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Bantam Interactive BA800 (256MB)

Bantam Interactive BA800 (256MB)

James Kim
Account in memoriam for the editor.
James Kim
Quick Take: The $110 Bantam BA800 is an MP3/WMA player and a digital photo viewer that happens to have a built-in light show. Like a digital chameleon, its semitranslucent body morphs from orange to turquoise to lime, then into 253 other colors. The lights can be set to change intermittently or "dance" to the beat.
The BA800 features 256MB of internal memory so that you can store a good amount of music and images, including JPEG, TIFF, BMP, and GIF files. Photographs burst onto and fade from the egglike device's 1.8-inch color LCD. Using the included Windows-only BitExplor 3.0 software, we were able to squeeze 56 MP3s and 33 JPEGs and TIFFs onto the player. In case you need more space, the BA800 has a top-loading SD memory card expansion slot.
Audio control buttons line one side, and a soft-to-the-touch but awkward navigation controller lies underneath the colorful, hi-res screen. The BA800's underside features a headphone jack, a USB port, and a port for the included docking cradle. The backside sports a Hold switch.