IRiver U10 Portable Music Player
From LoveToKnow Music
| iRiver U10 | |
| Manufacturer | iRiver |
| Style | Flash Player |
| Storage | 512MB, 1G, 2G |
| Extras | Video playback Text file support Image viewing FM Tuner Voice recorder |
| Price | $100-$200 |
| Website | iRiver |
The iRiver U10 is a flash-based digital music player with a large color screen and the ability to play mp3 songs, view movies, play flash games and much more. It's in the same family as the iRiver Clix and features a unique interface that allows you to navigate by pressing the screen itself. The sleek portable music player is functional and comes with a ton of bonus features you never knew you couldn't live without.
Describing the iRiver U10
The iRiver U10 portable digital music player is a compact rectangular flash player. It's just over two inches wide and fits nicely in the palm of your hand. The power and volume controls are on the side while the main navigation controls are the screen itself -- simply press on any of the four corners to move through songs or change options. It's a surprisingly easy to use player that does everything you need it to do with no hassle.
The U10 has a ton of great features hiding beneath its shiny exterior. It plays MP3, WMA, secure WMA, and OGG Vorbis formats and supports many online music services such as Napster and MSN Music. You can also play Macromedia Flash Lite games using the four-way screen navigation as a control pad. Video playback is included but is limited to a slightly choppy 15 frames per second. Not quite the quality you would need if you're a movie buff, but sufficient for taking on long trips to stave off boredom.
The iRiver U10 Package
The iRiver U10 sells from anywhere between $100 and $150 through online retailers. If you find it in retail stores, however, expect to pay as much as $50 extra. The package comes with a USB 2.0 cable to connect the player to your PC, installation software, a printed instruction manual, and a handful of preloaded games and songs.
The Good and the Bad
Some of the best features about the U10 are its very sleek look and easy to use navigation tools. With digital music players getting smaller all the time, it's nice not to have to fumble with tiny control sticks or wheels just to listen to some music. The entire unit is turned into a control mechanism, making navigation extraordinarily easy. Battery life is also great (around 28 hours on a full charge).
On the down side, the speed in which the menus move feels quite sluggish. There's a slight delay between the time you press the navigation button and when the menu actually scrolls. Putting music on the player is also a bit cumbersome, as the U10 uses Windows Media Player to synchronize your song list between player and your PC. Fortunately there's an official iRiver firmware upgrade that allows you to plug in your U10 and use it as a removable drive to drag-and-drop files.
A very handy accessory that unfortunately doesn't ship with the U10 is the docking cradle. This great device displays your player like a small television and lets you pipe music through external speakers, record voices or even set it as an alarm clock. The dock costs around $60 and is sold separately.
Conclusion
The iRiver U10 is a great looking, easy to use portable music player that has almost every feature you would want from a handheld device. The video playback is a bit rough, so if you want to watch a lot of movies or television shows, consider the IPod Video instead. Otherwise, the iRiver U10 is definitely a great gadget to own.
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