We unwrapped iriver's new US-bound
Lplayer from its space age packaging and took it for a whirl. It must be said, iriver's design chops really shine when comes to these tiny little D-Click experiences -- perhaps the
E100 is just too much canvas to work with. The 2-inch QVGA screen is plenty sharp, even if it could withstand a stronger backlight, and the interface is as intuitive as ever. Codec support is just dandy, with MP3, WMA, ASF, FLAC and OGG Q10 for audio, and MPGE, WMV9, XVID for video -- no AAC, though. Sound is decent enough with the included headphones, but plugged into our regular home stereo setup the player pushed out very little low end. FM worked fine, as did voice recording, but there aren't many other frills here. The 4GB version will go for $110, while the 8GB is slotted for $160 (the
same prices its much larger E100 counterpart goes for), and both should be available in the States on June 24.
posted Jun 13th 2008 2:12PM
Very nice. I like how it's all screen. Nice price too.
screen too small
I take that back. only $110!
I'm so getting that
I'm with you. I used to be a big Ipod fan but I just got sick of all the repairs. When I found out I could get a cable that would convert my Bose SoundDock Ipod connecter to a standard 1/8th inch plug that just sealed the deal. I will definitely take a close look at this unit.
Seems like it would be tiny.
Sally: EWWWWW There's goo all over your pants !!!
Harry: Damn, my MP3, WMA, ASF, FLAC and OGG Q10 for audio, and MPGE, WMV9, XVID for video -- no AAC player just burst in my pocket !!!!
Sally: WHAT?
I'm inclined to agree with Sally; What?
Ummm...
Looks like a gel pack from Voyager...
A rather ugly one at that...
Strange.
It reminds me of a Pacific Cooler Capri Sun.
This isn't thiner than Clix 2, is it?
doesnt look to be a worth successor to the clix2, which is an awesome player...
It isn't supposed to be a successor to the clix 2, it's the successor to the s10 which is a damn fine player
well...it cant be a successor to a player as tiny as S10...L is almost double the size of S10
but all the players are of the same family (D-click)
i dont deny S10 being a fine player too
You might want to check your facts before you shoot your mouth off on topics you know nothing about. The Lplayer is also known as the S20, the next generation of the S10 product line. Look it up.
Cool. I wonder what the Clix 2 successor looks like.
cromulent742...in that case...its in the same "product line"...the same i meant by "family" but not a "successor"
well...let me clarify what a successor is...do u know there was an iriver clix before clix gen2...well the clix2 is a successor to the earlier clix...do you get my point now???
you better check yourself before you check others
@ Vidit, since you're clearly the authoritative voice on product succession, why did you even imply that this was the successor to the clix2 in the first place? All I was doing was pointing out that it wasn't. If anything, this is the successor to the S10 seeing how S20 follows S10, just like clix2 follows clix. I know this is complicated, but try to keep up bro.
dude...did you even try to read my last comment...come on i think it was in simple english which you dont seem to understand...well read it again and then try to find out if s20 would succeed s10 in the same way as clix2 succeeded clix
again...clix2 was an update to clix but s20 is not an update to s10...its a completely new player which will NOT replace s10...get it now???
@ I understand what you're trying to say, despite your overuse of the ellipsis, but it doesn't change the fact that you're wrong.
(its like fighting with my brother over the sega 15 years ago, all over again)
@rock99rock, I know man, I'm an idiot for letting this guy hook me like that.
true cromulent742 you are one...i got to know from your comments
^^ Very entertaining, aren't they?
We can make money off this.
so this is how nerds fight...
1) May I express my continued enthusiasm for FLAC support getting out into the hands of the masses.
http://flac.sourceforge.net
2) May I continue to express my displeasure at non-removable embedded batteries that will last 400-500 charges before needing replacement, often at high cost and/or surgical inconvenience to the user, not to mention inability to hot-swap when one dies. Essentially limiting the life of the device to the battery.
3) May I continue to express my displeasure at the one-size-fits-all inconvenience and limited life of Flash technology, made worse by embedded Flash with no removable cards, again probably limiting the life of the device to a failure here.
http://www.iriver.com , are you listening?
Agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!
While were at it, and this may not apply to this player:
3) May *we* continue to express our displeasure at the lack of open standards such as UMS/MSC allowing us to load music onto our devices regardless of what computer and/or platform we are using, without ever having to go through required installed software, ie; iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc?
Dude, with a $110 device, what do I care if it craps out in 10 years?
Yeah, disposable electronics are here to stay.
IT-Accountant @ Jun 13th 2008 3:35PM
Dude, with a $110 device, what do I care if it craps out in 10 years?
------------
10 years is a great lifetime for a device like this and I would be happy with that. Unfortunately 2ish is far more realistic, depending on usage of course. THAT is the problem with embedding short lifetime components and making them non-replaceable to the average non-technical user.
The industry's and the market's attitude about resource usage and longevity and 'greenness' is absolute crap-talk and reprehensible when devices with embedded flash and embedded batteries are pumped out in the volumes they are.
Such waste. Call me a hippy but something worth making and buying is something worth keeping. At least it should be. Regardless of the latest shiny new thing, products should not be 'designed to fail' in this predictable manner.
what's with the hold switch being located on the underside of the unit? i would imagine that people with bigger fingers would struggle to slide the switch on that smooth surface. to me that is a minor design flaw.
Nice piece. Would like to see the graphics on it. Um is it sitting on a gray pillow or what. It kinda looks all dented
I'll stick to buying a 3G iPhone not this gimmicky crap.
yeah, because there's nothing gimmicky about the iPhone, right?
grull27,
I too will buy this iPhone you speak of. I look forward to playing my CD-quality FLACs on it, along with my Ogg Vorbis files, recording my voice and listening to radio, too. I also long for the bulk in my pants and the associated price hike that only comes with a device of prestige like the iPhone. It would be a bonus if I could be tied to a phone company, too.
I can't wait to hear your thoughts on your awesome iPhone 3G purchase come July 11. Smart people know to avoid gimmicky products! Your post has aided my purchasing decision. I almost forgot about it! It's the perfect device for everything.
Thanks and regards,
tekdroid.
thanks tek, you worded that perfectly.
no xvid or divx and you fail.
tek, if you're going to work up a sarcastic response, you should try harder to get it right. Do you really think you can't listen to radio on an iPhone? Do you really think FLAC or OGG are any better than Lossless? And you seem to be contradicting yourself by saying the iPhone is gimmicky while at the same time suggesting you value features like voice recording. Gimmicky what now?
And of course the pricing argument because god knows the iPhone is the most expensive phone you can buy. $199 is the most I have ever seen a phone sell for... ever.
And no, I'm not agreeing with grull27. I'm saying your response isn't any better.
What does this media player have to do with the iPhone? *scratching head*
If you hate the iPhone so much, and you want it to go away, stop talking about it. :)
Zak,
1) FLAC is lossless so your argument about whether I think FLAC and Ogg Vorbis is better than 'lossless' shows you don't know what FLAC is. PS. Tehnically superior to Apple's lossless, far more supported online (it's royalty-free), not to mention in a boatload of third-party apps from Sony software to one-man open-source apps.
2) Please point out where I said the iPhone is gimmicky.
3) If $199 is the most you've seen the iPhone selling "ever", you either must have a very short memory and/or you must think long-term contracts aren't about paying the device off, in which case...sure, it's $199. But this response isn't about price, is it... it's about:
4) me responding to someone who compared this device to an iPhone. Not only is this device in no way comparable to iPhone in size, shape, usability, target market, price and function, it's like comparing...ahh screw it. It's identical in every way, isn't it?
Let's leave it at that, shall we.
Postage stamp-sized video FTW! I'm guessing that QVGA-Sucks guy hates this thing.
Kinda neat, though. I'd buy one just for the hell of it if it were a little cheaper.
QVGA is the same resolution as the 5G ipod, which no-one seemed to really hate at the time (if I remember correctly). It's also the native resolution of Youtube up until recently.
Nice packaging.
My little sister had a 4gb clix. I don't know why she left it for an iPod though, it is a very decent player. The real winner is you can load tons of games for free.
why dont iriver, cowon, or creative make hard drive players anymore? it sucks that the only choices i have are the zune 80 and ipod classic. i want a freakin drag and drop hard drive player!
Iriver's upcoming P10 has a 33gb hard drive, and the interface looks awesome. I don't know if it will be drag-and-drop, but it might be worth checking out.
A-fuckin'-men! I've been complaining about Cowon focusing on cheap flash-DAPs and pricey PMPs for a while. They're completely ignoring the middle-ground which would be a medium-priced HDD-based DAP. And another amen to wanting UMD drag-and-drop transfers. I prefer file-tree browsing anyway, which is why I simply can't let go of my X5. I really don't like having to use software to transfer music, and I really don't like to browse by ID3 tags.
For a player to manage up to 80GB of randomly placed files.. well, it's not easy. There needs to be some basic structure to all of this, I mean sure the player could do it but it would chew battery life every time it had to search for new files because it just wouldn't know where to look.
I must say though, I absolutely loathed iTunes. Before I sold my iPod I was using an iTunes alternative which worked rather well, really simple interface which essentially facilitated "Drag & Drop", but still updated the library on the iPod. Now I have a Zune and I find the Zune's software to be pretty good. Still wouldn't mind a simple, cut down alternative, but it's no where near as buggy or bloated as iTunes was.
My iaudio X5 just died (great player out of the box, but build quality sucks!!) and was looking at players the H300 series from Iriver is still IMHO one of the best HD MP3 players around. So please Iriver bring it back?
these small flash players are nice, but I want a HD player.
What's a dick fork?
This device is not as good as an iPod/Zune/mp3-player-of-your-choice.
I contend that anyone who disagrees with me is:
a fanboi
mentally unstable
on drugs
mentally deficient
an employee of a competing company
uncool
and/or a self pleasuring, dirt worshiping, catamite.
UMAD?
The last great thing iRiver did was the iHP-20 (20 and 40 gig models) besides the terrible joystick and dated lcd screen, the thing still rocks my desk on a daily basis. WHY have they not made a 100gig + slim and sleek player? I am sick of these dime a dozen mini things. Open directory browsing mp3 browsing ftw.
i just got mine in the mail today, very nice player, ive been using a first generation clix