iRiver H10 20 GB MP3 Player/Recorder Red
By: iRiver Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 69
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 On: 2007-08-24
I have owned a total of six iRivers over the years. My first is a 40GB unit that has been going strong for over four years. The next two were smaller 1GB units and although they are still working, my kids wanted more capacity so we bought two H10 20GB units. They are going on two years old and havent had one issue. Lastly, I bought my wife a 30GB unit about 1 1/2 years ago and shes never had an issue with it.
The thing we like best about the IH series is that they are recognized by your PCs USB port as just another drive. It couldnt be easier to manage your video and music files them simply using Windows Explorer to copy and past files to your iRiver.
Maybe Ive been lucky or others have been unlucky but either way, Id take these iRiver units over the ipods any day. Apple has tried to control how you use the unit in order to boost their profits. I like them but wouldnt take one over the iRivers.
 On: 2007-06-11
I bought an iriver H10 20GB in Nov 2005. It froze up and required resetting within the first week. I returned it only to receive another one just like it the next month. Neither unit ever worked when I wanted it to. It constantly froze up and/or turned itself on (even in lock mode) only to run down the battery. Most upsetting is that I spent $270 on an MP3 player that NEVER worked and then had to spend another $250 on an iPod this February. Good news- the iPod has never failed! DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON iRIVER PRODUCTS.
On: 2007-02-20
In October 2006 my Iriver H10 died a couple of days before my warranty expired. I contacted Iriver about it and did not get ANY technical support whatsoever. You dont get a person when you call and the ebox wasnt helpful either. Finally, after 2 months of being given the runaround, they said that theyd replace my H10. I mailed it back to them in December 2006. I then received an email stating that I should allow UP TO 3 weeks for my replacement to be shipped. It is going on NINE weeks and I still have no player. In my ebox I received a message saying that they were sorry for the delay in my response, but that my case had been assigned to someone who is no longer with the company and was overlooked. I was then instructed to call or email them and they would "look into the matter". This companys customer service department is TERRIBLE. I had liked my player alright before it died, but trying to get the matter resolved has definitely been the biggest hassle Ive ever had in dealing with a company like this.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON ANY IRIVER PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On: 2007-02-13
This player/recorder, which was purchased for my wife, works exactly as advertised. My old player is starting to die, so I will probably buy another one of these units.
On: 2007-02-10
Regretfully, I bought an H10 20GB some time ago. Within the first couple months it died so I call iriver and made arrangements to send it back. It took several weeks to get it back. The one that came back was dead out of the box. I spent about 3 days trying to reach iriver to send this one back. The guy I spoke to told me that this item was seeing a lot of defects and returns. That was about 1 month ago. They said they sent a replacement - it never got here? Now I cannot get any response from iriver. I like to go to stores to see products then go to AMZN for the prices - irivers stuff is not anywhere to be found in any of the major chain stores... these guys are going out of the game....
On: 2007-01-31
I am the unhappy owner of several H10s and initially there were no problems, but the closer they got to the end of the one-year warranty, the more problems they all started having. Problems include freezing up for no apparent reason, scrolling in Chinese, and the most irritating is when the "system files are missing" and you have to reinstall the firmware and redownload ALL of your music. The company doesnt believe in customer service - you cant get through on the phone and they take days to respond to email. I have returned two because the hard drives crashed and it took 3-4 weeks to get them back, and then one of them crashed again as soon as I got all the music redownloaded and I had to return it and wait another 3 weeks. I have a problem with one that has now gone out of warranty and iRiver told me they wont touch it and to look for a repair shop online. So save yourself alot of headaches and time, not to mention money, and dont buy an H10 player.
On: 2007-01-19
This product is excellent for the price. The software is standard Windows media player. I used the latest media player without any problem. The hardware interface such as the touch-screen type buttons work well. Over all, it is a good buy for storage size and well constructed piece of hardware. It only supports USB 2.0. USB 1.1 is too slow to transfer a huge amount of MP3 files anyway. If you do not have USB 2.0, buy a USB 2.0 PCI card and install it in your computer. It is worth it.
 On: 2007-01-17
Good bang for the buck! So far pretty good at doing what I wanted. Hooked it up to my old auto cassette player with one of those cheap adapters and walla: tons of music to enjoy. Im sure there are fancier units for a much higher price. Not one for reading/following instructions but had it up and running within an hour after charging. Its been relatively easy to navigate the knobology. Cant understand why the docking intreface on all these mp3 players can not be standardized. It must be APPLE and their proprietary cultural ways. Thats the only con Ive found so far..As far as I know there are limited docking venues for the Irivers.
On: 2007-01-16
since everyone was getting mp3 players (mainly ipods) i decided to research them and get one. after comparing different brands models etc, i found that ipods are the worst ones. yes they work fine, but for the cost....no.
Pro- 20+g ipod is $250ish +, where my 20g iriver was $146. there were many many more that i was looking into that were all around $150.
Con- cant delete items off the device, no video (but its a mp3 player not a dvd player so that point doesnt count. if i wanted to watch videos i would of looked into a video device.)
so if you want an affordable and all around very nice mp3 player look into irivers.
On: 2007-01-15
My H 10 20 GB is extremely easy to use. It has great play back music quality. I play it every day on my 8 hour shift at work thru a Sony Stereo speaker system, Accoustibass. That`s about as long as will play, 8 hours. Sometimes it doesn`t get fully charged and only plays for about 4 hours.. Otherwise it never lets me down. It is very easy to download music in Sync thru Windows Media Files.
I think I will go for the Sandisk or Creative Zen when this one dies. My cousin just won a Creative Zen at the CES show so I will see how his does.
On: 2007-01-14
The H10 does everything that it claims to do and well enough. I got it from Amazon for 129$ and its a great bargain at that price. Its no ipod, but then an ipod would have cost me twice as much and would not have the FM radio or recorder functions, would not have the drag&drop functionality, would not have come with a free protective jacket and would not play wma files!. What I mean by the previous statement is that its not very fancy or pretty, but is extremely proficient at what it does. One small niggle - the scroll pad is no where as useful as a click wheel, it not very accurate and is more tedious - but this is less of a problem for people like me who listen to music album by album and so would need to access this pad only once in 90 mins or so. But others who like to listen to stuff song by song and like to keep changing after each song will find this lack of fine control a bigger deal.
The sound quality is quite very good, battery life is as claimed and loading times are tolerable. All in all a great mp3 player/FM radio/recorder (Picture viewing is sloooow, no video). And it comes with a charger that works in Europe and Asia as well - great for travellers
The final and most important test of a product is whether one would buy another of the same for a loved one - I would with this!
On: 2007-01-11
This was a great purchase! I absolutely love my iRiver and use it all the time. Ive recommended it to many of my friends and co-workers. It has a lot of great features and is very user friendly. Id buy it again!
On: 2007-01-11
so far it seems to be a good product my daughters has not had any problems with it at all and uses it all the time
 On: 2007-01-10
This was the first mp3 player I bought. I spent a good while looking around for the best deal, and the iriver seemed to be it. Besides just looking sweet, it has an FM tuner, a microphone, able to read text files and view pictures, not to mention the great amount of space on the hard drive.
If this worked properly, I would have given it 5 stars. Mine however (which i did buy online through Amazon--never buy small expensive digital things over the Internet) froze up the first time I used it. I had the system requirements, followed the manual exactly, but the product did not work. It stayed frozen until the battery died, and once bought, you cant get a new battery.
I couldnt get through to iriver at all, by phone or email. So I contacted the seller, J&R music, whose only option was to replace the dead thing with another product of the same price because iriver production had been discontinued. And I had to pay for the shipping and handling! When I finally received the replacement, it had already been more than a month since the iriver had gone dead. I was ripped off. Shouldve listened to a few of the other negative reviews on here.
I give the iriver 2 stars only because if it actually worked it would have made a nice little investment.
On: 2007-01-04
Id read a great review rating this as a Best Buy and a very good rating. Set up was easy and I had my brother in law help with loading tunes. But the H10 kept freezing. Could only load a few songs and the system froze. And I couldnt shut it off, only with a toothpick on the reset button. It was very frustrating. So I returned it to the company and sent a letter asking either for an exchange, refund or instructions on how to fix. I received a very prompt refund for the full amount. I have an iRiver Clix 2GB on order now. My sister and brother-in-law both have several and highly recommended that I dont give up on iRiver and get another. So I will as I trust their judgement and CR.
On: 2006-12-29
I have had my H10 for several months now.
When I first received it, it froze up when I tried to load music onto it. This was fixed by upgrading the firmware. Simple fix and its worked great ever since.
It was a little tricky to figure out how to transfer my playlists from my computer to the player. I would like to see an option to create playlists on the fly just using the player itself.
Sound quality is great, the screen is bright and colorful.
My only real complaint is the lack of accessories. Even on the internet the accessories are few and far between. I often gaze longingly at the millions of different iPod cases, skins, etc. available at most large retailers.
Anyway, great product, I definately recommend it.
On: 2006-11-15
hello everyone,
just wanted to give my opinion on this product. Ive had my player for almost one full year and I love it, I listen to it constantly.
So far no problems, sometimes it does lock up on me but it is usually because i press the forward button to quickly and repeatedly. If i wait a few minutes it usually returns to normal if not i just remove the battery and re-insert it and its fine.
I also attach the player to a portable radio out in the garage or when i go camping, fishing etc. everyone is amazed by this little gadget.
Sometimes i have a little trouble transfering music from my computer to the player but that is probably because i lack real computer skills.
One bad thing with this player is i cant find a store around that carries them or their accessories, I live about 30 miles south of detroit, Mich. if anyone knows of the stores that carry them please let me know.
Keep listening,
Wildbill
On: 2006-11-12
The iRiver H10 has some good good and not so good points. First, its a bargain for music enthusiasts who enjoy lots of room for storage. Alas, theres virtually no support for it that I could find. The iRiver website contains no firmware updates, no PDF manuals, no replacement batteries and, worse, its as if the company had never heard of the H10. Doing a site search came up with two references to the H100, but its as if the H10 never existed.
The H10 has good sound playback. It also contains a tiny Seagate hard drive which reads data into a buffer, then locks the heads until more data are needed. Although designed to take a certain amount of abuse, the H10 should not be dropped or jarred while the hard drive is actually in use. Another major hit for the H10 is that it has no mass storage device USB setting. This means the unit sinks or swims on how well it synchronizes, and this can be a problem with Windows Media Player, which many times requires multi-schronizations to transfer media files. Besides, with 20 gigs, it would be nice to be able to also use the H10 to transfer other types of files.
The H10 would be perfect if it had a replacable battery, was made by a company that acknowledged its existence, and a MSC USB mode. As it is, its probably fine for some users. Just dont expect support.
On: 2006-11-11
Dont waste your money. What iRiver doesnt tell their customers is that once the battery goes dead, the system is useless. I will never buy one of their products again and Im doing my best to inform everyone out there that theyll be tossing their money in the trash by purchasing any iRiver products. My system cost me $340.00 and it is now as useless as the customer service department at iRiver
On: 2006-11-10
I love this MP3 Player. I recently bought a red iRiver H10 20GB MP3 Player/Recorder because the RCA Lyra that I had stopped working on me. I bought this one refurbished because it was cheaper, but I dont have any major problems with it. It holds a lot of songs and I love the radio and recorder feautures. The only big problem is you CANT skip to the next song. You either have to keep fast forwarding, or go back a screen and actually click on the next song. This is especially annoying if you have it on shuffle mode and want to quickly get through your songs. A minor problem is the size. I know this isnt the newest model, and it is pretty bulky. It isnt really pocket size, so Im constantly using the belt clip. If you have a lot of songs and only need a couple of basic functions, this iRiver H10 is perfect for you.
On: 2006-11-10
Only works with Windows media player for transfers
Not easy to work
Bad sound (IAudio is better)
On: 2006-11-09
This review covers the H10 running a DIFFERENT, NON-IRIVER, FIRMWARE than what originally came with the product. I have not tried the Iriver firmware because it didnt satisfy all of my requirements which were:
- Gapless playback
- FLAC (free lossless audio codec)and MP3 support
- Ability to quickly fast forward / rewind long program sets (e.g. 2hrs non-stop podcast)
- USB 2.0 Mass Storage Device
- DRM-FREE
- 20GB, but not too much bigger than an ipod
Not sure if its a secret, but if you hold down the "o" button when you turn the power on, this unit prints the words "Emergency Connection" and allows a USB connection to mount the player as a USB mass storage device. Although I have not tried the iriver firmware it came with, I have read elsewhere that USB mass storage device mode is normally restricted because of MTP and the Microsoft Windows "Plays for Sure" DRM protected audio (of which I have absolutely no interest what-so-ever). I also dont want to "rent" music from services like yahoo or napster--if thats your thing, youll probably love the default iriver firmware (and FM radio), most people I talked with did. For me, all I want is my own music collection, portable, small, DRM-free, and easily accessible.
Once I installed Rockbox [...] (which was about a 2 minute process) this player satisfied all of my requirements and a whole lot more. The Rockbox interface is a bit dodgey until you get the hang of it. I am running one of the nightly builds, so it may be buggy.
Reading some of the other non-Rockbox users nightmares (like being forced to use Windows Media Player) I am happy to confirm, that there is a free firmware alternative that removes many restrictions/annoyances and really unlocks this players potential.
A few things that I do not like:
- Rockbox does not currently support the FM Radio (is anyone working on that ?)
- Volume slider is awkward, but Im getting used to it.
- Some Rockbox plugins (e.g. oscilloscope) overload the processor causing audio dropout.
I am happy with my choice, for me this was a very big upgrade. When/If the Rockbox team gets the FM radio working, it will be five stars.
On: 2006-11-06
I have had problems with this item since I bought it. I returned it to Iriver once and when it came back and didnt work correctly I contacted Globazar to get a refund and the never returned my email. I didnt use Amazons site to pay, I used my credit card so I cant get my money back now. I will never buy form Globazar again.
 On: 2006-11-05
it has good sound but it is big...and wmp sync is not good system...you can not use it like flash disk...music transfer is slow...I am not happy now!!
Look for another product
On: 2006-10-18
I have studied every kind of player under the sun for months before I found this and the price is what got me. After reading some of the previous reviews I was really worried about freezing and not being able to get anyone to help me when it wasnt working but I bought it anyway and boy am I glad that I did. I have owned this item for about 4 months and I love it! There are so many cool things to do with it like record music to loading pictures. Freezing? no way! I have dropped this thing cleaning around the house so many times but that thing just keeps going! And cheap looking? Whatever! I get so many compliments! and the slick case makes it easier to keep safe and clean. It might be a bit heavy if your coming off a nano but it about the same weight as a deck of cards. And service! I was so clueless about loading playlist and organizing my music and pictures and the website was so helpful! I can even make a page just for my iriver so its super easy to keep up on my updates. I wouldnt buy anything else and at the rate Im going, I might never have to.
On: 2006-08-29
Ive had my 20GB H10 since mid-November last year, and havent had any real problems with it. I got mine for 260, which is/was considerably cheaper than an iPod with comparable goodies. Mine came with Sennheiser earbuds which forever changed my views on how headphones are supposed to sound.
The quirks:
-sometimes an album I just ripped will load onto my iRiver backwards, as in track 12 sorts first, track 1 last
-I usually have to reset my iRiver just prior to syncing it with my comp, otherwise it just freezes
-my firmware wont autoupdate through the tool provided by iRiver, I have to manually connect it as storage and format the drive through Windows, then update the firmware
-the playlists take a few seconds to open up sometimes, but this IS a harddrive, so I just put it down to seek time. After the initial lag it doesnt freeze up or take any time at all between songs in the list
The included rubber carrycase thinger is awesome. Itll "stick" to almost any smooth surface from glass to my dashboard. Ive dropped it a few times from low heights and it has just shrugged it off so far. It makes the red one look pink, and the blue one look black, but thats the opportunity cost of having a nice cover.
On: 2006-08-02
I just want to clarify that iRIVER has some of the best tech support Ive ever experienced. I noticed in the review below that the reviewer says it isnt great yet he had never experienced it.
I called today- just to make sure it hadnt changed. I even called during their lunch time and I was through the phone menus and had answers to my two questions in 5:21 seconds. I cant even make it through that average phone tree in that amount of time. And then I got a follow up email just to make sure that I was happy. They also use an online tracking system for open issues. I had another awesome experience with them when I bought my first player back in 2003 and Ive never looked back. Ive since purchase for myself or others 5 additional devices.
I LOVE having an alternative to the iPODism that seems to be taking over the world.
by: Anonymous On: 2006-07-24
The iRiver H10 is a great media player. I had a Samsung flash player previously and it broke just a few months after I recieved it. This one however has stood up to the test of time. I have had it close to a year now with no problems. I have the 5GB model. Its the perfect amount of space it fits my whole music collection with room to spare. Getting it all set up the first time was a little confusing because the "manual" they send isnt much to go off of. But soon I realized how simple it really was. Now it takes only a matter of seconds to sync music to it. Getting playlists onto the devise was the hardest part, but a quick consulting of the online manual cleared that up for me. Now I have no problems with the device. Just wish they made some more accesories. ipod seems to dominate this market. Theres no reason why a great player such as this shouldnt have more accesories to choose from. All in all if your thinking about purchasing a quality mp3 player choose the iRiver H10. I use it all the time. Long trips (fair battery life) short trips, when Im mowing the lawn (in combination with good earphones you dont even hear the lawn mower) and just any other time I need good music. It really is a good player. It feels durable in your hand. Has survived a few rather large falls for me. Definatly buy this product. You wont be disappointed.
On: 2006-06-15
We have an H340 that is 3 months out of warranty. When its internal battery stopped holding a charge we were told that we now had a "paperweight." Dont trust this brand.
On: 2006-03-31
Awesome MP3 player, only compaints are battery life and speed. The player is slow to load songs (i have 20 GB version with 11 GB used so far). The sound is rich, has great features, blah blah blah
I use it with Napster-to-Go. Works fine. Just make sure you take advantage of the firmware upgrades, and as long you take care of it, it will take care of you.
On: 2006-03-30
Ill plainly list the things I have to do to my H10 in the two months Ive had it.
Update firmware
Go into windows and un check the read-only property for all my songs (luckily XP allows you to do this at the parent level and propagate down to all sub folders and files)
Reset
Wait for long periods of time while the playlists screen came up
reset
reset
Success!
Basically, its a little hard drive with some of the quirkiness of hard drives. I only use it to play music and have been happy with the sound it produces even if the earphones it comes with are of low quality. Aside from having to dig through online forums to find out about having to manually set some of my files to not be read only ( I still dont understand why only 1/3 of my songs came through correctly as all the songs came from my external music hard drive and the original files seem the same), I havent needed to do anything major to the player. I do wish you could plug the charger directly into the player instead of having to use the synch cable for that, but Ill deal for now. Id also like to be able to delete files from the player directly since I only put stuff I want to hear on it and may not realize theres something that shouldnt be there until Im in the middle of listening, but thats OK too. (...)I wont succumb to the iPod craze and am happy with this player for longer trips, waiting areas, studying and working long hours, and using my Zen Micro for working out (even though hard drive based players arent really made to stand the jarring of running.
On: 2006-03-24
I purchased this unit for my daughter for her birthday. So far she is very happy with the unit. It appears to be excellent quality and a wonderful sound.
On: 2006-03-15
The images of this item look good on the site, especially the color screen. But, when I received it, it felt like a really cheap plastic case. And the color screen has low resolution quality. I used it for about 2 days, took the time to download subscription music to it and then it just died. Good alternatives are the Dell DJ and of course the more expensive iPod, both of which I own and am extremely happy with.
On: 2006-03-09
My experience with the iRiver was horrible right from the start. I purchased this player so that I could expand my listening enjoyment while I went running. If you plan on using this while running, DONT, because it didnt work even after a firmware upgrade. Here are some the main annoyances not in any particular order:
1. Player freezes up if it ia jogged around: for whatever reason, the player kept on freezing after playing the first song while I was running. I had to reset it time and again or wait for it to stop hourglassing. Not a good thing while one is trying to enjoy a good run. Also, the reset hole (where you should be able to use a paperclip to reset it) is too small for a standard paper clip. I had to fine some fine pencil lead and hope that it didnt break off inside of it.
2. The unit hums a bit and vibrates while it changes between tracks. If you want a good massage while listening to your tunes, just place this on/near your low back. Certainly a feature that iRiver could promote.
3. iRiver customer service is lackluster at best. After waiting 48 hours for a response to my problem, they answered my question with another question after I had provided a very detailed explanation. Even my 4 year old son knew what was going on.
4. The equalizer feature has to readjust for each tune that it plays and doesnt stay static. Therefore, when your tune starts to first play, it adjusts to your equalizer setting after 1-2 seconds.
Anyway, for about $60 more you can enjoy the new Creative Zen Vision M. A much more powerful player and very very cool. I returned my iRiver for this new player and am EXTREMELY happy with it. It is more versatile than the iRiver, looks better and is even better than an iPod feature wise. Trust me, it will be the best extra money youve ever spent.
On: 2006-03-09
I bought a red 20 GB iriver last November after waiting for what seemed like an eternity for it to be released. The number one thing that attracted me to this player was the drag and drop function. Ive had a laptop for 2 yrs now so have quite an extensive collection of music in different formats so the idea of being tied to iTunes format did not appeal to me in the least which would have involved converting all my music+frankly ive got better things to be doin with my time!
So I suppose I should go through the good+bad things.
First impressions were mostly positive thought it was a wee bit chunky but im not really gonna be carrying it in a pocket so dont notice it really. Plus ive had it 4months now+its still in immaculate condition not one single scratch on the paint or screen even though ive a tendency to fall asleep listening to it so it usually ends up getting knocked off the bed onto the wooden floor+when I bring out its in my handbag with keys, purse etc, very impressive:)
I like the controls for the most part, the scroll is easy to use, I did think that the forward+back buttons should have been other way around, when holding it in you hand I would assume the down pointing arrow would be the back button but its actually the forward button. A minor inconvenience that bugged me at first but I dont even notice now! I do think there should be a progressive scroll button though coz speaking from the point of view of having over 300 albums on mine it takes a while to get to albums in the middle of the list, either that or have an alphabet search function like the Zen so u can hit find, then scroll through letters to M for instance+the device then skips to the first folder starting with M, saves a lot of time scrolling.
I like the set-up with the folders on the music section, album, artist, genres, my favourites etc. also the quick playlist option is a cool idea, but u cant queue up a whole album or delete one song which might have been cleared up with firmware, but I havent had a chance to download it yet. Also the random play function is useless, but I think thats gonna be cleared up by firmware too.
I have had problems with the player freezing+needing to be reset, its done it 4 times so far, one randomly while playing with full battery, another time when it was about to start playing from a really big playlist id syncd from WMP but when I tried to go back to change to random play before it had loaded the full playlist it froze for ages so just reset it, again when I transferred on my whole library, it froze twice after being disconnected.
Also when I put my whole collection on either by syncing with WMP or drag+drop all the music shows up in the music folder within the browser folder but not in the main music folder, ive tried it twice now+nothing works, but if I put on one album by drag+drop it does go into the main music folder, very frustrating coz I dont fancy having to transfer all 300 albums individually, if anybody has a reason why this is happening id appreciate it:)
Also I love having the radio, reception is very good even in the back of nowhere in Ireland so thats cool, plus being able to record straight to mp3 is soooo cool, but should definitely be able to delete recorded files directly from the device. I also bought an AudiaX fm transmitter for it which works pretty well, gets a bit fuzzy in very built up areas+the sound quality isnt perfect the rest of the time but I found it ok overall for the price.
The power cable is annoying the way it needs to be connected to the usb cable to charge but ive never had problems with the connection once in use, though I did buy my iriver from the US so have to use a plug converter in Ireland which doesnt connect very securely to the power plug, but thats not iRivers fault!
The fact that the album tracks arent played in order of track no is annoying, but I was aware of this before I bought it so id already put 01, 02, 03..etc in front of all the files names so that sorted that.
Im not very knowledgeable when it comes to sound quality, equaliser SRS..etc all I do know is it sounds good+the diff sound type options, rap, rock etc are good, not that I bother changing them to be honest.
The case that comes with it is very hard to get on and off but does offer good protection if u do bother to use it, except that it doesnt cover the screen which I would have thought would be most delicate part, but as I said earlier Ive given it a good bit of abuse+its still immaculate. I do agree u cant feel where the buttons are so u just have to find them from memory. But as I said I never bother using it, coz of the difficulty getting it on+off, plus its ugly, hiding the oh so super shiny red paintwork.
That brings me to my final point+another huge selling point for me it comes in red, beautiful shiny red (shoot me im a girl!) having seen the silver+blue(which is more like a dull navy) ones in real life id definitely recommend holding out for the red one even if a wait is involved u wont regret it:)
Overall, id recommend this player, I dont think youll ever find a perfectly flawless player to suit all preferences but this does a really good job I think, plus its cheaper than an iPod which every tom dick+harry has anyways, I prefer to not follow the crowd, plus Apple are such a rip off making all new products incompatible with old accessories, very sly. Anyways rant over, hope this review was helpful+enjoy whatever player u decide to buy:)
On: 2006-03-09
This item was never purchased. It was a replacement sent to replace the similar item I bought on 1-12. The item was defective and returned to Amazon. Your return policy is truly outstanding. This item was sent to me while I was still in possession of the item it was intended to replace. I was truly impressed.
On: 2006-03-09
While a lot of attention goes to the iPod, the iRiver is comparable in both price and quality, with good sound, large capacity (about 10,000) songs plus space for photos, text files and recorded sound (with its own built-in mike). But what I especially like is its ability to sync with the extensive Rhapsody music library and download music at no charge beyond the $15 monthly subscription. As long as you keep your Rhapsody subscription you have access on your iRiver to all the songs you have downloaded. Thats why I bought the iRiver instead of the iPod andd Im very happy with it. I give it a 4 rating (actually I would give it about a 4 1/2) instead of the maximum 5 rating because it has some peccadillos, particularly a tendency to turn on when bumped and run out its battery if youre not careful. (It has a lock switch to prevent this, but you have to remember to engage it.)
On: 2006-03-08
If youre looking for the perfect mp3 player (if there is such a thing), this isnt it...but, for the price, it cant be beat.
Ill start with the positive:
-Sounds good (lots of sound options, though I wouldnt use most of them)
-protective cover comes with it and actually does protect it
-Nice color screen (nice, though not necessary)
-Price is right
Negative:
-has frozen on me numerous times; this can be resolved by resetting the device, but why should it do this in the 1st place?
-scroll is annoying to use and very tricky while driving
-hard drive is a little slow; when you want to play a playlist list, takes a few seconds to access
-doesnt come with car battery charger; dont know if this is an extra
The most important thing to me was/is the sound. I researched and researched and found that this got some of the highest reviews in its category. It does sound good, but the issues I listed above make it a bit of a nuisance to use, especially while driving.
BTW, the free download on their site is a must to avoid problems.
On: 2006-03-02
I wish I could have given 3.5 stars. Initially when I bought this I was having major issues with getting the thing to transfer music from Windows Media Player 10 or Rhapsody To Go - both of which should have been supported. After numerous futile attempts with iriver tech - Amazon stepped up and replaced the unit, their dime, and now all is well.
I wish it were a little smaller and lighter - in my opinion it is not a wearable type of player, but it has performed well for me so far - the sound is great, the controls are easy and intuitive, and for the most part it is exactly what I was looking for. I also bought some accessories from iriver that have been good (remote, fm transmitter, and a carrying case)
On: 2006-02-25
Problem with this unit is it would not hold a charge. You have to keep it docked which I found very inconvenient. I purchased the Creative zen in place of it and love it!
On: 2006-02-25
I Brought Player about 6 Months ago. I had the apple ipod 40 gig player Before. I got tired of seeing everyone with the same Player. Player Works like a Charm ! People who were saying it freezes and it trouble transfering songs, have not done the firewire update. Only reason I know is because I was about to throw the player in trash. I called IRIVER to complain and tell them I want a new player, and they explained I needed upgrade. I did this and WOW 1000!!! Difference.
Pros
Color Screen
Works with Yahoo Music unlimted "Reason Why I brought it"
Battery Life is Good
Gell cover keeps it looking nice.
Speed of transfers
Am/FM
Put photos on it
Cons
Not all that thin, but fits very easily in pocket
Photo Quailty
20 Gig of space !!
Jubril
www.Jubril.com
by: Anonymous On: 2006-02-24
The only thing worse than no customer support is bad product and no customer support. This company believes that if they ignore the customer they can keep milking money from people who dont read reviews. Well, slowly but surely the word will get out there, so keep on laughing all the way to the bank because one day the name Iriver will mean dirt.
On: 2006-02-23
Just be warned that this and any device that is branded with the PlaysforSure stuff is bound to Microsoft 4ever. If you ever decide to use an Apple or any other operating system Microsoft has decided not to allow this device to function anymore thereby forcing you to use their products.
While theres nothing wrong with using products "designed" for Microsoft Windows just be aware that playsforsure means plays forsure in Windows only, and even then if Microsoft updates Windows will it still work?
Be careful before spending your money!
On: 2006-02-23
My iRiver I bought works just fine. I received it in the mail quickly with no problems. Good job!
On: 2006-02-20
I bought the iriver and am returning it a month later. After having imported downloaded music and my personal CDs, the player began malfunctioning for no apparent reason. It mislabeled tracks, freezes when I scroll up and down, and just plain does not work. I strongly recommend avoiding this product as it has caused me nothing but irritation.
On: 2006-02-18
I have had this Iriver 20GB for 1 week, in that time I have run with it 4 times. Out of the 4 times it locked up 3 times after playing about 3-4 songs. I heard good and bad about this player but Im a benefit of the doubt kind of guy. Unfortunately mine was bad. What sold me was the size 20 GB WOW. Well I know better now. Usb dongle is inconvenient and the pictures dont look that great. The player itself looks pretty slick, and the radio seems to work well. I recommend that if you just want to listen to music or exercise this may not be what you want. The novelty of having my whole collection with me is what got me. But if youre like me theres only several artists that I can tolerate to listen to all the time so rotating files does not seem to bad to me NOW. Last thing, They should include a paperclip in the box as often as you have to reset the unit.
On: 2006-02-09
I purchased this player after returning a Sony Network Walkman due to the limitations of the software - youre only able to utilise the software on the first PC you install it to which is ... frustrating.
The iriver H10 is very easy to navigate and doesnt require the use of a proprietry platform (such as iTunes or Sonic Stage). Being able to do everything through Windows Media Player is just so much easier. The sound quality is really very good (Sony probably just a little better in this regard) and battery life is great. (I dig my red case too.)
Unlike some other reviewers, I have had very positive customer service experiences including a phone call within 12 hours of emailing iriver Australia with a query about the USB. I understand US customers havent had such great support, however.
Overall, Im extremely happy with my purchase and glad I decided to go with 20GB. 6GB just doesnt go a long way - at all - if you want to move your music collection onto your player.
On: 2006-02-01
I was in the market recently for a MP3 player and all I kept hearing was iPOD after doing some research come to find out that there were some competitors in the market. After reading Consumer Reports and Tech news...iRiver gave a muc BIGGER band for the buck. I purchased the 20GB iRiver MP3 player much cheaper than the iPOD 4GB player and had more features such as voice recorder and FM recorder someting I might not use but its there just in case.
On: 2006-01-29
I have owned Iriver machines since the late 1990s/early 2000s and I must say I have always been pleased. After owning a small 512MB MP3 player for a number of years I figured it was time for a replacement. So I figured I would list some Pros and Cons to this little machine.
Pros:
1. It costs a lot less than most MP3 players in its class, in addition it is a great value compared to most 5GB and 6GB MP3 players, this DOES have a 20GB capacity.
2. This MP3 Player plays all types of music (WMAs and WAVs to MP3s)and can do playlists you make on Windows Media Player.
3. It has many features you dont usually find; it can do picture shows, has a radio (where you can also pre-set your favorite stations), can record, read text files, has a clock/timer/and alarm.
4. You can customize the way you listen to the music. It has shuffle function, a number of ways the sound comes across (From Hard Rock to Rap).
Cons:
1. I had a few problems uploading music from the computer onto the device. For instance I would recieve an error message in addition it would somtimes freeze and I would have to restard Windows Media Player in addition to the player.
2. The player occasionally freezes and needs to be restarted using a paper clip through the little button on the top of the device. I have had this happen a few times and its a bit annoying.
3. This is a minor problem but if you download albums that are called the "Greatest Hits" the player will mesh them together (no matter if they are by Blondie or ZZ Top).
On: 2006-01-25
I just ordered this iRiver from Amazon about 2 weeks ago. I did a lot of research about which mp3 player to buy, and despite mixed reviews I decided to go with the iRiver H10. Overall it was OK. I returned it to Amazon after a few days. The second day I had it, I tried connecting it to my computer to download more music, but Windows Media Player didnt recognize it. I checked all the cords and requirements, and they were fine. After some online research, I discovered that this is a common problem that iRiver hasnt figured out a solution to. I emailed the iRiver website (which I read is notorious for ignoring customers), and never got a response. I tried resetting the player, and mysteriously it worked again.
At this point, I was willing to give the iRiver another chance. However, the next day the screen froze and I had to reset it yet again. Now I was pretty annoyed and I decided to return it to Amazon. I liked the iRivers design and menus, but Windows Media Player was not my favorite application. Since my computer had iTunes, I had to rip all my cds again. It was just not worth the hassle. Im not sure whether I would recommend this mp3 player. It couldve just been mine that was defective, but from what I read from online there are a lot of problems with these players and almost nonexistent support from the iRiver website.
On: 2006-01-21
Well, first off...I ordered this item in November, and got it in January. They ended up sending me two and charging me twice. The picture says it is red and black, but it is red and silver. Which made me mad. Then, it isnt even recognized on my windows system, so I download the hardware they ask me to, and it doesnt help. Now Ive had this IRIVER for about a week, and I havent been able to get any songs on it. I read the instructions, and it was not clear whatsoever. It skipped around to different things and didnt stay on track like, "1. plug it in, 2. insert disk" It would go from "1. plug it in, 2. FM radio keys"
It was hard to follow, and I have kept messaging tech support for www.iriveramerica.com. They made me sign up for an "ebox" because they only would email me directly through their website, it kept going down, and the messages have trouble sending. I have gotten one response from about 4 emails.
Now, I sit here with my iriver. It has no songs, and it wont hook into my computer. I tried recording some songs onto it through its recording mic...but I had a few bad recordings, and cant even figure out how to delete them.
I really wish I didnt buy this product. It is not user friendly.
On: 2006-01-11
Bought this for the wife at christmas, loaded up around 1k songs quick enough, but some songs would suddenly just not play, eventually you wouldnt be able to play any and i would have to "recover" the drive (i.e. wipe it and re-sync the music). This happens like every week now.
Have emailed to IRIVER 3 times now over 10 day period. No reply. They provide no telephone number that i can find.
Going to try and return it to Amazon now, at least they give good customer service.
It may well be that i just have a bad drive, but Iriver dont seem to care about it.
On: 2006-01-10
Recvd our package on time, good condition. My daughter loves it and both Husband and son want one for themselves.
by: ellisgodard On: 2005-12-29
The iRiver series has some great advantages for music. It offers gapless playback, avoiding two-second pauses when listening to a complete album (which can ruin continguous transitions on albums such as Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon). And many reviews suggest it offers higher fidelity for complex sound.
One downside: This is one of the only players not supported (at least explicitly) by audible.com, favored as having the largest library of downloadable audiobooks/ebooks. There are some ways around that, such as third-party software that requires being a bit more tech savvy than you might be. But if audiobooks are your thing, an alternative (such as the Creative Zen line, or the industry-leading iPod) may be preferable.
On: 2005-12-29
I heard of the H10 before it even got released, for I used to own an iRiver SlimX 400 CD-MP3 player that was just perfect. You couldnt ask more from a CD-MP3 player (it was absolutely thin and even had games!). I had seen the H10 while downloading firmware updates for this player, and when it was nicked in the subway, I made a quick decision and bought one of the first red H10s sold.
PROS:
I could talk and talk about this all day. They are, mainly,
- Battery life | its better than expected, and way better than an ipods. It will certainly last you enough to listen through a whole day uninterrupted, or a long transcontinental flight, and to go back home and charge it. With normal use (3-4 hrs a day) I can use it for about a week. It does depend on whether you use the screen for pictures or changing settings really frequently or only sparingly.
- Sound quality - Buy sound-isolating earphones like the Shure e2c and itll be bliss. But the bundled earphones are really good anyway, theyre the Sennheiser mx400s, which have a relatively loud sound, balanced bass, treble, etc., and are way better than iPod bundled phones. Besides theyre black, which reduces the risk of being a crime victim.
- Design - I absolutely love it. Beautiful little chromed details are great, and the red is astounding. Dont be fooled by the photo here in Amazon, the touchpad is light grey instead of black.
- Compatibility - You can play almost all kinds of music files without a hitch. You can buy from any music store aside from iTunes and listen easily.
- Ease of use - No installation required! (ONLY COMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS XP). You can use to sync with Windows Media Player, as I do, and then it will just copy all your music files and the images in any folder you specify, optimised for the device. Choose Automatic Sync to do this. If youd prefer to drag and drop the files just use the "Emergency Connection" setting: reset the player, then connect the player, and finally press the o button while turning the player on. This will make the device appear as just a new hard drive. Copy your music to the "MUSIC" folder and youre ready to go!
- Case included - Its one of those translucent silicon cases so popular with iPod. I dont like it, but its really safe.
- Easy interface - Way easier than other iRiver products.
- Firmware updates - iRiver allows you to download improvements of the players features. They erase all your files, but you can resync it with your computer and youre set. Any annoying things on the player can be solved by this (and my SlimX experience tells me they will).
- All the extra features: record from FM radio, SRS-WOW really improves sound...
CONS
Really few, but they include:
- Has a tendency to crash - A LOT. If it stops responding, just do not touch it for two minutes (as in 120 seconds). If it doesnt budge, use a paper clip to press the Reset button and thats it. No settings or music are lost. It can be quite bothering, though, to need a paper clip that often. This will likely be fixed with firmware updates.
- Case doesnt identify Play, Forward and Back buttons - To use them with a case, you have to either look at it intently or memorise their exact location. Theres no little plastic bump or something that tells you where a button is. This makes operation without seeing the player difficult for the first few weeks.
- Picture viewing is average: pics will either appear pixelated (if compressed automatically with Windows Media Player) or take time to load (if loaded as-is).
- Awkward charger - If you want to charge the player, you need to connect a special cable with a proprietary plug into the device, and then plug a "black brick" AC charger to the cable itself. This means that, if youre going on a holiday, you need not only the bulky charger but also a second cable with the USB plug. Whats with the proprietary charges? Why cant we just have standard power inputs in consumer electronics?
And now, my warranty/support experience. I can easily say that this has been the best warranty and support experience I have had in my life.
After a couple of months of using the player, the hard drive had a failure. Living in a high altitude place, and subjecting the player to an intense life, this is perfectly possible. I was totally and absolutely depressed, since I live in Mexico and had purchased the player on a trip to the States. No company (Sony even runs TV adverts remembering you of it) honours an American warranty here, so you buy their heavily premiumed items here. The H10 is sold in stores here for well over $500.
I just thought it was a lost cause. I was going to stash the H10 in a drawer and go off and buy the overpriced Mexican version, when I decided to call iRiver Support (USA) in my free time through Skype. An American rep answered the line in about five minutes (if its hard for you to understand reps from India imagine someone who knows English as a second language and is speaking from a computer). He asked some brief questions and then emailed me a recovery files with instructions. When that failed, I just emailed it through their nice customer support web system, and within a couple of hours I had a RMA number to return product. So far so good! I called again and asked if thered be a problem to have the replacement shipped to Mexico on my expense. No problem! They specified to send the player without any accesory or instruction manual.
So, I DHLed the player to their offices, and it arrived there on Friday December 23 in the morning. Well, imagine my surprise when, on December 24, I was greeted with an extra Christmas present: a brand new (didnt say refurbished anywhere) H10 player, in its box with all the new accesories: headphones, case, etc etc etc. Best of all, it had arrived through UPS Expedited Next Day, something that probably cost about $60 USD, and with all taxes prepaid (probably $30 at least). I was amazed at the efficiency (they probably dispatched the replacement in a couple of hours at most) and by the kindness of doing something they didnt promise in their warranty policy.
Just because of that, I can tell you: buy from a company that cares about its customers; especially now that Apple is ignoring consumer plight regarding the badly designed Nano screens (here in Mexico they are outright refusing warranty, benefitting from the difficulty of suing and the lack of regulation). I have known iRiver cares because of the release of all those firmware updates for products they have, after all, already sold. But this makes it perfectly clear. Buy a fantastic product that has great looks and is made by a good company, the H10.
On: 2005-10-21
First of all, for everyone who thinks that only the iPod has style--take a look at the iRiver. Its sleek and sexy as well as being fairly light. The controls are easy to use and figure out. The only gripe I have is that the power button should be recessed so it isnt so easy to turn it on and off if the player is in your purse or your pocket. It does have a locking mechanism so no harm no foul.
The playlists can be generated through Windows Media or you can generate a quicklist on the fly. I would suggest using Media player unless you are just compiling a list of a few songs.
The sound quality is excellent! And the headphone provided are OK considering they are the freebie type. The radio and voice recorder are also excellent--and there arent many MP3 players that include both at this price!
Ahhh and the battery life is really good! It lasts for about six to seven hours for me.
Overall, this is a great player, with a great look, great sound, and excellent value. If you dont want to get locked into the iTunes monopoly and want more flexibility with services such as Rhapsody, Napster, or Yahoo Music this player is for you.
On: 2005-10-09
I really like this Iriver H10 MP3 player/recorder. Its so convenience for me when I have recorded my lectures everyday and until now I still go online searching for promotion from amazon.com to buy the other one. I hope that everybody who buy stuff from amazon.com always get same nice and convenience customer service as I did.
I look forward to get more interested stuff from amazon.com
On: 2005-09-23
I bought the iRiver H20 a month or so ago, so that Id have something to keep me occupied between classes (other than studying Calculus - who goes to college and actually studies?). Im quite amazed with the amount of abuse that the H20 has withstood thus far. Every day, it gets tossed into my duffle bag along with a couple textbooks, my lunch (which is somehow always damp by the time I get to it), a binder, and various pointy objects. When Im at home, I use it whenever Im washing dishes, lifting weights, and doing just about anything else. Thus far, the screen hasnt scratched, the translucent rubber sleeve that comes packaged with the iRiver hasnt torn or allowed the shiny red exterior to get scratched, the moisture from my aformentioned damp lunch and from washing dishes hasnt killed it, and even the jarring from being inside my duffle bag doesnt seem to have affected it.
For anyone that has even the slightest idea how to use a computer, the iRiver should be a snap to use. The iRiver does come with a cd that contains Windows Media Player 10 - and it can come in handy . . . sometimes. But, the easiest way to manage your mp3 collection is the simple, older-than-dirt, drag-and-drop method. You can create folders and subfolders directly, so youll know exactly where your music is if you decide to pick a song by browsing the folders instead of picking an artist. If you have USB 2.0 and a computer with a sufficient amount of RAM, then you shouldnt have any problems putting files onto, and removing them from your iRiver. One thing to mention, is once you select a file or group of files to add\\remove from your iRiver, wait until the selected action has completed before attempting another. If you start one action and then try to start another while the other is still in progress, the later action takes precedent and your computer really begins to lag while it holds the first action on the backburner. This isnt the fault of the iRiver, but there is only a set amount of bandwidth that your USB ports can handle. But just like with any product, you learn how to use it to its peak efficiency so that you get the most out of it and dont waste precious time.
Basically the only thing that comes with your iRiver other than the disk with WMP10 and the rubber sleeve for your iRiver, is the power cable and the USB connector. Although these are in reality two different cables, you must connect them together in order to recharge your iRiver. The cable that connects your iRiver to your USB port can be used independently. The power cable hooks into the USB cable. From past reviews, you may have heard that the power cable doesnt want to stay connected unless you go to extreme measures (like "taping the cables together"). Im not sure where the person who said that got it. Its possible he got a defective one, because mine seems to work just fine. The power cable stays hooked into other cable without a problem. The iRiver also fully recharges (from a dead battery) in right around 4 hours (give or take). Dont expect to receive your iRiver with a full battery. Mine came with about 25 minutes of battery life when I took it out of the box.
All in all, H20 is quite a machine. Ive found it to be reliable, and well worth the $270 I paid for it.
*whispers* get the red one . . .
On: 2005-09-16
The iriver is a total piece of JUNK. I have purchased and used extensively many differnt MP3 players and this one has to be, by far, the worst ever. First off, the software (windows media player)...what a sorry piece of work that is. Oh dont get me wrong its fine for playing the random MP3 on your PC or even a video clip. But as far as using it to manage your MP3 player...its any sane persons worst nightmare. The library interface is ugly and totally difficult to use, not user friendly at all. I have never had so much frustration over a piece of software in my entire life. The worst part is....you are forced to use this software to manage the iriver. Its a complete joke. Iriver should be embarrassed to offer WMP with thier players...really.
Further, the player NEVER disconnects from my PC correctly. after I manually transfer my music I litterally have to end task or turn off my computer in order to have the player disconect so that I can safely unplug it...and NO it is not my PC for all you naysayers out there.
One last note, some brain surgeon thought it would be great to incorperate the power adapter and USB cable in one Y cable. This in itself isnt a bad thing....EXCEPT Iriver did it wrong. One arm of the Y cable is USB and goes to your computer, the other goes to the player and the last goes to the power adapter. Problem is there is a split in the power adapter arm that can be unplugged (im guessing for convienince) however, the connection comes unplugged if even the slightest breeze blows by. The connection is so loose that you just look at it funny and the cable falls apart so you either have to hold it secure or use tape....NICE. Oh...and transfering music to this player is a super sensitive process...if you look at it funny the songs transfering get all messed up and then when you try and play them they skip and stutter like a scratched record. and NO again...this is not my mp3s or my computer. I know this for sure due to reasons I wont get into.
I bought this player thinking YAY, I will spend the extra money on one of the most sought after highest rated and adavnced players put there. I thought I would be getting something great. Instead I got something that is a total joke. I thought YAY color screen and napster/subscription service compatible with built in FM tuner. Still the Iriver is a JOKE. Save your money and buy something reliable and easy to use like the CREATIVE ZEN XTRA. Of all the players I have owned this one beats the rest hands down. It may lack some of the bells and whistles like the color screen and built in FM tuner but its reliable and wont give you a single damn iriver nightmare problem. Transfering is easy and the software is great. BUY CREATIVE boycott Iriver (aka piece of junk)
On: 2005-09-16
I like the way this product works. My IPOD broke 1 week after the 1 year mark - so I was "out of luck" according to Apple in getting a new one or a free repair. So I bought this I River - it was 40-50 dollars cheaper, has an FM radio and holds pics and text and is easy to use. The only complaint I have was the free case - its plastic and hard to get on and off - I broke it the 2nd time I put it on.
On: 2005-09-12
I love my new iRiver H10 20GB. It definitely has the best features, ease of use, and most memory. The FM tuner is a huge bonus at the gym and on runs. The color screen is great too.
I only have 2 criticisms. First is the stupid rubber case it comes with. Its cheap as hell and broke in the first week. That particular case is also the ONLY case with a belt clip that the 20GB will fit in. Im waiting on my new case from customer service (been waiting for 2 weeks). That is my other criticism. Customer Service is pretty much nonexistent. Plan on waiting for hours to talk to anyone. Once I finally got someone they were nice enough and replaced my case for free. It was all very frustrating though.
All in all, I recommend this MP3 player because of the color screen, FM Tuner, and ease of use.
On: 2005-09-03
Let me point out at the outset that I have been a dedicated iPod user (most recently a 6gb Mini) for the last two years and have grown to love both the iPod and the iTunes software. Both are elegantly designed and easy to use. I bought the iRiver H10 20 GB player in order to try out the Yahoo!Music subscription service. So far (about two weeks) I have been very pleased with both. The H10 is very solid and has excellent build quality. All controls are placed logically and work smoothly. A minor complaint is that the control lock switch at the top of the machine feels a bit flimsy, but otherwise the unit is very well made. I also like the color screen a great deal and find the display to be clear, bright and easy to read. It is hard to go back to the black and white screen of the iPod.
Despite the reviews which have appeared elsewhere, I have found the menus to be logical and easy to navigate. I have no complaints in this regard, although others have been critical of the fact that there is no way to create a playlist "on the go", but since I never use this feature on my iPod anyway I dont miss it.
Of course the most important aspect of any audio device is how it sounds and in this respect the iRiver does not disappoint. It is, in a word, terrific and exceeds that of the iPod in my opinion, especially when compared with the Mini.
My major disappointment with this player is the use of Windows Media Player as the interface. iTunes is just so much better, but thats the subject of a different review. Fortunately I have found that it is easier for me to use the Yahoo!Music Engine to manage my machine instead. It will perform all necessary functions while allowing you to access and transfer subscription tracks. It will also show exactly how much disc space youve used on your player and how much is left. The service is wonderful by the way, but that too is the subject of another review.
I have experienced none of the other problems mentioned by others in this space. My computers always recognize my player and synchronizing it has never been an issue. I would rate the battery life as very good to excellent.
All in all this is a very well made piece of equipment with excellent sound quality which allows you to access suscription music. It represents a very viable option to the iPod.
On: 2005-08-31
I just purchased the H10 20 GB mp3 player (Red). I did a lot research on the net prior to choosing/purchasing this player. The features that I was looking for was a compact player, large disk space (20GB +), works with Yahoo Unlimited ($5/month subscription), and reasonablely priced.
I like this player. It is larger than the 5 GB version, but similar to the Ipod 20+ GB. Knowing it was not a mini player, I checked it out on display at BB prior to ordering it. I purchased it from Amazon and saved $40 compared to BB and had better color choices (red vs. blue).
I have not have had any problems as described in prior reviews. The controls are easy to use. The holder is a rubber material and fits the mp3 player snug.
The complaints about Win Media Player (WinMP) 10 syncing immediately upon connecting is a setting in WinMP (Sync Tab -> Set up Sync Button).
In general, the pros and cons are:
Pros:
1. It was the same size as the ipod 20 GB.
2. 20 GB.
3. Color display
4. Works with Subscription services (Yahoo, Napster, Rhapsody To Go).
5. Good earbuds (Sennheiser). Personally I like over the ear headphones (Sennheiser PX 100).
6. Controls are logically laid out on the machine.
Cons:
1. Can not replace the battery.
2. Input cable is both power and usb.
3. Would have liked the 5/6 GB versions case size.
4. Cradle not available yet.
5. Larger hard drive options (40, 60).
Cons as related to an mp3 player
6. One more device to carry around (cell phone, pda, psp, mp3).
7. Had to clean up all of my older mp3s tags(artist, album, track no., etc)
On: 2005-08-24
The sound on this device is phenomanal. I like the sort options, although I understand where everyone is coming from w/ the album order sort option missing. Its good looking and a great size & the buttons and menues are very easy to navigate.
I love my h10
HOWEVER
Its pissing me off
I am now on H10 #2. The first one didnt record, the jack was screwed up and it came with a 5/6 gig case instead of the case for the larger (physically) 20 gig device. ***You up there,with the case problem, its inherent in the red devices. Im thinking they were all shipped with the wrong cases.
Device #2: Still has the wrong size case. File name sticks, so it shows the song I was listening to last, even though it has moved on to a new song and the time bar is correct. This is really irritating since I put a bunch of stuff on there that I havent listened to yet and would like to know who the heck Im listening to!
My computer only registers that the Iriver is connected intermittently. This is some sort of XP problem because it doesnt matter if I plug in my boyfriends H10 or mine. Ive found this complaint all over the net, so Im not the only one.
WinMP starts sincing as soon as the device is connected. I wish it wouldnt do that, what if Im working on something thats taking processing power or something? Id rather choose when to start the sinc.
You will have to reformat the meta data on nearly all of your music. This took a while as I have many gigs of music BUT Win MP makes it pretty painless and you can do a whole artist or album at once.
Anyway, because of the case problem Amazon has offered to refund my money. Im considering because the track name things is really bothering me. I dont want to though, I really want this device, but I want it to WORK.
On: 2005-08-16
i puchased the h10 20gig mp3 in blue and the fm radio trans, the only mistake i made was buying them at best buy. i could have saved about 75 bucks buying it from amazon.com, i wont make that mistake again. i tried the ipod mini but was not pleased with the looks or the performance, found it too hard to operate using itunes. i have had better luck with the h10 the transfer of wmas is real simple, it would be hard to mess that up sound quality great, the controls are very easy to operate, and it looks great. using the custom eq is great for sound quality just be careful not to crank up the volume since in the custom eq mode it tends to cut out if the volume is cranked up too high, the fm trans is a little disappoining, it turns of after 30 seconds if no signal is detected, but it has a habit of turning off on its own even when music is playing, its quite annoying to have to unplug and plug it back in. it also has an fm radio and can record directly from the fm tuner, and has a bulit in voice recorder, good for remembering things to buy or taking notes, the only drag is to delete the recordings you have to plug it into you pc. you can also downlod pictures, the picture quality is very good, you can even set it up to do a slide show. it comes with the a carrying case that looks like it should glow in the dark, the ear phones sound clear and comfortable, it also comes with the installation software,battery charger and usb cable, battery life, expect about two days before you have to recharge it depending on how much you use it. i plan on purchasing another one in recorder red for my audiobooks and radio ministry teachings. good luck in finding accesories for the h10 like different carrying cases with an arm band or a docking station for your home stereo, not much out there for this mp3 player yet.supports mp3,wma,jpeg,txt files, its about the size of a deck of cards, and does not weigh much. i think you will pleased with the purchase if the h10
On: 2005-08-14
I purchased the iriver H10 20GB (Blue) about three weeks ago after saving and researching for about 6 months. In summary, I have been very happy with the player and would definitely buy it again.
The Good
The sound quality is very good. The included ear buds are fine (Im not a fan of ear buds in general), but the source is clean and accurate and you can spend as much or as little on after-market headphones as you like. There is a lot of control over the EQ.
Virtually all of my music is in Variable Bit Rate MP3 format. The H10 supports MP3 and the Microsoft format (WMF). I dont use iTunes (ACC) or Audible so lack of support for those formats is not an issue for me.
The form factor is nice. Its about the same size as a deck of cards and fairly light. It fits in my hand or a pocket easily.
The user interface works well with either one or two hands. The controls are simple, intuitive and make sense. (I recommend you read the short manual or it might take you a while to stumble onto some of the more subtle features.) The thumb slider works well, even with a large list to scroll through-when your thumb hits the end of the slider, the display keeps scrolling. Using the slider to control volume rather than a physical knob or wheel is a good idea.
One of my main reasons for picking the H10 was the FM tuner. I like to listen to National Public Radio and other local stations. The tuner has good reception and it is easy to program stations as presets. I have used the ability to record an FM transmission a few times already.
The color display is bright and clear. The screen layouts make sense and have useful information. I dont have a reason to use the player to display pictures (other than when showing off the player), but it does have this ability.
I had no problems getting Windows XP to recognize the player-it shows up as a USB drive. Data transfer rates have been good for a USB device. Ive loaded my entire library several times as Ive played with different software besides Windows Media Player. It takes about an hour and a half to transfer 12GB.
Some reviewers have complained that the player locks up when they used Windows to browse the players hard drive. It does take a while to display the contents of folders on the player, but I havent had the player or Windows actually lock up.
The battery life has been good. Ive taken it on a couple of multi-day trips and havent run it down completely.
The OK
The player is designed to work with Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 (included on CD with the player). WMP does all of the basic things you want: rip, organize, update ID3 tags, build playlists, sync with the player. Of course it takes Microsofts typical "software for dummies" approach-it doesnt do any of the things as well as some other programs and you cant change the way it behaves, where it stores your music files, etc. ("Sorry maam, but you dont need to know the bit rate were using to encode your music. Move along now...") But, if you are willing to be assimilated (resistance is futile!), it can manage your music collection and player adequately.
Fortunately, because you can copy the music files directly to the player using Windows, you can use any software you wish. I like to use FreeRIP to create the mp3 files-it works very well, queries freedb so you dont have to type in any information, supports variable bit rate encoding, and is free.
To use the player with a lot of content, having clean ID3 tags is critical. ID3 tags store the information about the music file (artist, album, title, genre, etc.) in the MP3 file. I tried Windows Media Player, but again ended up using a different free program (MP3Tag) that worked better, especially when cleaning up hundred of files at a time.
Some reviewers have complained that the player will not play songs in the order that they were on the album. Remember that the players has only the information in the ID3 tags and the file names to work with. It doesnt seem to use the "Track" tag, but you can get it to play in album order if you include the track number in the file name and play songs in alphabetic order. For example, I name my music files "Artist - Album - Track# - SongTitle.mp3." 99% of the time I have the player on random shuffle.
Im still looking for a program that can make it easier to sync the player and manage playlists.
I dont expect the software to be an issue for the typical owner-I tend to be very particular.
I suppose the support for text files is useful, if you wanted to keep some reference files on the device. Ive read novels on a Palm Pilot, so Im not opposed to using a small device for reading, but electronic devices have a long way to go to before they can match the performance and convenience of paper for pleasure reading.
Some reviewers have mentioned having to upgrade the firmware and having to remove the battery to reset the player. The H10 20GB does not have a firmware upgrade release yet, and it resets very easily by pressing a small recessed button with a paper clip. I have had to reset the player a couple of times, but it reboots quickly and this hasnt been a big deal.
The Bad
Bad is relative. Nothing Ive encountered with the player is truly "bad."
Probably my worst complaint is that there is a brittle-sounding click in the headphones as the player changes songs. I dont really notice it any more, but at first it was annoying.
I like to listen to longer material, audio books and old radio programs, and fast-forwarding to a mid-point to resume listening can take a while, even with the scan rate set to max (6x). A progressive scan (longer you hold it down, the faster it goes) would be more effective and intuitive.
The player comes with a white translucent silicone protective cover. It has a belt clip and is soft and does a good job of protecting the player, even if it is not the most attractive thing Ive seen. Ive listed it under the Bad category because it also makes it difficult to feel the Prev Track/Play/Next Track buttons through the silicone.
I havent had to call iriver for support yet, but have no illusions about the quality of live support that will be available. Unfortunately, no one provides good customer support. Best we can hope for is a device that is made well enough that the need for support is rare. So far, the H10 20GB seems to fall into this category.
Because the player is designed to be a copy of your master library, theres no obvious way to delete files (even ones youve recorded using the players FM tuner) using the players interface. You have to connect it to your computer for this.
Theres also no obvious way to figure out how much disk space is left on the player, either from the player or from Windows. As a work-around, I add up the size of the various media directory trees on my computer to estimate how much space is left.
Im hoping both of these are addressed by firmware upgrades.
Oh.. and I wish I had gotten red.
On: 2005-08-06
I just bought my iRiver H10 20GB red last week, and received it yesterday. The very first disappointment is
1. It does not look as good as it looks in pictures
2. slightly bigger than expected
3. The very bad thing is it has a rubber case, which does not even fit properly. After pushing-pulling from here there, i could put it on H10, and it is just like potato in a polythene bag. Looks really ugly.
Now i am looking for a decent case for my h10 20gb, and i cant find it in this big world. I wish i would have made a decision to buy a ipod instead of this crappy iRiver, my bad.
Sound quality is good, but first impression is very bad.
On: 2005-07-06
I recently bought and returned the YH925GS. Not only did it not have an FM tuner (didnt care that much), but adding, modifying, and deleting files was becoming a BIG pain.
The MP3 player is pretty slim, even though its not the slimmest one you can buy, its light so if you like jogging with it or excersising youll barely notice it. Like all 20 GB MP3 players, you can store 5,000 songs (approx. 400 CDs). The controls look strange at first, but actually, all you need to control is the touchpad. There are also arrows for them most easy navigation. Youll notice that its easier to use than most MP3 players on the market today. The battery life is 16 hours. Some of todays players have more than 20 hours, but I guess 16 is okay.
The player also comes with a 1.8" LCD screen, and more colors than a computer so your photos will look of professional quality. On this player, something that most if not all players cant do, is view .txt files. This is a really cool feature. You can store lyrics or essays in Notepad, then transfer them into the player. This is a VERY cool feature that I will be using more often.
The sound is really good. It doesnt have WOW features that most MP3 players have, but it has a very decent equalizer. The sound isnt distored at all, and Im suprised about this.
The player also comes with recordings and FM tuning. THe microphone can pick up voice pretty far, and the FM tuner is quite good too. There are also 20-preset stations for your tuner. And listen to this one, you can rip off of the radio. How cool is that? Say your listen to the radio, and you hear this hot new track that is so good, you can just press record, and you can listen to it whenever you want. Its not that other players dont do this, its that this is the 1 of 2 players that has the fantasic combination of 20 GB, Radio, and Recording. (the iAudio X5 is the other player that has this...I didnt buy it because it doesnt allow you to change track settings, WTF?)
Its also PlaysForSure compatible, but to use WMP 10, you have to download the drivers from the iRiver website. Unless you have a lot of music on WMP, I would just stick to the drag-n-drop. Its not just drag-n-drop (e.g. My Computer, iRiver) or WMP 10 thats compatable. RealPlayer is compatable, and Napster is too (but I think Napster sucks). To put photos on your MP3 player, you can use the manual drag-n-drop. As a matter of fact, the My Computer>iRiver method is probably the best. I have no reason why you would want/need WMP 10 or Real to manage music. Though, I guess to have further options, you would need it. But otherwise, its VERY easy to add tracks since you can drag-n-drop. But remember, if you cant get Windows to understand the H10, youll need to go to iRivers website and download the new drivers. I wish they would give you the drivers beforehand, because some people with computers may not have internet.
Overall, if you want the great combination of 20 GB, WMA and MP3, Recording, Drag-N-Drop (no hassle with WMP or Real), and FM radio, you just HAVE to have the H10.
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