Digital Home Thoughts: Olympus m:robe 500i

That “Cool Factor”
Just look at it! The masses praise the iPod for its clean design, but the m:robe takes it to a whole new level. With the exception of the recessed power button, there are no buttons of any kind on the device. Every task is performed through the touch-screen OS.


Figure 1: The m:robe has plenty of screen real estate, but is still smaller than a CD in every aspect except for the width, of course.


Figure 2: The dock is a beauty. It also allows for PC interface, charging, and AV out.

Speaking of the OS, it is a cool modern burple (not a typo) color that evokes the Captain Kirk in me. Since all the functions are accessed via touch screen, the layout had to be well thought out. All major functions can be accessed by pressing icons that are located at the corners of the screen. There is even a function that allows you to temporarily hide some of the icons on the screen to make navigation easier on the eyes.


Figure 3: You can see that navigation is simplified by shortcut keys located in the corners of the display.

Simplicity is the essence of elegance and the m:robe excels at being elegant. Once the unit is turned on, the user is greeted by the m:robe logo followed by the three icons indicating the main functions of the device. These include music play back, the Remix mode, and the camera mode.


Figure 4: The three main functions are displayed once the device boots up.