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Review of iRiver iFP-899
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.
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.
I'm getting pretty sick of people submitting things like: "The new widget set is out from Conglomo Inc. and I've written a review on my blog."
Why can't we go back to real news stories and real reviews? I'd like to see products being reviewed by someone who does it for a living. Individual reviews are going to vary and eventually start flame wars.
Of course any review by a Ziff-Davis publication should not apply.
Get your Unix fortune now!
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.
(+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.
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?
/. worthy. As is, this is a product which is low on storage and not so high on features. Hell, j.random palmpilot does all this and more! I know my t3 and it's gig'o'SD can whup this iRiver 'till it can't swim nomore!
:P)): get a zire and a gig of SD ram. Hell, even get a PPC now that those can emulate palm apps!
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
So, you want my recommendation (probably not, but this is my post, so screw you
-- Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?
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.
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.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
The user interface on the iRiver's is terrible. You don't know whether you're supposed to press a button, or press and hold. Some commands are a tap and hold. I'd give the user interface a 1/6.
I have the iRiver only because it records, and use it for podcasts. If you are looking for a mp3 player, stay away from the iRiver unless you need recording or FM radio. The Shuffle is a lot better function, and for the same price of the 899, you can get an iPod Mini on educational discount.
What, me worry?
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.
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
The iPod does one thing, does it well, and doesn't cost too much. Sorry, but it wins.
Hmmm... one of my kids just went on a school field trip to San Diego, CA for a week. She took a loaded iRiver-795 and four pack of AA batteries. That'll last her all week and she should have 2-3 batteries left over.
Exactly how would an iPod Mini work after the charge ran down? She has no way to charge it, so after about day #2 it is nothing more than dead weight.
So... the iPod loses.
-Charles
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
You can't take someone elses word for it, your ears are your own. If you honestly can't tell a 80kbit mp3 from and 80kbit Vorbis for instance, then... congratulations, I guess. Makes life simpler.
I won't even bother with your "random click" assertion; I though slashdot were a place of geeks and explorers. If you can't handle downloading and exploring an optimized vorbis encoder when it's pointed out to you, you're obviously neither. Fine, don't bother. Sheesh.
Belief is the currency of delusion.
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 rather just rip to mp3 and listen to my music on the music player that I actually want, which probably wouldn't be an iRiver -- I just haven't read very many glowing (or even positive) reviews for iRiver players.
Moof.
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. Now I have my weekend shows on tap for my weekday commutes. Works just fine for this. A bonus is the line in recorder, which I am using to rip my vinyl to MP3. Please don't respond back complaining about the 1.21gigawatt vs. 296mhz encoding/playback/whatchamacallit that your player can do that this one can't. I honestly don't care. It's V I N Y L. Scratchs. Pops. Hisses. And they all sound just fine to my ears. I also listen to books on tape, and it does have a resume function that works just fine, contrary to what someone else posted. So, if you are looking for some time-shifted radio, maybe some encoding, and an MP3 player, take a look. If you are looking for an ipod, cover your face and walk into an apple store. Easter, OUT!