes to flash-based players. The OS takes up a hefty chunk of memory though, rounding in at 10 MB; that could be an extra song or 2 in most cases. Fortunately, the OS size is appropriate given the extra features of the Joybee, and one feature more than makes up for this bit of lost memory.

One of the disappointing things about this mp3 player was the overall lack of accessories. The included headphones do provide decent quality sound, but the cord is very short, and made of a hard plastic which makes it difficult to keep the pods in your ears easily, especially during colder weather. Even the USB cable used to transfer songs is very short, if you're connecting it to the back of your computer, the cable will reach the top of the case, but nowhere near your desk. The lack of a case/belt clip/armband leaves you no options other than your hand or your pocket to keep the Joybee. Pants pockets are also difficult, due to the short headphone cord. It's frustrating to have an mp3 player with such capabilities be crippled when it comes to usability.