iRiver Preps Linux-based Media Player

Mr_Silver writes "Infosync is reporting that iRiver is soon to release the Linux based PMP-120 media player which through its colour screen can support MP3, ASF, Ogg Vorbis, JPEG, BMP, AVI, MP4, DivX 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, XviD, MPEG4 SP, Advanced SP and MPEG1. Technically very cool (even more so if it is hackable), but really really ugly. iRiver really should learn how to design nice looking hardware from the experts."

Comments

Enough already!

[jargoone]

I'm so fucking sick and tired of people saying that things are ugly compared to the iPod. Yes, the iPod looks pretty decent, but who cares? I don't look, I listen! If you want to talk about size and ease-of-use, those are factors, but so are features and price. Not everyone needs a "good looking" mp3 player to validate themselves.

Not to mention the fact that this unit isn't even ugly. I think it looks pretty damn nice, and probably will cost about as much as an iPod with FAR fewer features.

Re:Enough already!

[nizo]

I think the submitter meant they should make it in a pretty shade of lime green or mulberry purple to make it less ugly perhaps?

Re:Enough already!

[wooby]

Absolutely dead on. Function is beauty when it comes to something that feature filled. The only problem I can see with the unit, that is related to aesthetics, is the usability factor. I can't tell from the pictures how intuitive its interface will be. Even slight interface problems can really be annoying with devices that have few human inputs.

Re:Enough already!

[L4ck_0f_54n17y]

I agree that the ipod is very sexy, but do you really want to pay hundreds more and/or sacrifice features, just for a few ounces of molded plastic?

I have a simple solution to those who find the PMP-120 ugly: print out a picture of the ipod, and tape it on the back, and voila! You have an awesome multimedia device AND it looks like an ipod!

Re:Enough already!

[Jugalator]

I actually don't like Apple's designs, but it seems like people like me are in minority... :-P

Sure, I found Apple's anonymous white boxes being cool for to their innovative minimalism but now I'm so fed up with this design in everything Apple makes.

Same goes for Aqua btw. It's about as exciting as Windows XP's Luna is to me now. Of course not as candy-like and colorful, but still just as overexposed. Still just as boring and dull. Get rid of the fucking jelly buttons already! Oh well, I guess I just like new things every now and then and Apple don't. Probably to preserve their brand...

I personally think that iRiver thing is perfectly fine for use amongst people without getting ashamed of it. And then the visual requirements are satisfied for me, and I proceed to look at the features. *gasp*

Ugly? you're wrong!

[Quebec]

You find the iRiver ugly???
I'm sorry not to agree with you, cheap plastic design "A La Apple" is definitivly not the norm in my book, actually the iRiver looks nicer than anything that was made by Apple. (Did my french head got the right "than" this time?).

P.S.: can't wait to be able to buy one myself!

PIMP-120

[TubeSteak]

Did anyone else originally read the subject as the iRiver PIMP-120?

Re:PIMP-120

[chiller2]

Did anyone else originally read the subject as the iRiver PIMP-120?

Well, it is a player ;)

Ok, ok I'll get my coat!

iPod isn't that pretty

[charnov]

The iPod is very slick looking, but I have issues with the functionality. So far, the best I have seen in the more complex players is the Rio Karma...by a mile. Now, that is a slick looking player.

The last time i-River tried to do that...

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple threatened to sue them. i-River had wanted to use a the rounded scroll navigation wheel with their ihp-120, Apple told them they would legal action to protect their intellectual property rights.

Re:The last time i-River tried to do that...

[manWorkSucks]

definitely apple's idea too. nothing like a jog/shuttle dial on VCR.

The name's great though...

[HiredMan]

You may think it's ugly but how can you hate the PiMP-120?

Don't be hatin'. That name pnwz!

Would Apple's version be iPimp?

=tkk

iRiver Looks

[afra242]

I recently bought the 40Gb MP3 player from iRiver. To me, looks of an electronic device doesn't really matter. I just want the features. Simple as that. Compared to the iPod, the iRiver has superb battery life, more hard drive space for the buck, built in voice recorder, and even a AM/FM tuner. Plus it plays OGG and using Linux, I can index all my music files.

So what iRiver lacks in looks, they more than make up for it in features and cost compared to the iPod.

All I need is a scroll button and play/stop/fast/rewind buttons.

Not for me

[Jahf]

Sorry, but I don't see a reason to carry around a portable video player unless I can see stuff from my TiVo and/or a DVD on it without having to take a few hours prep'ing/converting the files.

I realize that is a long way off, I'm not expecting it tomorrow. I'm just trying to figure out the mass market applications for this other than to have a box that does a ton of things (that it often isn't used for) while listening to my music.

Part of the reason I use a portable player (Neuros, not iPod) is to have a device that is small enough to be convenient (ok, the Neuros isn't as good an example of that as the iPod) -and- is fairly rugged. As in doesn't have a screen that I am worried about cracking or scratching.

Now if it plugged in to a DVD reader of some sort, even if over a network share to my PC, and allowed me to rip content to it for travel ... HELL yes, I would go for it. But not the current generations of machines.

Questions

[orthogonal]

Ok, since my Archos broke down, I've been looking for a replacement.

So, some questions.

What kind of hard drive does it take, and how easy is it to replace the drive with a larger one. (Yeah, I know the size is 20GB -- what kind. I need 60GB, and I'd like it to fit the 60GB lap-top drive I bought for the Archos.

What's IRiver's reputation for quality? The Archos used decent parts, but they were put together shoddily. Thus the break down. (Yeah, I also replaced the drive with a 60GB, but I'm not at all the only one to have an Archos fall apart on me.)

That and Archos's crappy software and unwillingness to embrace a far better open source replacement, means I'll never buy from Archos again.

But reason I liked the Archos was that its crappy software could be replaced with the open source Rockbox. Just how hackable is iRiver's offering? Does the fact that it's linux based mean that iRiver intends to make the source available? If I can't hack it, I won't buy it: that's why I don't own an iPod or other MP3 players

Re:Questions

[orthogonal]

Any limitations on name length are (I suspect) a "feature" of the ID3 spec rather than iRiver's fault, but I have no evidence for that - as I say, I haven't installed the index yet.

I actually did a very small bit of coding on the Rockbox open source Archos firmware replacement, and as it happens, it was on the ID3 tags, so I know a little about this.

ID3 version 1 is limited to thirty (30) characters per tag field (Artists, Album, etc.), but since the iRiver is limited to -- what is it -- 56 characters, this doesn't seem to be the same limit. ID3 v1, also, I think specifies a total size of 120 characters or something, so why not just set aside the 120 needed?

ID3 version 2 tag filed length isn't limited.

(Although Rockbox last I worked on it, was limited to ~300 characters (300 less null terminators) over all tags. I was careful to make sure that reading more than 300 characters was handled by (silently) truncating -- Rockbox doesn't use any dynamic memory allocation, so static structures and fixed sized were all I had.).

Incidentally, MS Windows users looking for a really good and full-featured tagging program (with automatic abbreviation if you want it, various other forms of smart tagging, and regular expressions for converting tags), should look no farther than the free and open source mp3bookhelper.

I think we all know what this is for

[chaotixx]

Judging from the demo pictures on the unit (from the article link), it looks like iRiver is thinking what I'm thinking.

Pr0n to go!

Re:OGG - From the /. blurb no less!

[MrEd]

...through its colour screen can support MP3, ASF, Ogg Vorbis...

So go buy one! Or go buy the iMP-250, 350, 550, etc. etc. which all support Ogg Vorbis (even the old iMP-250 aka Rio Volt 2) through firmware updates...

Haha the PIMP-120

[bl8n8r]

That's a funny name! pimp my playa'
I could give a fuck if you think it's "really,really ugly". People buy ipods now simply because it's socially sexy to do so. The fact is, this company is breaking ground with an embedded linux solution for the masses that supports OGG and MP3 - something everyone up here has been pissing and moaning for, ever since the Neuros came out. I say good for them. iRiver is cool for taking this step. We need more companies to do the same.

There's nothing wrong with iRiver products

[gorbachev]

I own one of their cd based mp3 players, and that thing is the best portable cd player I've ever used. Its user friendliness, firmware updates and general quality of construction is unbeatable.

The only problem with the unit in question here, apparently, is that it doesn't look like an iPod. Duh.

Proletariat of the world, unite to kill conformity

*Munch munch*

[Lord Graga]

Well, that's cool, but can we install windows on it?

Couple points...

[evilviper]

I have a few points.

1. I would like to see it include VP3 and Theora support... Theora has now ( FINALLY ) reached bitstream freeze, so including it would be safe. It wouldn't hurt to have VP6 support as well, but I'd be happy with just VP3/Theora...

2. Nothing is wrong with the design, despite what some may say.

3. The screen needs to be bigger (preferably 16:9 widescreen, since everything is going that way), and the battery-life needs to be increased. If they don't do that, it had better be less than $400, or everyone would just be better off buying a extra Notebook...