IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
REF:
http://www.mp3players.co.uk/site/uk/ihp.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/31943.html
"Well what can we say?? this has to be the best looking hard drive based player your money can buy. This little player is barely bigger than the NEXIIe but with a reasonably sized 10GB hard drive that looks to wipe the smile off the iPod and the Creative ZEN. We have had the working sample for a few days now and its already created quite a lot of interest from all who have seen and played with it. You may be thinking that the iHP-100 is expensive? Well you would be right, BUT, you do get a lot of kit for your money. Unlike Creative and Apple the iHP-100 comes with the FM remote control as standard.
Features wise, the player rates very highly. Boasting MP3, WMA, WAV and ASF playback, real time direct encoding, optical input and output, USB 2.0, FM tuner, firmware upgradeable, large backlit LCD, 16 hours playback using the rechargeable battery and of course, the amazing looks of this stylish player.
The great thing abou the iHP-100 is its ability to transfer files using Windows Explorer, something that most people will appreciate. Sound quality on this little gem is excellent! We transferred a few U2 tracks and cranked up the volume... the results were excellent. Next to no distortion, plenty of deep bass and plenty loud enough for most people. One more thing to amaze you is the physical size of the iHP-100, this player is barely bigger than the NEX IIe! coming in with dimensions of 60mmW x 105mmH x 19mmD (Draw this out on a piece of paper for an accurate size).
As you can probably tell we really rate this as a player and we would have no hesitiations in recommending this as an alternative to the ZEN or iPod."
[1781 byte] By [
penbat] at [2007-11-9 12:57:02]
# 1 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
you could buy it off audiocubes for a few weeks now i think
# 2 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Well personally i'd like to start out saying that i have been a steady IRiver user with their IMP-350's and up to the new 550's...i have seen the presence of the upcoming HD based player buy this company and i expect the great quality i have experienced with both of my mp3 cd players...However as i have switched to the IPOD (i still carry round my iriver cd player) i have passed on with this future offer by iriver...first of all the firmware upgrade, radio input in the remote, the display remote itself, the MP3, WMA, WAV and ASF playback are all standard characteristics of this company's products...and along with this the optical inputs have become added on with these "default features"...however the one thing i have finally learned from all companies (esp. iriver) is that their advertised battery life and real-time life are very much different...i suggest visiting the iriver forum (which i am a regular member of) to see the continuours complaints of short battery life (no doubt the same applies to the ipod)...and i am not surprised at all with the "relationship" between the iHP and windows explorer seeing that obviously this is more focused on a PC-user...i would never expect ipod to make pc users that happy in the first place anyway (although i am quit a happy pc/ipod) user myself..
For a while i was deciding between HD based players...and Iriver did not make any of them due to its price...it's features and itz capacity (10 gb) just do not add up to the price that the iriver sells it for...on the other hand the Philips HDD100 (the product i was thinking about getting) includes the recording capabilities with a 15gb storage along with a price that sells online for the exact same price as my own 15gb 3g ipod...
I have no doubts at all when it comes to the sound quality of an iriver product...but letz just say that i am more than satisfied with my ipod (seeing that this is an ipod forum i must uphold my partial favoratism)...nevertheless the ipod is a lil smaller and for me portability was far more important than a radio player...i can use my phone for that...the ipod has the measurements of 60mm(w) X 104mm(h) X 15mm(d) (Draw this out on a piece of paper for an accurate size)
In the long run iriver has never failed to impress me with their portable music players...when it comes to comparing the iHP-100 to Ipod both have their advantages over each other in certain areas for today's music listeners...as far as an excellent alternative i wouldn't hesitate to purchase an HDD100 by philips (feel free to check it out at http://www.audio.philips.com ) but i'm more than pleased with my ipod so i'll enjoy the iriver name for a great cd player for now
# 3 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
iRiver in my opinion kills iPod in alot of ways...no software needed to put music on the player 16 hour battery....ahhh just go to http://www.theregister.com/content/54/31943.html and read and see picture.
# 4 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
it sure does have some nice features that lack from the ipod..i dont understand why ppl keep on calling new products similar to the ipod "killer" or "clone"..
it nice to have a wider choice.
paneb at 2007-11-15 14:18:57 >
# 5 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
It looks like three separate MP3 players glued together by a 5 year old.
# 6 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Originally posted by ZoidbergD
It looks like three separate MP3 players glued together by a 5 year old.
Hahahahahaha!
# 7 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
What I like about the iRiver:
- Recording ability
- Support for more formats including WMA
- Longer battery life (although sounds like it's far from the 16 they advertise)
- FM Radio
- Remote with LCD
What I don't like about the iRiver:
- No navigation control can come close to the touchwheel (I can't imagine navigating through my hundreds of albums with that little nubbin)
- Design is fine but certainly doesn't compare to the iPod
- PRICE!!!! $500 for 10GB?! You've gotta be kidding. This is the iRiver's achilles heel.
Remains to be seen:
- User interface. Apple dominates here and it will be hard for another player to be nearly as easy to use.
- Sound quality
# 8 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Originally posted by tonicboy
- PRICE!!!! $500 for 10GB?! You've gotta be kidding. This is the iRiver's achilles heel.
Ha! No one can call the iPod an overpriced MP3 player anymore.
# 9 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
[begin sarcasm]I want to make tons of apple-like products and put the letter i before each name. [end sarcasm] Can't anyone come up with original names besides Apple and Creative?
# 10 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
this has to be the best looking hard drive based player your money can buy
Originally posted by ZoidbergD
It looks like three separate MP3 players glued together by a 5 year old.
they have got to be kidding. i agree with zoid, the thing looks like crap. how they say that it looks better than the pod is beyond me. i know to each his how, and beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that, but jebus... in looks alone, the pod kills...
# 11 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Arg.. I really hate these iPod clones out there.. I am sure the ability to record stuff on it sounds crappy and really if you got a bunch of mp3s why the hell do you need radio. Honestly I never listen to it anymore.
# 12 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Originally posted by ZoidbergD
It looks like three separate MP3 players glued together by a 5 year old.
How about step out once in a while and see that world is more than Apple?
px2so at 2007-11-15 14:27:06 >
# 13 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Honestly, it looks really good. I especially like the lcd remote, having had to to deal with the ipod's less-than-stellar remote (I only used it for the first few day. havent used it in a month). However, this new i-river lacks the stylishness, intuitive use, and "wow" factor that the ipod has a stranglehold on. The ipod is the ferrari of mp3 players. It may not be as feature laden, functional, or gimmicky as the others, but it gets the job done in the best possible way, and you look darn fine while doing it.
If I had the money to spend all over again, id still get the ipod. Its simply the undisputed king of the mp3 player hill. But it cant hurt to pray for a nifty lcd remote too. Hey Apple, hope yer reading, hehe
# 14 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
creatives price for a 20gb is like 300, I think thats why people are thinking that the zen will beat the ipod.
# 15 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Originally posted by px2so
How about step out once in a while and see that world is more than Apple?
What you said had no relevance to my previous statement whatsoever. It was a random attack.
I use lots of products from other companies, and I believe this MP3 player is not only horribly designed, but a blatant rip-off.
# 16 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Design=ugly
functions=nice
better than the ipod=could be
I am always looking for the next best thing. Yeah I love my ipod but if theres another product that suits my needs and likes I will purchase the item. So far the ipod are winning in my book because of the price and the functionality but the other "mp3" players are catching up.
# 17 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Originally posted by tonicboy
What I like about the iRiver:
- Recording ability
- Support for more formats including WMA
- Longer battery life (although sounds like it's far from the 16 they advertise)
- FM Radio
- Remote with LCD
What I don't like about the iRiver:
- No navigation control can come close to the touchwheel (I can't imagine navigating through my hundreds of albums with that little nubbin)
- Design is fine but certainly doesn't compare to the iPod
- PRICE!!!! $500 for 10GB?! You've gotta be kidding. This is the iRiver's achilles heel.
Remains to be seen:
- User interface. Apple dominates here and it will be hard for another player to be nearly as easy to use.
- Sound quality
$500 for only 10 gigs?! That's a quality TV and VCR at Target. No mainstream store's going to touch that one, even with those extra features. Talk about alienating the casual shopper.
# 18 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Past Iriver owner here. About three months ago I got one of those puny 256mb mp3 players. And it was tight for a while. And then I was like, well I want to put more then FIFTY ####ING SONGS ONTO IT. SO I sold it to some sap for 150 and bought my ipod.
Back to the story. My Iriver deal was really nice. It had amazing bass and the headphonesthat came with it were the most amazing things ever ( i saved those for my ipod maybe). But I've heard that this new really expensive 500$ deal has all the same features as that dinky thing. The only difference is that it holds more music. The only thing that I like about it is the huge screen and the colors.
But then look at the ipod. Better all around. Except for the white and silver...for some reason I just hate that
# 19 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Originally posted by ZoidbergD
It looks like three separate MP3 players glued together by a 5 year old.
HAHAHHAH :D :D :D
# 20 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Personally, I never understood the point of having a display on the remote for a portable device that already has a display. Are we so lazy that we can't even pull the device out of our pockets to look at it's display? Nevermind that the iRiver's remote is so big that it needs a pocket of it's own. Perhaps there'll be a remote made available for the remote?
Phoomp at 2007-11-15 14:35:11 >
# 21 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Originally posted by Phoomp
Personally, I never understood the point of having a display on the remote for a portable device that already has a display. Are we so lazy that we can't even pull the device out of our pockets to look at it's display? Nevermind that the iRiver's remote is so big that it needs a pocket of it's own. Perhaps there'll be a remote made available for the remote?
Don't knock it until you try it!
Anyway, I do not think $500 is the US Retail Price. Audiocubes is an importer an raises the price on all of its imported products.
# 22 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
A LCD remote just wouldn't look right on an iPod... The whole idea of an iPod is simplicity. When you start making massive remotes with detailed lcds on you begin to lose the point...
Personally my only complaint with Mr. iPod remote is that it makes the headphone cable about 3 miles long; I think it looks beautiful and has enough functionality to be useful but not overcomplicated.
# 23 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Just guessing from the features on my iRiver CD/MP3 player, things it'll have that the iPod should have had from day 1 and still doesn't have:
Bookmarks (need I say more?)
Ability to make folders of folders (of folders ...) of music, ie:
Artist 1 -> album 1, album 2, album 3, etc
Artist 2 -> album 1, album 2, etc
The linear format for file grouping that the iPod inherited from iTunes makes comments like "how can I navigate through 5000 songs with a little button" very understandable, but if I had a way I'd have my playlists organised way better than they are now:
artist 1 album 1
artist 1 album 2
artist 2 album 1
etc
I never navigate by song mostly by playlist and occasionally by artist. Do people here really navigate by song to find things? (shudders thinking of scrolling through a few thousand songs)
# 24 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
before u jump on the bandwagon on 'lets hate anything that isnt apple ' u should probably wait till u given it a review - im like the other poster- ill definitely jump on the next best thing - i actually am more and more loving my ipod - though i do have some issues with it - for so much $ - why such ####ty headphones? (i recommend the koss 55 and Ety's) not to mention the battery life isnt what ud expect for $500 - but i love the interface - my lil bro has the Archos Jukeboxx and the Ipod kills it hands down - its just faster , more flexible - i love it! so who knows if iRiver will be the next best thing - maybe just a year or 2 behind Apple - how does better battery life, better interface, and a non fruity looking mp3 device sound (ipod could use a better material shell other than white!- it scratches easily 2) ? i wouldnt discredit them just yet.
on the remote - i agree - being an avid minidisc user - a text remote isnt all that necessary - especially when ur ripping down a mountain snowboarding ! no time to read! but whats up with that weird clip it doesnt hold well! a redesign of the apple clip is a definite todo!
take care
# 25 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Originally posted by bsoplinger
Bookmarks (need I say more?)Actually yes, you do need to say more. What feature could you possibly mean by bookmark? And also, I have no problems at all navigating the 6200 songs on my iPod. Maybe it's just because I prefer to play music by albums which the iPod does very well.
# 26 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Well, the iPod has an auto-bookmarking feature for Audible files. The file plays exactly where you left off when you pause or skip to another track.
# 27 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Originally posted by ZoidbergD
Well, the iPod has an auto-bookmarking feature for Audible files. The file plays exactly where you left off when you pause or skip to another track. eh. marginally useful for audio files. is it really necessary to pick up a track from a specific spot?
# 28 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
I'd rather have an feature I rarely use than not to have it at all!
Some people just get too defensive over their ipods and attack any competition without even trying it. :rolleyes: For me, I can not wait for the Iriver player to come out!
# 29 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
Originally posted by MadDog5145
I'd rather have an feature I rarely use than not to have it at all!
Some people just get too defensive over their ipods and attack any competition without even trying it. :rolleyes: For me, I can not wait for the Iriver player to come out!
I wasn't being defensive about the iPod.
I was just pointing out there is some kind of bookmarking feature, as opposed to none. Actually, i find it really useful sometimes when the audible file i'm listening to is a really long chapter.
From my initial reactions, the iRiver looks like a poorly made device. I wasn't deliberately attacking it, just because it's a non-Apple product.
# 30 Re: IRiver IPod competitor out very soon
I guess if all you listen to are 3 minute pop tracks, bookmarking isn't a feature that comes to mind.
On the other hand, try listening to hour long tracks and you'll wonder how you can live without it. (and you can't)
You'll learn to always look at the display then find yourself repeating, for example, 33:24 as you try to remember when you left off so you can start up about where you stopped.
Bookmarking audible files is fine, if you have a Mac iPod (as far as gen 1 & 2 goes, not sure if gen3 supports audible on the PC or not) but its a far cry from general bookmarking and nothing at all for mp3 nor AAC files.
Me, I use my iPod mostly for listening to audio books, some from Audible, most not, tape rips, 40-60 minutes long.
