iRiver PMC-120 review

Much of the kudos that any PMC device attracts has nothing to do with the hardware itself. Instead, it's the software--the PMC operating system--that is the core of the devices' perceived genius. It's simple, graphical, smooth, logical, and smart, unlike the heavier Windows Media Player and the archaic interfaces seen on many non-PMC devices. Much of it has to do with the superb method of navigating through the potentially thousands of songs, videos, and photos stored on your device. Coined twist navigation, menu items such as Artist, Playlist, Songs, and New are accessible along the X axis, while the contents automatically spill below each choice. If you choose albums, you can either play all or drill down into one; then, all the other albums show up in the X axis. Likewise, you can sort videos by New, Name, or Date fields. It's better understood by a screenshot or in person, but you heard it here: Microsoft has created a portable media interface that will see many generations.

One of the great features of the PMC is that you can pick up where you left off on any video. Press pause, or simply hit the Start button to listen to music or view photos, then return to your movie and resume where you left off. Though it's an automatic process, you can "bookmark" 10 movies and watch them from where you left off. The same goes for My TV; you could have five recorded shows, then watch and bookmark all of them independently and on your clock. With the PMC operating system, you generally don't think; instead, you do. Other cool features include an excellent hibernation mode where you pick up where you left off; impressive photo slide shows with basic customization; simultaneous music and photo viewing; skipping ahead in 30-second increments and skipping back in 9-second jumps; on-the-go music playlists; large album art; and the option to purchase music

The iRiver is missing a wonderful feature found on the Creative Zen: preset bookmark buttons, which will take you to any point in a song within a playlist or to a scene in a movie. The Settings section includes an equalizer with seven presets that can be monitored in real time; brightness; audio and video effects; and information on the device and its contents.

With its relatively beefy specs (a 400MHz processor and 64MB of RAM), the iRiver PMC-120 generally moves easily between tasks. The PMC's animated screen effects, such as text and graphics morphing and sliding, are a nice touch and give the interface a more responsive feel.

Images, album art, and videos all look reasonably sharp and vibrant on the backlit, 3.5-inch display. It's no match for the Sony PSP's wide screen, but it still looks great compared to portable devices such as cell phones and MP3 players. Except in direct sunlight, outdoor viewing is reasonable. Sound quality is at least as good as the Creative Zen's and better than the Samsung YH-999's. With a decent 90dB signal-to-noise ratio, digital audio is crisp and powerful, and while not as impressive-sounding as an iRiver H320 or Creative Zen Touch, the device is deserving of decent headphones.

A key component to the PMC equation is decent battery life. Samsung's YH-999 is compact and attractive, but it lacks juice for the long haul, with 11.7 hours for audio only and 3.2 hours for continuous video. That's pretty weak, especially considering there isn't even an option to replace your battery. The iRiver comes out with a decent time of 13.5 hours for audio only and a good 6.7 hours for video--enough for twice as many movies per charge than the Samsung. However, both live in the shadow of the Creative Zen's battery life: 7.4 hours for video and 22 hours of audio.

Its average transfer rate of 4.3MB per second over USB 2.0 is good.