iRiver, the iPod killer is..... RELEASED!

[melchior]

iRiver has released the iHP-100 (http://www.iriverjapan.com/product.php?product=iHP-100) although it's not on their online store yet.. (and i haven't seen one in person yet, though i'll be looking to check one out as soon as i have time to go into tokyo. )

here is a quick run down... now i love my 3G 10gig iPod. except for the battery life. that's my only complaint. i haven't done an absolute run into the ground playback, but it just feels like it's not enough... :(
iRiver --- iPod

Weight: 160g --- 158g
Dimensions: 60 x 19 x 105 --- 15.7 x 60 x 104
Storage: 10gig --- 10gig, 15gig, 30gig
formats: mp3, wav, wma --- aac, mp3, wav, aiff
remote: with lcd --- no lcd (and no remote with 10gig model)
input: analog & optical in/out --- none, zero, nada
fm tuner: yes --- none, zero, nada

price: unknown --- overpriced :rolleyes:

now, the real iPod killing feature (apart from the optical input... and output... and the fm tuner.... and the lcd remote.... :eek:)

playback time: 16 hours --- 8 hours


Now i have no doubts that the design is a lot closer to fugly than one would like, (although, it is a far sight better than anything from archos) and the user interface is clumsy and the supplied software is dodgy, but the features of the machine itself make a real impact. it makes me wish, pending price, that i had one.

i can live without recording, and fm tuner, but the battery life just makes my jaw drop. even if that's only 14 hours real life. maybe i'm spoiled. i am used to MD. the last MD player i bought played an easy 35 hours off a single charge with it's tiny battery....

anyway, here's the picture. don't bother saying it's ugly. we all know that already...

http://www.iriverjapan.com//images/product/iHP-100/iHP-100-4.jpg

[jxyama]

i still have to say it: it's ugly. :D

i think esthetics count a lot, especially for something that is meant to be small and portable. (of course, UI too...) that's just my opinion...

opt. in is a big plus, though are you sure it has opt out too? i thought there's some restriction on digital duplication beyond the first gen. (at least there is one on my md recorder.) i guess opt. out can just be for clearer playback, not for copying...

anyway, yeah, specs do look nice.

[edit] forgot to mention... remote is good looking too. [\edit]

[gotohamish]

It's awful. And who the hell are iRiver!?

About as trustworthy name as Archos and the like!!:p

[MorganX]

I like the Digital Out. A lot!

I'll have to give it a look. Drawback, no iTunes support, no AAC support.

edit: The 6-band EQ is another plus.

[melchior]

Originally posted by jxyama
i still have to say it: it's ugly. :D

i think esthetics count a lot, especially for something that is meant to be small and portable. (of course, UI too...) that's just my opinion...

opt. in is a big plus, though are you sure it has opt out too? i thought there's some restriction on digital duplication beyond the first gen. (at least there is one on my md recorder.) i guess opt. out can just be for clearer playback, not for copying...

anyway, yeah, specs do look nice.

[edit] forgot to mention... remote is good looking too. [\edit]

you are talking about SCMS. this was a single bit on md's. (sony's early DRM) it doesn't affect dvd players, sound cards, cd players and i see no reason it would affect this either. it's an MD only thing...

digital to digital just means no A/D converter in the middle. the Optical Input would be more useful in my opinion..

[yzedf]

Now i have no doubts that the design is a lot closer to fugly than one would like, (although, it is a far sight better than anything from archos) and the user interface is clumsy and the supplied software is dodgy, but the features of the machine itself make a real impact. it makes me wish, pending price, that i had one.
And Apple still hasn't figured that out yet... price is the #1 determining factor on whether a person buys a product in todays world. This doesn't mean it is #1 for everyone, but it is #1 overall based on averages.

Nice looking piece of kit though :) >>> US $249 and it would sell like mad! <<<

[mac15]

Well here is some info for you all, I'm a techie for iRiver, beta tester and tech support and this thing is so far behind the ipod its not funny. Shortly after the ipods were release they were thinking aout pulling these models and going for new 40Gb ones but they stuck it out and wasted time.

The price is $299 and yes it does have a few good thing, including the opticla out but thats on the dock with the ipod. And an FM tuner is a plus, but its nothing special, actually its old as hell. But overall the iPod is still the best mp3 in the world. This is nice but not nice enough

PM or email me if you wanna know anything more about this or any other thing iRiver is doing.

[MorganX]

Originally posted by melchior
you are talking about SCMS. this was a single bit on md's. (sony's early DRM) it doesn't affect dvd players, sound cards, cd players and i see no reason it would affect this either. it's an MD only thing...

digital to digital just means no A/D converter in the middle. the Optical Input would be more useful in my opinion..

OPT out - home theatre in.

[melchior]

Originally posted by mac15
Well here is some info for you all, I'm a techie for iRiver, beta tester and tech support and this thing is so far behind the ipod its not funny. Shortly after the ipods were release they were thinking aout pulling these models and going for new 40Gb ones but they stuck it out and wasted time.

The price is $299 and yes it does have a few good thing, including the opticla out but thats on the dock with the ipod. And an FM tuner is a plus, but its nothing special, actually its old as hell. But overall the iPod is still the best mp3 in the world. This is nice but not nice enough

PM or email me if you wanna know anything more about this or any other thing iRiver is doing.

in your opinion, and i am presuming you have used and 'tested' this particular unit, what is wrong with it? where does it fall down? (at least most badly, hehe :rolleyes: )

[nef919]

Originally posted by melchior
the user interface is clumsy and the supplied software is dodgy, but the features of the machine itself make a real impact.
For me the user interface and included software are more important than how it looks and what features it has. What good are features you don't (or can't due to complexity, bug etc...) use. That's what makes the iPod great for me. I gave my grandma a 5gb iPod several months ago, preloaded with all her cd's. She was using it minutes out of the box. The only call I have ever gotten from her concerning the iPod was a thank you call.

[nikfel]

Iriver is the company that creates the internal mechanisms for many mp3 based cd players on the market today especially the RIO systems. I had originally wanted an Ipod however was very low on cash. So I opted for a cd based mp3 player. I narrowed down my choice to a sony based cd player and the iRIVER slimx. At the time iRIVER was a new company so I had decided to go for the sony system. However the iRIVER system had loads more features and was nearly half the price. I purchased the iRIVER slimX mp3 cd player from amazon, the mechanism is brilliant, has loads of functions, is firmware upgradable, comes fully accessorised, is extremely durable and most importantly was cheap. A year on I still look at it and marvel at its durablity. Looking at this new model all I can comment from just looking at the pictures is that it will be a good Ipod competitor. The only downside is why is everyone trying to copy the ipod and add new features to it rather than coming up with soomehting totally new.

One might also wasnt to check out the iRIVER homepage they have some very nice products, all fully loaded with features.

http://www.iriveramerica.com/

[szark]

Interesting, but 10GB is too small for my collection.

I'd still choose my 30GB iPod. :)

[andrewlandry]

i know you said not to say it again, but jeez it is ugly - very PC looking. the lcd remote is a good thing though. and recording and an FM tuner are also good things. these are things i would like to see in an iPod, but i think i'll wait for that to happen - as those features will inevitably come to the iPod.

i'm really surprised that Sony hasn't come up with some real competition for the iPod. i bet they could actually make something cool. who would have thought that the walkman for the 21st century would be made by Apple.

[melchior]

Originally posted by szark
Interesting, but 10GB is too small for my collection.

I'd still choose my 30GB iPod. :)

50GB is too small for my collection. :p so it doesn't really bother me none if my music player is holding 2000 tracks or 10000. especially when it plays less than 8 hours... =(

i should really do a run-down test. to make sure i don't have a dud. the problem with this? it's bad for the iPod's battery, in an ideal world you would always keep at least one bar left on the battery indicator and top it up...

i feel like a real whinger about this and i hate reading other people whinging. so i'm sorry. am i the only one who finds the iPod's battery inadequate.

i mean frankly. and i'll make it very clear. i don't, personally give a toss about recording, optical i/o, fm tuner or storage capacity. i care about size. weight. playback time.

so what do i want? i want a fuel cell powered nanotube ram device the size of my thumb that plays all formats including ogg. is that so much to ask? :cool:

[melchior]

Originally posted by andrewlandry
i'm really surprised that Sony hasn't come up with some real competition for the iPod. i bet they could actually make something cool. who would have thought that the walkman for the 21st century would be made by Apple.

i agree with this. i think right now Apple has major name recognition with the iPod. people are douobtful of the small unknowns like archos and iRiver. but apple needs to do more than just milk it until it's gone. i can just see the ipod going the way of the newton. a great device. ahead of it's time. filled a niche with a technology that changed everything. but then dropped out of the race because apple likes nice, fat margins...

[stuartmingay]

... OK, I know MDs have them, but the main reason they had it wasn't to make better copies, but to get the track/album names and autostart the recording when you pressed play on the CD player.

You were still recording to a lossy format like you are with MP3/AAC. And with iTunes what's the point of it?

I actually read reviews in up-their-own-arses hi-fi magazines which said they prefered the warmth that recording via analogue gave!

I'm curious how they'd get double the play time out of a drive that uses similar, if not the same, technology as an iPod. A break-through in battery science? No.

Stu

[applemacdude]

not really an i pod killler is it? ugly thats all i have to say

[barkmonster]

With all the noise they made about napster, I find it pretty funny that a metallica track is being played in a promo shot for an mp3 player!!!

The mp3 player looks like the equivelent of an alba personal stereo, no style, horrible, plastically looking appearance. it kills the iPod on specs though.

[GeeYouEye]

Price can't be the overriding concern. Otherwise the iPod wouldn't have ~26% of the MP3 player market (or is that just in Japan? I don't remember. still, it's impressive either way).

Oh, and it's not FireWire, so unless you have a PowerMac with a USB 2 card, putting anything on that thing will take hours.

[melchior]

Originally posted by GeeYouEye
Price can't be the overriding concern. Otherwise the iPod wouldn't have ~26% of the MP3 player market (or is that just in Japan? I don't remember. still, it's impressive either way).

i think steve-o said it's 70% (maybe?) of the japanese market. but this isn't exactly telling since the japanese mp3 market is relatively small compared with the MD market which is not just big, but amazingly prominent.

i haven't seen any hard stats for the USA...

what does the iPod have? far superior aesthetic quality, exceedingly superior computer software (iTunes), somewhat superior device UI (iPod OS).
what does the competition have? far superior functionable features

who will win in the end? the competition
unless apple ramps itself up. recording is expected in june, right? how much will this change the ball game? quite a bit i think. how can they beat the crap out of the competition? improved battery.

[iJon]

well i think its hideous. the os looks very complicated. 10gb is pretty small for most people. this is not an ipod killer, apple has the number 1 mp3 player in japan and us and a bunch of other smaller countries that we dont really hear of. just looking at that cramped screen makes me not want to use it. after using the scroll on my ipod i dont think i oculd use an mp3 player without it.

iJon

[rt_brained]

My girlfriend had major complaints about the iPod's battery life issues, but said the recent update helped.

She also found that switching the lock switch to the 'off' position when the iPod wasn't in use kept the battery from draining down to zero every night.

[iJon]

Originally posted by rt_brained
My girlfriend had major complaints about the iPod's battery life issues, but said the recent update helped.

She also found that switching the lock switch to the 'off' position when the iPod wasn't in use kept the battery from draining down to zero every night.
is she saying turning on hold the battery drains, never thought of that, ill have to try it.

iJon

[Abstract]

Firstly, I don't think its as ugly as you're all making it out to be. The metallic finish is different than the iPod. Its not better or worse --- just different. The iPod looks more simple and plain. But the OS on this thing looks like a pain in the ass. :o

Secondly, I would take this machine overa 10GB iPod simply because of the battery life. I don't care about the other features.

Thirdly, thank you, Nikfel, for the iRivers link. Too bad they don't have the 10GB HD based machine on that website yet.

Fourthly, what is wrong with it, mac15? What is faulty with the machine? Is it the software? Also, which mp3 player is better: the iFP-390T mp3 player, or the iFP-195T. Its just that they're both listed at the same price ($199), and both have 256MB built-in memory (non-expandable????), but the 195T appears to be the newer machine based on the front page of the iRiver site.

[Ryan1524]

iRiver is the Korean company that used to supply products for Rio, until they decide that they're good enough to launch their own brand and instantly became a hit.

they've produced the best CD MP3 player to date. namely, the SlimX IMP-350 and SlimX IMP-400 (http://www.iriveramerica.com/products/SlimX_400.asp). they're the thinnest CD MP3 player with full features, compatible with almost all audio formats, capable of reading CD-R and RW, user firmware upgradeable, their design is only matched by Sony (i like iRiver's better actually) and the price is very competitive.

i have no doubt that this will be the best HDD based audio player that is ever conceived from the windows world and outside of Apple's kingdom.

i think the design's not 'that' ugly. it is rather attractive in fact. maybe some of you are too biased to admit it. but the design's pretty good and that remote will kick apple's current one to pulp.

besides, when you have a fully functional remote, most of the time, the player itself will be tucked away in the pocket or backpack, and 'if' it's ugly, it won't be visible. but it's not. it's quite attractive. to me at least. much better than all the crap Rio and Creative has put out so far, well maybe not creative, but their flagship jukebox is huge and ugly in my opinion.

if the price is right, i'll take it. go iRiver :)

[dethl]

I just purchased my 30 gig iPod a few days ago, though I am having to wait a couple more weeks before its even shipped.

[Giaguara]

it's ugly.

my 20 G ipod lasts 10 hours.

[bennetsaysargh]

i think i'll be throwing iRiver into the nearest river if i have to use it. it looks ugly, and also not as much storage as the iPod. probably will take forever to load music on there. no iTunes AAC support. my 15GB iPod is better. it wouldn't be smal enough to snea during study hall, and probably won't fit in my pocket.

cool remote though:D

[crapple33]

It's awful. And who the hell are iRiver!?

About as trustworthy name as Archos and the like!!

umm, i'd have to agree with you about archos. i got a mp3 player from them and it broke three times after being sent in for replacements. i finally gave up.

but iriver is a high quality company. their cd/mp3 players are generally considered best on the market. and the other main cd/mp3 player company, rio, blatantly copies all of the iriver designs.

but the ipod is still better.

[e-coli]

Originally posted by mac15
including the opticla out but thats on the dock with the ipod.

The new dock Line Out isn't optical, is it? I thought it was just a regular analog line out.

[Ryan1524]

Originally posted by crapple33
umm, i'd have to agree with you about archos. i got a mp3 player from them and it broke three times after being sent in for replacements. i finally gave up.

but iriver is a high quality company. their cd/mp3 players are generally considered best on the market. and the other main cd/mp3 player company, rio, blatantly copies all of the iriver designs.

but the ipod is still better.

actually, as i mentioned earlier, iRiver used to be the OEM supplier of Rio. :p :D
maybe that's why their design looks very similar..:rolleyes:

[icetraxxg5]

I just want to add that I think that the iRiver really is industrial looking and pretty sexy to me :D

But the iPod is also very sexy.

[Freg3000]

I don't like it. I'd get an iPod 100 times before I'd get that thing.

[AppleMatt]

Hopefully this will 'inspire' Apple to come up with lots of juicy new things for the iPod...

- Better remote
- Radio tuner (if everyone REALLY wants one)

I doubt they will ever include optical in/out though :(, possibly on a new dock.

AppleMatt:

[MacFan25]

It not very pretty. I like my iPod just fine. So far, I haven't needed more than the 8 hours worth of battery on my iPod.

[melchior]

Originally posted by bennetsaysargh
i think i'll be throwing iRiver into the nearest river if i have to use it. it looks ugly, and also not as much storage as the iPod. probably will take forever to load music on there. no iTunes AAC support. my 15GB iPod is better. it wouldn't be smal enough to snea during study hall, and probably won't fit in my pocket.

cool remote though:D

ummm, it's almost exactly the same dimensions as the new iPod's. (almost)

and it has a FULLY FUNCTIONAL REMOTE with and LCD... you can stick it whereever you like.

does that sound rude? :D

what happens when you have more music than 15gb on your current ipod? will you buy a 30gb iPod? :eek: or manually organise your playlist?

for most mac users, usb 1.1 is their only option and that would be slow. for most windows users, usb 2.0 is fast and quite satisfactory. so what if you can't bus power it.

[nef919]

Originally posted by melchior

for most mac users, usb 1.1 is their only option and that would be slow. for most windows users, usb 2.0 is fast and quite satisfactory. so what if you can't bus power it.
Um, why excactly are mac users limited to usb? What about firewire, as all current macs posses this.

[dethl]

Originally posted by melchior
ummm, it's almost exactly the same dimensions as the new iPod's. (almost)

and it has a FULLY FUNCTIONAL REMOTE with and LCD... you can stick it whereever you like.

does that sound rude? :D

what happens when you have more music than 15gb on your current ipod? will you buy a 30gb iPod? :eek: or manually organise your playlist?

for most mac users, usb 1.1 is their only option and that would be slow. for most windows users, usb 2.0 is fast and quite satisfactory. so what if you can't bus power it.


What happens when you fill the iRiver up? Seeing how they only have a 10gig model...if you can replace the internal hard drive...then I could see.

USB 2.0 might be fine and dandy for windoze users, but I like my firewire alot better, and bus powering is an awesome feature. I can charge and sync in the same cable....this makes portabliity much more so. All USB2 products need an external adapter...thats not cool. I'm sure firewire was created with portability in mind. Also, I hear firewire is much faster than USB2, even though its an older standard (and firewire 2/800 blows usb2 away).

[Abstract]

Depending on cost, if I could save $120 bucks (and I'm sure I could since Apple's prices are ridiculously high), then I would get this baby. If the price difference only ends up being $50-60, then its the iPod for me. :)

Or better yet, I would get the 256MB or 512MB mp3 player that lasts 24 hours on a single AA battery. :cool:

[melchior]

Originally posted by nef919
Um, why excactly are mac users limited to usb? What about firewire, as all current macs posses this.

when a device has no firewire and only usb, even if it's usb 2.0, unless you have a powermac with usb 2.0 then it's usb 1.1 for you.

sure the ipod has both. but most devices don't. although, more portable harddrives these days have both. which is definetely nice.

[melchior]

Originally posted by dethl
What happens when you fill the iRiver up? Seeing how they only have a 10gig model...if you can replace the internal hard drive...then I could see.

USB 2.0 might be fine and dandy for windoze users, but I like my firewire alot better, and bus powering is an awesome feature. I can charge and sync in the same cable....this makes portabliity much more so. All USB2 products need an external adapter...thats not cool. I'm sure firewire was created with portability in mind. Also, I hear firewire is much faster than USB2, even though its an older standard (and firewire 2/800 blows usb2 away).

what happens when you fill the iPod. can you replace the internal hard drive? no. if you 27gig of music, maybe you will be happy with a 30gig ipod. when you have 30.1gig of music then it doesn't matter if it's 10gig or 30gig.

and as for bus powering, it doesn't even charge properly, it will just charge into infinite and never say it's finished.

bus power is useful for a hard drive. i don't think it's useful for a music player. not when we are talking about 'portability' on the other hand firewire is better. no doubt in my mind. and it IS a convenience to sync and charge your ipod at the same time, i suppose. personally i rarely sync my ipod anyway... once a week, maybe?

i think, when it comes to music players, bus power doesn't matter. but i have a feeling we are just going to disagree on this. :cool:

no device is perfect. the ipod isn't perfect. and neither is this iriver player. you just have to weigh in on both and choose the one the suits you best. both have very appealing atributes and not so appealing atributes. this particular forum is a tincy wincy bit bias and has trouble to see past the beauty that beholds in their scratched-to-hell iPod :D

i think a lot of people will buy this once it is released in the US and europe. maybe not mac users. but a lot of people.

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by barkmonster
With all the noise they made about napster, I find it pretty funny that a metallica track is being played in a promo shot for an mp3 player!!!


I noticed that too. Of course I have no idea what "Metallica & SM" is. Metallica does have an album called S&M though... ;)


Lethal

[Wardofsky]

So many iPod wannabies are coming out but none can capture the style without downright copying the design.

Go Apple Music...

[MyLeftNut]

Im sorry the design sucks...

How is having all those bits jutting out going to help you put the thing in and out of your pocket?

Theres too much contrast in detail detracting you from the screen, argghh annoying visually....

Apple has already thought of this and more....nuff said

[Abstract]

Originally posted by melchior
what happens when you fill the iPod. can you replace the internal hard drive? no. if you 27gig of music, maybe you will be happy with a 30gig ipod. when you have 30.1gig of music then it doesn't matter if it's 10gig or 30gig.

i don't think it's useful for a music player. not when we are talking about 'portability' on the other hand firewire is better............i think, when it comes to music players, bus power doesn't matter. but i have a feeling we are just going to disagree on this. :cool:


Agree with your first comment. Its an option for people who don't care if they carry ALL their music with them or not. Personally I don't want to hold 30GB of music in my pocket. I think 5GB is nice enough, and 10GB would be great. This is a nice non-iPod option for those who only care to hold 10GB of music or less in their player. :)

I also agree with your 2nd point. Personally, I hate it when a player comes with a built-in battery. I enjoy having players that can use AA or AAA batteries. I wouldn't mind it if the player has a built-in charger for AA NiMH batteries like many Sony portable CD Players, which allows for easy charging of the batteries, but none of those propriety ones, please. If there are going to be instances where you're simply not near a wallplug or FW, then how would you charge your iPod. AA and AAA batteries are everywhere and are universal, and can be bought everywhere you travel. Or how about if you're in another country for 3 or 4 months, you're moving around a lot (maybe 2 or 3 times within that period), and your iPod battery dies. I've done that over the past 2 years (I'm a student who enjoys bumming around and scrounging up low-paying jobs ;)). Can you go to any store to pick up a new battery?

Its preference. I don't care if it charges through a FW port, through a wallplug, or one that uses a plain ol' AA battery. There is always somebody who's not going to be happy with what's available. ;)

[yzedf]

Apple is selling refurb 10GB iPod (old style without 4 backlit buttons) for $199.00 plus tax and shipping.

I hope to get mine tomorrow :D

[bennetsaysargh]

about the not being near electricity or FW, there are the Belkin iPod batteries. they take 4 AA batteries, and they plug into the bottom of the new iPods. p[retty cool, although i don't need one:(

[Foxer]

I want to say it sucks, but it actually looks OK. Key would be the ease-of-use, since iPod nailed that requirement as well. I really like the remote, even though I never quite understood the point of remotes for something that you've probably got in your pocket. A wireless remote would be nicer, since I've been known to hook up my iPod to my creature speakers when I work in my garage - that would give me the abilty to control from a distance.

[Ryan1524]

Originally posted by Foxer
I want to say it sucks, but it actually looks OK. Key would be the ease-of-use, since iPod nailed that requirement as well. I really like the remote, even though I never quite understood the point of remotes for something that you've probably got in your pocket. A wireless remote would be nicer, since I've been known to hook up my iPod to my creature speakers when I work in my garage - that would give me the abilty to control from a distance.

there's been some MP3 players that can be linked to a BT phone to let the user control the player from it. pretty neat. :D

[elpinchegringo]

Originally posted by andrewlandry

i'm really surprised that Sony hasn't come up with some real competition for the iPod. i bet they could actually make something cool. who would have thought that the walkman for the 21st century would be made by Apple.



Yeah, but sony is notoriously bad for mac support. Case in point: Clié. Sony can't make a mac friendly device any better then their tech support can find their asshole with two hands and a flashlight.

[Ryan1524]

but they still dominate the low end amrket with CD-players. people who don't have 800$ to burn or don't know any better will still think cd players are the best for portable music. :p

[Flowbee]

Has anyone mentioned that it's ugly? :p

[i_wolf]

phillips have this damn sexy looking jukebox due out within the next month or so. The philips HDD100 i think they call it.
Its 15 gig, but its really cool. check it out and don't diss it because it doesn't have a picture of a half eaten apple on the side :P

[elpinchegringo]

on an unrelated note...

Why the heck to these companies give you the stupid earbud earphones with their players? Am I the only one in the world whose ears won't hold the stupid things in? In my opinion, headphones packaged with a product (be it cd player, mp3 player, clie, or minidisk) should be compatible with anyone who may use the product purchased. I have a drawer full of the stupid things because every portable device that I've ever bought came with them. ARGH!

[mkubal]

I know battery life is a big issue so I wonder if the battery life is really as long as they claim. It's been my experience with my 10 gig iPod that I was able to use it for around 10 hours without needing a charge despite the fact that Apple only claims an 8 hour battery. I wonder if that is the battery life with normal usage or if it's a theoretical one. Has anyone had firsthand experience with this player's battery life?

Matt

[Ryan1524]

Originally posted by elpinchegringo
on an unrelated note...

Why the heck to these companies give you the stupid earbud earphones with their players? Am I the only one in the world whose ears won't hold the stupid things in? In my opinion, headphones packaged with a product (be it cd player, mp3 player, clie, or minidisk) should be compatible with anyone who may use the product purchased. I have a drawer full of the stupid things because every portable device that I've ever bought came with them. ARGH!

yea. that's why i have my own that i use with everything. :)

[bennetsaysargh]

i think that #1 they put them here to save money/space
and #2 to make it look better (sleeker)

that's just my opinion:D

[Taft]

Let me get this straight. The iRiver...

Costs as much as the iPod (299 for 10 Gigs).
Has a lame form/design.
Has an inferior UI
Doesn't have full iTunes integration.
Doesn't support as many formats.

How is this an iPod killer?? Sure it has a few extra features (recording and FM capabilities), but these could very well be introduced in later versions of the iPod. There is already capability for recording about 5 seconds of audio on the iPod and the new port allows for more add-ons and goodies (ie, its not just limited to Firewire and USB ports.)

So at best, I'd say this thing is on par with the iPod. I'm willing to admit when a company has Apple beat (especially in price), but this isn't one of those times. If you are looking for a cheap hard-drive mp3 player that isn't an iPod, I'd look to another company; The iRiver doesn't deliver.

Taft

[zach]

Originally posted by melchior

i mean frankly. and i'll make it very clear. i don't, personally give a toss about recording, optical i/o, fm tuner or storage capacity. i care about size. weight. playback time.

so what do i want? i want a fuel cell powered nanotube ram device the size of my thumb that plays all formats including ogg. is that so much to ask? :cool:

You mean like this?:http://www.iriveramerica.com/products/idp-100.asp

[Over Achiever]

The iRiver iHP-120 is a 20 GB MP3 player for $399, similar to the 20 GB iPod.

http://www.iriveramerica.com/products/iHP-120.asp

Anyway, it's a decent alternative. Oh, and iRiver makes ultra-slim MP3-CD players, and their flash-based players aren't bad either.

People, keep an open mind.

[Macmaniac]

It does not have the brand recognition like the iPod does, so that rules it out from beaing an iPod killer, it would need a huge advertsiing campaign, and even then the iPod has so much going for it now, it won't stand a chance.

[e-coli]

I'm not buying a new iPod until they come with optical audio out. The new dock analog connector is a nice feature, but come on...even the Sony MiniDisc player has optical in and out. :rolleyes:

[GeeYouEye]

I hate resurrected threads. They are incredibly annoying.

[Rower_CPU]

I hate it when people comment in threads about how much they hate those kinds of threads. ;)

[mnkeybsness]

i hate it when people comment about things they hate about the way people comment about things.:D

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by mnkeybsness
i hate it when people comment about things they hate about the way people comment about things.:D

I was waiting for someone to say that. :p

[hulugu]

Originally posted by Abstract
Depending on cost, if I could save $120 bucks (and I'm sure I could since Apple's prices are ridiculously high), then I would get this baby. If the price difference only ends up being $50-60, then its the iPod for me. :)

Or better yet, I would get the 256MB or 512MB mp3 player that lasts 24 hours on a single AA battery. :cool:

But, the iPod offers ease-of-use including an ergonomic design that makes one-handed operations simple, fast file transfer w/ charging while syncing, integration with the best computer jukebox there is, excellent sound quality, a handy remote, etc. It has an insanely large cache to eliminate skips, a very good battery life (I've gotten more than 10 hours out of it, you just have to read the manual) and it looks cool.
Could the remote have an LCD display, yeah and that would be very cool. Could it have a tuner, who cares? The radio blows here, and if I wanted to listen to the radio I would have bought a radio, this is just another bit of circuitry that I'd never bother with.
Plus, does the iRiver have a clock, contacts lists, games, or a calender. Hell, I bought a MP3 player and got a PDA for free.
So argue all you want but IMHO the iPod is the best music player out, its fast, sexy, cheap, useful and reliable. iRiver et. al. can't say that.

Comparing something merely on price is the most simplistic way of thinking about anything, there is always something in that price. Why is Kia's SUV cheaper than a Jeep? You will know when you stuck on the trail.
Why is a Daewoo cheaper than a 240Z? You will know when you choking on its dust.
Why is an iRiver cheaper than an iPod?
Do you really want to find out?

[manitoubalck]

The creative Nomad has all the functions of the iPod, has both iEEE1394(by adapter) and USB2.0 support, is cheaper and is available in a 60GB model.

Remember apple has large overheads and people who use apples blindly rarely look elsewhere for competitive products, hence they jack the prices.

40GB iPod $499 (www.apple.com)
60GB Creative Nomad $408 (www.compuplus.com)
(prices in USD)

the dimensions of the nomad are
3" x 4.4" x 0.86" taken from http://www.nomadworld.com/products/...nXtra/specs.asp
The iPods dimensions are
2.4" x 4.1" x 0.62 taken from www.apple.com

What's this about the iRiver? the competition is already out there, and looking better;)

Check out the whole range on www.creative.com

[Over Achiever]

Originally posted by GeeYouEye
I hate resurrected threads. They are incredibly annoying.

Sorry. :(

I didn't want to make a new thread on this, that's all.

-O.A.

[hulugu]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by manitoubalck
[B]The creative Nomad has all the functions of the iPod, has both iEEE1394(by adapter) and USB2.0 support, is cheaper and is available in a 60GB model.

Remember apple has large overheads and people who use apples blindly rarely look elsewhere for competitive products, hence they jack the prices.

Yes, people who buy Apple never look any where else, we're just that stupid.
Oh, and the Nomad does not direct Firewire, no iTunes support, oh wait it doesn't even work on a Mac and BTW I've had the displeasure to use one of the these things and they suck.
But thanks for injecting this obvious troll, especially the tag line at the bottom: us Apple people are obvious Communist because we're the minority, hmmm....don't really got a handle of the tyranny of the commons do you now?