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Media Portables Hardware

Review of iRiver iFP-899 276

Posted by timothy from the best-kind-of-review dept.
ThJ writes "The iRiver iFP-899 at $179.99 is a portable (8.9 x 3.6 x 2.7 cm), lightweight (75 grams w/battery) solid state music player. With a capacity of 1 GB, it can store ~170 songs at 6 MB each. The iFP-899 features MP3, WMA and OGG support, an FM tuner and a 3-way (line/mic-in, internal mic, FM tuner) MP3 recorder. After purchasing one for myself and using it for a few days, I thought it would be a good idea to give it a brief review. There are plenty of screenshots. Go ahead and enjoy!" Note: this review has some words of caution for those who'd like it to play Ogg Vorbis files, but forewarned is forearmed.
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Review of iRiver iFP-899 More

Review of iRiver iFP-899

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  • For Ogg, I got an iAudio (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 12, 2005 @07:46PM (#12798178)
    And after a firmware upgrade, it works really. I'm quite pleased with it. If you're looking for Ogg or FLAC support (the HD unit) check out iAudio.

    • Re:For Ogg, I got an iAudio (Score:4, Funny)

      by rampant mac ( 561036 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @10:15PM (#12799190)
      For Ogg, I got an iAudio and after a firmware upgrade, it works really. I'm quite pleased with it. If you're looking for Ogg or FLAC support (the HD unit) check out iAudio."

      You ogg users must be happy to hear this. All three of you.

      • You ogg users must be happy to hear this. All three of you.

        cool. so i'm the third guy?

        my entire collection is in ogg

    • If you're looking for Ogg or FLAC support (the HD unit) check out iAudio

      I am, and none of the units on their page support vorbis above Q3 and FLAC above Q2. No 24bit audio either? I guess it doesn't have a floating point unit or something. So rather than transcoding my 60,000 file music collection, I'll just wait untill someone releases a "real" portable audio player. It will probably end up taking the same amount of time either way.

      A bit underwhelmed at the current crop of PAPs,
      BBH
  • anybody got a mirror ? :(
  • 1GB!? 180 dollars! FM reciever!? MP3 Recording!?

    YEEEEEHhaww!!

    (Bounces off walls)
    • The 280-dollar-or-so 20GB iRiver has video support, a color screen, and so on. You can play videos up to 10 FPS on it--perfect for the neighborhood otaku. iRivers are great players.

    • Re:Wowww! yee haw!! (Score:4, Informative)

      by lgftsa ( 617184 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @09:12PM (#12798725)
      My 1Gb Samsung Yepp has all that, plus line-in MP3 recording and WAV voice notes from the microphone. One AAA battery for 20 hours playback, and it's as big as my thumb. Firmware upgradeable, it's a standard USB mass storage device and has a standard mini-usb socket. The joystck makes for a surprisingly easy to navigate the comprehensive UI.

      YP-T6 [samsung.com]

      It also costs a whole lot less - $169 Australian for the 1Gb model, which should be about $115 US.

      This device is the best designed personal audio device I've ever seen. The marketing department was obviously boarded up in their offices until the last minute. ;-)
      • It also costs a whole lot less - $169 Australian for the 1Gb model, which should be about $115 US
        Except that this model isn't sold in the U.S. Even if it were, you couldn't assume we'd get the same discounts.
      • My 1Gb Samsung Yepp has all that, plus line-in MP3 recording and WAV voice notes from the microphone.

        Where did you get this from?? I did a quick google and can't find anyone in Australia selling it apart from ebay dealers (who are only selling the 512Mb model) ...

        How's the OGG playback with it?

        The marketing department was obviously boarded up in their offices until the last minute. ;-)

        *sigh* ... Samsung has never worked out how to market their products :-( Loved the Specifications section, where o

        • The book (in my hot little hands) lists:

          "MP3, WMA, ASF & Ogg (sic) Plaback"

          and:

          "Direct MP3 Recording" (from radio & line-in)

          The article's device is the same as YP-T6Z,
          except it seems to have a USB port (covered by a
          rounded cover)?

          Both have the same joystick, etc. (rare feature),
          so, I suppose that Samsung makes both of them.

    • Re:Wowww! yee haw!! (Score:3, Informative)

      by fm6 ( 162816 )
      The Audio U2 [amazon.com] has all that, some good features of its own, is much less fragile, and has the same list price.

  • Article Header (Score:5, Funny)

    by hyfe ( 641811 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @07:52PM (#12798210)
    There are plenty of screenshots. Go ahead and enjoy!

    Stupid is who stupid does.

  • won't beat ipod for now (Score:3, Insightful)

    by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @07:52PM (#12798211)
    Music players won't beat ipod until two things happen:

    1) they are priced dramatically lower than iPod (think 25% of the cost of one).

    2) Songs can be purchased easily from places other than iTunes. Think Google (type in a song or artist name and it says "buy this song") or Microsoft (with their "Plays For Sure" thing). Microsoft is now entering this space so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

    Of course ideally DRM would just be a couple of bits set in an id3 tag. Players would just comply with it. With Open DRM, independt folks can sell their music without going through a third party like iTunes who wants a cut. Yes, it can Open DRM can easily be haxx0red or editted out, but honestly I dont think a vast majority will bother. At least not for songs where they appreciate the artists work. I mean, itunes has sold nearly 200 million songs, in spite of the existence of P2P networks. Clearly not everyone will pirate good songs they like and appreciate.

    • Re:won't beat ipod for now (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      2) Songs can be purchased easily from places other than iTunes. Think Google (type in a song or artist name and it says "buy this song") or Microsoft (with their "Plays For Sure" thing). Microsoft is now entering this space so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

      Think Yahoo [yahoo.com], unless you Think Different(tm), in which case you probably lean iPod anyway.

      <owns and loves a Rio Karma/>

      • Yeah, that thing is brilliant.

        I pay Yahoo $5 a month to 'store' my terabyte of music so I can access it home or at the office, and they also gave me 1 million songs with nearly all new releases each week - since I only care to listen at work, home, or on my Pocket DJ that also can play in my car.

        The engine is buggie, and I still have to use WMP to get it to work well with my DJ, but it is still in beta.

    • I have a 1-year old iPod mini with a dead battery. Now I heard Apple lost the law suit and began a reimbursement program for customers who are willing to go thru the hassle. I say fuck it.

      Does anyone know of another player that can play the songs out of the car stereo like iTrip? I just need alittle help in deciding a replacement.

  • article text (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 12, 2005 @07:54PM (#12798224)
    Introduction

    The iRiver iIFP-899 at $179.99 is a portable (8.9 x 3.6 x 2.7 cm), lightweight (75 grams w/battery) solid state music player. With a capacity of 1 GB, it can store ~170 songs at 6 MB each. The iFP-899 features MP3, WMA and OGG support, an FM tuner and a 3-way (line/mic-in, internal mic, FM tuner) MP3 recorder.

    User interface

    The iIFP-899 is controlled with 3 buttons (Stereo, Memory/EQ, Mode) on the back of the player, plus a 4-way joystick to the right of the display. The joystick feels clumsy at first, but you adjust to it given some time. The display is easy to read, and has a bright blue backlight with contrast and time-out adjustments. Overall, the interface is very fast and responsive.

    Score: 6 / 6

    Player

    Playback of MP3, WMA and OGG files is supported for bitrates of 8 to 320 kbps for MP3/WMA, and 96 to 225 kbps for OGG. The player lets you organize your music in directories. These can be browsed hierarchically, and there are several playback modes to accomodate for this. There is also a user-adjustable 5-band graphical equalizer, which is neat. Using the iRiver Music Manager you can rearrange your files, and they will appear in that specific order on the player.

    Score: 4 / 6

    FM tuner

    The tuner uses the earphone cord for reception. This works only moderately well. Only the strongest stations come out static-free, and even those frequently switch to mono because of poor reception. If you want to catch the 9 o'clock news, it works for that, but if you want record the Top of the Pops using the recorder, don't expect high fidelity. On that note, the equalizer doesn't work in the tuner, presumably because its signal chain is purely analog, and bypasses the DSP. Using the iTunes Music Manager, you can set 6 letter names for the stations.

    Score: 3.5 / 6

    Recorder

    The recorder is actually two recorders in the menu, but they behave identically. The only difference between them is the sound source. The internal mic sounds surprisingly good, has a high distortion threshold and saturates gently. There is some degree of hiss from the preamp, so you won't be doing concert recordings with it. The impedance of the line input can be adjusted, meaning it can actually double as an external microphone input. I tested this with a Behringer XM2000S (roughly comparable to a Shure SM58) and it worked fine. The recorder's sample rate and bit rate an be adjusted individually, in mono and stereo for the line input and the FM tuner, and in mono for the internal mic. Convenient!

    Score: 3 / 6

    Firmware

    The iFP-899 can be outfitted with two different firmwares, known as the Manager and the UMS firmwares. The Manager firmware is the default, and lets you transfer and manage files using the included iRiver Music Manager software. The UMS firmware enables support for USB Mass Storage, making the player appear as a disk drive to the operating system, but disabling the manager.

    Drawbacks

    - OGG support is very limited and glitches regularly. A major drawback for audiophiles. I can only hope iRiver will fix the glitches in a future firmware version.
    - UMS and iTunes Music Manager support are mutually exclusive, and UMS seems to be a little slower.
    - No support for song alphabetization. This is very unpractical if you're using UMS, and can't manually change the file ordering.
    - The equalizer doesn't work on the FM tuner.
    - Noisy voice/microphone recording.

    Conclusion

    My major draw for buying this player was the OGG support. It didn't deliver on that promise, or at least, it hasn't delivered very well on it yet. It's a quality player in every other aspect, though, and fills my need for entertainment while I excersize. It has a rich surplus of volume and could do a decent job at driving larger headphones than my Koss PortaPro's. Compared to other players in the same price class, it sometimes comes short on space.

    Overall score: 4 / 6
    • - UMS and iTunes Music Manager support are mutually exclusive, and UMS seems to be a little slower.
      - No support for song alphabetization. This is very unpractical if you're using UMS, and can't manually change the file ordering.

      Well, that sucks. WHERE oh WHERE is the flash mp3 player that supports playlists? I do not understand why, especially with flash capacities growing, this is not a given. If I am storing a good chunk of mp3s on my player, I do not want to have arrange them awkwardly into folder

    • Re:article text (Score:3, Insightful)

      by gozar ( 39392 )

      User interface

      The iIFP-899 is controlled with 3 buttons (Stereo, Memory/EQ, Mode) on the back of the player, plus a 4-way joystick to the right of the display. The joystick feels clumsy at first, but you adjust to it given some time. The display is easy to read, and has a bright blue backlight with contrast and time-out adjustments. Overall, the interface is very fast and responsive.

      Score: 6 / 6

      The user interface on the iRiver's is terrible. You don't know whether you're supposed to press a b

    • Re:article text (Score:3, Informative)

      by fm6 ( 162816 )

      Overall, the interface is very fast and responsive. Score: 6 / 6

      Wait until the joystick springs have worn down a little. If it's like other iRiver "ultra portables" the joystick doubles as a menu button. That's a really nasty kludge, because once its had a little wear, the menu becomes very tricky to access.

      Using the iRiver Music Manager you can rearrange your files, and they will appear in that specific order on the player.

      The current version of the MM gets all flaky if you have more than a doze

  • We'll be right back... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Mwongozi ( 176765 ) <slashthree AT davidglover DOT org> on Sunday June 12, 2005 @07:55PM (#12798228) Homepage
    I like to listen to the iRiver while enjoying a nice cool refreshing glass of Pepsi Blue.

    I need AdBlock-for-SlashDot.

    • Re:We'll be right back... (Score:4, Funny)

      by oddbudman ( 599695 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @08:01PM (#12798268) Journal
      contract or none, Cmdtaco will not bow to any sponser(poses for pizza hut). well, im sorry you feel that way, but basically, its the nature of the beast... maybe on wrong about this, but the beast does not include on selling out( holds dorrto chip bag)... Timothy, you know what im talking about?...(leans back in chair, dressed all in reebok) its like people only do things to get paid, and thats just really sad.... ( Cmdtaco holding his head) i cant talk about it anymore, its giving me a headache...here, take two of these...( garth unwinds an asprin case) ah...small...yellow...different. Look, you can stay here in the big leagues, or go back to the start, its your choice...( Cmdtaco holds up a pepsi can) and its the choice of a new generation(drinks, then smiles)

    • Re:We'll be right back... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Wordsmith ( 183749 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @08:15PM (#12798330) Homepage
      Ummm ...

      While the review is generally positive, it's not all-out glowing. It notes weak points. Are you saying reviews of tech products aren't legitimately of interest to nerds/geeks?

  • Humongous! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by LFS.Morpheus ( 596173 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @07:56PM (#12798233) Homepage
    These days, 8.9 x 3.6 x 2.7cm is really quite big (particuarily 2.7cm thick - that >1") and at $180 for 1 GB, its primary focus (playing MP3s) seems to be rather uncompetitive.

    The review fails to mention any sort of side-by-side comparison. Compared to the iPod Shuffle at $150, you get something twice as big, but with a screen and a bunch of extra functionality. Two big factors that, I believe, makes the iPod shuffle sell well:

    Size
    iRiver: 3.5" x 1.4" x 1.1" (5.39 cu in)
    Shuffle: 3.3" x 0.98" x 0.33" (1.07 cu in)

    Weight
    iRiver: 2.64 ounces
    Shuffle: 0.78 ounces

    So for the added weight and size, as well as $30, you get a tuner, a screen, a voice recorder, and OGG support.

    Disclaimer: I don't own an iPod Shuffle, but it seems fair to compare the product to the hottest new thing out there in the market.

    • Additionally: (Score:2, Informative)

      by LFS.Morpheus ( 596173 )
      As other posters have posted, for $20 more you can get a 4GB iPod shuffle, with a screen and 4x the storage. Size is 3.6 x 2.0 x 0.5 (3.6 cu in), and 3.7 ounces, make it only marinally larger than this iRiver device.
      • Heh, you are thinking of the iPod mini, which is hd based, so it's not a fair comparison. People who really exercise hard probably don't want hd based players, but flash works out well since it has no moving parts. However a lot of runners use the iPod mini and it seems toa be able to stand up better than the bigger iPod to being flung around a lot.
        • Yea, twas a typo, but it is a fair comparison. Like you said, the Mini does hold up well while running (I've seen similar, a lot of people using it with the armbands and such). But anyway:

          I think the iRiver is too big to do what you can do with the Shuffle - you don't need to put the Shuffle in your pocket, it can hang from the headphones because its so light. Since you likely would want to put the iRiver in your pocket or in some kind of case, the iPod Mini is also an acceptable product, and its in the pr

    • Re:Humongous! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by SomeOtherGuy ( 179082 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @08:22PM (#12798362) Journal
      Why compare it to the Shuffle. If the shuffle was made by anyone else other than Apple -- people would have laughed it out of existence for not having a screen, voice recorder and tuner or most importantly for the /. crowd OGG support.

      I just love how apple can release just the opposite of what people want, and yet they jump on it like it's the most inovative thing since sliced bread. These same people don't mind a HD based player that has a battery that can not be replaced (very easily), and thats ok also, cause it is all the rage.

      Or the fact that OS X is not open source....that's ok also, cause it's apple -- funny how many people abandon their ideals or principals so easily.

      • Re:Humongous! (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Knetzar ( 698216 )
        And yet, I was waiting for a small cheap MP3 player that would be perfect for long runs. Hey, guess what, the iPod shuffle is that MP3 player.

        Just because a product does not fit your needs, doesn't mean that it doesn't fit the needs of others.

      • Re:Humongous! (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Moofie ( 22272 ) <lee@ringofsat u r n.com> on Sunday June 12, 2005 @08:43PM (#12798491) Homepage
        I don't think the iPod shuffle is The Greatest Design Ever. I think it's rather small, and doesn't have a screen, but it is fairly cheap and rugged. Doesn't solve a problem for me, but some people obviously like it OK.

        I don't know where this "/. crowd" comes from. I don't recall signing a manifesto when I set up my account. You might be stunned to note that there exist more than two opinions on this board.

        "release just the opposite of what people want, and yet they jump on it"

        You contradict yourself. If people buy it, they obviously want it.

        "Or the fact that OS X is not open source"

        Darwin is, but that obviously isn't your point.

        "funny how many people abandon their ideals or principals so easily."

        I haven't abandoned my principles. I do not share YOUR principles.

        I bought my Powerbook because it suited my needs. I bought my iPod because it best fit what I wanted. I don't give a damn about what's "cool". I've never been cool in my life.

      • Re:Humongous! (Score:4, Insightful)

        by anagama ( 611277 ) <obamaisaneocon@nothingchanged.org> on Sunday June 12, 2005 @09:08PM (#12798683) Homepage

        Why compare it to the Shuffle. If the shuffle was made by anyone else other than Apple -- people would have laughed it out of existence for not having a screen, voice recorder and tuner or most importantly for the /. crowd OGG support.

        I have a Creative NomadII MG from ages ago. It has a tiny little circular screen, fm receiver, voice recorder -- no OGG as far as I know. I haven't used it in about two years. Why? The buttons are in vertical rows on the two thin sides. It's just as easy to delete a song as to play one. On a scale of 1-10, the UI doesn't even rate. It's useless.

        The reviewer notes that the joystick controller on the iriver requires the user to become accustomed to it -- maybe not the UI disaster my Nomad is, but can anyone make a usable interface? Funny thing is, the first time I picked up an ipod, I saw how the UI worked within seconds. Litterally. I didn't have to look at the manual to see what the "A-B" button does (really, that's on my Nomad). This weekend, I set my 4g mini (only $20 more for 400% more storage, solid state issue aside of course) on my dashboard and when I wanted to skip a song, I just reached out and tapped it -- didn't even have to take my eyes off the road (a slight reflection in the window was good enough guidance). I've had the ipod for two days -- no user adaptation required. With my Nomad, I couldn't possibly have done that without taking my eyes off the road even when I was using it daily.

        My Nomad used AAA batteries - I definitely liked that and I agree, the ipods would be much cooler with replaceable batteries. Even so, it was just so easy to control I got it despite that limitation. Realistically, going off the road while switching songs would be a heck of a lot more expensive than prying it apart and replacing the battery in 18 months or so. As for the shuffle's lack of a screen, a tiny screen is simply a danger on the road -- important are easy to hit controls for skip and play/pause. Compared to the device size, ipod buttons are large and easy to find.

      • Re:Humongous! (Score:3, Insightful)

        by ColMustard ( 698424 )
        I very much doubt the "/. crowd" care very much about OGG support. I know there are at least a few who care a lot and are very vocal about it, but I bet it's a very small percentage of us who would actually take OGG support into consideration when buying a player.
        I mean, the idea behind OGG behind Free is great and all, and I think it's great that it's being used by a lot of commercial games and stuff, but it just isn't a concern for me when it comes to actually listening to music on a player. I'd much
      • A while ago I had a Timex MP3 watch. While it was kind of cool I simply didn't use it much, and when I did I did not really use the screen at all because really tiny screens with scrolling text I find very useless in practice. Even in car players where the scrolling screen is a bit larger I almost never leave it on track name and just have the display be the time.

        So the Shuffle is in fact a really excellent idea independant of Apple. One of the keys to a displayless device being practical and usable is
      • I personally don't think the battery being somewhat difficult to replace really is a problem if the chore only has to be done every two or three years. It's not that hard to get into.

        I think it is more laughable that people that pride themselves in having the "uber skill" of "building" computers have such a hard time getting into such a simple case as the iPod. Not having exposed screws doesn't make it a difficult to disassemble object. If you want my unvarnished opinion, it keeps out the people that sh

    • Re:Humongous! (Score:5, Informative)

      by toddestan ( 632714 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @11:22PM (#12799646)
      So for the added weight and size, as well as $30, you get a tuner, a screen, a voice recorder, and OGG support.

      Part of the reason why the iRiver is bigger and weighs more is that it is powered by a AA battery (which is easy to replace).

  • Sandisk's Sansa 1xx players are good too (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    If you rather pay no more than $130 instead, the Sansa player is a great buy too, with equivelant feature set (except the line-in and voice recording). Reviews:
    http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=10680 [osnews.com]
    http://www.expert-zone.com/index.php?module=announ ce&ANN_user_op=view&ANN_id=1418 [expert-zone.com]

  • if you like iriver, check out iaudio (Score:5, Interesting)

    by eh2o ( 471262 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @08:17PM (#12798341)
    iaudio (aka cowon) makes a couple of small players that have all the same features as iriver (ogg included).

    the iaudio players also function as usb mass storage drives right out of the box, for those who abhor stupid "media player" software and all their crappy DRM restrictions -- copying music (or any other file you want to carry) is literally plug-and-play, drag-n-drop.

    iaudio has also just released 2gb flash players (I have one). within a couple of months there should be more and more 2gb players on the market.

    • I bought the iAUDIO 5. Like it. (Score:4, Informative)

      by eddy ( 18759 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @08:48PM (#12798523) Homepage Journal

      Yes. I bought a iAUDIO 5 [iaudio.com] a couple of days ago. It's got FM (with scheduled recording), clock+alarm, runs on one AAA battery (I don't like the idea of hardware turning to junk once the battery dies), fast USB transfers, great navigation, nice screen, is small and light (28g), is available in memory sizes from 128MB to 2GB, features a five-channel user-definable equalizer, resumes play where you left off, can bookmark up to 20 positions in audio files (like audio-books), supports many character sets (including Swedish), and most importantly for me, has got great Ogg Vorbis support.

      There are some downsides, it's not very solid, being just a piece of plastic, and the USB- and battery-ports are a little flimsy (especially the USB-flap), and it's pricey for the amount of memory you get.

      However, overall I'm pleasantly surprised! I researched it in detail, making note of criticism such as weak FM-reception (which I can confirm -- not so good indoors, but works outdoors. Adequate), but there's lots of small features which surprised me -- especially how good the navigation is. Small stuff like the wheels protuding a little to make for easy access, to the little "knob" on top of each to not only provide grip for your thumb, but also mark the centre...

      I've only used mine for a couple of days, but I think I can recommend it. I don't understand people who can compare one of these with an Apple Shuffle with no radio and no display and no Vorbis. Just because YOU don't value these features doesn't mean the rest of us are idiots because we do.

      If anyone got a question about this player, just post away and I'll try to answer it.

    • The only difference between the G3 and iaudio 5 is that the G3 has an AA battery (easily replacable but slightly heavier) and the 5 has a built-in lithium ion battery.

      Both have excellent ogg, fm tuner and above all (important for me since I listen a lot to audio books) they are the only players that have really good bookmarks. Also you can speed the playback up which is good for slow paces audio books.

      I intended to buy an iriver before but after some research found out about the iaudio, clearly the better

  • need more medicine (Score:2, Informative)

    by DualG5GUNZ ( 762655 ) *
    If there is one thing that my transition to digital music has harmed, it's my ability to tolerate repetition. No longer am I content to sit and listen to just 10 albums. If I have to listen to the same favorite song twice in a day, I just don't have enough choices. These days, I need something that can hold thousands of songs, not 170. A gig just isn't enough. All hail the HD based player.
  • that ogg vorbis players are still so expensive. I'd rather not have to take my Zaurus jogging if I want to listen to music.

  • There are plenty of players that support MP3/WMA, have a screen, 1GB memoery, FM tuner, voice recording, and way cheaper than $180. Even the iPod shuffle is only $150, although it has no screen or FM tuner, or voice recording.
  • Sorry, but how is this 'news'? Or even 'stuff for geeks?' Have you seen the specs? Near 200 bucks for just a gig of flash ram? I mean, if the thing did something new, or in a new way, I'd say sure...but this is just another mp3 player! WTF is this doing on this site?

    Again: had someone hacked together an SD card of a gig together with his own breadboard and made an mp3 player, then this would be /. worthy. As is, this is a product which is low on storage and not so high on features. Hell, j.random palmpilot

    • Re:Hey, another slashvertisement! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by nagora ( 177841 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @08:43PM (#12798485)
      Sorry, but how is this 'news'?

      It's a review of hardware that claims to play OGG files. Since there are very few such creatures on the market, and I have thousands of OGG files, it's interesting news to me to find that it does not in fact work.

      get a zire and a gig of SD ram.

      Does that play OGGs?

      TWW

      • Yes...if you install mmplayer or pocket tunes or any of the many free players.
      • Well, while it's on-topic -- recently I've been following TCPMP for PalmOS, and it's pretty impressive. It's still beta, but it works well (on any ARM-based PalmOS device), and plays a great number of file formats. One of its plugins is based on ffmpeg, so pretty much any file format anyone might care about (including Vorbis) is playable, except for Windows Media Audio -- and I doubt many slashdotters really care about wma. Oh, and it's open-source, of course. Anyway, homepage [corecodec.org]. Navigation is on the left, do
    • Near 200 bucks for just a gig of flash ram? I mean, if the thing did something new, or in a new way, I'd say sure...but this is just another mp3 player! WTF is this doing on this site?

      Frankly, I'm happy they're slashvertising for iRiver now, rather than posting a dozen stories for every new MP3 player that Apple comes out with.

      At least iRiver plays Ogg/Vorbis, so it's "for geeks" in that respect at least, as opposed to Apple's over-priced MP3/AAC players.

  • I just bought one (Score:4, Informative)

    by xeoron ( 639412 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @09:02PM (#12798643) Homepage
    the other day, which came with a $20 rebate.

    I bought it mainly to play ogg files and not have to carry around a cdplayer along with a small case of cd's.

    Here is what I have learned:
    1) I have not encountered any ogg glitches. Note: I ripp my cd's using the default ogg bitrates that abcde uses. I have also updated the firmware to the latest version. The sound of the Ogg files sound wonderful on good headphones and not bad on crappy ones. So far I have listened to Thomas Newmon (he wrote the score to American Beauty and A Series of Unfortunate Events both perfect albums to test a stereo's sound quality), Tool, NIN, Tori Amos, Splash Down, Fiona Apple, Neil Gaiman (audio books), Gorillaz, Sarah Mclanchland, Komeda, Juno Reactor, and A Perfect Circle. I list these artists to give an example of the range of sound in voice, melodies, tone, and rhythm in which I have tested Ogg playback.
    2) It does play songs in order within the directory the files are stored. So if each file has a number or letter uses this to to dictate order.
    3) There is Linux support, indirectly, using ifp_gui file-manager program (see sourceforge). It may not work as well as the Windows/OS X program that it comes with, but it makes it so that one can upgrade firmware and upload, download or delete stored files.
    4) Sounds settings, such as 3D sound option works surprisingly well.
    5) One neat little feature is that one can tag a segment in a song and have it loop over that section.
    6) The radio manager lets one tag RF names to stations and set programmed stations.
    7) I live in an area where most radio stations come in fine. Some stations do not come in well, but I assumed it was the cheap headphones I tested it with just acted as a bad antenna.
    8) 1GB is rather small, but enough to last many many hours for a trip or workout.
    9) fits nicely in a hand, and pocket, if I do not want to use the armband or necklace-type thing it came with for transport.
    10) One AA battery will power this baby for ~40 hrs.
    11) Random song selection works quiet randomly.
    12) supports USB2
    13) built in alarm support using either stored music or radio

    Wish it had:
    1) it would have been nice to have a belt clip for it or for them to at least sell one
    2) play list support (but so far I have had not problem with since I like to listen to albums in order or random song selection).
    3) able to charge a rechargeable AA battery.
    4) come with a external power slot to be able to plug it into a wall-socket
    5) for it to to be powered by the USB cord with connected.
    6) option to limit how much data is displayed on the screen or at least support a sleep screen when listening, since there is no need for it to display data about a current song when it is not being looked at.
    7) larger file storage option or expansion.
  • I own an iRiver 390T. Basically, not too bad a gadget, though the 5-way joystick was a really bad idea (gets confused about what's a long press and what's a short one). But I'll absolutely never buy anything from this company again.

    First their software is buggy. Between them, the firmware and the Music Manager get all confused if there's more than a dozen files in the main directory. (Files aren't accessible from the Music Manager listing, or even disappear entirely.) You can get around that by using the

  • There are plenty of screenshots. Go ahead and enjoy!

    frankly, i think the blog author just has a vendetta of some kind against his blog provider.

  • Why no gapless playback except for Rio Karma? (Score:4, Informative)

    by Deslock ( 86955 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @11:56PM (#12799859)

    The Rio Karma's [dapreview.net] gapless playback was awesome... but that device was a little hefty and its boxy shape made it unfriendly to the pocket, which is why I got rid of it. Unfortunately, that's the only MP3 player I know of that supports gapless. Still, there are a slew of nifty 1 GB flash players that can be had for $80 - $150. In addition to the iRiver:

    iPod Shuffle (I picked up a used 1GB model for $80):
    + smallest and lightest of the bunch, iTunes integration, high build-quality, excellent sound, well-place controls, doubles as USB flash drive, recharges when plugged in
    - no screen, non-replaceable battery, can't transfer music through mounted drive

    Creative Muvo N200 [theregister.co.uk]:
    + FM, AAA battery offers flexibility, voice recorder, line-in
    - a little larger than iPod Shuffle, must juggle batteries

    Creative Muvo V200 [theregister.co.uk] (I got a 1GB model on Ebay for $87 shipped):
    Same as N200 but slightly larger and heavier, has integrated USB connector, no line-in

    iPod Shuffle Knock [engadget.com]-offs [makezine.com] :
    Not as easy to find, but like the shuffle but with more features (but sans iTunes integration). Mixed reviews as far as build quality goes.

    JXD No-name Player [ebay.com] :
    The JXD is just one of many feature-rich no-name players on Ebay. Build and sound quality unknown; YMMV.

    And there are several Rio, Samsung, and Sandisk models at Best Buy... and other more exciting ones at dynamism, like the tasty iRiver T10 [dynamism.com].

    Then there's the iPod Mini, which has Apple's awesome clickwheel in a fairly small package. And the Rio Carbon, which is the most pocketable of the hdd players. Too bad neither of those have a built-in USB connector or FM.

  • A ToshPod [engadget.com] killer! I was wondering when the cloners would notice this device and try to take some of Toshiba's share of the pie.

  • I bought one (Score:5, Informative)

    by pesc ( 147035 ) on Monday June 13, 2005 @02:16AM (#12800415)
    I've got one, because it was the only player I could find with (1) OGG (2) UMS (for Linux support) and (3) user-replacable batteries. There are many other players that support OGG (especially disk-based players), but I really couldn't find any other that had the combination I required. Strange, really.

    And you must upgrade the player to have UMS. I had to borrow a Windows machine from a friend to do that, so be warned.

    The OGG support is good but you must stay within the 96kbps to 225 kbps range. Encode your files like this:
    $ oggenc -q 6 -m 96 -M 225 song.wav
    The player don't have any support for playlists. And it doesn't sort the files in a directory. I name all my songs with a tracknumber first, so if I play the songs in alphabetical order, I get them in the track order on the album. But when you save files on the iRiver, they are stored in inode (!) order, and are not sorted. So to preserve ordering I transfer directories (albums) to the iRiver like this:
    $ mount /mnt/fp #mount the player
    $ cd mp3/Britney
    $ mkdir /mnt/fp/Britney
    $ find . -type f|sort|xargs -i cp -v {} /mnt/fp/Britney/
    The transfer speed with UMS is somewhat slow. Also, with the UMS upgrade, the maximum recording rate is 96kbps. But since I don't use the device for recording I don't care.

    The battery life is excellent. I use the same battery for weeks! With OGG, the battery life is reduced somewhat but is still very good.

    And the most important thing: The sound is very good. Especially if you get a better headset.
  • I think the majority of the whiners are missing the point. No, it isn't an ipod. Yes, ipod has more storage. Yes ipod seems to engender a greater love for it's user interface (never touched one). But for what I bought it for, it has worked out great. I use it for several things, but my favorite is making it into a BASIC tivo device for the radio. I like to listen to several shows on the weekends on NPR. I am never in my car or by a radio when they come on. Solution: iriver FM Tuner + Timer + Record.

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