iPhone 3GS from AT&T. Free Shipping
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 35 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Thinking about it? Don't..."
Pros: One of few flash players on the market today that emits cd-quality sound. Great build and allround quality.
Cons: No line-in. USB-cover wont stay shut without modification.
Summary: Q and A:s for the mainstream user(that's why you're here, right?):
Q: Is it as chunky as it seems?
A: This was one of my biggest fears prior to seeing it... but, no. The "hump" is not as big as it seems. Place two AA-batteries side to side... that's the "hump". It's not all that wide either, the depth spec(i suppose they mean height) of 1,6 inch is with the bend, the actual height/width(or whatever) is around 1,2 inch. All in all a, considering what they've managed to pack into it, a tiny, tiny player.
Q: C'mon... tiny?
A: Yes, tiny. Imagine having the feeling of holding a player with cd-quality sound and a battery slot(meaning it will last for more than two years before the battery drains) in your hands that's just so increadibly compact and sturdy. You can't compare it to other mp3:s in that regard, you'd have to compare it with a really small cd-player or old-school Walkman. Quality + size = tiny.
Q: Is it true you can't manage the player thru UMS(drag and drog)?
A: No. Not with the new players(FM-extension), they all ship with UMS and you won't have to use Windows Media Player, the player shows as a removable disc and it's all a matter of dragging and dropping. If you happen to be unfortunate enough to get stuck with a non-UMS, there's a hardware update for conversion thru irivers site.
Q: I've heard that T10 doesn't have the option of creating playlists and ships with few or little customizable options, is this true?
A: Not in the slightest. Except the option of creating on the go-lists you can change everything(and I do mean EVERYTHING). Iriver seems to have taken every available option into consideration even to the extent it can be somewhat overwhelming for those not used to tech-stuff. Playlist are displayed in folders(similar to Creatives sollution) and works very, very well in my opinion. It's all matter of learning how to handle the sheer amount of options being thrown at you, not the other way around.
Here's a link to the players manual, see for yorself:
http://www.iriveramerica.com/support/ultra/t10.aspx
Q: I'm told the T10 holds no more than 700 files, omg omg omg! What will I do??
A: Try adding 700 folders to it. The T10 holds 700 folders, each of which holds 700 files. Plus, every time you add a folder in another folder you get a new 700+700 count. Those first numbers are merely the number of folders you can place in your root and thenumber of files that they themselves can hold in their turn.
Q: How well does it hold it's own in the competition?
A: Ok... so you migh be considering a Creative Zen V Plus or Sandisk Sansa e200 series... perhaps even a iPod(cause they are cheap, hot or impressive). Allow me to run thru the whys and why nots:
Videoviewing. More like slideshows at the moment. To date there are no flash-players that has a functional videoviewing mode that's of any use other than showing of for your friends for a couple of minutes. After that it's a useless function. (some might argue that iriver U10 has excellent video, and yes, it does.. but it's also limited by 2GB of memory and a hefty pricetag to go along with it). Take Creative Zen V Plus for instance... the oled screen promotes a nice clarity even at low resolutions, but it pukes out a movie at 12 fps(frames per second). If viewing anything with some action to it the picture will become very choppy, even the U10 with it's 30 fps struggles this issue. The Sandisk Sansa e200(series)... at 15 fps it's a bit more solid than the Zen V Plus, but it's a TFT screen and has a 65000 color resolution. That's like watching a movie on your (old)cellphone. Think about it. Still dribbling over the possibility of watching movies on your mp3? It's a salestrick.
Sound. Ever wondered why your Creative, Sansa or iPod compels you to turn it off if listening to it without distraction, how it actually can seem frustrating and annoying? It's beacuse the music is dead. The tiny players have no way of transfering the depth of the music to you. It is well known that if you wan't a mp3(flash) able to do so, you have very, very few options: iriver T10, iriver iFP 799(among many considered to be the best sounding player to date), Cowon iAudio U2 and U3. Some(I'm one of em) would like to add Samsungs old YP-MT6 series to that list. In the T10:s case, you have the options of adding and/or adjusting, SRS Wow, TruBass, sound resolution(Focus) and sound boost value(Boost)... of course, the EQ is fully customizable too. With a level six quality on Ogg Vorbis, you'd have enourmous problems being able to distinguish it from a cd. Note; I'm not an audiophile, listen to it yourself before you buy... you'll be amazed of what difference it really makes.
Battery. You wont have to throw away your player or crack it open after two years. You wont get caught on a trip with a drained player. As in the case with AAA batteries, you won't have to change em every other second, even a rechargable battery will last you 40+ hours. Throw two recharables in your pocket and you're set for eight days of listening to music 16 hours non-stop every day.
Quality. Look at Sandisks or Creatives user reviews, notice the amount of complaints of players shutting off without no apparent fault or reason? How they seem to have a number of hang-ups and bugs? That's because those players aren't durable or built with quality in mind, they aren't quality minded. Now, look at irivers, Cowons or Samsungs (and Meizu, which is great but not all that available) user reviews... notice the difference? You'll see that most of the bad reviews are due to misunderstandings of the interface or unrealistic expectations such as "oh,my god... my T10 doesn't play video!"(which can be complicated if you can't read a manual or have no knowledge of tech stuff)... but hardly none concerning reliability, quality and sound. I'll tell you this much about the T10... when you hold it in your hand, you are fully satisfied it will last for as long as you're into it. Every button is firm and solid, the battery lock is reassuring, the plastic surrounding the player doesn't bend, there are satisfying mechanical clicks when you press a button... it's simply rock solid. Now, try pressing a Creative Zen V or Sandisk e200 between your fingers(not to hard, wouldn't want it to break)... or why not rub your (12 hour battery, waiting to become your 1,2 hour battery)iPod Nano against the table? The USB-flap, the only quality miss on the T10, is easily fixed with a small drop of epoxy on the flap to create a tighter fit, otherwise...it's sheer quality through and through.
Options. It's easy to throw in a couple of functions such as voice recording and not have any options to go along with it. Check out the T10s manual, everything is well though and fully customizable.
Bottom line:
Once you've held a T10 in your hands and had a chance of listening to it(make demands!), you won't be interested in a iPod, Creative or a Sandisk... and if you can't stand the lower battery life(and life span all together because of it), there goes the Cowon as well. My one complaint is that the player has no line-in... but seeing there are no actual flash PLAYERS as of yet that has one either(except Cowons)... there really is no competition. I find it utterly confusing that this player hasn't been getting more cudos from tech mags and my best guess is that they don't find the USB necessity inhibiting(seeing how they live out most of their life in front of a computer). It's also strange that no consideration has been given to actual build quality, but I'm guessing they haven't had the time to explore all the hang-ups, freezes and what nots.
The T10 is an exceptional flash player that rises above rest in terms of sound and build quality, user customizable options and battery life. It makes no compromise and won't sell you a dream or hype, it's sells you the reality of flash players. At the present moment, this is as good, and small, as it gets. I'd give it a perfect ten if it had line-in.
%20user%20review%20and%20rating%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/iriver-t10-1gb-blue/4864-6490_7-31404718-1.html){kind=small}