In case you missed the announcement back in January, the clix gen 2 is the follow-up to the original clix (AKA the iriver U10). Specs include 4GB of storage, a 2.2-inch display, built-in FM tuner, integrated digital voice recorder, up to 24 hours of battery life for music playback (5 for video), and PlaysForSure support (though thankfully you can switch the clix from MTP to USB mass storage mode if you don't want to play with DRM).
The original clix was no slouch in the looks department, but the new clix gen 2 is thinner, sleeker, and even more stylish than its predecessor. (Though the funny thing is that it's not quite as skinny as it looks. Turns out that the clix gen 2 is only slightly -- 16mm vs. 13.2mm -- thinner than the original clix, it just seems that way because of how it's designed.)
Anyway, besides being thinner and better-looking than the first clix, they've replaced that proprietary connector with a standard a mini USB port, swapped in a somewhat brighter AMOLED display, and added WMV and MPEG-4 SP up to 30fps (the original could only handle 15fps) to the list of supported codecs (both the original and the gen 2 can handle MP3, WMA, and OGG). One thing they didn't change is the clix's intuitive D-Click navigation and user interface. There are still no buttons on the face of the player, you just click the edge of the clix in the direction you want to go.
Click on (no pun intended) for the pics!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Thataboy @ Apr 30th 2007 1:09PM
Looks good. But really, at this point, how can they not include AAC support?
Adam @ Apr 30th 2007 1:13PM
I prefered the rectangle shape, i don't like all this curvy stuff.
Kevin @ Apr 30th 2007 1:18PM
Dude, we need AAC support. i want to get one of these for my brother!
Kevin @ Apr 30th 2007 1:21PM
I went to their website for more info and it's not even there yet. These companies really need to get their act together.
Brandon West @ Apr 30th 2007 1:29PM
Umm, maybe you should look harder? It was linked from their site's homepage. http://tinyurl.com/2qwzeg
David @ Apr 30th 2007 1:21PM
The clix2 looks great, but yeah, the fact that there are still companies not supporting AAC is annoying, as is iriver still not including gapless playback in their players.
Kevin @ Apr 30th 2007 5:04PM
You found it on their "eStore." It's not under their main product section. When a company releases a new product, i shouldn't have to scour the site for it, only to find it in an obscure store link.
crescentdavid @ Apr 30th 2007 1:56PM
This is going to be my next player. Don't care about AAC, love the UI and being able to switch from MTP to USB if desired underscores choices with the players "for the rest of us."
I'm a big fan of subscription music to go and it's a deal breaker if a mp3 player doesn't have it. Oh yes, I can still BUY if I want to.
David, could you please cite the URL which shows the Clix gen 2 doesn't have gapless playback? And of course, we're defining gapless as something more than a 1 second pause (demarcation) between tracks. I've never run across any documentation of this assertion. Thanks!
coffee @ Apr 30th 2007 2:00PM
no 4GB model yet?
steih @ Apr 30th 2007 2:10PM
Would you recommend this for photos and video only?
anonymouspimp @ Apr 30th 2007 2:12PM
I own this... its a really nice player.
The user interface is pretty easy... I was hesitant at first because the "click screen" thing is so different, but its pretty easy to get used to.
The screen looks good too... videos look nice. And transferring music was easy.
One thing that annoys me tho... the volume buttons seem "backwards" to me. they are two buttons on the top of the device and the Vol+ buttons is on the left and the Vol- is on the right...
Other than that... I recommend it for those who don't want a nano. I bought it right off their website... it's not prominently displayed on their website for some reason... but it's definitely in their online store.
Juaquin @ Apr 30th 2007 2:19PM
What's up with people balking about AAC? You rip your music in iTunes and expect other manufacturers to use/support the same codec just because Apple rules the world? You'll notice that the Clix supports OGG, a much better format than MP3 or AAC. I'm just bummed it doesn't support FLAC (at least that I could find) - iriver usually supports FLAC.
rob @ Apr 30th 2007 2:24PM
Actually, you're misinformed. AAC isn't an Apple codec. Its owned by the same folks that own MP3. AAC stands for "Advanced Audio Codec" and is really just "MP4." Apple just happened to pick it because it was better than MP3 and available under a similar license.
coprock @ Apr 30th 2007 2:37PM
I love it when people start talking of "facts" and being "misinformed". From what i have read aac is better than mp3 at lower bitrate levels so itunes purchases will sound better at a higher rate of compression and Apple can boast about how many 128 bitrate songs can fit on their ipod. At higher bitrate levels, the difference between aac and mp3 is negligible. Of course, anyone who really cares about sound quality would never rip their songs at 128 in aac or mp3
I suppose Apple's choice of aac for itunes downloads had nothing to do with DRM.
David @ Apr 30th 2007 2:26PM
Juaquin, AAC is the "official" successor to MP3, so it should be supporting. and contrary to some people's beliefs, AAC is not an Apple format. Least MS and Sony have the sense to support it.
also iriver has never included FLAC support on any of their players. The closest they ever came to that was WMA-Lossless on some of their old chunky PMP's.
and crescentdavid, iriver has never offered gapless playback before on their players, and if they finally changed that I'm sure I would of seen them announce that or it mention on misticriver.net, which I frequently visit.
Joey Geraci @ Apr 30th 2007 3:11PM
I love it when people are supposedly correcting others and are incorrect in their correction. AAC is far superior to MP3 at all bitrates. The difference is slightly less noticeable at higher bitrates, but the difference is still plain as day.
Brandon West @ Apr 30th 2007 3:25PM
I love it when people pass off subjective opinions as truths.
Here are the facts, decide for yourself: http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=AAC
Personally, since I dont bother with small bitrates (the only place where AAC is arguably better), I'll stick to an open format that isn't patented to all hell like AAC. MusePack or OGG for me.
Joey Geraci @ Apr 30th 2007 3:31PM
Uhm, was that supposed to substantiate your comments?!! Because it didn't. I have personally tried out the various formats, and compared to 192 aac, mp3 had additional artifacts until I get up to at least 320 bitrate. Everything I have ever read has said something similar. Care to actually put forward some proof to the contrary?
Ondskan @ Apr 30th 2007 3:17PM
@Kevin
they only have specs about it.in their online store https://secure3.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=iriver&BusType=BtoC&Count1=488094508&Count2=405234932&ProductID=295&Target=products.asp
Brandon West @ Apr 30th 2007 3:46PM
http://www.rjamorim.com/test/multiformat128/results.html
Check those results and you will see that AAC (referenced as iTunes in the test) and Mp3 (LAME in the test). The 'overall ratings' at the bottom are the most telling. LAME Mp3 and AAC basically tied. Saying "AAC is far superior to MP3 at all bitrates" is rubbish. Granted, this is a subjective public listening test, but the analysis of the data is solid.
In my opinion, AAC and LAME both suck. Vorbis for the win.
coprock @ Apr 30th 2007 3:48PM
er.. Hydrogen Audio is a respected source for audio information as well as the Lame encoder. It's nice to have choices and each to his own.
Joey Geraci @ Apr 30th 2007 3:52PM
No, aac is basically ahead. Since all the scores are fairly close to each other, the difference between the two would seem to be significant (especially since the aac bitrate was slightly lower than the lame bitrate for most of the tests).
Joey Geraci @ Apr 30th 2007 3:55PM
I wasn't questioning the authority of the source, I was questioning the fact that it only mentions that lame is generally considered to be equal in quality to aac, which is counter to everything I have ever heard. And it didn't substantiate that claim with any evidence.
Brandon West @ Apr 30th 2007 5:07PM
I actually found it by going to iriver.com, clicking on North America, and then clicking the big 'NEW iriver clix gen 2' graphic on the homepage.
Kevin @ Apr 30th 2007 5:09PM
Right, which links to the eStore. Please note that if you click the "Product" link, you know, the logical one, it's not listed there. Furthermore note that it doesn't have a dedicated page for it, besides the one trying to sell it.
Jude Brown @ Apr 30th 2007 6:24PM
Have the original 2GB Clix and I love it. D Click system is very easy to use and very intuitive. This player works great with my Yahoo Unlimited account as well as WMP. Lame that there is still no 8GB player IMHO. Also should point out that I am currently having no luck getting album art to show up. Couldn't give a rats skinny behind about AAC. When I'm worried about sound quality I order the physical CD or go to the store. Those nerdlings among us who love to waste their time discussing which codec is superior should get back to their Star Wars collections - hell knows you aren't getting laid this century.
Jude Brown @ Apr 30th 2007 6:32PM
@Kevin
http://www.iriveramerica.com/prod/ultra/clix/clix-4GB-black.aspx
I clicked on products then on iriver Clix. I'm then brought to the screen that displays 1 old clix and the two new versions. When I click on the new black clix it takes me to a product page. I have to click another link to get to the store.
Jude Brown @ Apr 30th 2007 6:37PM
@Kevin
I gotcha now. So there is no 2nd gen clix on the products page only old clix (as you stated several times). Didn't even know the old clix came in black.
As Kevin said earlier pretty weak Iriver.
Juaquin @ Apr 30th 2007 6:58PM
I never said Apple owns or developed AAC, or even implied that. Please read and understand my statement before trying to counter it. I said that iTunes uses AAC - which it does. I know that AAC is a newer (and supposedly better) codec than MP3. In my opinion, it's still not as good as OGG (and definitely not FLAC). I don't think there are many people using AAC who are not using iTunes - most everyone either sticks to MP3, or if they're concerned with high quality, they use FLAC/OGG - hence why I assumed that everyone here freaking out about AAC was freaking out because they had used iTunes to rip most of their music.
Like someone else said, the difference between MP3 and AAC is only noticeable in the smaller bitrates. If you are ripping your music in crappy quality, fine, go for AAC. If you're concerned with sound quality, you should be ripping at least at 320kbps MP3 (very minimum), if not high-bitrate OGG or the most preferred, FLAC. AAC can't hold a candle to lossless.
PEZ @ Apr 30th 2007 11:54PM
screw aac. it sucks.
Jenn @ May 1st 2007 1:01AM
Don't forget that the UI on this player is completely user-customizable and user-creatable. Anyone who knows how to use Flash can create their very own UI with custom/original animations, icons, text, graphics, etc. Very, very cool.
Nirmal @ May 1st 2007 11:38PM
can anyone give me any details about the video quality on this? example. xvid, divx videos?
Nirmal @ May 1st 2007 11:41PM
sorry for reposting, I clicked on the link and it posted my previous question again.
Jon Perry @ May 2nd 2007 9:34PM
When Will this come out to retail stores like best buy and stuff?
Oh, btw, the Clix 2 is sweet. My brother purchased it just last week from theiriverstore.com and its freaking awesome. He has the 4GB and as excited as I am to use it when my brother lets me, I might just hold off for the 8GB version. Man, can June come any sooner?
PenaltyKillah @ May 2nd 2007 10:17PM
YES! No ugly "iriver clix2" or "iriver clix 2" or "iriver clix(superscript)2(end superscript)"! Just "iriver clix (2G)"! Love the box (strangely), very simple, would intrigue Best Buy customers, etc. Looks much thinner than the 1G version. I bet this one, along with the Cowon D2, would beat the iPod's monopoly (with enough marketing and advertising, of course)
Tim @ Jun 18th 2007 2:58PM
hi just reading up on those comments about mp3 and acc. i think the product is grand as it is and the main reason for iriver not supporting acc because a persons ears can only hear so far so whats the point, its only a selling point. Also no matter who owns acc, socially apple does because they have locked it in with the ipod and 2ndly everyone uses the ipod and they are getting a lot of money becuase of it. so socially, economically and by association apple does own acc
Square @ Jun 24th 2007 8:55PM
But if Apple supports AAC, it MUST be good, right? RIGHT?
Galeyin @ Jul 24th 2007 12:53PM
I just got the clix 2 4gb yesterday and so far i've been impressed. the d-click feature is really nice. I will have to agree that the screen gets finger prints all over.
The AMOLED screen looks really good. I've uploaded some pictures on it and its out of this world for a player its size.
I'm a little frustrated that its taking for ever for the 8gb to come out. I might just have to return in if it comes out within 30 days and get the 8gb for $50 more.