The only downsie is that the navigation takes a bit of getting used to but thats easy enough. Great value for money, especially as you can update the firmware so it becomes timeless!!

Iriver 20GB MP3 Player-Superb
Review date: 2005-05-19 Rating: 10 out of 10

Item arrived in perfect condition before the expected delivery date and I have been more than happy with it. I use the player now, not only as a fantastic MP3player but also as a digital radio, although not so often, and also to record my Band (Volitile, Spread the word!). It gives excellent recording quality and I would recomend this player to anyone wanting to record. The MP3 playing quality is superb but the player does come with v-short headphones (0.5m-standard length, but not enough for me but then again I am 6foot 1). Absolutely superb, I would definately recommend it.

Fantastic, worth every penny
Review date: 2005-04-24 Rating: 10 out of 10

I bought this 20Gb player in January after careful consideration between it, the iPod, the Zen Touch and some other smaller-sized memory players. I still stand by my decision to select this player. I have used other players, a couple borrowed for a considerable time, but none lived up to this.

Firstly, I'd like to diffuse some common problems some people seem to have with this player.
- There is indeed a short delay between tracks, which is definitely noticeable if playing an album from a band such as Pink Floyd. This is not a fault of the player as such, but more of MP3s. Some pieces of software will allow either ripping of an entire album to one MP3 or the merging of several MP3s into an album. Either of these methods could be used to combat this problem.
- It is a Portable Music Player, not a whole goddam laptop/entertainment system. There is a reason it has no clock, games, alarm, phone, email, small printer attachment, etc. If you want a clock, get a watch. If you want to play games, get a Gameboy. If you want a computer, get a laptop. The features this player has are ideal for its specification, as a music player.
- It is not complicated to use, it simply requires a little effort to learn how to use it in the first place.
- I have used my iRiver almost on a daily basis since January, and the device has not failed to work once. I suspect much of the problem here is down to dropping the player or exposing it to heat/water.
- If some tracks are louder than others, it is due to the original recording, not due to the player. This should not be considered a disadvantage of the player.
- Compared to the iPod, the iRiver does take about 10 seconds to load, dependent on the quantity of stored music. However, I cannot think of a situation where waiting 10 seconds to hear music could be considered a major drawback. It also makes a 'beep' confirmation when it is ready, so it is not as if you must spend that time looking directly at it.
- The 'reset' button, much like many computers, is concealed and required a pointed object to trigger it. This is for a reason - if it were sticking out and you accidentally pressed it, you would be quite annoyed that your player had 'reset by itself'.

Anyway, onto advantages:

- Lightweight - It might not be quite as featherweight as an iPod, but it is barely noticeable in the pocket, which is all that matters really.
- Compact - Perhaps not as compact as some, but it is smaller than my wallet, so I believe that is easily satisfactory.
- Great battery life - average usage should see battery life last about 15 hours. I once left it on by accident in my bag, and I found it over 12 hours later still happily playing away.
- Looks great - I actually prefer how this looks to an iPod, and it is certainly better than the Zen Touch.
- Detailed instructions - It is nice for once to have a manual that actually tells you how to do everything, rather than a 'quick start & figure the rest out for yourself' job.
- Manufactured well - There have been problems with the iPod's battery and the Zen Touch's casing both being sub-standard. This beats them hands-down here. Tough magnesium casing and a better battery make this a hard piece of kit to better.
- FM radio - Useful for an alternative to the music you have stored.
- Direct recording - Doesn't even need a computer. Couldn't be easier.
- Sound Quality - Even with the supplied headphones (which I would suggest replacing anyway to avoid being mugged) the sound quality is far better than most players on the market.
- Drag & drop capability - With XP there's no need for new software, this acts just like a memory stick would. A 20Gb memory stick. For that matter, the player also stores files other than those it is able to play, making it an ideal mass storage device.
- Built-in Microphone - Useful for making notes to one's self, for recording songs that are live or from the radio, many possibilities here.
- Headphone cord - Some say it is long, I say it is perfect. I would much rather have too much cord (that I can easily coil and tie off with one of those bits of wire that come around headphone cords anyway), than have insufficient cord to be able to place the player in a jeans pocket.
- Amazing remote control - if you have seen it, you will know it is both visually stunning and very handy. Almost everything can be controlled using the remote, which is a great bonus.

Okay, so the disadvantages:

- No AM radio - No biggie really, if I was that bothered about receiving I would buy one of those button-sized scanning MW portable radios.
- Ugly carry case - It does bulk out the player significantly, and is quite aesthetically unpleasing, but I can see why it would be a huge asset to use, especially with the exposed button on the front.
- It is incompatible with many downloading and ripping software packages, but this does not bother me much. It does not take much effort to download a song or rip an album to My Music, and then transfer over. The 2.0 USB compatibility really helps also.
- The shuffle function does seem to play the same track order, especially noticeable if shuffle play is selected in a folder of ~10 songs.

In conclusion, there is no significant drawback I have encountered that would overcome the massive advantages to prevent me from awarding five stars. It really is a fantastic piece of kit.

The best mp3 player there is!!
Review date: 2005-04-01 Rating: 10 out of 10

For all those of you looking for an mp3 player that doubles up as a recorder then this is for you. I am in a band and I like to record all our gigs to hear where we are going wrong etc., and it couldn't be easier with this, you can plug in the microphone you receive with it into the line-in port, put it anywhere in the place to get a good live performance recording, or alternatively you can take a line out from the main sound desk, stick it straight into the iriver and record it at cd quality sound. Because you can record directly on to it, you're not restricted to putting only songs from your computer onto it, you just play them on record or cd or whatever, hook it up to the iriver, press record and its done.
It's also a dictaphone too, for those who like making notes-to-self.
If you wanna pick holes, the little jukebox extension can cause a slight bit of interference in the sound, but you only hear this when there's nothing playing, it's impossible to hear over the music. Besides, the jukebox isn't that important anyway, and there's no interference if it isn't used.
It also comes with a hard leather case, something that costs €40 extra for the ipod.
The ONLY reason the ipod is perceived to be the best is because of U2 and marketing, but word is spreading about iriver, I've yet to see one ad for it, yet everyone knows about it because of the reviews it gets, not because of theme tunes and tv ads. I've convinced five people to either buy the iriver or to change from ipod to iriver, not by explaining how great it is, just by showing it to them and letting them make up their own minds.
Basically, if you're a dedicated follower of fashion, then the ipod is for you, regardless of the price.
If, however, you're looking for the best mp3 player you can get at a cheaper price with far superior features and superior compatability, then choose iriver.