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178 of 183 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fine Flash MP3 Player, October 30, 2005
I'm a complainer (as indicated below), and don't tend to give high ratings for most goods/service. However, this is one well-designed player. This is my fourth MP3 player, and I'll be comparing the T-10 primarily to the iRiver, iFP-799, which as of this writing is still available at Amazon.
The Pluses:
- Uses an AA battery. This is a feature I really like, because I love the long life it provides, and it provides loooooong life. I've not done a formal measurement of the device, because I can't bear to be parted from it for two full days, but I have no doubt that if you use Lithium Ion Batteries, that you can get the rated battery life out of the system. (people who complain the battery life claims are over rated are probably using alkaline batteries, which don't last nearly as long).
- Battery compartment. The 799 was notorious for its flimsy battery compartment, which kept coming off, and which I would have lost if I hadn't taped it on. Well, they've overcompensated here, and the battery compartment is now attached and spring loaded. Its very well done - almost NASA or Military-quality.
- Controls - how sturdy they are. One of the reasons I returned my iFP-799 was that after a month of obsessive use, the main control buttons were starting to wear out (or didn't work well enough from the beginning -- this was especially true of the center "Joystick"). The controls here appear to be sturdier, and a simple redesign of the main controls (on the top) makes them a bit easier to use, less likely to be bumped, because they are closer to the face (others don't like this, but I think its good), and because the center is not a joystick, it seems less likely to wear out. Another thing that's better is that the Lock, which you can see on the face, is easier to get to, and doesn't get hit accidentally.
- The fm receiver/controls. First, the software design for storing and loading stations is much better than the ifp-799 (which I never did quite figure out), and i'd say its satisfactory. After you've figured out how to set/save a station, the rest is easily, and changing stations is very easy. The reciever itself is more sensitive than I would have thought, though the antenna/headphones make weaker stations fade based on your configuration. Although I've not done a formal measurement, it appears to be a good as my $40 CD/MP3 stereo. I wish it were more sensitive, but I'm being unreasonable.
- Lanyard Latch. They went out of their way to make the latch that you attach the player to really big and sturdy. It works well and does appear as sturdy in person as it does in the photo. It is of course overkill, but it doesn't hurt anything. I have a minor annoyance with how easy it is to atttach the player to the lanyard (see below), because of the shape of the faux leather connector that comes on the lanyard. Its a bit hard to attach/detach the lanyard w/o looking. Also, I find I often start/stop/turn on/off the player when putting it in/out of the lanyard. This may be in part be an artifact of my left handedness.
- Accessories. Because I bought the Australian version (see below), I didn't get the armband (which I liked alot on the ifp-799). it did come with a lanyard, which is of a different design than I've ever seen before. Its adjustable in the back, with the slack being taken up by increasing the overlap of the two sides. Its a very elegent design, and works very well. Update: after a month, it has started to slip during use.
- Sturdiness. I haven't done a drop test, and don't intend to (not that that's ever stopped me before!). However, the device appears to be quite sturdy. I would have recommended that they build the "black" parts of the device out of some slightly rubberized material to mitigate against the inevitable drop which will be in my future.
The Minuses:
- Music Management Software. I object strenuously to the idea that I can't use the 1 GB device as a standard USB Mass Storage Device. There are three downsides to this control. First, you can't connect your player to a PC unless you have had the forethought to install the software on that PC; second, the management software will allow you to copy non-music files from the player to your PC, but not music files. Third, ITS YOUR STUFF. Many people won't object to this as much as I do, and won't find it more than a minor inconvenience, especially if you know what computers you will get you files from. In fact, many people will think of the music management software as a plus, which will allow you to play DRMedstuff on their devices, which the standard MSD device won't support. I didn't like it.
- The OLED display. Because of the technology used, there is no backlit display, either its on and brilliant (and it is very bright -- I've used it as a flashlight around the house at night!), or its off. The IFP-799 had a standard LCD display, which allowed you to see what was on the display in ambient light without having to burn battery. The big downer here is that it is not sunlight readable, as are LCDs. I've found that this is tolerable, becuase I seldom need to look at it in sunlight, but your milage may vary here.
- Control Positioning. I wish they had put the three controls which are currently on the "left" side, on the right. This is because they are on the outide of the "Bulge", and is more likely to be bumped than if they were on the other side (the "inside"). I don't think they should have put the "elbow" in the document at all, but it's a small thing.
-USB Connectivity. It does not plug directly into a USB Drive (Needs the cable that you use for your digital camera). Of course it is a USB 2.0 device.
- USB Cover. The cover for the USB Connector appears to be brittle, because its made of hard plastic, and I fear that it will eventually break off with repeated use.
-USB Access while off. I wish that I could use it as a USB MSB even when it is off. Think about it - your USB memory key doesn't need any internal power to access the memory key. Why should my MP3 player be different?
- No audio in. In the 799, you could put audio in and record it in MP3, which was a nice perk, but I never used it, and don't miss it.
- Display format. The display, though very bright, is only satisfactory in its layout. They appear to have the space to make the letters bigger, but they didn't. Its good enough, but could have been better.
- The secondary controls are non-intuitive, difficult to learn. It took me a week to be able to do everything seamlessly without experimentation, and the first day was very frustrating.
- Earphones. They're OK. You don't use the earphones that come with your MP3 player anyway, do you? But for the record, they are OK, but not for me. However, they are "straight out", while the design of the device cries out for earphones that come out at a right angle. This is becuase the phones out are at the left of the device, rather than the top. I recommend you get earphones of your liking.
- Sound. This is neither a plus or a minus. I tend to think of all of these digital mp3 players as having basically the same frequency characteristics, nad that the big difference comes in the choice of speakers/ earphones, and optionally amplifier/ speakers. I'm using either Shure E2c earphones (which I have some comments on -- see that review) -- as well as some $10 sony over the ear phones when the E2cs aren't appropritiate. Becuase the Shure's are so efficient at transferring sound to the ear, I listen to them at a volume of 1 to 4 on the T-10, depending on my concentration on the sound. At the lower volume levels (1, 2 actually), the frequency response of the combination looses some base. At higher volumes There is nothing to complain about. This is probabably at least as much an issue with how good the e2cs are, rather than a real problem with the T-10.
None of the Minuses listed above are of any consequence to me other than the inability to use the device as a standard mass storage device (MSD), and many people might find this annoying, but it detracts only slightly from the overall usability of the system.
If you don't like DRM: I concur with all the other complaints posted here on DRM. To overcome the DRM Software, I first called the company and found that they don't have software available to the American version that allows its use as a MSD. Then, I found that iRiver publishes different software in different countries. For instance, it's my understanding that the European version has the radio disabled, because of a tariff issue. Well, in Korea and Australia (and most certainly the AU version), the software has the ability to choose either the Music Manager firmware, or the MSD firmware. Thus, you can have it either way with these versions. Thus, you might consider the AU version, if the MSD capability is important to you. You are unlikely to find the AU version at Amazon, though I've not checked with all the third parties. I ended up paying the equivalent of the Local big box price plus overnight shipping for the device I wanted.
Whether you get the American or another version, this is a well designed MP3 player, asuming you don't need to read it in direct sun (which I've not found is a big deal).
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116 of 123 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful player, thrilled with it., September 28, 2005
This is my third MP3 player. My first two were hard drive types- one jammed up all the time and I returned it, and the second was wonderful until I dropped it- "sigh". So this time, I thought I would just get a small flash type. I really liked the fact that I could replace the battery and just keep moving on. The only thing I didn't like, was the fact that I couldn't get all that many songs on it. I loaded up my cds (yeah, I'm still one of those who has a bunch of cd's), and was able to put about 18 on it. Okay, not bad, but then I thought, well, what if I reduce the bit rate down from the standard 128 (which is the Windows Media Player default setting when you burn CDs). So I went into Windows Media Player to tools, then options, and realized that under one of those tabs you could change the download setting. So I changed it all the way down to 48 bit (gasping cry from all the audiophiles out there...), and tried one cd first in 128 bit, and then in 48 bit. I switched back and forth between the two quality settings in several songs, and while you may not have the quality that the "experts" say you need to have, for my little ol' ears, I could barely hear any difference whatsoever. So I went back and reburned all my cd's at 48 bit, and "voila"- I now have a 1 gig flash player that holds 45 cd's with no (to my and my 17 year old's ears) discernable loss of quality! Needless to say- I am thrilled. I love the fact that I can change a battery out anytime I want, and don't need to plug this into a computer to charge up. Plugged in a nice little set of $40 sony headphones, and it sounds as wonderful as ever. I have no problems with the controls (and I am a big 280lb guy). I've got 45 cd's, a radio, and small flash sized convenience in one happy package. If you are one of those audiophiles who fusses over those sound quality issues, then go get yourself a 4 gig Ipod nano, and load it up at 128 or 192 bit and have fun. But if you just want to listen to some music, and are more easily pleased, then this player is a wonderful way to go. So now, excuse me, but I am going to very happily ride off into my 48 bit sunset... :)
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IRIVER T10, September 18, 2005
The Iriver T10 player is just perfect. It is just what I was looking for in a player. The 1GB storage is nice. Hopefully they can expand future models to 2 GB someday.The FM feature is great. The T10 comes with a neckstrap and an armstrap. I use both. The arm strap is nice when jogging. The FM reception is far better then I expected it to be. Even when indoors it comes in nice and clear. You also have an option to record FM or voice. It even can record FM broadcasts at a set time. You don't even have to be there. The player just kicks on at the specified time and records. Nice feature!I take the T10 to sporting events and listen to the radio broadcast of the game and catch up on other scores. I have no complaints about this player. The sound is awesome even with the supplied earbuds. I use Shure E2C's which are wonderful. It is a nice investment. Well worth the money.
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