Who doesn't love the uncharismatic bore with the distinct monotone voice?
The old G1 Soundwave toy is pretty interesting with its unique features and surprises.
Sure we all know about the transforming cassette tapes from the cartoons, but I'm pleasantly surprised and impressed that SW's gun and, errr... shoulder "electric launcher" also transforms into a pair of batteries.
Yes, the G1 Soundwave toy is basically a non-working exact replica of a tape deck.
And what could be cooler than that? A working soundwave, of course.
Months ago when the first music label pics came out in the net, this dream took its first step into reality. Hell, the robot mode does not look that shabby, and is a pretty faithful homage to the G1 character. And yeah, it plays music!
This morning, I finally got one. Spark Blue, of course. After all, Spark Blue superior, Sonic White inferior! Hehehehe...
Here's the box. In this age of information and gadgetry, the official color is minimalist white. Which is cool, in a way, but with Soundwave? Nah...
Man, if they're gonna make a Sonic White Soundwave, might as well make the whole robot white, right? Otherwise, looks like Soundwave got involved in some bleaching incident...
Opening the box, here's what you get - classic, but more compact Soundwave.
You also get the manual, and some catalogues.
Included accessories are two extra pairs of hands, the gun, the "electric launcher," and a pair of headphones.
And no, the weapons don't turn into batteries.
RADIO MODE
Batteries and mini-SD card are not included, hence I haven't tested my SW's full capabilities. An officemate's SW sounded good. But this item is merely an mp3 player. No playlist anywhere. You can punch the buttons to play, pause, skip a song, and increase the volume.
As you can see, this SW only misses the speaker holes. The "tape deck" still opens, but this time you need a mini-SD card.
Pretty ironic that with SW now more compact and portable, the belt bracket feature is now deleted. This means you can't walk around while listening to SW, unless you can fit it in your pocket, or you have a small bag with you.
Now, what makes this mp3 player superior over them other brands in the market?
ROBOT MODE!
Yes, unlike the other players that rely on batteries, SW does not become a light paperweight without power. Check this out...
Classic G1 Soundwave with better proportions and better articulation! How can you lose?
SW's basic hands are the closed fists type. The fists are detachable and can be replaced with the extra hands to enable SW to hold his gun or open his own, err... SD card deck.
Of course, with the well-articulated arms, you could also do some crazy poses like these:
Transformation is pretty simple and straightforward. But I noticed that his arms have a bit of trouble tucking behind the "legs" when reverting back to mp3 player mode.
ROBOT OR MP3 PLAYER?
The good thing about SW is that you can still play mp3 even in robot mode, so it's really up to you! Both modes are cool!
PROS:
- great G1 homage
- good robot proportions
- great articulation
- it's a working mp3 player!
CONS:
- no playlist display
- no transforming laserbeak/ravage mini-sd card
- rumble and frenzy are available as headphones (would have been better if they had mini-speaker alt modes)
- plastic parts are prone to loosen up (as with my officemate's SW)
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Is music label SW worth it? Prices would match, if not exceed, MP OP, and it's a small robot.
But think of it like this - you get an mp3 player with expandable memory and it transforms into a robot!
With or without batteries, this item is pretty functional!
RATING
5 of 5
SOUNDWAVE APPROVES OF CYB PH!
