iRiver iFP-799

Summary: The IFP-799 is a very good player for anyone who is new to MP3 and doesn't want/need a hard-drive player or for those who just want a light weight device for sports/exercise. The size and weight allow it to fit comfortably in a pants pocket, and iRiver also includes a lanyard for around the neck if one doesn't have or doesn't want to use a pocket. One of my favorite things is the battery-life. iRiver claims to get 40 hours out of one battery. Surprisingly that is very close to what I get and what CNET got when they tested the iFP-790.

The sound from the player is excellent, even better when you optimize the settings for the type of music you're listening to (you do this by changing the Equalization settings - see the manual). Although the included set is not too bad, it's probably a good idea to invest in a quality set of head-phones.

The menu system can be a little tricky to figure out at first, so I suggest getting a free PDF copy of the user manual from the iRiver website before you get the player so you can start using it right away. Once you've read the manual and played around a little with the unit itself you won't have any problems.

The only negatives I've noticed so far are the supplied carrying case, the player's connectivity with Windows Media Player 10 and the iRiver Music Manager Software. The carrying case always slips and slides covering up the toggle switch, and, if the hold button is not on, hitting stop or one of the other function keys. A new case (one which includes a decent arm-band and belt-clip) is absolutely essential! A really good one can be purchased from Amazon or any of the companies listed under the "Where to Buy" tab above. I didn't find them listed at the iRiver site, even though they carry the iRiver logo.

My biggest issue is with Windows Media Player 10 (WMP 10). After installing the included drivers the unit is recognized by WMP 10 and I am able to load songs with it. However, when I have WMP 10 automatically index (create folders) by artist/album/song it causes the program to crash. I've had to create my own folders; it's easy to do but time-consuming. I haven't been able to find a fix for this problem with either Microsoft or iRiver. The player still doesn't show up as a drive letter either - so no easy drag and drop of files (this can be done using the iRiver Music Manager Software).

Finally, in my never-to-be-humble opinion, iRiver's included music manager is not too good. You use it to drag and drop music files onto the player. This can be time-consuming because you have to search where they're stored on your computer and they are not always indexed well depending on the music program you use. Finally, although I haven't played with it all that much it looks like you still have to create your own folders (but you may be able to and I just haven't found it yet).

On the whole this is a very good player and one that I recommend to anyone who wants a relatively cheap player that has a lot of features that are relatively easy to use with a good capacity! The Windows Media Player and iRiver Music Manager issues I have are really not a problem for the casual user who just wants to listen to music and who doesn't care about indexing - so this shouldn't be a reason not to buy.