At the bottom of the case there is a cradle connector and a switch to open the cover when the device is turned off. Inside the case there is a lithium-ion accumulator battery, which is automatically charged when you connect the device to an AC power source.

The black cradle makes the handling of the device easier. You can connect the cradle to the PC and plug the combo-drive into it ever after. The cradle has a USB cable tail, a power connector and a button to eject the drive. The drive sits in the cradle quite tight thanks to the tip-up brace.

The cradle can be powered by eight AA batteries, thus making the drive work longer autonomously. However, you can’t recharge these batteries when plugging the cradle into AC power. You will have to use a special battery charger for this, which is not included with the drive.

The remote control for the MP3-player incarnation of the drive looks like the ones used in the Walkman/CD products. Its size is close to that of a cigarette or short pen. A small LCD display tells you the battery status and some basic info on sound tracks or music files played.

Buttons for controlling the device when it becomes an MP3-player are placed above the display. They are:

• Display: selects info display mode.
• Play mode: selects music playback mode. You can play a single file or all files on the disk or choose one of a few in-between variants.
• RPT/ENT (repeat/enter). It is used for repeating a track/file or programming a sequence of up to 64 music files.
• Sound: selects one of eleven sound tone modes. By the way, the player’s default mode, AVLS, automatically limits the sound volume to protect your ears and nerves of all people around. You can turn it off with the same Sound button.
• Pause. No comment is needed, I assume. :)

Below the display, there is a Hold switch, which locks the above-listed buttons. There is also a socket to connect the headphones to. The most interesting thing in the remote control is the knob. It is a rotating part of the unit’s case. It can be shifted to different positions. Combined with the button on the end, this gives us a flexible control of the playback and sound volume.

The accessories coming with MPD-AP20U make it even more mobile: plug and play, there is no need to search for any additional thingies or software. The package includes the cradle, USB cable, remote control unit, power supply adapter, power cable, four ferrite clips, headphones, and two CDs with software (for Macintosh and Windows). Those ferrite clips are put on the ends of cables to reduce electro-magnetic noise. The software bundle deserves a closer look. Let’s do it.