Portable Media Player Reviews

Laptop Magazine have published a review of the Haier ibiza Rhapsody multimedia player. 'On the top of the player is a lock switch, a Wi-Fi button for locating the nearest router, and a headphone jack. The right side houses a too-slim volume-control bar and a recessed power button, and on the bottom is a mini-USB plug for charging and wired syncing, plus a proprietary dock connector for future standalone speaker systems. Haier includes a nice-looking set of earbuds, but they didn't deliver very good sound and fell out of ears too easily.

CNET have published a review of the feature-packed Ibiza Rhapsody compact MP3 player. 'The Ibiza's QVGA screen isn't the largest we've seen, but at 2.5 inches, it competes squarely with the iPod Classic. The interface in general is reminiscent of the iPod's, because of its blue-white tinge and simple, hierarchical organization. The main menu includes direct connections to Rhapsody Channels and the Rhapsody catalog, which is handy for subscribers. Also handy is the search field that shows up along the top of the screen once you delve down into artist, albums, and songs. And we're keen on the way the Ibiza handles album art: There's a full-screen, faded-out image behind the thumbnail on the main playback screen. It's a cool effect.'

A review of the Haier Ibiza Rhapsody portable media player has been posted over at Ngadgeti. 'This innovative player puts your Rhapsody music in your hand without having to be connected to a PC- even for setup. The concept is simple: The Ibiza uses Wi-Fi to connect to the Rhapsody subscription music service to stream or grab any of its 4.5 million songs. It has a 30GB hard drive as well, so you can be use it as a traditional portable media player. (You do need to connect to your computer to got non-Rhapsody files on the Ibiza.) It also plays video and displays photos on a screen identical in size to that of the iPod. On top of that, there’s FM radio, a Web browser, and Bluetooth. It’s an impressive device, apart from some design and interface issues.'

PC Magazine have published a review of the new Haier Ibiza Rhapsody (8GB) flash-based digital player. ‘When the Ibiza Rhapsody hard-drive based PMP was released in 2007, many wondered why Haier (the microwave and fridge manufacturer) was making an MP3 player. Nonetheless, it turned out to be a great concept—a device that streams content from your Rhapsody account via Wi-Fi, and also stores and plays your own media from your PC. Performance was, well, not so great. Haier aims to fix some flaws in this new flash-based Ibiza—available in 4GB ($199 list) and 8GB ($229) capacities. The company succeeds on some accounts and fails on others. Despite some misses, the result is a less buggy, more compact version of the original Ibiza Rhapsody (albeit with far less storage space).’

A review of the Ibiza Rhapsody 8 GB Wi-Fi (Black) MP3 Player by Haier has been posted over at ZDNet. 'Now, the overall design of the flash Ibiza is fine, though nothing shockingly new or stylish. However, the array and implementation of features is truly arresting. There's support for MP3, WMA (DRM 10 included), WAV, AAC audio and MPEG-4, WMV, AVI, and H.264 video. (PNG and JPEG are the supported photo formats). You get an FM radio with radio data system and integrated podcast support--with a separate menu selection and the capability to update podcasts on the go from any Wi-Fi hot spot. The flash Ibiza can also access the Rhapsody catalog and Channels from anywhere with wireless access (if you have a subscription, a 30-day trial is provided).'

Computer Resources have published their review of the Haier Ibiza Rhapsody (8GB) digital player. 'When the Ibiza Rhapsody hard-drive based PMP was released in 2007, many wondered why Haier (the microwave and fridge manufacturer) was making an MP3 player. Nonetheless, it turned out to be a great concept—a device that streams content from your Rhapsody account via Wi-Fi, and also stores and plays your own media from your PC. Performance was, well, not so great. Haier aims to fix some flaws in this new flash-based Ibiza—available in 4GB ($199 list) and 8GB ($229) capacities. The company succeeds on some accounts and fails on others. Despite some misses, the result is a less buggy, more compact version of the original Ibiza Rhapsody (albeit with far less storage space).'

Laptop Magazine have published a review of the Haier ibiza Rhapsody (8GB) Wi-Fi digital player. 'The 8GB version of the ibiza we tested was a two-tone blue, with a flat, metallic-looking front. It is large but slim and, at 3.2 ounces, suprisingly light—1.7 ounces lighter than the 30GB model—and has a 2.5-inch, 320 x 240-pixel screen. The ibiza also comes in a 4GB model as well as an array of metallic colors (aqua, black, pink, and purple). Below the QVGA-resolution screen are four chrome buttons and a 1.1 x 0.9-inch clickable touchpad with adjustable sensitivity. On the right side are volume and power buttons, and a hold switch, Wi-Fi menu button, and headphone jack are on top. A variety of accessories are available for the dock connector on the bottom, but you can use the mini-USB port next to it for syncing and charging.'