Extras
There's quite a bit more to the YP-90S than the player itself. Samsung has thrown a couple of extras into the package to complement the player. Let's have a look.

Ear buds, how I loathe thee

First, we have the obligatory set of ear bud headphones. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've never liked ear buds. I've tried numerous pairs from numerous manufacturers, and I've yet to find a set that will stay comfortably wedged in my ears. I see other people using ear buds all the time, so maybe my ears are just too big or not quite the right shape. Either way, ear buds have never worked for me, and the ones Samsung includes with the YP-90S are no exception.

I suppose Samsung has to sell a personal audio player with headphones of some kind. The ear buds Samsung includes probably don't add much to the overall price of the YP-90S, and at least they match the device's diminutive scale. Honestly, I ditched the included ear buds after spending a few frustrating minutes trying to get them to stay in my ears. Duct tape helped, but wasn't really practical. With the YP-90S, I alternated between Jensen ear muffs and Sony sport headphones. The Jensen ear muffs are actually quite a bit larger than the YP-90S itself, but they sound much richer than the included ear buds, and the ear muffs do a far better job of filtering out background noise.

In addition to headphones, Samsung also includes a handy pouch and arm band in with the YP-90S. Unlike the headphones, I actually found the pouch and arm band quite useful.

Take the YP-90S anywhere

I listen to music all the time when I'm working out at the gym or outside running. My workout clothes generally don't have pockets, and although the YP-90S fits nicely into my hand, holding an MP3 player when you're doing a bench press isn't really an option.

Samsung's included YP-90S pouch easily clips onto a belt, waistband, or the included arm band. The arm band doesn't work particularly well with long sleeve shirts or even T-shirts, but it's perfect for use with tank tops and, if you're more daring, spandex. The pouch itself feels like thin neoprene, and doesn't completely cover the YP-90S, so don't expect much protection from the elements.

A tiny installation CD to match

Also included in the YP-90S's box is a USB cable to connect the player to your PC, and a driver and software CD. The CD is one of those tiny 3" discs, which might cause problems if you only have access to a slot-loading optical drive. The contents of the software CD aren't available for download from Samsung's web site, which will further inconvenience those without a standard tray-loading optical drive.

Samsung also throws in a couple of AAA batteries to complete the YP-90S's bundle. Expect to get between 12 and 15 hours of playback time from the batteries, which you'll need to replace or charge in an external charger every so often. The YP-90S doesn't come with an AC adapter, and it can't run solely off power from a USB connection. It's actually best to use the USB connection sparingly when transferring files, because the YP-90S stays on whenever it's connected to your computer, regardless of whether you're actively transferring files, listening to music, or not using the device at all.

At first, I thought the YP-90S stayed on because it was drawing power through the USB connection, but that's not the case. The USB connection keeps the player's display screen on whenever it's plugged in, but that display is being powered by the device's batteries, which will slowly drain if you don't unplug the player and let it automatically power down, which it does on its own when it's not plugged into a USB port.

Software
The YP-90S comes with its own CD ripping software, and Yepp Explorer, which lets you manage the files you have stored on the player.

Samsung's Yepp software

The ripping software is all right, but you're better off with free alternatives like Exact Audio Copy and CDex, both of which offer far better control over MP3 compression variables. Unfortunately, if you want to transfer files back and forth between the YP-90S and your PC, Yepp Explorer is your only option.

My problem with Yepp Explorer isn't so much that it's a poorly written piece of software, but that it's necessary in the first place. Yepp Explorer is easy to use, and file transfer speed is limited only by available USB 1.1 bandwidth, but I'd far rather the YP-90S be treated as a generic removable storage device in Windows. If it were, the YP-90S could more easily double as a generic portable storage device, and I wouldn't have to worry about installing extra software to accomplish something my operating system can do all on its own. I would have thought making the device a generic removable storage device would have made life easier for Samsung, too.