Samsung media players are known to deliver superior audio quality. But as the simple ‘MP3 player’ has evolved into a full-fledged multi-media device, all manufacturers are trying to squeeze in more and more features into their product. The iPod Touch went beyond multi-media by also doubling up as an Internet device along with support for third party applications. For today’s test we have Samsung’s answer to the Touch, the YP-P2. Let’s see if it can take on Apple’s giant.

Although designed along the lines of the iPod Touch, the Samsung YP-P2 has a charm that’s all its own. It’s available in three appealing colors; White, Black and the one we received – Red Wine. Its design is pretty sleek and looks quite elegant too. It’s a little smaller in dimension than the Touch; especially the width and weight, which makes it easily pocketable. The player’s build is decent too.

The front comprises of the decently-sized touch-screen and is covered by a now-typical transparent material, which makes the front prone to fingerprints. The high resolution makes the content look crisp and vivid; which is the case with most Samsung products. The screen has a 16:9 (wide-screen) aspect ratio that makes it great for viewing DVD rips without those annoying black borders at the top and bottom.

Samsung has not gone ‘all-things- touch’ with the YP-P2. It’s good to see the Play/Pause button next to the hold switch on the left side and the volume buttons on the right. The side buttons prove to be convenient when you want to operate the player without removing it from your pocket.

The 3.5mm headphone port, data cable connector and Microphone.

Samsung’s UI on the YP-P2 is named as ‘Emoture’. In terms of styling, it looks gorgeous. The buttons have a nice transparency effect added to them. It supports single finger gestures. For instance, to scroll through the play-list, one has to simply flick the thumb over it. And to skip to the next or previous song, you simply swipe sideways. The ‘Now Playing’ screen offers a few cool-looking visualizations. Recording of FM radio onto the player’s memory is possible.

The YP-P2′s got a few nifty tools like a Calculator, World clock and Calendar as well.

The YP-P2 can read text files too. You can sync contacts into its address book as well as download and install games for it. It supports multi-tasking like slide-showing photographs while listening to music.

The Bluetooth menu allows it to pair with two wireless Bluetooth headsets as well as a mobile phone. By pairing with a cell-phone, you can route all your calls to your player and even make calls via its interface. The Bluetooth features of the player are very usable.

The Samsung YP-P2 currently sells for a street price of approximately Rs. 11,500 for the 4 GB version and Rs. 14,000 for the 8 GB one. Comparatively speaking, the iPod Touch 8 GB is available for around 13,700 and the 16 GB for 16.7k. Thus the YP-P2 is expensive since a similar-sized iPod Touch gives web-browsing along with possibility to add various apps in the future. On the other hand, what you get for the premium that you pay is superior audio quality, FM and Bluetooth functionality in a slightly smaller package. Samsung YP-P2. It can be called as a worthy iPod Touch alternative.