FM Tuner, Voice Recorder - LCD - MPN: IHP120
Strengths: Well made, small, mounts as a HD in Windows, OSX, or Linux. Well thought out in-line REMOTE CONTROL.
Weakness: dorky logo. Apples design is superior.
iPod vs. iRiver iHP-120 |
form or function?
I held off on an ipod for a couple years. I finally had enough $$ to buy one, did some research, and bought the iRiver iHP-120 instead. I did this for a variety of reasons which are below. I have had it for a week and am happy as hell I chose it over an iPod.
Design:
iPod: ( 10/10 ) First off, I have always liked the ipod, any generation. the hardware design/user interface w/ the wheel have always been a joy to use. The newest generation is even slicker. It is a spendy item, but holding one, it really feels like money well spent.
iRiver: (8/10) It's design solid, but a little dorky. It is obviously well made, feels and looks clean and solid. Very similar feel/size/weight as the 1st Gen ipods. Its graphic design is the dorky part. If it didn't have the iRiver logo molded into the plastic on the front of it below the screen, It would be a damn nice looking thing. It doesn't have the clean iAppeal. But this thing has so many uses, years from now when I have an archive of recorded material, I could care less what it looks like. It is well built, thats fine for me. Besides, its inline Remote is perhaps my favorite functional part of the product. It doesn't matter what this thing looks like, it is barried in my bag the whole time. You can access every feature of the ihp-120 from the remote, so the unit just stays protected and out of site. The interface is a little strange at first. Once i realized that the stop button is also the back button, finding my files couldn't have been simpler. Design your folder hierchy however you want. Its just a hard drive. (this concept seems foreign to some iPod users)
USES:
iPod: (5/10) I think a 5 may even be generous. The iPod plays files well, it sounds great, its eq is handy. But without buying a chincy clip-in accessory from Belkin, thats about all it does. But it does do it well. The iPod has its limits even for playing/transfering mp3's back and forth between pc's. You can find ways around this, but why should you have to?
iHP-120: (10/10) This thing does everything it said it was going to do, and does it well, out of the box, with no other purchases. -The 20 GB Toshiba drive mounts on OSX, WINDOWS, and LINUX. Just drag your files to it. The USB2 connection is plenty fast (about 11 mb/sec) I use iTunes on osx and windows. The ihp-120 doesn't "sync" with iTunes but its no big deal. If you want to copy albums from your Library, go to your files, and copy them over. If you want to copy a playlist to the ihp-120, select all of the files in your playlist (in iTunes) and drag them to a new folder on your ihp-120. -Optical in and out. -It has a built in (voice recorder) mic on it, and will record mp3's or wav's in real time. (It comes with a stereo mic in the box too) -It will play wma, mp3, ogg, wav. -It will also read txt files and scroll through them on the screen for you to read. (good for album info or notes) -FM Tuner built in for those of you with listenable radio in your area. (I hoping future firmware will allow you to record from the FM tuner, but it is not supported right now) Oh yeah. this player has a pile of EQ, sound prefs too which make even the crappy earbuds it comes with sound punchy and full. It has hot enough signal to drive my large Sennheiser 580's which the iPod couldn't quite do.
Nutshell:
-The newGen ipods and the HD iRiver products are about the same price. The 20 gig ipod is about 300 bucks. I payed 330 for the 20 gig Ihp-120.
-The iRiver's feature set blows the iPod's off the map, but the iPod is a slick looking well designed product with tons more appeal asthetically. However, the iPod doesn't record, have radio, a built in mic, read txt files, or allow you to copy to your music library w/o using iTunes. The ihp-120 mounts as a normal HD on about any OS out there.
- I wouldn't consider any other players out there right now, (april04) besides this or the iPod. The iPod is the coolest of the players, and if you just need to listen to your mp3's you would like the iPod. If you are a musician, or have other uses for recording, ditch your old MD recorder or portaDAT, and buy one of these, you'll be happy you did.
92% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: - 1/8" Stereo Microphone input! - 20GB HDD_USB2.0 - Line/Optical Ins and Outs
Weakness: - 1/8" Stereo Microphone input! - 20GB HDD_USB2.0 - Line/Optical Ins and Outs
I put a lot of time into researching MP3 player/recorders. If you're a musician, this is for you!
Usage Background:
My band always needs to record spontaneous musical ideas, and likes to record our concert performances. The only simple, portable options (apart from audio cassettes - yuk) were Mini Disc or digital audio recorder.
We've used Sony NetMDs for a long time, but there is no fast, easy way to get those MD recordings onto a computer. Keeping track of piles of Mini Discs (which had what songs, how much room was left on which one) was almost more trouble than it was worth. With the iRiver, there are none of these problems.
Overview: Price Paid - $340
This is the only HDD digital audio recorder I have found with a stereo microphone input apart from the old Archos Jukebox Recorders, which have a nasty reputation as far as reliability goes. They're cheap, but I'd pay more for reliability.
What I don't understand is why iRiver does not advertise this microphone input. It's not on the box and it's mentioned only in passing in the manual, but it's there. If it's such a hard thing to find (and it was for me), they should make a bigger advertising effort for it.
Strengths:
- 1/8" Stereo Microphone input!
- 20GB HDD
- Line/Optical Ins and Outs
- USB 2.0 (Works as external HDD)
- Supports wide variety of audio formats/bitrates.
- Selectable recording bitrate (including lossless WAV recording).
- Supports MP3 ID3 Tag information databse (Search by Genre, Artist, Album, etc).
- Supports text file viewing during playback. Store the lyrics on the player, if that's your kind of thing!
- Use only the Windows apps you like, no crappy, custom software apps are imposed on you (e.g. Sony NetMD).
This player has a lot of strengths. People have listed some cons that I don't think are true, though. This player has a slight learning curve, but if you can set up and run a digital home theater receiver, you will have no problem running this player. The manual is rather good I think, as far as manuals go. Perhaps I have a newer version (bought 05/2004) than what people have complained about. There were only a couple things that weren't explicitly stated, but I could figure them out on my own (like how to "escape" navigation menus while using the remote). Setting up play lists is not at all hard, provided you know what Windows Explorer is, what a folder is, and have used WinAmp to create play lists. It's all pretty intuitive for even casual MP3 listeners, so I don't think it's a problem.
Weaknesses:
- Can't store .ogg file ID3 tag information in its tag database (the information will display on the player tho).
- Headphones are not great.
- No fiber optic cable included with player!
There are a couple short fallings, but nothing to serious. People complain about it having an integrated battery, but there are very few players out there that use removable batteries (again, I think of the Archos). So this isn't too big of a black eye. One problem is, while the iRiver can build a database of all ID3 tag information from all MP3s on the player, it won't include ID3 tags off .ogg files. It will, however, display the ID3 info while playing the .ogg files. Since most people use MP3, this probably isn't a problem. I use Ogg Vorbis a lot, but this isn't a big deal because of the way I lay out the music directory structure on the player. I can navigate through the directories as fast as anyone could use the ID3 database. Plus you can use the WinAmp m3u playlists to bypass this problem. This could easily be fixed by a firmware change. Who knows if iRiver will chose to fix it, though.
Another shortcoming is the headphones aren't very good. This wasn't a big deal because I think Sony's Fontopia ear buds (E828LP) sound great and cost about $10. I don't like Sony's other headphones at all, but the E828LPs work great for me.
The last complaint I had is there was no optical cable included with the player. For a $350 player, you think they could bother to include one, because these are not something you can find at Radio Shack usually. The player has an Optical Mini connector. If you going to connect it to anything other than MD equipment, your probably going to need a Toslink connection on the other end. Luckily I have an Optical Mini to Toslink cable left over from my last Sony NetMD player. Hope you have something similar. If not, look at the optical products on minidisc.org.
Unknowns:
Customer Service: Since I've only had this recorder a few days, I've obviously not had trouble with it. So I have no idea what iRiver's customer support is like. Some say it's pretty bad and/or unresponsive. At least I bought mine locally from Best Buy, so I've got some coverage there.
Conclusion:
The minor Cons with this product in no way offset the strengths. I think this will actually help my band progress musically. $340 is a fair amount but, for all the features, it is worth it!
85% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Fm reception,Sounds excellent,small,Direct in line recording,Long battery life,Tons of storage,Big LCD screen, Ear phones Great. Easy navigation. Drag and drop files!
Weakness: No inline volume recording indicator when inline recording
I bought this with the idea of recording my over 100 albums and over 120 cassettes directly inline to the IHP-120.(No computer needed here)It has exceeded my expectations. I have cassettes from 1976 and this units makes them sound fresh. I don't know how or why but playback is fantastic. I had a Killer stereo with Bose 901's and 501's back in 1976 and this little IHP-120 sounds every bit as good, if not better. I am so excited about this unit. I have also dragged and dropped cd files with ease. The only hard part about it is getting to know all the buton functions and menu navigation. But like everything else it s just takes time. The more I use it the familiar it becomes and the more I love it.The only inconvience when inline recording is there is no inline volume indicator to let you know if recording level is to high or too low while inline recording.(could be way too high and distort recording) Volume level on inline recording is controlled by the source. You must first guess by using volume control level on source, then playback inline recording and check inline volume recording indicator which shows up on playback to see if too high or low then go back and make adjustments accordingly. Once the source volume level is set correctly it is good for the rest of recordings from that source. This is a small matter overall considering all the other great strengths it has. This is an awsume unit and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Iriver has outdone themselves. Get one!
82% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Very small and lightweight. People say this has a high learning curve but I was listening to songs in about 1 hour and knew all the controls.
Weakness: None that I know of.
I did a LOT of research before I bought this and I have found this to be way better than the IPOD. It is about the same size, comes with a case, a remote, has LCD backing, and is cheaper. This thing is the best out there.
80% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: High quality, solid, long battery life,FM radio,incredible firmware, comes with remote.
Weakness: Cannot play a playlist using the random (shuffle) function. Price is a bit high.
I have owned quite a few MP3 players back from the old days of the Rio500 all the way to the newest hard drive Jukeboxes. This has got to be probably the best hard drive based player on the market right now. It has an extensive set of features such as FM radio, recording from optical/analog sources,microphone,acts as a data drive, etc.
I think one of the strongest features of this player is the flexibility of the firmware. You have the choice
of navigating your music collection by the folder/directory structure or you can find songs using an integrated ID3 tag database.
It's quick and easy to load up the player with songs since it is recognized by windows as another storage device and it's just a matter of clicking and dragging your songs over..unlike other players that make you install proprietary software to upload content to the player. I am completely happy with this device and if you are looking for high-quality and every feature under the sun, then this is the jukebox for you. But, you definately pay for it since it is not cheap.
76% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Long battery life and easy to use. Excellent sound quality. The remote is a great accessory, too.
Weakness: Perhaps not as intuitive as the iPod. There is a bit of a learning curve and the joystick takes a little getting used to.
This is my first HD player and for me it was the ihp-120 over the iPod. I'm very happy with my purchase. I was worried about it not being an intuitive player, but my wife found it very easy to use and she's no techy. It really is as simple as dragging and dropping when it comes to putting music on the player. The software really isn't necessary. This is especially nice if you're at a friend's house and want to drop a few of their tracks onto your player. The displays on both the player and remote are easy to read. I've used this player with my home stereo with great success. I haven't tried using the microphone yet, but I will be using the record feature to "digitize" some of my cassette tapes that aren't available on CD.
I like the timer feature that allows me to set the player to run for a set amount of time before it shuts off. This allows people like me to listen to music before falling asleep without draining the battery.
75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Small, light - easy to use with windows. Drag and drop anything you want to save or share. FM Tuner works great!
Weakness: Not very loud at maximum volume. Limited support for WMA and OGG.
I got this baby for Christmas and couldn't wait to start putting my CD collection on to it. The first question to be solved is what format. MP3, WMA, OGG or WAV. The answer is MP3. This unit will play other formats but the database features only work with MP3. I suggest 128 for near cd quality. If you use WMA or OGG you will not be able to select songs by artist or genre or anything else. The sound quality is great with many equalizer effects to be explored. The problem I had was with volume or lack thereoff. I had to fly to San Fran last week and I could barely hear the music in the plane. I tried the supplied earphones as well as good earphones - even the United free headset! Battery life is good but no way is it 16 hours! You get about 8. I think there is a correlation between battery life and the number of songs on the unit. I have about 1200 so far. By the way the more songs you have on the unit the longer it takes to load. Despite a few shortcomings this is a great unit that I would buy again and highly recommend. Way better than ipod!!
75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: ogg support; small as an ipod; good battery life; works well in the car;
Weakness: artist/genre/album search only works with mp3, not ogg,wma,etc.; cannot record from fm; noise when using remote
Works smoothly. Don't really need the library search
since my collection is well organized. I can't make
playlists on it, but I'd rather do that at home.
It has several playmodes anyways. I'm using shure e3c's
so I can't say anything about the included earbuds.
Power output from "line out" is plenty good for my
Sony auxiliary input adapter and Sony CD player in
my car. Just don't leave yours in the car for reasons
of heat, cold, or theft.
I will not use the remote because there is constant
noise interference and extra noise when the LCD is used.
The main unit is smaller than a tape or CD player anyways,
and I don't need an extra tangle of cords, so no big deal.
This might not be as noticeable to less sensitive ears
using cheaper headphones.
I've done no recording yet, but I've heard of .wav
"glitches". I will update this review when I've checked
it out.
Definately better than ipod given features. If you want
a different color, get the iSkin that comes out in
Sepetember. Thus depsite a few problems, they don't affect
me, and this player gets a thumbs up.
75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: AWESOME battery life, great package--includes everything you need, good remote, plug-n-play, carrying case.
Weakness: Some minor bugs in firmware, playlist support is being improved (check the latest beta).
My unit worked for about 17 and a half hours or so non-stop. I do not know how it managed to do so, but it's a fact. I was hoping for at least 14 hours...
Plug-n-play could've been better if there was no need to install the iHP manager in order to get the database working. Besides, in order to have changes like updates of the db work, you have to restart the unit.
It also heats badly at the bottom when you use the power adapter AND are listening or transfering files.
I do not care about firmware bugs because I know that iRiver takes customers' comments and includes at least one new feature, several improvements, and corrections of bugs with each release.
The remote is good (4-line display), but I liked the original SlimX iMP-350 one more.
World language support has improved greatly. Cyrillic is now displayed in normally spaced characters.
There are only two things that I wish it had in order to be absolutely perfect:
1) a docking station;
2) synchronization with WinAMP or WMP's media library.
All in all, it is the BEST player on the market in the high-end category. iPod can retire for now.
74% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Good sound quality. Quick transfers with USB 2.0. Great battery life. Good build quality. True Plug-n-Play with WindowsXP, ME, & 2000 - no drivers or special software needed!
Weakness: *ZERO* support for DRM files for legally purchased music online such as Napster, MusicMatch, or iTunes. Poor playlist support, included headphones a waste of effort.
I looked at the Samsung Napster, Nomad Zen and NX, iPod, and Archos. All of them have some drawbacks, but the iHP-120 fits my needs the best. True PNP capabilities with XP, no weird interfaces or drivers needed. Just plug it in and it's instantly recognized as a new drive for drag-and-drop capability. In fact, that's the way you get MP3/WMA/OGG files to it. There is no interface through Windows Media Player, MusicMatch or Napster. Just drag your folders of files to it and away you go. This is a strength and a weakness. A strength in that you have total flexibility with your files, a weakness in that you *must* have organization in your MP3 file structure. If you've been good and kept your ripped CD's in proper directories, you're all set. They do include a database tool that analyzes your MP3's so that you can sort & find by Artist, Genre, Album regardless of file structure on the iHP. There are, however, a couple of severe limitations - it can only handle files up to 54 characters long and it won't index WMA files, you'll have to find these by navigating your own folder structure.
The only real drawback, and it's a big one, IMHO, is the lack of DRM abilities. Purchase music online and you can't directly copy it to the iHP-120. Other players do this, why not the iRiver? The good news is that the 120 is upgradable, and iRiver seems to listen to their customers so *maybe* we'll see an upgrade in the future that allows DRMed files.
71% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Solidily built, this player has a ton of features and offers versatility over the iPod, 16 hours of battery life. It even includes a remote control - something the other players don't have.
Weakness: Not very intuitive interface that takes time to learn. Cheap feeling plastic joystick. Poor quality ear buds.
Overall, this player provides excellent sound and features in a small package. The best thing about it, I think, is the ability to plug into any computer using Windows and use Windows Explorer to transfer files from the computer to player. This makes music and file sharing between friends ultra easy with no software or drivers involved.
I would really recommend this player for:
-Travelers - long battery life, easily compatible with other computers for file storage and transfer. Rugged case.
-Students - Has voice recording feature for taping lectures.
-People listening to audio books or educational MP3's - Has a memory feature to return to the exact same spot you left off after player shutdown. Also adjustable fast skip reverse or forwards and repeat feature that cycles between segments of the MP3 or Wav file of your choosing.
Another plus, this player is firmware upgradeable and allows new functions to be added via software downloads so you won't worry about the player becoming obsolete when new digital music formats come out (already plays MP3, Wav, and OGG files).
70% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Supports USB Mass Storage (no extra drivers needed for Windows, Linux or Mac OS X). Supports Ogg Vorbis! Attaches to your belt and stays out of your way. Remote control.
Weakness: Have yet to discover any!
iRiver delivers with the iHP-120. It has worked flawlessly these past two weeks. The wired remote control is fabulous. iRiver bundles a lot of cool stuff, like a microphone (great for recording thoughts), carrying case and a wired remote control. So far, I'm extremely pleased with this product - iRiver seems to care about their customers. I have contacted customer service once, and got a reply within 48 hours. iRiver continuously releases new firmware with new features and bug fixes.
69% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: This unit comes complete and has many good features like; battery life, FM radio, plays with good quality sound, and simple functions.
Weakness: I don't like the headphones, to cheap. Price could be a little bit cheaper for 20 Gigs.
I recommend this player to everybody. Very simple to use because of the plug and play feature. Storing is as easy as dragging files and dropping them. Although this unit plays many formats, I wish it would play mpeg audio files. But I believe the unit is able to be upgraded through software whenever the company comes out with updated firmware.
64% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: User friendly, small size, lighted remote is great, comes ready to plug and play with your PC, comes with many accessories.
Weakness: The included headphones are horrible...pland on replacing! Receives FM songs but recording is not available.
This is a great MP3 player! Absolutely no problem loading mp3 and wma files from my PC. Easy navigation through the songs. FM antenna gets good reception (unfortunately you cannot record FM). An internal microphone and an included external extention allow for voice or line-in recording. Works get to transfer files of all data types from computer to computer just like a 20 gig disk! The battery has great life - lasting almost the full 16 hrs. It has been used heavily and I have had no problems and would buy it again.
64% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Plays WMA, MP3. FM Tuner. Full function remote. Voice Recorder. Optical Line in/out. Real time MP3 encoding. Long life battery
Weakness: Cheap feeling joystick/toggle style push button interface.
Obviously not styled like an Ipod. The interface can be improved, but that out of the way, functionality of this player can't be beat. The case is rugged and with the included leather case makes it durable for the daily grind of commuting. Plays all specified formats flawlessly. USB 2.0 transfer blazes. I transferred over 13GB in what seemed like less than 10mins. Of course that may vary depending on the PC you use. I was using a P4 2.8Ghz system with 533FSB that supports USB 2.0. The included remote offers full functionality and though smaller, displays everything that you get on the main unit.
These are the minor flaws-
The interface feels cheap. It's a push button/toggle joystick button which makes a rather loud click when pressed. I was actually surprised by the sound of the included headphones. They delivered a full range including deep bass response. The headphones, however has a strong rubber smell. It's been a few days already, and the smell is still strong. There is a database feature that lets you search by artist, album, genre, etc.. This information is derived from the tagging information. I noticed that with this option on, it takes 30+secs to load up when the unit is turned on. Maybe because I've nearly filled up the 20GB of storage, but this is a minor inconvenience. If the db option is turned off, the default list by filesystem/folders loads quickly.
It's not an Ipod, but I would recommend it to anyone looking for a solid HD MP3 player.
63% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopI bought this product as a Christmas Gift for my son. He had read all the reviews that he can find on this item, and placed it on his 2003 wish list. Boy! he just cannot stop saying how great the features were, how smooth the sound is, small enough to fit in his pocket and how easy it is to use, and all the positive comment already being made.
He is not an easy person to please so I can tell you once he is so excited for days about an item, that is a good product. Enjoy!
60% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Very good quality sound quality. Good remote.
Weakness: FM tuner should be recordable. Should be able to play songs in the order that they are on the CD.
I have had this product over a year now and wanted to updated my rating. Origonally I rated them a two for poor response to my emails, battery life issues and database manager issues. Since then, they have become more responsive to my emails, the battery life is meeting their specs (when the included earbuds are used and the volume is set at 18) and they have updated their database manager and firmware 2-3 times. My only remaining issues are the two listed in weaknesses and hope that they fix the firmware so that it can choose the song order from the track tag.
58% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Battery life, 20GB, Ogg files, great quality of music, equalizer, stuff, radio, belt case, remote control, time sleep mode.
Weakness: headphones from iRiver suxxxxx, gums are not suitable to this headphones...I suggest buy some headphones!!!
Great mp3 portable player, it has everything what you need. Best performance microphone I ever had, FM Radio rulez...What's more you got many options to record up to 175 MB of voice. Very good manual and support, everything was packed very well and it wasn't damaged.
I suggest it to everyone who wants buy 20GB mp3 player...
57% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Plug and play, MUCH more versatile than the Ipods, voice recorder, firmware upgradeable, fm, Multi format, great sound (!) and plenty of power at 20mw a channel. Remote control and nice leather case.
Weakness: None compared to the competition, maybe 40-60 gb capacity in the future would be nice?
I love this thing! It is my first MP3 player...I ripped about 1000 tunes at 192kbs from my CD collection and only used 6GB of the capacity. Great battery life, more than twice as long as the Ipods...highly recommended!
56% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Interface, Audio Quality, Flexibility, Storage, Size
Weakness: Carrying Case, Startup Time
There are so many good reviews of this product, so I am going to emphasize a couple of minor weaknesses this product has. It should be noted that this is a great product and I am only pointing out a couple of issues.
First, it takes longer than I would like to boot up if you have the hard drive full of music -- maybe ten or fifteen seconds. It's not that bad, but longer than my iPod takes. Once the unit is started, file access is very quick.
Second, and most importantly, the carrying case is terrible. Sure, you can access the controls through the case, but you cannot attach it to your belt easily. There is a belt _loop, but no belt _clip_. The difference is subtle, but insanely annoying. I live in Manhattan and walk almost everywhere. I want to be able to easily attach and remove the player from my waistband. As it stands, you need to loop your belt through the case and then remove your belt to remove the player. This is not at all easy to do when you're wearing a suit and taking your belt off in public tends to draw attention. I have no idea why iRiver chose to go with this design although my guess is that it was a cost issue as the upgraded H140 model sports a case with a clip.
The case issue is annoying enough for me to not recommend this unit. However, for $29.99 you can purchase the H140 case which fits the H120 and includes the belt clip. The iRiver unit is so solid on all other accounts that I whole heartedly recommend it if accompanied with the upgraded case.
46% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: FM tuner and recording capabilities.
Weakness: It doesn´t record from the radio.
It is a multicodec player that is slightly bigger than the iPod but you won´t notice the difference. It has a long battery life. The firmware could be better.
40% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Drag-and-drop file support.
Weakness: Would like to be able to delete files (ex. voice recorder) w/o PC connection. Wonder about eventual battery replacement (source, cost). Cost of device. FM reception can be weak (who cares).
Wonderful machine. I wanted MP3 and other format) player, drag-and-drop file access, voice recorder, and large quantity data storage. This is definitely it. If cost is an issue, just add the cost of separate voice recorder, MP3 player, and data storage, then compare.
40% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Great product.
Weakness: Display text is small.
This is my first MP3 player and I like it very much. Decent job of copying the iPod's look and feel. However, the black is kind of ugly. Display text a little too small but over all really nice.
19% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: Play good music
Weakness: It is ugly compared with the ipod
It is just the devil version of the ipod. It is ugly. It was a gift to me, and I wish I was given the latest model of ipod. I still have my older version of ipod and it still plays great music to me everyday. Sound quality of the iriver is good, but not better than my handsome ipod. So, I'm still using my ipod most of the time.
16% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
TopStrengths: This MP3 player is very slim and sexy.
The iRiver iHP-120 MP3 player can play alot of different audio formats - MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV, and OGG Vorbis. You can store alot of files on the 20GB hard drive - I keep it full and create several different playlist files so I have "new" music all the time. It's so light I can keep it in my pocket when I'm riding my bike.
14% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?
Top
iRiver H100 20GB MP3 Player
Strengths: Small and compact, easy to learn controls, optical output, fm radio, plenty of space, great sound, various eq settings, battery life, easy transfer of music and can be used as portable hard drive.
Weakness: Not compatible with music purchased from Itunes(AAC format), earbuds must be replaced to enjoy the full benefits of sound quality (suggest Sennheiser PX200).
After researching and testing other products I am very pleased with my purchase. I could not find any other hard drive MP3 player with similar specs in the same price range or even much higher. Upgraded software recently with no problem. Hopefully IRiver will upgrade the software for AAC format support. Recently Apple dropped the price of the Ipod but also dropped the accessories that previously came with prior generation Ipods. My only suggestion is to replace the earbuds. Check for my review regarding the Sennheiser PX 200 headphones (highly recommended).
98% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?