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Review of iRiver iFP-899

Posted by timothy on 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.

3 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. Humongous! by LFS.Morpheus · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

    --
    The space unintentionally left unblank.
  2. Re:We'll be right back... by Wordsmith · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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?

  3. if you like iriver, check out iaudio by eh2o · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.