Is Meizu blowing it?

I've been seriously looking at buying the 8GB M6. After first learning about the player when it was first released, I knew it would be high on my list when it was time to get a new player. Well, that time is now. I haven't been on these boards since the beginning, so i've sort of been out of touch with happenings in the Meizu world.

Coming back recently to see how things stand with the M6, I was pleased to learn there's now an 8GB version available. Also, remembering back how in the beginning Meizu seemed genuinely interested in improving the player via firmware I was expecting to see a bunch of exciting new features, really great stability and a pleasurable user experience with the latest firmware.

Instead, what I find are horrible, annoying music playback bugs that just don't get fixed, hardly any new features, useful features being taken away, and new bugs introduced with every new firmware.

Meizu nailed it with the M6 hardware. The design of the M6 led me to believe that Meizu understood the user, and how to create an outstanding portable music experience. When the M6 was criticized for being Apple-like I was the first to point out that there was actually very little Apple-like about the M6, that in fact Meizu had created the player that Apple should have created but didn't, and that Meizu deserve all the credit, not Apple.

But judging the M6 now, by the only standard that any player can really be judged by - the user experience, it seems that Meizu has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Should I be eager to buy a player that wrecks the ends of songs? That decides to shut down whenever it wants to? That inserts white noise into the middle of songs? That annoyingly updates its database everytime I turn it on? That struggles to perform the basic feature set it was created with instead of gracefully acquiring new and useful ones? This is the M6? This is Meizu.

Meizu, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Huh. I haven't had any problem with my Meizu M3 for the last 2-3 months. I just had a problem with the loading tracks at begining, but someone helped me out and said that I need to remove a file in the m3 root folder. That solved my problem directly.

Meizu M3 and M6 are excellent players.

Originally Posted by Riolist

Should I be eager to buy a player that wrecks the ends of songs?

A lot of people complain about that bug, and also a lot of people just don't care about it. The tracks I listen to have pauses at the end for over 95%, so I don't even notice that there is something happening. The problem applies only to live music and mixes.

Originally Posted by Riolist

That decides to shut down whenever it wants to?

Only when paused. Well, I don't pause for that long. And if so, it has auto-resume.

Originally Posted by Riolist

That inserts white noise into the middle of songs?

I have never experienced that ! Seems to affect not all people.

Originally Posted by Riolist

That annoyingly updates its database everytime I turn it on?

solved here.

Originally Posted by Riolist

That struggles to perform the basic feature set it was created with instead of gracefully acquiring new and useful ones?

It's an mp3 and video player, and does both fine (if you stick with the specifications). Do you know any device that is perfect and has no bugs ?

Don't just flame, stay with the facts. Also I wonder why you take the time for such a long post if you don't like Meizu devices ? You even don't have one !? Pretty much hilarious.

I haven't had a problem with me 8GB M6 either and the two main reasons I purchased it was that there was a company in China that were putting their brand name behind their product and that there is a site like this for support and information.

I know that the M6 is definately not the most perfect product but it has a lot more positives and has more boxes ticked than nearly everything else out there.

Originally Posted by DimaMP4

Huh. I haven't had any problem with my Meizu M3 for the last 2-3 months. I just had a problem with the loading tracks at begining, but someone helped me out and said that I need to remove a file in the m3 root folder. That solved my problem directly.

I don't quite understand the relevance this has to the M6.

Originally Posted by BobbyQ

Don't just flame, stay with the facts. Also I wonder why you take the time for such a long post if you don't like Meizu devices ? You even don't have one !? Pretty much hilarious.

I'm glad you find it amusing, but i'm trying to decide whether to buy it or not. Everyone should evaluate a player before they buy it. You're criticizing me because I don't own one yet? Does that mean everyone should just buy first and then find out if they like it - the hard way? You think it's just a matter of me 'not liking Meizu products'? So you feel that eveyone should just shut up about the bugs and be happy with whatever Meizu decides to give, take, fix or break? It's all or nothing, either accept it or go away? If users (or potential users) don't speak up, how will Meizu know what their customers like or don't like, or shouldn't they care? If anyone's attitude is hilarious it's yours, not mine. I'm trying to make an informed decision about a purchase and get constructive feedback. I'm not flaming anyone , i'm just trying to seriously discuss serious issues, and hoping that makes a difference. If that offends you i'm sorry.

Originally Posted by Riolist

I don't quite understand the relevance this has to the M6.

Well, M3 and M6 are very similar.

There is no such thing as a perfect player. Maybe Meizu M6 & M3 aren't the best, but for that price & functions, it's really worth the money. Unlike ipods.

Anyway, I can recommend you the M6. I think that you won't be dissapointed.

Originally Posted by Riolist

Instead, what I find are horrible, annoying music playback bugs that just don't get fixed, hardly any new features, useful features being taken away, and new bugs introduced with every new firmware.

Meizu, you should be ashamed of yourself.

This is part of your 'serious discussion' ?

How can you judge a device you don't own?

If you know another player with comparable features, sound, design & price,
buy it !

My two cents:

I've owned several MP3 players, and even with all its defects the M6 beats a lot of players out there hands down in terms of functionality and ease of use. That, and the fact that it's a completely open player that allows me to control the way I enjoy my music, videos and pictures makes me happy.

You say you were considering purchasing an M6 so you don't own one; you don't even use one day to day. Seems to me your post is more a flame than anything else. Do everyone a favor: either buy the M6 or don't. Try it for a few months and decide for yourself. I can swear by my 2GB M6. It fills my needs nicely. The end of song glitch only occurs occasionally. Mine doesn't turn off on a whim and doesn't update the library as often as others. I'm quite happy with my unit and I recommend it to anyone.

May I ask what Music Player do you currently own right now? Do you think that iPods don't have bugs? For your information I also own a First Gen Shuffle, which my wife uses. I actually had to take it into an Apple Store to get it replaced once because the thing stopped working after 6 months. Often the Shuffle is not recognized on my wife's Thinkpad. My M6 works and Syncs every time. I don't need iTunes to put music into my device. Heck, I can plug it into a Toaster if said Toaster had an OS, a Keyboard and an USB port. Can an iPod do that?

No, you shouldn't shut up about product defects. This applies to everything you purchase. But I see this as a matter of choice.

Good Luck. Next time, try a M6 or a M3 for a couple of months before blasting Meizu.

Originally Posted by my zoo

This is part of your 'serious discussion' ?

How can you judge a device you don't own?

If you know another player with comparable features, sound, design & price,
buy it !

How can I judge? Because I didn't make up those issues out of thin air; those are issues users on this forum have posted about. Should I not be allowed to bring them up because I haven't experienced them directly? The fact that others have experienced them means that I will potentially experience them if I buy the player, and that's justification enough for me to be concerned about them, and to bring them up.

I'm sorry if I sound like i'm flaming. The fact is i'm extremely dissapointed at what i'm seeing after being away for so long and thinking so highly of the M6 from the beginning. I thought it would be in a better state by now, and I don't understand why there are still such serious issues, and so few added features, like bookmarks, by now. I know all players have issues. But most players can at least play mp3's correctly without annoying the listener, and frankly I fully expected the M6 of all players to be far beyond such issues by now.

while I don't own a meizu I have used one (m6) before and I do very much like the player. However.......I too believed it was very important to investigate further before purchasing. After hearing about the track skipping glitch I made an informed decision not to buy a meizu player until this was fixed as I listen to many mixes and live performances. I have to agree though.....said it before, sorry to repeat, but considering that many $40 mp3 players can play these types of files and every player I have owned has never had a problem with them, this is for me an inexcusable problem and should have been fixed in the first firmware, considering it is marketed as an 'mp3 player' not an 'mp3 player (which doesn't higher bitrate files with silence at the end properly). That is not to say I am not still a meizu fan and appreciate what they are doing and am looking forward to buying an m8, it's just the simple truth that their products don't cater for my audio needs at this current time. Hopefully this is fixed soon, but if you feel this and the other glitches will not affect your listening experience I would say buy one as they are good value for money and have some great features, even if they are not quite perfect yet. While I too have been quick to defend meizu on many occasions I think people must accept that their players may not suit everyones needs due to firmware problems.

Originally Posted by citizenklaw

You say you were considering purchasing an M6 so you don't own one; you don't even use one day to day. Seems to me your post is more a flame than anything else. Do everyone a favor: either buy the M6 or don't. Try it for a few months and decide for yourself. I can swear by my 2GB M6. It fills my needs nicely. The end of song glitch only occurs occasionally. Mine doesn't turn off on a whim and doesn't update the library as often as others. I'm quite happy with my unit and I recommend it to anyone.

May I ask what Music Player do you currently own right now? Do you think that iPods don't have bugs? For your information I also own a First Gen Shuffle, which my wife uses. I actually had to take it into an Apple Store to get it replaced once because the thing stopped working after 6 months. Often the Shuffle is not recognized on my wife's Thinkpad. My M6 works and Syncs every time. I don't need iTunes to put music into my device. Heck, I can plug it into a Toaster if said Toaster had an OS, a Keyboard and an USB port. Can an iPod do that?

No, you shouldn't shut up about product defects. This applies to everything you purchase. But I see this as a matter of choice.

Good Luck. Next time, try a M6 or a M3 for a couple of months before blasting Meizu.

No, I don't own one, but that shouldn't mean I can't discuss issues that others have brought up, because I will have to live with those same issues if I buy it. I'm not here to flame. I am still considering buying the M6, otherwise I wouldn't care.

I've owned many players, Rio Carbon, Samsung Z5, Sandisk e250, Trekstor Vibez, Archos XS202. All serious players, they all stand out in some way. I buy good players, that perform well. I never bought an ipod and never will. My standards are higher than that, and I expect my players to meet certain standards. and that's why I expect more from the M6, because at this point I don't want to buy just any other mp3 player, I want to buy something special, and I thought the M6 was it. But coming back to these forums after so long i'm dissapointed at what i'm seeing.

Riolist, I have replied to each of your "problems" with practical facts. What is this all about ? Ignoring answers is not a good starting point for a discussion.

You will always find bugs and problems with each an every high-tec device. Ask yourself if you can live with the known bugs or if you can't. Many people here complain for a reason but are STILL satisfied with what they got for their money.
Your previous statements have not been very objective yet.

That end of song bug that everyone talk about... I never noticed it...

The white noise, is not only between songs, it is always, but you will properly only notice it with low impedance headphones.
Newer heard it with my Sennheiser 212pro, 32ohm, closed earcups.
But with my new UE SF3 it is noticeable, but not annoying. 13ohm, IEM.

Database updates, are only if it have been connected to a computer, or if you turn it on while the hold button is on (of cause it shuts down immediately) but then the next time you turn it on with the hold button on, it will update.
So just remember to set the hold button to off before turning the player on.

As you say you haven't been around since the start, if you had then you would have known about all the bugs that have been fixed, and things that have been improved.

And the player never turns of during playback, only if left on pause for 3 minutes.

And most of these are really minor, but unhappy people shout much lauder than those of us who is happy at a healthy level.

One sentence made your post sound like flame - "Meizu, you should be ashamed of yourself" You should not say things like that without owning the product.

It is by far the best MP3 player I have tried, though others might have a bit smarter interface (this has been improved at lot on the M6).

I don't own a M6 yet, I just purchased one few days ago. I did a lot of reading about various players and it seems for music quality hardware wise the M6 wins hands down.

For firmware issues, it seems the biggest issue is the memory buffer issue or whatever is causing the gaps at begining and end of certain songs. I also consider bitrate issue to be another major problem since I have a lot of VBR mp3's. Besides these two, I can only think of some minor things like player isn't sorting tracks right in certain folder configurations, limit on max number of files (?), and no support for ID3 album art. I don't expect the player to be perfect. After weighing the benefits versus the issues I deceided to buy it.

Since there doesn't seem like some major design flaw, for example XBOX 360 red ring, I bought one in good faith that Meizu will continue to support the firmware and make improvements on it. I hope with the expected release of new firmware at end of August/begining of Sept that some of these issues will be resolved. Especially since not only are folks in the English speaking community complaining about these bugs but also folks on Meizu's Chinese BBS. If they don't release an update and it ends up never being fixed, I will be disappointed in Meizu because this will make it much harder for them to break out of their local market. I think I will still be happy with my player once I get it and I've made the purchase with the full knowledge it has some quirks.

Originally Posted by BobbyQ

Riolist, I have replied to each of your "problems" with practical facts. What is this all about ? Ignoring answers is not a good starting point for a discussion.

I'm not ignoring them. I appreciate you taking the time to respond, and i'll take your comments into account when I decide whether or not to buy it. I realize that direct experience is the best way to judge, but at the same time one of the best uses for a forum such as this is to be able to weigh the good points along with the bad points before buying so that there's no regrets or nasty surprises.

I guess there's really nothing that any of you can do one way or the other about the M6. That's up to Meizu. I guess everyone here is aware of the issues, as well as the good points, and running over them again and again will accomplish nothing. But maybe Meizu will read this and get the idea that there are potential customers out there that want the M6 to be the outstanding player they know it can be, and only they can make that happen, and everyone will benefit from that.

I've no major issues with my M6.
The hissing of course as every M6 user has experienced.
Never had the song ending problem neither do I know what it is.
I guess it may be just the problems with VBRs thats why I convert all my songs to 128 kbps CBR.

The only reoccurring problem I have is that the touch strip always has errors. But I couldn't care less about that problem though, as it takes a split second to calibrate it back to normal.

Whoa there. I have not had any major problem with my player since the day I bought it. I don't hear any white noise, have any problems with the end of mp3's or any of the other problems you listed. The M6 is a well rounded off player, and Meizu is working hard to fix bugs, but they seem to be focusing on production of the M8 and M6SE now. Don't jump to conclusions so fastly.

i have no idea what the heck all of your problems with the m6 are, as i have never experienced any of them. the playlist update only occurs when you load new music--not every time you turn it on.

what end of song bug are you talking about? do you mean gapless playback? yea, it would be great if it had gapless playback... but it's not a huge deal.

what white noise are you talking about?

you seem to be complaining about a lot of non-issues.

I have very good ears, approved by a doctor's test only a few months ago (needed to check when I came from a loud rock concert standing in the front row). And I swear there is absolutely no hissing in my configuration, which is Meizu M6 8 GB S2.003.2 with v-moda vibes IEM. Same with the original headphones that came shipped with the M6.
Tried it with an empty wave (filled with zeros) and different formats such as mp3 cbr+vbr, flac, ogg and wav/pcm. Nothing.
So this can't be a general problem.