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"The best in function and feature...out performes the iPod" on by jasonbeckett
Pros: Good size display, easy to use interface, packed with features.
Cons: EXPENSIVE! expensive, expensive.
Summary: It is completely reasonable for people to compare compact media players to the iPod and suggest that they may be better. As we all know, iPod rules on the mp3 front...but I suspect that a majority of the iPod users are actually PC users as well. With that in mind, you must admit, the new iRIVER is a possible iPod killer for the PC users.
This is a great device. It features everything you want in a portable media player and then some. Long before the iPod Video, iRiver was giving us video, pictures, radio and more in one device. The new U10 is the culmination of a great concept.
The user interface is equal (if not better than) the iPod disk because the unit can have a larger display without making room for clumsy buttons. The speed of the device is great and it seamlessly transitions from one function to the other.
The learning curve to control the unit is very short and most people will be using this player right out of the box. Although the iPod enjoys a nearly endless supply of accessories, the new U10 has some great options that expand the uses of the device including the clock dock and controller.
In the end, the devout iPod users will never think anything could unseat their beloved media player. But for the rest of us...the iRiver is a real contender. Just using it once is enough to convince you that this is a real cool device with a ton of features and just may win back all the PC users who jumped to the iPod.Updated
When I originally posted my comments on this product I assumed that everyone realized how tiny this product was in dimensions (2.7in x1.8in). It is smaller than the iPod NANO (which is way longer) and I think more substantial to work with. I don’t feel like I’m going to break it if I put it in my pocket or in my bag (I can’t say the same for the iPod).
I can’t over emphasize what a great device this is! The user interface is great and easy to use. The 2.2in screen fills most of the actual unit so you don’t feel like there is a bunch of wasted space on the unit.
For those who complain about the size…1gb is plenty for this type of player (after all, this is not a music archive device, it’s a player). The price is in line with iPod and the unit is a definite competitor. I don’t think people give this unit its due because iRiver have been terrible at promoting it.
On the whole, I still love this unit and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an awesome MP3 player and easy potable video player. -
"Awesome once you can get movies on it" on by Inyoury
Pros: Small, Sleek, Sexy and what a screen
Cons: Storage is a bit small
Summary: So I pre-orded mine 2 months ago during my stay in Seoul, South Korea. I fell in love with it. I paid more than 250, but I got the docking station and some cool headphones with it for free. At first I couldn't figure out how to get working movies on it. I couldn't find any video converters. But now there is "iriverter." You can convert DVD movies and play them on the U10. The only problem is that each movie is about 450 megabites. So only two movies and a handful of songs. That is why I rated it 9 instead of a 10. Now I don't know why iriver doesn't use new flash technology available in Asia. They have flash memory cards that are 2 to 10 gigs. I would pay more if they had larger storage.
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"U guys should know about THIS!!" on by Enian
Pros: compact. multiful. good interface
Cons: none except small capacity
Summary: I'm using U10 now.
You have to know about this.
1Gig is enough capacity for video.
Because video files will be small.
700 mega file(common size for 1 movie) will be about 200 mega file after transfering for u10.
You can SAVE 500!
Of course 2G or 4G is better, but I think
1G is not bad. -
"Not practical" on by Glorybox3737
Pros: It looks nice, small
Cons: 1gb for $250, Just not practical. 1 gb to divide between audio and video
Summary: My friend and I did a swap of mp3 players for a week. He wanted to enlighten me on how I bought a piece of crap (my nano) and I wanted to enlighten him on better ways to spend $250.
So here are the strong suits of the iriver. It looks cool as all hell. I love the size. Feels just right. The games are cool enough. Battery life is beyond great. Can't really comment on the sound cause I also got to use my friends ulimate ears super fi 3 (he talked me out of getting shure e2s atleast) so anything would sound great on those. That's where it ends.
Now to the bad points. Price aside 1gb isn't enough to divide between audio and video. Even if I only used it for music then I couldn't even fit all my top rated songs on it. For movies you can fit two movies on it but the screen is only 2" and it's not enjoyable.
Now let's put price in there. For only a few more bucks you can get so many other players if you want something that plays video and music. At this point having a flash player that also plays video isn't worth it. I could see it at 4gb yes, but even that's a stretch. Also watching movies on anything other than 3.5" is just a pain.
The interface is the same as most players. Just a process of elimination. Truth be told I prefer the click wheel to the d link. Constant clicking or just a nice slide of the fingers? Well i guess the d click is okay since you are only navigating a very small amount of music. Touch sensitive is where it's at though.
Oh and the additional features aren't for me. Haven't listened to the radio in years and never needed a voice recorder in my life. But including those don't justify the price. Even if you really do need them.
My view, it's not practical. Not ahead of it's time not behind it's time. Just something that should have been really considered before it was put on the assembly line. You'd expect the marketing department to pick up on the mistake and atleast price it lower, but they made this U10 even more of a mistake than it already was.
As far as the one week experiment went. I am glad to have my nano back and feel that my 250 bucks was justified. My friend after hearing my reasoning about the U10, and using my nano for a week, agrees that his U10 is way over priced. He's currently trying to sell it and has his eyes on the creative vision M. In my view the creative is well worth the money, more so that the U10 atleast. -
"nice hardware. wost software imaginable" on by 209489836095304134868721332643
Pros: great sound, excellent design
Cons: iRiver shuffles user to microsoft in lieu of providing product support, firmware is 100% inflexible and uncustomizeable, user cannot access any functionality without going through WMP 10
Summary: I thought this item was a winner from the cnet editors review and then realized that either cnet editors are computer illiterate fools or simply on the iRiver dole.
This item sounds great, is wonderfully designed, and has excellet battery life: a lot of inane features that I dont really look for in a mp3 player: but is utterly crippled by its lack of product support/competant software/firmware. I've been troubleshooting every kind of computer/software problem you could imagine for the last decade and yet after struggling with this device and windows media player 10 for the past 2 days I can't do something so simple as create a playlist. Its that awful. the user's manual gives instructions like "use windows media player 10", "play music", and "refer to windows media player." Well, microsoft's support base in all its glory doesn't acknowledge that this item exists.
iRiver U10 user reviews (1GB)
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