iriver T60 4 GB MP3 Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I recently bought a Creative MuVo 100 MP3 player on deep discount due to it being powered by a single AAA battery. I liked a lot of things about it but then I decided to see if I could find a AAA battery powered player that had more disk space and that's when I found the T60. I won't knock the MuVo 100 since it's a great player in it's own way, but I much prefer the T60 after having owned it for a week now.

Pros:

- Very compact size; I am enamored of the triangular shape, very sleek.

- Powered by a single AAA battery, available everywhere.

- Good battery life (I own several iPods and they always seem to need a
charge and that means having the cable handy and an outlet).

- FM receiver/record features; and you can store channels.

- Built in mike (record lectures, take memos, etc.)

- Color screen (the MuVo's is grayscale by comparison)

- Drag and drop file management - no need for Windows Media Player or any other proprietary software; music files can be in folders or not and the player's software will find them; you can also navigate such folders within the player.

- Support a variety of audio formats: MP3, WMA, ASF and OGG Q10.

- Solid state disc, not a microdrive; granted iPod now has an 8Gb flash player and bigger ones are coming but they have built-in batteries and once they no longer charge all you've got is a pretty paperweight.

- Good feature set including: EQ, delete command, alarm, data storage, bmp viewer, various listening modes E.G. A-B, playlists, date & time, etc.

- Great sound, just like all iRiver owners say.

Cons:

- Toggle control is poorly conceived; as others have said, you often do one thing when you mean another; it's this player's biggest problem, not a deal breaker but they really should have spent more time designing this; you do get used to it but that's no excuse for poor design.

- Flimsy battery door; not a huge con but it's an important part of the unit and I could see it getting cracked and not fitting securely and then you either try to get another one from iRiver or use ugly tape to keep the battery in; could have been designed better; however they did do a good job of hiding it in the sense that it sort of blends in with the player's fluted texture which is cool.

- No microSD slot; you could say I'm nitpicking here but I don't think such a thing would have added much to this player's size and, with the right firmware, could have let owners upgrade to a total of 8Gb of space; too bad - would have been a great selling point.

- USB cable door is a bit flimsy; located on the side of the player, this door is similar to the ones on a lot of digital cameras in that is is just a small piece of plastic held on by a thin handle allowing you to sort of swing it out of the way of the USB cable jack that plugs in; I think it would have been much better to have located this plug on the end of the player opposite the one where the headphone jack goes in; you need to be careful with this door and have at least one longer fingernail to open it.

- Not powered by the USB cable; yup, transferring data to the player uses the battery; can't understand why they didn't just power it off the USB cable since you have to have it hooked up to transfer data; not a huge issue but another poor design decision methinks.

Keep in mind, I've owned a number of portable music players before buying this one including several from Creative, one from RCA, and I do still own two 60Gb iPods. I do love my iPods for the huge disc space they provide but I really felt there was room in my "collection" (and in this market) for a good player that uses regular batteries. Certainly the future for electronics that use non-user-replacable lithium-ion batteries is assured but that doesn't mean I have to like that state of affairs. Sandisk got it almost right with their e280 series players and their replacable batteries (though it seems they changed their minds for the new line which don't let you replace them - wtf?) but they're still proprietary with swapping out requiring removing a tiny philips screw etc. From what I've been able to gather, the iRiver T60 is essentially the best for it's capacity and type of battery; Sandisk does still make a 4Gb AAA powered player but it has a grayscale screen and the reviews for it are not so great.

NOTE: I only decided to write this positive review after getting around a serious problem I had with this player. Now, I'm not sure where the problem actually lies but I am willing to give iRiver the benefit of a doubt here. What happened was I was having trouble transferring songs to the player. It kept shutting off in the middle of the transfer which would cause Windows to "dismount" the player/drive letter. I checked the battery gauge on the player and it still showed two out of three bars. I tried a different Windows XP computer and, if anything, the problem got worse. I tried a different USB port, copying files a different way, no joy. I did finally notice that the error message was "battery low". I thought about this a bit; the indicator said two bars and the player, once disconnected, worked just fine. So I took the Polaroid brand AAA battery out and put a brand new Sony AAA battery in and voila! That was the whole problem, the player was for some reason getting a low battery reading from a still viable battery when connected to the PC. The Sony brand battery had none of these problems and I tranferred 4Gb of music over the course of half an hour with no hiccups. So, the moral is, don't use Polaroid batteries (or probably any other cheap brand) with this player. Instead stick to good known name brands (oh and yes, I do have the latest firmware installed so it wasn't "an old firmware" type issue). Also, I have not tried this player with rechargeables but I assume there won't be similar problems (just somewhat shorter battery life).

UPDATE ON BATTERY PROBLEM ABOVE:

It's been a few more weeks now and I've done several more updates/loads to my iRiver T60 player and I think I've finally nailed down the problem with updating it. Since it doesn't use USB power during transfers AND since the screen stays on the whole time it is connected (and recognized by Windows) if you start with anything but a full or nearly full battery (it seems to need to show three bars on the T60 screen), then the player will flash the "battery low" error upon connection and shut down. I find this, as well as not using USB power, quite odd as I can modify the settings in the player to turn the screen off during playback etc. after 5 seconds, 10 seconds etc. but NOT apparently during transfers. So here's what I plan to do to solve this. I will keep a dedicated set of rechargable AAA batteries around near the PC that I will use to do transfers. Now, that's not as annoying as it might seem. I was planning to use some rechargables with this player anyway and I typically do transfers in my office where there are extra wall plugs. Still, a rather poor design flaw I must say. Perhaps a firmware update will fix it somehow? iRiver, you listening?

-s1m0n

Click Here to see more reviews about: iriver T60 4 GB MP3 Player (Black)

Product Description:
The ultra-portable T60 delivers exceptional sound quality in a uniquely durable and sporty design. The T60 includes everything contemporary customers expect from an MP3 player, including such extras as a 65,000-color LCD screen and a built-in digital FM radio. Users can load BMP picture files onto the T60 to share with friends on the T60's robust screen. In addition to supporting MP3, WMA, ASF, and OGG Q10 music files, the T10 is PlaysForSure verified to support subscription-based music download services, giving you instant, affordable access to millions of songs right out of the box. When it's time to transfer files onto the T10, USB 2.0 connectivity and Windows Media Player 10 compatibility make file transferring a snap. The T60 also supports a mass storage mode.
Other design features include a voice recorder--which is a great feature to record important class lectures or business meetings--an alarm clock, an integrated sport clip, and an easy-to-use jog dial user interface. With 4 GB of internal Flash memory, the T10 supports up to 136 hours of audio playback. Powered by one AAA battery, the T10 is capable of producing 19 hours of audio playback. Compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems, the T10 measures 2.57 by 1.08 by 0.87 inches, weighs just .85 ounce, and comes backed by a 1-year limited manufacturer's warranty.
What's in the Box
Digital audio player, iRiver earphones, USB 2.0 interface cable, printed manual, installation CD, and AAA battery.

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Archos AV 700 100 GB Mobile Digital Video Recorder Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had the chance to play with the AV 700 100GB unit for about three weeks now. Here is my overview.

The good:

- The biggest display on a PMP of its kind out there. It's almost as large as the unit!
- Can record in real time from DVD, VCR, Camcorder, Cable/Sat and other video devices with RCA (composite) or S-Video outputs. Much faster than DVD rippers I've tried.
- Allows for limited editing (cropping) of recorded movies. Lets say you want to cut out commercials or the end credits of the DVD you just recorded- you can do this very easily.
- Allows for selection of both video resolution (from 500 - 2500 kbits/s), format (4:3, 5:3, 16:9, 2.35:1) and audio frequency (32 or 44KHz) for recording.
- Can time record (through a very nice scheduler) - you can use it almost like a TiVo!
- Can organize movies by name and under various directories (or categories.)
- Has an audio recorder to allow music (or whatever audio) from an external device with selectable frequency (24 -48 KHz). This is higher than your standard CD quality.
- Has a photo viewer.
- Can be setup as a USB disk drive or a Windows Mobile Media device (it claims to work only under WinXP with service pack 1 or higher - I've been unable to get this to work as of yet.)
- USB 2.0 protocol. It's so fast I can actually play recorded movies from the device on my laptop in real time!
- 100 GB Drive! Can't get much better than this.
- Comes with a remote control, docking station (well, kind of) and all the cables for connection to your PC, camera, TV, DVD, VCR, etc. The remote is universal and allows you to select your device (i.e. cable box, TV, etc.)
- Very easy to upgrade the firmware. I recommend doing this if you have an older version.
- Removable battery.
- And many other nice features.

The not so good:

- Display resolution and quality could have been a lot better.
- Battery doesn't last nearly as long as it is claimed on the spec. sheet.
- The recorded movies are not "near" DVD quality when played on a TV. This is a bit misleading.
- The unit runs hot - extremely hot when plugged into the power supply.
- The stand is a nice thought but not very stable or functional.
- The most un-intuitive user interface I've ever used! The firmware upgrade made this a bit more tolerable.
- Built-in speakers are very poor in quality. But it sounds good with high quality headphones.
- Can't play protected movies (Macrovision) on TV. Only on the device. I guess I can understand adhering to the copyright laws.
- Will only play AVI formatted videos encoded in XviD or DivX MPEG-4 codec. But it comes with a PC based MPEG-1 translator which uses VitualDub as its conversion engine. I've tried this and it worked well.
- Won't work with the AAC (Apple) audio format. My iPod is not getting retired any time soon but, if you use Windows Media format (wma), WAV or MP3 for your music, then you're good to go.
- Archos' VERY unfriendly customer service.

The nice to haves:

- Even with a 100GB drive, it could still use a SD or CompactFlash socket (for PC-less transfer of data, if nothing else.) But I was able to connect a USB thumb drive with the aid of an included adapter and transferred files back and forth.
- A "display only mode" for connecting a PS2 or XBOX on the road with full screen view. Maybe on a future release of the firmware?
- You can play games on the AV700? What games?

I had to replace the unit I originally bought. It suffered from very annoying vertical scrolling lines that I could not get rid of with the built-in "LCD Stability" function or otherwise. This is when I had the displeasure of dealing with the Archos' unfriendly (and I must say rude) technical service rep. Without asking me any questions specific to my problem, she proceeded to tell me that the unit must have been dropped. To add insult to injury, she told me it would cost me $150 for an out-of-warranty repair and that was the end of it! But she suggested I go back to the store that I purchased the unit and see if they would replace it. I'm happy to say the store did replace my unit graciously and my second unit does not have the same problem. Also, I think there maybe an electrical ground problem with the unit but, I have to investigate this a bit further.

Overall, the AV700 is a nice concept and a great device but, it is in its infancy. I've been able to record DVDs with relative ease where it was a major task before. Now I can stop spending hours ripping DVDs to play on my iPaq! Next, I'm converting all my old home videos from VHS and then transferring them on to DVDs. In my opinion, the AV 700 is much more than just a replacement for a personal DVD or music player. I think Archos should continue to improve on the features and the overall quality of this product which promises to be one of the great personal media devices out there.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Archos AV 700 100 GB Mobile Digital Video Recorder

Product Description:
Its a portable theatre!The AV 700 series Mobile DVR combines the mobility and wide screen of a portable DVD player, with the video recording and scheduling features of a digital video recorder.Directly record from your TV, DVD player or cable box and experience it on the amazing 7" wide-screen color LCD.Enjoy continuous video, music, photos and games on a flight from LAX to Tokyo, going on a camping trip, relaxing in a hotel room or virtually anywhere else. Built-in support for Microsofts PlaysForSure lets you download the latest movies and hottest music in a snap from your favorite online digital video and music stores - RECORD and watch up to 400 hours of VIDEO directly from a TV, DVD , cable/satellite receiver- Store and watch up to 250 full-length movies on the large 7" 16:9 wide-screen LCD or output to TV- Easily schedule and record your favorite TV shows with the ARCHOS TV Scheduler!- Supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4 ASP, WMV9, DivX, XviD formats- Record, download and listen up to 55,000 SONGS- Supports MP3, WMA (including protected files) and WAV audio formats- Record audio from any standard audio source or via built-in microphone- Transfer, store and view up to 1,000,000 PHOTOS- Transfer photos directly from your digital camera or PC using the USB host port- Make slideshows and share photos on the large 7" LCD screen or display out to a TV- Large 40GB hard-drive capacity- Transfer and store MEDIA and DATA files via high-speed USB 2.0 interface- PC and

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Sony MZ-S1 S2 Sports Net MD MiniDisc Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm starting to wonder whether Sony is even on the right track in trying to remain relevant in the mp3-centric digital music world.
I think something like NetMD would have been utterly fantastic three years ago, when USB-enabled computers were starting to gain mainstream adoption, and before hard disk and cd-r burner prices hadn't dropped low enough for more people to rip and burn their music collection. Then, I think, the ability to transfer up to five hours of music onto a single, (relatively) inexpensive minidisc would have held greater appeal.
Regardless of timing, the NetMD technology is still pretty neat. You are able to transfer digital content, either imported mp3/wma or audio CD's, directly to minidisc using one of three compression settings.
SP, the full-bore setting, allows up to 80 minutes on one disc, and is the best sounding of the three. It is "lossy" compression, like mp3, but to my damaged ears, they sound at least as good as CD's. LP2 doubles the storage time, but the increased compression makes the resulting recordings sound like... well, ALMOST as good as a 160kbps cbr mp3. Almost.
LP4 quadruples storage time, but as you might guess, the sound quality is pretty dodgy, comparable to a poorly ripped 128kbps (or lower) cbr mp3. LP4 is pretty much a lost cause as far as most rock goes, but it is surprisingly passable for hip-hop and spoken word (and probably for most electronica, but I have yet to test this).
As far as transferring existing mp3/wma content goes, I wouldn't recommend it (I know, it pretty much nulls the hype of NetMD, doesn't it?). I've tried converting a batch of 160kbps cbr mp3's to SP and LP2, using the included OpenMG Jukebox.At SP, the sound quality is comparable to the original, but the transfer to MD takes almost as long as the length of the content. Transfer in LP2 is faster, if you disregard the processor-hog conversion to ATRAC LP2 mode, but the sound quality takes a nosedive.
From what I've read, OMG Jukebox is notoriously unstable. Or so I've read. I've been able to successfully install it on two separate Windows 2000 Pro machines, and I'm feeling so lucky, I'm going to buy a lottery ticket once I'm done with this review.
That said, once you fast forward to 2002, where more people than not have gigabytes of existing mp3's on her or his hard disk, you have to wonder whether it's more convenient to rely on a solid state mp3 player to take small sections of this content without any further format-shifting, or dump them en masse to CD-R/W's for use with 3" or 5" disc-based mp3 players. If NetMD handled mp3's and wma's natively (or even managed Sony's proprietary ATRAC without the inflexible audio management software), I think this product would have much more relevance today.However, due to intellectual property concerns, I think Sony hamstrung itself with its convoluted content management system.
In the meanwhile, I've been using the Net MD Simple Burner program to transfer audio CD content directly to MD (mostly in LP2 mode, with some LP4, but for some weird reason, SP is NOT available as a transfer mode with Simple Burner!). I have started amassing a usable variety of discs packed with songs for the gym or for walks in the park, and from there on, it's straightforward MD goodness. Compact form factor, high skip resistance, durable media, high battery life. Basically all the things that most CD-R/W mp3 players aren't.And in a nice change of pace from the bumblebee black-and-yellow motif, the new S2 Sports design definitely adds some to the "cool factor".
I'm inclined to think that Sony munged the Minidisc yet again, this time with questionable software, but the good news is that I am still able to make use of NetMD. Drop me a line if you have any questions or war stories to share.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony MZ-S1 S2 Sports Net MD MiniDisc Player

Product Description:
If you crave tunes while you workout, then check out this S2 Sports Net MDM-^Y by Sony. This handheld minidisc Walkman<< records CDs or MP3s from your PC at up to 32x speed. It features a durable, water-resistant design, the G-ProtectionM-^Y anti-shock system, and rich Digital Mega Bass<< enhanced sound. You can get up to 54 hours of playback with 1 "AA" battery and the MDLPM-^Y feature provides 4 times as much music on 1 disc than a standard MD, giving you over 5 hours of music.

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iriver 1CLIx8B Clix 8 GB Multimedia Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This IRiver Clix is about my 5th player in the last couple years.
In my latest search for the newest and the best, a GREAT FM tuner was high on my priority list. I exercise every morning for about 30 minutes. After a while no matter what mp3s I have loaded, they start sounding a bit tired. I began to listen to FM a lot and started getting annoyed at how many few stations come thru clear on my Samsung 4 gig flash player, if at all. After reading tons of reviews I was led to this IRiver player. WOW it's really REALLY a great player. The FM tuner is by far the best I have heard on any player Truly. I had two Cowons and they were THE worst! I think some companies JUST add FM just so it appears to have more features than an Ipod. In Cowon's case it's mostly just hiss that you hear. I am not knocking Cowon they do make some GREAT sounding players overall, JUST not for FM! Back to the Clix..the tuner is strong and gets a ton of stations I never got before. The GUI is just awesome..and surprisingly this thing is very easy and comfortable to operate with just 1 hand! If you are stationary and can use two hands, to me this has the best interface of any current player. It sounds CLEAR as a bell..the eq works well seems to add no distortion unlike the famous ipods! The screen is SO sharp and you can view it at any angle..both in the sun and at night. I just love this thing...and I will soon be selling my Samsung 4 gig player in favor of the Clix 2.

Having used the player more I have to comment about the battery life. I LOVE the player but was also surprised I think I only got about 6 hours of total battery life initially. However, I realized this 8gig model came with the screen ON by default, for 1 minute. That's WAAAY too long. With any new device you will want to mess with it a lot..so I guess that 1 minute screen ON was much too long. I have now set the BACK LIGHT now to 10 seconds and the battery seems to last MUCH MUCH longer. I saw a comment on a 4 gig Clix about changing SLEEP, to POWER DOWN I will try that as well. Don't know why IRIVER would ship this with the screen ON for 1 minute but lowering it to 10 seconds or even 5 ought to help the battery life out a ton. Other than that this player and IRiver are Quite solid and great! Actually the more I use it the more I love this player. But if you buy one be sure to change the back light time if you want the battery to last!

Really the Clix is a dark horse. I am in NY and had to travel all the way into the city to find one. That may be another plus..if you are the type that wants something a bit different than your neighbor, this IRiver will answer that call too. But more than anything, in my opinion it's the finest player currently available and seems very well made.

Click Here to see more reviews about: iriver 1CLIx8B Clix 8 GB Multimedia Player

Product Description:
Freshly updated with a sleek design, a vibrant 2.2-inch full-color OLED screen, and 8 GB of internal memory, the redesigned second-generation iRiver Clix plays music, video, photos, and more. In addition to supporting MPEG1/2/2.5, WMA, ASF, WMV9 SP, MPEG4, Macromedia Flash Lite 2.1, TXT, and non-progressive JPEG multimedia files, the iRiver Clix works with both subscription and pay-per-song music services, so millions of songs are available to you without spending a fortune.
In addition to robust audio, video, and still picture playback capabilities, the Clix sports a voice recording mode--a great feature for students and business users. It even offers seven preset EQ settings so users can listen to their music exactly the way they want. Other great features include a digital clock, an alarm, a digital FM tuner, and a timer. The Clix is compatible with Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista operating systems (and the player is compatible with both MTP and UMS modes). With an internal Li-Poly rechargeable battery, the Clix offers users up to 24 hours of playback battery life. Sporting speedy USB 2.0 connectivity, the Clix measures 3.16 by 1.82 by .50 inches and weighs a scant 1.94 ounces. The player comes backed by a 1-year limited manufacturer's warranty.
What's in the Box
Clix 8 GB multimedia player, iRiver earphones, installation CD, printed quick start guide, and USB 2.0 cable.

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iriver T30 1 GB MP3 Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I got this one from Bestbuy and have enjoyed it for three days.

Pros:
--the sound quality (and the recording quality) is great, not less than or even better than iRiver iFP 700 series and iFP 800 series which use Philips chips;
--the design is very cool, far more than the above two series;
--the size is amusingly small;
--the battery life is great ( I am still using the one that came with the player);
--If you have installed Windows Media Player 10 in your computer, it can be used directly as a UMS, without the need to chage firmware.

Cons:
--Unbelievably, no FM tuner!!!
--No armband or belt clip!!!

Click Here to see more reviews about: iriver T30 1 GB MP3 Player

Product Description:
This unit is an incredible value in a small, ultra-portable design giving you instant, affordable access to millions of songs with PlayForSure to support subscription-based music download services. Featuring up to 24 hours of battery life on only 1 AAA battery, the T30 is also equipped with a voice recorder.Voice recorder Record music from any source (no PC required) Plays MP3, WMA and OGG music files Enhanced 3D audio (supports SRS WOW) System Requirements -Windows XP (SP1 or higher), Windows Media Player 10, CD-ROM Drive, USB Port Frequency Range -20Hz - 20KHz File Type Support -MPEG 1, 2 & 2.5, Layer 3, WMA, ASF and OGG Headphone output -Left 18mW, Right 18mW, 16 Ohm Bit Rate -Supports 8Kbps - 320Kbps (OGG -44.1 KHz, 96.1 Kbps - 225 kbps) Tag -ID3 V1 Tag, ID3 V2 2.0, ID3 V2 3.0, ID3 V2 4.0 Power Supply -1.5V AAA Battery Dimension -2.4 x 1.2 x 1.9 inches Weight -1.0 ounces

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Cowon D2+ 16 GB MP3 Player (Silver) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Actually, this is my third Cowon D2 and my second D2+. I just love the sound, the simplicity of style, long battery life and the wide variety of music formats it will play and equalizer options. All my other players have been Black, so the silver color of the player was a bit departure for me. But, I didn't buy it for the color. It was the cheapest player of its type and capacity. Speaking of capacity, one of the other great features is that you can expand the capacity of the D2+ through its SD card slot. But, I digress from the real reason I bought the Cowon D2 in the first place: the sound quality. I love the breadth of sounds that come from the Cowon D2. The major difference between the Cowon D2 and D2+ is the interface. The D2+ software improves the look of the player. Otherwise, there's not much difference between the two versions. Both players still have the wonderfully vibrant 24-bit QVGA touch LCD screen, which is great for viewing photos or video. Transferring music to the Cowon D2+ was effortless, using Windows Media Player 11 to create or transfer playlists. I also used Cowon's jetAudio Media Center software to easily convert and transfer video,photos and FLAC and Lossless music, although I must admit that I did not notice much of a difference between those music file types and my MP3 files on this device. Overall, this is a wonderfully versitle media player. It has an FM radio, plays Audible books. Also, I've not only used it to play music and videos, and view photos, but to make recordings at meetings. The microphone is incredibly responsive and has a range of at least 10 feet. The only drawback for me is that for some reason my D2+ once lost all its media. I turned it on one day and there was no music or anything. It was completely blank. I'm not sure whether it was something I did or a quirk in the software. At any rate, I'd already backed up the original media, which I suggest any owner do, and simply re-loaded my media. Great player, quirky software, wonderful sound.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cowon D2+ 16 GB MP3 Player (Silver)

Product Description:
Video and audio player with FM tuner, voice recorder, and text and photo viewer 2.5-inch, 24-bit QVGA (320 x 240) touchscreen LCD with 16 million colors Up to 52 hours of music playback (10 hours of video) on one charge SD/SDHC/MMC/MMC-plus card memory expansion DRM-protected content and BBE+ support What's in the Box Cowon D2+ (Silver), stylus, earphones, USB cable, Quick Guide, installation CD.

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iriver CXW-2G Clix 2 GB Digital Music and Video Player, White Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)*I bought the Clix with the Dock as a complete package from iRiver and this review covers both items*

Packaging

iRiver does a good job with their packaging by making it simple and clean, probably taking note of Apple's packaging strategy, though not as refined.All the included accessories are placed in clearly labeled paper boxes making it simple and easy to find what you need quickly.There is no foam padding of any sort to protect any of the accessories or the player itself but I do not think this will be a problem because the Clix is a flash based player.The Clix itself is protected by a sticker with a printed on animation of the "now playing" screen.There is a "starter kit" that comes with the Clix that contains the manual, quick start guide, software CD, various documentations, and a neoprene case with a screen cleaner.The case fits the player very snugly and is padded enough to ensure proper protection.The screen cleaner does a decent job though I sometimes found that it just smeared the oils from my skin instead of absorbing it.

The packaging for the cradle dock contains a series of boxes as well with no foam padding to protect anything but everything came out of the box in perfect condition.The cradle comes with a line-in cable, 3.5mm extension plug, the dock itself, and an IR remote.

I enjoyed the packaging but it did not wow me as Apple's packaging does.I was concerned with the lack of protection for the components though none of them were damaged.I would like it if iRiver included some plastic molds to hold their components to make it seem more professional while adding some protection at the same time.

Design

The Clix is one of the most beautifully designed MP3 players I have ever seen.The button-less screen creates a very clean and sleek look that resembles a flat panel television.Since there are no buttons to press, navigation is done through pressing the sides of the screen.The sides of the screen are tactile buttons and not touch sensitive, which would have made it too sensitive.The rest of the controls are located on the sides of the player which include dedicated volume buttons, a power button, a "smart key," and a hold switch.The hold switch does not only cease the function of the screen buttons but actually locks the screen buttons into place so they can not be pressed.This is a wise choice by iRiver because it will prevent wear and tear on the buttons.The back of the player is made of glossy white plastic and has a clean look to it instead of having a bunch of Windows, SRS, WOW, and other logos.While the screen of the player seems very scratch resistant, the back seems to be more prone to scratching so users should exercise caution.One of my favorite design features of the Clix is its ability to switch between landscape and portrait modes.Portrait mode is useful in allowing one-handed operation of the player, though it is a little more difficult that I would have liked it to be.Since users have to touch the sides of the player to navigate, they will find their thumbs and hands obstructing their view when pressing some buttons.Though it this is a little annoying, it is bearable and does not take away from the overall pleasurable experience of using the player.Another gripe is that the reset button can only be pressed by inserting a paperclip into a pin-sized hole located at the bottom of the player.Both Creative and iRiver have to find a simpler way to reset the player.I really like the simple button combo that makes the iPod reset itself.Creative and iRiver should take note.

Once in the Cradle Dock, the player will resemble a retro-style television which will draw stares and wow your friends.There are tiny speakers on the back of the dock that allow wireless use of your player.The dock gives the player the awesome feature of line-in recording but also disables an important feature, the FM tuner.I assume this happens because there is no headphone lead to act as an antenna, which would have given the player horrible reception.The dock also lets you connect a line-out cable so you can listen to your music on better speakers and there is a mini-USB connector to allow you to sync your player while it is still in the dock.The included IR remote is the only method of navigating the player while it is in the dock.The remote has a very slim profile and membrane type buttons and while this remote provides excellent functionality for the player while it is in the dock, it is poorly designed because the buttons become a little exhausting after prolonged use and the directional buttons are a bit more spread out than I would have liked.The remote also looks quite cheap with an uneven fit and finish and lack of attention to detail.Perhaps I am being nit-picky but I do enjoy the fact that every function can be accessed wirelessly.

One design feature that I find refreshing is the USB cable that is provided with the player.It has a mechanism that locks the player into place on the cable and can only be unlocked by holding buttons on the side.This results in a secure attachment to your computer, making it impossible to accidentally disconnect your player while it is performing a sync which could wreck the player.More manufacturers should take note of this simple, yet ingenious locking mechanism.

Finally, if you are worried about the durability of Clix, worry no more.I gave this Clix to my sister as a present and she has the reputation of having the "touch of death" with all things electronic.It has been over two weeks and I'm happy to report that the player has not scratched.This is truly an amazing testament to the kind of plastic that iRiver chose to make the Clix's screen with.

Performance

Once I fired up the player for the first time, I was immediately impressed with the fluidity of the interface and how beautifully simplistic, yet sophisticated the menus were laid out.Everything is laid out very logically and can be picked up without reading the instruction manual, which I believe most people do.The GUI reminds me of Windows Media Center, which makes sense because iRiver worked very closely with Microsoft on the development of this player.The "now playing" screen really impresses me in that it uses its screen real estate to deliver tons of information without searching through a sub menu.Song title, album name, song rating, artist name, year of album release, time, battery meter, EQ setting, number of songs in current playlist, and my favorite, next song.More companies should add a "next song" display on their players.Though this may seem like an overwhelming amount of information to be displayed on one screen, I did not find it confusing at all.One thing that bugged me about the interface was the fact that you could not delete songs or recordings from the player.

Pictures are browsed on the player in list form, displaying a small thumbnail of the highlighted picture.Photos look accurate and fluid on the screen as it would on the computer screen though detail is lost because of the 320x240 resolution.There is no over saturation as with other players, namely my Creative Zen Vision: M.Videos can also be played on this device and look good for 15 frames per second (fps).I expected the video experience to be severely degraded compared to the 30fps that my Vision: M is capable of but I am pleasantly surprised that there was minimal difference.Music videos looked great and the screen provided excellent viewing angles.I would advise against watching anything longer than a few minutes on the Clix because of two reasons: one being that the screen is so small and will fatigue your eyes and two being the fact that the player maxes out at a dainty 2 GB.

My favorite feature about the Clix is its ability to record in several different ways.There is FM recording which is very handy for catching shows or songs you want to save, thought the RIAA will not be happy about the latter.You can also perform voice recordings and line-in recordings.Voice recordings were of average quality and had a hard time picking up sounds that were far away.I would not use the Clix to record lectures or conferences though it is a handy tool for taking notes or to do a casual podcast.Line-in recording provided much more of a use because of its excellent recording quality.If set at "high" recording quality, files are encoded at 256kbps MP3s and 128kbps at "medium" quality.Recording whole albums is a simple process though editing the file names and ID3 tags of the songs is not as fun or pleasurable.I did encounter a few problems when recording, one of which was the recording volume.Even when set at the highest recording volume and max volume from the recording source (my ZVM) the volume of the recorded tracks was still lower than I would have liked them to be.Another problem I encountered was the track splitting function which breaks up the recording when it doesn't sense any sound for 2 seconds.For classical albums, it could not sense the gaps correctly and recorded the album as one huge MP3.My final gripe about the line-in recording function is that the recordings are stored deep in the submenus of the "Extras" section which is irritating when you want to find your recordings and listen to them since they are not included in your library.Hopefully a firmware update will place a folder in the music library for recordings.

With all of these extra features, it is easy to forget what the Clix was designed to do and that is to play music and boy does the Clix deliver.This is one of the best sounding MP3 players I have ever heard.There is also an incredible amount of adjustability with this player.Users can choose from a...Read more›

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Product Description:
The iRiver Clix features an eye-catching, direct-click interface that makes it easy to fly through your media collection and find the right song, video, photo, or video game. The unit is centered around a vivid 2.2-inch color LCD display, which delivers remarkably clear 320 x 240 (QVGA) resolution for watching videos and playing flash-based games. With support for MP3, WMA, ASF, Ogg, JPEG, MPEG-4, and Flash Lite 1.1 files, users can choose from a ton of other audio and video formats. The iRiver Clix even works with Windows Media Player 10 and its variety of affiliated online music stores and subscription services, including PlaysForSure services such as Napster and Rhapsody.
Measuring just 2.7 by 1.8 by 0.6 inches and weighing a mere 2.5 ounces, the Clix is about the size of a business card. But don't be fooled, as the unit features 2 GB of internal flash memory, which is capable of storing approximately 32 hours of CD-quality MP3 music (encoded at 128 kbps) or 64 hours of WMA tracks (at 64 kbps). The Clix also plays MPEG-4 Simple Profile (SP) files at a maximum of 384 kbps and 15 frames per second, with audio encoded in MP3 format. Should you need to convert other formats to MPEG-4, simply download the free iRiverter utility and you're set.
The display also doubles as the control interface, so you don't have to mess with any cumbersome buttons or controls. And unlike the touchscreens normally found on PDAs, the Clix's direct-click feature responds to gentle fingertip pressure, eliminating the need for pens or control keys.
Meanwhile, a built-in microphone makes the iRiver Clix an ultracompact dictation machine. The recording quality is freely selectable and is controlled automatically. And listeners who hate to miss their favorite public radio program will dig the built-in FM tuner. Finally, the unit comes with several free Flash Lite games, including Launch Fighters (a Space Invaders remake, Log Jam, Barn Baron, and Sudoku.
Audio-wise, the Clix offers 10 EQ settings along, a user-defined EQ option, and SRS WOW virtual surround sound, which creates a 3-D soundscape and a superior bass performance. In addition, the Clix, which is compatible with Windows XP operating systems (SP1), sports a fast USB 2.0 interface for speedy file transfers. The device comes with a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery that delivers up to 25 hours of battery life per charge and is backed by a one-year warranty.
What's in the Box
iRiver Clix media player, earphones, carrying case with screen cleaner, USB 2.0 cable, Easy Start installation CD, user's manual.

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