Portable Media Player Reviews

CNET Asia has reviewed the iriver S10 (2GB) MP3 player which is described as " probably the best mini MP3 player that money can buy". 'Miniature MP3 players are the stuff of a Lilliputian's dreams. In fact, the smaller, the more geek envy it would draw. The newest iPod shuffle is like that. So is Shiro's cube-shaped AD. They drew more raves for their form factors than their features. But the iriver S10 made the waves when it was first announced due to the ingenious way it melded a screen and the D-Click system onto a 42 x 30 x 10.8mm-sized body.'

A comprehensive review of the iRiver's S10 Audio Player has been posted over at Pocketables. 'When the diminutive iriver S10 digital audio player (DAP) made its debut on tech sites in September, many were disappointed (though not surprised) that it would be available only in South Korea. Most believed the DAP would eventually make it to the U.S., where iriver already enjoys a respectable amount of success, but no one knew when. The design team at iriver is obviously part of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" camp because the S10 looks just like a mini clix. Good thing the clix is great-looking gear.'

The iRiver S10 1GB MP3 Player has been reviewed over at Everything USB. ' Small. Stylish. The two words go hand-in-hand, and such is the case with the iriver S10, the smallest MP3 player on the market with a screen. Smaller-than-a-car-remote small. Dangling from your non-American neck this small 2GB player will amaze your friends as the 1.15" OLED display dances to your music and displays your loved ones in vibrant color, all the while filling your ears with SRS-enhanced sound. Did we mention how tiny this thing is? Read on for the full review.'

A review of the feature-rich iRiver Clix (4GB) MP3 player has been posted on CNET. 'If the iRiver Clix looks familiar, that's because it's simply an improved version of the iRiver U10. You get the same cool, miniature TV-like design and great features, alongside an enhanced user interface and superb integration with Windows Media Player 11 and MTV Urge. In fact, the device is launching in tandem with the media software and the music service because Microsoft, iRiver, and MTV worked closely to create the perfect symbiotic relationship between software, service, and hardware.

CNET Asia have posted their preview of the iriver X20 (4GB) media player which is expected to be available some time in February. 'Controls are simple. There is a hold switch, a back and power button. A five-way control center dominates the proceedings and, like the iPod, the X20 has a scroll wheel for content surfing. But in iriver's case, it's mechanical. The scroll wheel, or more accurately, the scroll ring, is a bit on the slim side and tries to compensate with grooves to get a bit of grip going. It still feels flimsy, though, and we are not fans of it.'

A preview of the iriver U20 (2GB) media player has been posted on CNET Asia. 'iriver has built on the strengths of the U10 with a thinner player. But the Korean firm has kept what obviously works: The D-Click system, Macromedia Flash support and a bright, clean screen. Some key differences lie with the new AMOLED which promises an even brighter display which will pair well with games and videos, and a support for the more advanced Macromedia Flash Lite 2.1 (the U10 used the 1.1 version).'

Pocketables.net have published their review of the Korean iriver S7 MP3 player. 'Several months after iriver released its superb S10 digital audio player (DAP), it announced the player's younger, less-abled, weird-looking sibling: the S7. Obviously a step (three steps?) down from the S10, the S7 is said by some to be iriver's answer to the 2G iPod Shuffle. The comparison is reasonable, as both players max out at 1GB, lack a screen, bear similar dimensions, and are priced at about $80. The S7, however, has an FM tuner, supports the audiophile's favorite Ogg Vorbis codec, and doesn't require the use of any software. The Shuffle has its own set of advantages, of course, but what follows is a review of the iriver S7.'

A review of the iriver X20 media player has been posted over at Pocketables. 'At CES 2007 in January, iriver unveiled an impressive lineup of new flash-based digital audio and portable media players planned for release throughout the year. Information and various images of many of them had already made their way to most tech sites, but one that managed to avoid being prematurely scooped was the X20. If iriver's plans were to keep a jewel of a player under wraps to surprise and woo attendees, the company was unsuccessful. What happened instead was that the X20 got lost, largely overshadowed by more exciting DAP sequels and wi-fi PMPs.'

A review of the iRiver S10 (2GB) MP3 player has been posted over at CNET. 'The competitively small iRiver S10 came hot on the heels of the Apple iPod Shuffle--in Asia, anyway. Now, iRiver is selling the stylish 2GB Flash player stateside and it's much of what we expected: feature-packed with a cool interface and great sound quality. However, some may find the $170 price tag daunting (Creative's 2GB Zen V Plus goes for about $110 by comparison) and others may scoff at the paltry eight-hour battery life. Still, if you lust after tiny tech, you'll definitely want to give the S10 a look.

Tech Digest have published a review of the iRiver S10 MP3 player. 'iRiver is muscling in on Apple's territory with its titchy S10 MP3 player. Measuring a mere 30x42x10.8mm the S10 is almost the same size as the shuffle, but where the latter just has a ring of control buttons, iRiver has squeezed in a full colour display. In addition to your standard MP3 and WMA support it'll also playback OGG encoded files and capacity-wise it goes up to 2GB, when the shuffle can only manage a single gigabyte.'

A review of the iRiver Clix (2GB, second generation) digital audio player has been posted over at CNET. ‘You'd be hard pressed to find a feature the iRiver Clix doesn't have. Essentially, all that's missing is wireless connectivity (which is still an alpha function, really) and line-in recording. That's where this player's limitations end, though--the Clix is packed with useful extras. You get a voice recorder and an FM tuner with autoscan and seemingly limitless presets (FM recording is also possible). There's a calendar and an alarm clock, as well as support for Flash games. Our test unit came with several titles already loaded, but keep in mind you can't listen to music while you play these games; they have their own built-in sound. If you need to keep your eyes busy, the iRiver Clix delivers in that area too. You can view text, JPEG photos, or slide shows while listening to music.’

Computeractive have published their review of the iRiver S10 MP3 player. ‘iRiver has carved itself quite a name in the digital media player market, with a range of feature-rich devices. One of its latest offerings, the S10, is a small player designed to go head-to-head with Apple's popular iPod Shuffle.In its favour, the S10 has a number of features that the Shuffle doesn't. The most obvious of these is the screen, which displays text and images.’

Tech digest have published their review of the iRiver X20 - flash video MP3 player. 'The X20 is certainly a feature packed player, with good codec support covering MP3, WMA, WAV and OGG - although AAC is notably lacking. Audio playback quality was decent, although you'll want to replace the bundled headphones to get the most out of it.The landscape aspect ratio screen is bright and clear and there's even built in speakers at the back so you can share your music and videos with friends - although the back of the number 76 probably isn't the best place to do this.'

A review of the iRiver T50 and T60 digital audio players has been posted over at Pocketables. 'Like most iriver DAPs, the T50 and T60 are bundled with just the essentials: earphones, USB 2.0 cable, mini software CD-ROM, battery (AA for T50, AAA for T60), and quick start guide. I've never been impressed with iriver's included accessories before, and nothing here does anything to change that. Maybe a good case is asking too much, but is it that difficult to include something as simple as a lanyard or an armband? I don't expect to see any third-party accessory support, but I wouldn't mind a couple of official silicone skins.'

Personal Computer World have published a review of the Iriver Clix2 portable media player. ‘Iriver isn’t particularly well known for sitting up there with the big boys, despite producing some appealing offerings in the past, but in the Clix2 it has truly surpassed itself by producing one of the best players we’ve seen in recent times.The front of this slimline device is almost totally taken up by the 2.2in display, which may cause those who haven’t seen the original Clix, released earlier this year, to wonder how you find your way around. As a quick refresher, the Clix2 uses a four-way depressible display for navigation, meaning you simply press down on the corresponding edge of the device to move around the menus.’

IT Reviews have published their review of the iRiver S10 MP3 player. 'Because of the lack of space around its case, iRiver has devised a novel way of operating its player. You press on each edge of the screen surround to select menu options and to play, pause and skip tracks. It's a very natural technique and means the only other controls are volume and power, which are on mini buttons around the sides. The iRiver Plus 3 software is supplied so you can find and organise music, pictures and ebooks on a PC. This it does quickly and efficiently and you can play and view your media from within it. Downloading to the S10 is simplicity itself: a small adapter is provided with a USB plug at one end and a four-way jack at the other. Plug the jack into the top of the S10 and the USB into any port on a PC and a single click shifts the media from Plus 3 to the player.'

CNET have published their review of the iRiver X20 (4GB) portable media player. 'The iRiver X20 is pretty hefty for a flash player. It measures 3.8 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick and weighs 3.2 ounces--you won't be wearing this thing around your neck. On the plus side, this relative bulk allows for a 2.3-inch screen. I wouldn't watch a movie on it, but it's ample for short video clips and photos. To the right of the screen is a five-way control pad surrounded by an ultrathin mechanical scroll wheel (á la the SanDisk Sansa e200 series). As with the e200 series, the X20's scroll ring lights up blue when activated. It's also on the too-thin side, making it a little hard to use, but it has some raised bumps that help provide traction. Inside the ring is a white control pad (up, down, left, and right) surrounding a play/pause key. A power button resides below the control pad and there's a menu key above it.'

PC Magazine have published their review of the iRiver Clix Gen 2 flash MP3 player. ‘The latest iriver clix, the gen 2 (using a naming convention borrowed from Apple's iPods), offers tons of features in a great design. Using flash memory like the nano, it comes in varying capacities (2GB, 4GB, and 8GB; our test unit was 4GB), priced in $50 increments and starting at $149.99 direct. Using the excellent click-screen interface from the previous clix (no scroll wheel-like controls here; iriver actually decided to innovate instead of copy), the newest clix is slimmer than its predecessor.

Trusted Reviews have publsihed their review of the iRiver T60 (4GB) portable media player. 'On the face of it, though, this player is a bit of an odd product. For starters it has an unusual shape – while every other manufacturer is trying to slim their players down to the point at which they virtually disappear into thin air, iRiver has produced something that looks very much like a very small Toblerone. The second weird thing is that it uses standard alkaline batteries. This seems a tad old-fashioned in an age where lithium-polymer chemistry, quick-charging power units and 30 to 50-hour battery life are the standard. But it does have a flexibility that a player with a built-in rechargeable battery will never have. You can power it wherever you are in the world, regardless of access to a PC with a USB port, and you don't have to lug a wall-wart around with you if you want to travel light. That's enough to have generated a whole army of devotees to iRiver's AAA-powered players over the years.'

IT reviews have published their review of the iRiver - Clix 2 portable media player. ‘Calling the Clix 2 an MP3 player or even a multimedia player would be doing it a disservice, such is the wealth of features you'll find built in. In addition to the now pretty standard support for video, photos and music, there's also an FM radio, alarm clock, text viewer, voice recorder and a range of flash games that make good use of the unique controls. In addition you'll find a wide range of stylish themes and fonts that allow you to personalise the menu structure and display.’

Everything USB have published their review of the iRiver X20 8GB MP3 player. ‘At its heart, the iriver X20 is a Digital Audio Player thanks to its small, lightweight body and disposition to playing MP3s. However, the X20 draws from a number of features typically seen only in the larger, more capable Portable Media Players that we love to watch but hate to jog with. For starters, the player is only able to be used sideways, keeping the 2.2" TFT screen in landscape mode for watching videos, and the player can be expanded to hold more music and videos via microSD cards that cost approximately $25 for 2 gigabytes.’

A review of the Iriver X20 portable media player has been posted over at Personal Computer World. ‘It’s effectively a widescreen multimedia player, sitting in-between devices such as the Sansa E-series and more advanced players like the Archos 604. You can pick it up in capacities up to 8GB and there’s also a micro-SD card slot on the side, so you’ll find plenty of room for your media files. It’s intended to operate in landscape mode, with the bulk of the controls on the right of the screen; the display can be flipped for left-handed users.’

The TechLounge have published their review of the iRiver Clix2 4gb portable multimedia player. ‘The Clix player is a 4 gigabyte model in line with other such players as the iPod nano, Sansa e200 series, and other flash memory-based portable media players. iriver may not have the market share of the aforementioned Apple product or the distinction of being the inventor of solid state memory (like Sandisk), but they always pull out great designs that match and even surpass the feature sets of the big name players. I�m hoping the Clix Rhapsody will keep giving them a run for their money and that it lives up to all my self-imagined hype.’

CNET have published an updated review of the iRiver Clix portable media player. ‘You'd be hard pressed to find a feature the iRiver Clix doesn't have. Essentially, all that's missing is wireless connectivity (which is still an alpha function, really) and line-in recording. That's where this player's limitations end, though--the Clix is packed with useful extras. You get a voice recorder and an FM tuner with autoscan and seemingly limitless presets (FM recording is also possible). There's a calendar and an alarm clock, as well as support for Flash games. Our test unit came with several titles already loaded, but keep in mind you can't listen to music while you play these games; they have their own built-in sound. If you need to keep your eyes busy, the iRiver Clix delivers in that area too. You can view text, JPEG photos, or slide shows while listening to music.’

Think Computers have published a review of the iRiver E10 (6 GB) multimedia player. 'The first look at the e10 we notice that it's a plain color, black. The iriver e10 only comes in two colors: black and white. No fancy blues, pinks, or silvers here. The 6GB hard drive makes the e10 just slightly taller, yet a lot thicker than your average Ipod nano. This is not an MP3 player that will break on its first drop, or even its second, third, or fourth. The e10 feels very solid and durable for an MP3 player. The newer generation of MP3 players keeps getting smaller and smaller, making it more susceptible to damage. Trust me; you won't have to worry about leaving this MP3 player in your back pocket.'

CNET Asia have published their review of the iRiver T60 (1GB) media player. 'Triangular shape aside, the T60 is still an unusual-looking creature. Firstly, its corrugated plastic casing is a step away from the smooth finish most commonly seen on MP3 players. Secondly, its underside houses an AAA battery. A four-way navigation nipple sits to the right of a low-resolution 20mm (0.8-inch) color LCD screen, and acts as a "select" button, too. In a similarly unusual move, iriver has built in a dedicated A-B repeat button. If you're clamoring for a player that allows you to easily repeat your favorite parts of songs, look no further.'

Pocket Lint have published a review of the new iRiver B20 flash MP3 player. 'The iRiver B20 comes in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB sizes to go up against the Creative Zen, Sony's new S-Series Walkman and Apple new iPod nano in offering video and a host of other features on the go. The design of the player is focused around its 2.4-inch TFT LCD screen, the same size of the Creative Zen, and the volume, power and main menu buttons can be found on the sides. Rather than opt for a click wheel or d-pad, the whole screen has been turned into the button, push down on the bottom of the screen (it's not a touchscreen) and you scroll down through the menu system.'

Personal Computer World have published a review of the Iriver B20 portable media player. ‘In most