Well I've had my Karma a week now. Figured it was time to post and say what I thought of it.

Got mine for $284 from Amazon. At the same time I ordered the Sony Fontopia MDR-EX51LPs for $29.99.

First impression. Dang this thing is small. I hadn't bothered to go see one in the store yet. I've heard a few people say it is big or odd shaped. Well it ain't. In fact, I think that if it was any smaller it would be an inconvience. Just the right size and shape I say.

Looking through the other contents of the package I noted that there was not only a USB 2.0 cable, but an ethernet cable (can never have too many of those) and an RCA audio cable for the outputs on the back of the dock. Nice touch guys.

Then I see what appears to be a marble bag. Folks, this is sad. This is embarassing. Here, for those who haven't seen it, I am posting a grainy picture taken with my cheep webcam:



I mean really. No bag probably would have been better than this. Give us a reall case, even if we have to pay for it. PLEASE.

Another embarassment are the earbuds included. They don't sound good at all. I'm really glad I picked up the Fontopias (which are excelent BTW) at the same time.

Instalation went without a hitch. Uploading songs went without a hitch. Playback over the past week has gone without a hitch. Where are the stability problems others were complaining about? Call me fortunate, but I haven't had any.

As far as day to day usage goes, this thing rocks. I already wonder how I got along without it. As I have said, it fits my hand perfectly. Buttons are well placed, only I would have made the volume buttons stick out a tad more and would have positioned the hold swich on the right side below the scroll wheel.

Software interface is good with two exceptions. First it should be easier to turn shuffle mode on and off. Second, I know it's been said a million times, but I want my hiarchal playlists. Also, I'd like to be able to set playlists to always shuffle or never shuffle. (This setting keeps me from turning shuffle on and off much on my empeg.)

Also, the advertised 15 hrs battery life is pretty close to real life. Good good.

Pros:

Small
Battery life
Interface
Software prob.s seem to be worked out

Cons:

Needs a carying case
Needs good earbuds
Shuffle mode doesn't swich easily
Hiarchial playlists....please : )

All in all, I really love this thing. Good job guys. So when is it going to be put in a car-mountable chassis with proper connectors and such aka Rio Car Mk. III? Cuz as far as I'm concerned, this could be it. Different display maybe, but it is all there. And for $284 not $1500. Still I really feel I got more than I paid for with this thing. Like somebody is going to show up at my door one day and say I have to give it back or something.

Out of my cold dead hands.