:hap2: Woot woot, Got myself a iRiver PMP-120 at a neat price....345 $ ~ 15K
It is a Linux based device with a 20GB HDD that supports audio (Mp3, WMV etc.), photos (BMP, Jpg), Video
(Mpeg4 Avi's) and text files
The original firmware did not have an ebook reader, the iRiver US site did not show any FW d/l options either, however, I got hold of the Korean support site from a forum which had the latest fw with e-book support
Thought I'll post a brief review here for everyone...
Actually, this is more of a comparo between my old iPod photo and this device....
Physical Design and ergonomics: 8/10
Pleasing design dominated by the 3.5" transreflective LCD screen....Got nice curved edges which make it easy to hold....The navigation pad placement could have been better as one has to make an effort to make one's thumb reach it
However, the design and ergonomics of the iPod are far superior....I'd give the iPod a 9.5/10 on this score
Sound Clarity: 9/10
The bundled Sennheiser earphones do an excellent job at reproducing every nnuance of the sounds played...Thumbing bass with crystal clear high notes.
I typically use Sultans of Swing to compare sound quality and am glad to say that the iRiver does a fantastic job.
The iPod does a comparable job, but where it loses out is the inability of the iPod to customize equalier settings whereas the iRiver gives a seven band customizable equalizer.
the iPod: 8/10
Video Playback : 8/10
This is where the iRiver blows all competition away...The video playback implemenation is excellent to say the least....DivX encoded videos at 900kbps on 320X240 resolution play with minimal artifacts. I also used The bundled TV out cable to watch the videos on a TV and was glad with the results....
Unfortunately, the iRiver cannot play back Mpeg1/Mpeg2 streams so need to reencode DVDs in MPEG4 before transferring to the iRiver. this maybe good in a way as a ~2 hr movie takes around 800 MB in DivX format compared to ~2GB on a native DVD.....However, this also rules out the possibility of doing a quick on the fly transfer from a DVD.
iPod: N/A
Radio: Not much to say here, just that it is handy to have a inbuilt FM tuner
iPod N/A
ebook capabilities: 5/10
The iRiver after upgrading to the latest Firmware now supports text files
BTW the language changed to Koreean after the upgrade, and i had a hard time getting it back to English
Unfortunately, the inability to adjust the Fonts/Font Size hampers readibility as the default font/font size isn't exactly great to read off the screen.
I'd give the iPod an 8/10 here as even though I need to split a single large text files into multiple small ones using scripting (As the iPod suports max 4KB sized txt files) the choice of fonts and the sizing on the iPod enables better readibilty off the screen. Also, since the iPod supports basic hyperlinking between txt files, the splitted text files do not hampr the reading experience
Usability/ Man-machine interface 2/10
This is where the iRiver takes a bad beating from the competition....The MMI of the iRiver is as user friendly and stable as a drunken monkey on the wheels of a Ferrari....The soft key assignments keep changing at every screen and the navigation is as far from intuitive as it can be.....
One of the rare occasions when I actually had to read the manual to get the hang of things..However, after a day + of using the iRiver, I have got used to the interface and feel comfortabel with it so it shouldn't really be a deterrent for the informed buyer....BTW CNET reviews has trashed this product almost solely on the basis of the bad UI
iPod: 9.5/10: Give the iPod to a braindead Zombie or a geriatric Nanny and they will be able to use it in no time at all.....
Picture playback:
Not much to say ....Does a good job...The big screen does more justice to the pix than the iPod...Also, unlike the iPod, it reads native jpeg's whereas the iPod photo uses the custom formatted image through the iTunes interface
Battery life: 7/10:
Can't really post from first hand experience as it is just a day old, but last night's charge is holding perfectly good so far...the manual quotes 4 hrs for Video playback and 10 hrs for audio....
iPod: 8.5/10: 16hrs of actual usage time....two charges a week at max....
Pros:
- Great 3.5" LCD
- Excellent Video Playback
- Great Sound clarity + customizable Equalizer
- Comes with a neat case
- Can be directly interfaced with USB 1.1 based devices (Digicams etc.) (which is a very nifty feature at least for techies who love travelling .......no need to lug a laptop around for digicam picture storage while travelling)
- Bundled Radio
- Linux based (Don't we all Love Tux
- Built in Mic for voice recording...
Cons:
- Very poor usability implementation
- Battery life could have been better
- due to the moderatly large screen, the device can't exactly be called pocket sized as it is a tight squeeze in trouser pockets, forget jeans pockets
- Long startup time (~12-15 seconds) opposed to instant wakeup on the iPod
- Default directory based navigation opposed to default ID3 based navigation on the iPod......Painful for people with large music collections
It is a Linux based device with a 20GB HDD that supports audio (Mp3, WMV etc.), photos (BMP, Jpg), Video
(Mpeg4 Avi's) and text files The original firmware did not have an ebook reader, the iRiver US site did not show any FW d/l options either, however, I got hold of the Korean support site from a forum which had the latest fw with e-book support
Thought I'll post a brief review here for everyone...
Actually, this is more of a comparo between my old iPod photo and this device....
Physical Design and ergonomics: 8/10
Pleasing design dominated by the 3.5" transreflective LCD screen....Got nice curved edges which make it easy to hold....The navigation pad placement could have been better as one has to make an effort to make one's thumb reach it
However, the design and ergonomics of the iPod are far superior....I'd give the iPod a 9.5/10 on this score
Sound Clarity: 9/10
The bundled Sennheiser earphones do an excellent job at reproducing every nnuance of the sounds played...Thumbing bass with crystal clear high notes.
I typically use Sultans of Swing to compare sound quality and am glad to say that the iRiver does a fantastic job.
The iPod does a comparable job, but where it loses out is the inability of the iPod to customize equalier settings whereas the iRiver gives a seven band customizable equalizer.
the iPod: 8/10
Video Playback : 8/10
This is where the iRiver blows all competition away...The video playback implemenation is excellent to say the least....DivX encoded videos at 900kbps on 320X240 resolution play with minimal artifacts. I also used The bundled TV out cable to watch the videos on a TV and was glad with the results....
Unfortunately, the iRiver cannot play back Mpeg1/Mpeg2 streams so need to reencode DVDs in MPEG4 before transferring to the iRiver. this maybe good in a way as a ~2 hr movie takes around 800 MB in DivX format compared to ~2GB on a native DVD.....However, this also rules out the possibility of doing a quick on the fly transfer from a DVD.
iPod: N/A
Radio: Not much to say here, just that it is handy to have a inbuilt FM tuner
iPod N/A
ebook capabilities: 5/10
The iRiver after upgrading to the latest Firmware now supports text files
BTW the language changed to Koreean after the upgrade, and i had a hard time getting it back to English
Unfortunately, the inability to adjust the Fonts/Font Size hampers readibility as the default font/font size isn't exactly great to read off the screen.
I'd give the iPod an 8/10 here as even though I need to split a single large text files into multiple small ones using scripting (As the iPod suports max 4KB sized txt files) the choice of fonts and the sizing on the iPod enables better readibilty off the screen. Also, since the iPod supports basic hyperlinking between txt files, the splitted text files do not hampr the reading experience
Usability/ Man-machine interface 2/10
This is where the iRiver takes a bad beating from the competition....The MMI of the iRiver is as user friendly and stable as a drunken monkey on the wheels of a Ferrari....The soft key assignments keep changing at every screen and the navigation is as far from intuitive as it can be.....
One of the rare occasions when I actually had to read the manual to get the hang of things..However, after a day + of using the iRiver, I have got used to the interface and feel comfortabel with it so it shouldn't really be a deterrent for the informed buyer....BTW CNET reviews has trashed this product almost solely on the basis of the bad UI
iPod: 9.5/10: Give the iPod to a braindead Zombie or a geriatric Nanny and they will be able to use it in no time at all.....
Picture playback:
Not much to say ....Does a good job...The big screen does more justice to the pix than the iPod...Also, unlike the iPod, it reads native jpeg's whereas the iPod photo uses the custom formatted image through the iTunes interface
Battery life: 7/10:
Can't really post from first hand experience as it is just a day old, but last night's charge is holding perfectly good so far...the manual quotes 4 hrs for Video playback and 10 hrs for audio....
iPod: 8.5/10: 16hrs of actual usage time....two charges a week at max....
Pros:
- Great 3.5" LCD
- Excellent Video Playback
- Great Sound clarity + customizable Equalizer
- Comes with a neat case
- Can be directly interfaced with USB 1.1 based devices (Digicams etc.) (which is a very nifty feature at least for techies who love travelling .......no need to lug a laptop around for digicam picture storage while travelling)
- Bundled Radio
- Linux based (Don't we all Love Tux
- Built in Mic for voice recording...
Cons:
- Very poor usability implementation
- Battery life could have been better
- due to the moderatly large screen, the device can't exactly be called pocket sized as it is a tight squeeze in trouser pockets, forget jeans pockets
- Long startup time (~12-15 seconds) opposed to instant wakeup on the iPod
- Default directory based navigation opposed to default ID3 based navigation on the iPod......Painful for people with large music collections
hyeah:
