iriver vs ipod

[sophtpaw]

Greetings,

I've never owned either and am aiming to join the rat race by finally sccumbing to yet another consumer gadget.

I know very little about either except that they are mps players that can hold thousands of songs.

I would really appreciate some explanation on what the difference then is and advice, and recommendation on what to get.

I really appreciate your comments

--
sophtpaw

[scion4]

They do pretty much the same thing, I have an iRiver H320 for the last couple of years and the best thing I have found with the iRiver is it needs no additional software, just mounts as a normal USB2 hard drive... no issues.

MOST models of the iRiver are plug and play (issues on Linux with the iRiver H10) and you do not need to install software like iTunes for the iPod or SonicStage for Sony MP3 players.

At the end of the day it boils down to personal preference.
Personally I wouldn't touch an iPod with a barge pole, iRiver is the way to go.
The latest models are amazing.

[it.henrik]

Never had an iPod but I have a good old iRivier.
iRiver
+plays OGG,mp3,wav etc etc
+can be used as a usb memory stick
+its not white :)
+sounds is great (im rather picky when it comes to this)
+plays very loud if I want to

-no cool extra-bonus-gadgets like golden cases with built in subwoofer with gucci wristband and bla bla bla

[louis_nichols]

Greetings,

I've never owned either and am aiming to join the rat race by finally sccumbing to yet another consumer gadget.

I know very little about either except that they are mps players that can hold thousands of songs.

I would really appreciate some explanation on what the difference then is and advice, and recommendation on what to get.

I really appreciate your comments

--
sophtpaw

I think the answer to this is rather more complicated. Mainly because each of the two has many models you can choose from. Of course, there is a lot of fuss around iPods and I'm not saying it's not justified, because I've never owned one, but I just can't help wondering how much of thar quite high price is true quality and how much is just paying the brand.

I own an iRiver ifp799 and it's ok. I mean, with the right kind of headphones, sound is great, plus it has a wide range of functions. Of course, it's not comparable to an hdd based, OS driven device, from either company, because it's just something else.

I think you'd have to choose a range of models from each brand you'd like info about. I mean, comparable ones, so people who own either one or both can write more precise opinions.

[fuscia]

light humming > iriver and ipod

1. it's free (free as in free, not as in beer, which isn't free)
2. freedom of choice. you pick the song to hum (not all work out of the box, though)
3. if you're aging and the bones in your larynx have begun to calcify, light humming can improve the efficiency of your phonation, adding years of better speaking to your outdated equipment.
4. it's fast. you think the tune and it's already running.

[purdy hate machine]

MOST models of the iRiver are plug and play (issues on Linux with the iRiver H10)
The procedure to convert the IRiver H10 to UMS mode is very simple. I have been using a 6gb H10 with Linux for a while now with no problems.

[Kernel Sanders]

Isnt there free software around that allows an iPod to be a plug and play, drag and drop device though, with no iTunes needed? :confused:

[louis_nichols]

Isnt there free software around that allows an iPod to be a plug and play, drag and drop device though, with no iTunes needed? :confused:
There is iPodLinux (http://ipodlinux.org/Main_Page), which sounds very interesting. I don't know if it does what you need, or on what models of ipod it works, but sounds like a great idea. :)

[YourSurrogateGod]

light humming > iriver and ipod

1. it's free (free as in free, not as in beer, which isn't free)
2. freedom of choice. you pick the song to hum (not all work out of the box, though)
3. if you're aging and the bones in your larynx have begun to calcify, light humming can improve the efficiency of your phonation, adding years of better speaking to your outdated equipment.
4. it's fast. you think the tune and it's already running.
light humming?

[FISHERMAN]

Isnt there free software around that allows an iPod to be a plug and play, drag and drop device though, with no iTunes needed? :confused:
Rockbox (http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/IpodPort)

[Astrophobos]

Rockbox (http://www.rockbox.org/) is your friend.

Is a alternative firmware for a lot of multimedia player:
* Archos: Jukebox 5000, 6000, Studio, Recorder, FM Recorder, Recorder V2 and Ondio
* iRiver: H100 and H300 series
* Apple: iPod 4th gen (grayscale and color), 5th gen (Video), Nano and Mini 1st/2nd gen
* iAudio: X5 (including X5V and X5L)
* Additional models are in development

From rockbox website:
* Support for MP3, Ogg Vorbis, AC3, AAC, Musepack, Midi, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, Shorten, WAV, and Wavpack Sound Codecs
* Gapless Playback
* 5 Band Parametric Equalizer
* High Resolution Volume Control, 82 levels
* Abilty to create your own theme or use one of these.
* Crossfade, Crossfeed, and Replay Gain
* Picture and text viewing
* Calendar
* Doom
* Real Time Clock on the player's that have the necessary hardware
* Tag Database
* Unicode Support
* On The Fly Playlists
* Voice Interface, and Multilingual Interface
* Many Plugins and Games to enhance Rockbox even further.
* Open Source, so Rockbox is constantly improved.

So no more itunes with your ipod...just drag n drop your file on it and you're ready to go.

[fuscia]

light humming?

humming, as in humming. light, so as not to disturb others.

[Super King]

I have an old iRiver iHP-120 with Rockbox, and it's still going strong (been around 2.5 years since I got it, I believe). Great sound, built like a tank, drag and drop on Windows/Linux, customizable menus, FM radio, recording with an external mic for the occasional gig, etc. I'll do whatever I can to keep it alive :)

Most of the iPods are nice too, but unless you install Rockbox on them you won't be able to drag and drop songs.

[Lord Illidan]

I'd go for the Iriver.

Supports ogg formats - big plus
Mounts as a usb drive - bigger plus.

Ipod needs GtkPod, and all that other stuff. I also think it is more expensive.
Get the Iriver, and spend your extra cash on a good pair of headphones..(I hate earbuds!)

[sophtpaw]

People! THANK YOU! thank you ALL for your comments and advice. My instinct said iRiver and now i Know its true - thx for confirming my gut feeling on this. I shall Hummm... AND get an iRiver; or is it i shall get an iRiver and Hummm...? :0

[kanem]

Be careful about iRiver. The newer ones are not as compatible with non-MS OSs as they used to be. Someone here mentioned they had converted an H10 over to UMS, so I guess it's possible. Also, some iRivers are either UMS or MS only depending on where you buy them. Some are MS only in North America and Europe.

Of course, it's not like iPods are out of the box compatible either, but at least they are so popular that there are many Free apps for it that we can use.

Hasn't anyone here suggested iAudio? From what I've read they have all the functionality of iRivers (or more) and are always UMS. I'd go with an iAudio.

[sophtpaw]

Be careful about iRiver. The newer ones are not as compatible with non-MS OSs as they used to be. Someone here mentioned they had converted an H10 over to UMS, so I guess it's possible. Also, some iRivers are either UMS or MS only depending on where you buy them. Some are MS only in North America and Europe.

Of course, it's not like iPods are out of the box compatible either, but at least they are so popular that there are many Free apps for it that we can use.

Hasn't anyone here suggested iAudio? From what I've read they have all the functionality of iRivers (or more) and are always UMS. I'd go with an iAudio.

Geez... iAudio...hadn't even heard of that before:-|

You've put a whole nother option there on my plate, hmmm...:-k

It's pricier than the iRiver but looks good, although iRiver looks like it'd fit easier in the pocket. Will do some more research. Thx, i appreciate you letting me know of this, good to hear of all the options. Exactly, why i thought i'd ask here before goingout and buying rashly with a hot head

[kanem]

Seen this store?

advanced mp3players.co.uk (http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/?index.php&aff=future&aff=future)

[YourSurrogateGod]

Hasn't anyone here suggested iAudio? From what I've read they have all the functionality of iRivers (or more) and are always UMS. I'd go with an iAudio.
Hmm... it seems that iAudio is for data transfer only.

http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/iaudio/5/info_requirements.html

[sophtpaw]

Apparently, iRivers are no longer made for the European and US markets and will focus on the asian markets only. A man in a shop said that.

Held the iaudio in my hand - felt reeeeal Gooood....

[Super King]

Hmm... it seems that iAudio is for data transfer only.

http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/iaudio/5/info_requirements.html

It says that but you can actually transfer music as well just fine (it is technically data after all). The iAudio players have a very good rep also, good sound, very durable, UMS. Check out the forums at iaudiophile.net (http://www.iaudiophile.net) (iAudio fansite) for more info.

[virtuelvis]

I don't know the iRiver all that well, but I would go for the sexiest piece of hardware that is able to run Rockbox (http://www.rockbox.org/) any day. I have an iPod Nano, because it has no moving parts, and "Just enough" space, plus I can't do permanent damage to it by installing Rockbox or Linux on it: Everything's stored on the flash drive, and Apple has a utility for restoring it should you mess up.

[YourSurrogateGod]

It says that but you can actually transfer music as well just fine (it is technically data after all). The iAudio players have a very good rep also, good sound, very durable, UMS.
What's UMS?

Check out the forums at iaudiophile.net (http://www.iaudiophile.net) (iAudio fansite) for more info.
Seems like an overly subjective source.

[nalmeth]

Interesting stuff

I'm attracted a bit to iRiver because of ogg support, but learning that you can replace the ipod firmware to play anything is really cool.

iAudio sound's really cool too.

I've held off an mp3 player purchase since I last bought a Sony MiniDisc player. One of my most regretted consumer moves ever.
SonicStage is discraceful, and it seemed Sony intended to prevent linux use intentionally.

Not only software-wise, but physically the player was unreliable. I lost my minidisc player sometime ago, and borrowed my brother's, for a while.

His player would only play one of my 4 disc's. Well I eventually found my player, but lost the other discs, so now I am stuck with one disc, and can't even use sonicstage (no windows) even if I wanted to.

I am with fuscia on the humming player so far

[dosed150]

dont buy an iriver h10, both people i know whove had them had major problems , and the screen breaks easily

[MetalMusicAddict]

I was a rabid iRiver fan. I have a H340. I do still like it but it has given some problems.

Im looking into Cowon (http://www.jetaudio.com/) now. Specifically a X5 (http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/iaudio/x5/). Lots of people on Misticriver (a iRiver forum) have switched.

[malacoda]

Cowon iAudio isn't bad... but it's not great either (I should mention it's the first mp3 player I've tried or have used for longer than 3 minutes using...)

I picked up the iAudio U3 a few months back. While you can transfer songs, files, etc easily (in response to an earlier post it is not limited to data transfer only), I have had trouble 'mounting'.

Running Kubuntu, sometime I'll plug it into the USB port and it's recongized just fine... other times I plug it in and get an error saying something along the lines of 'device not recognized'. Haven't used my player in a while but, back when I was using it a fair bit, the situation was becoming quite annoying...

Also,
a) while it has GREAT functionality, the joystick is so small and sensative it can be irritating - e.g. to fast forward you push AND hold the stick to the right. If you release it or it moves away from being exactly at 90 degrees it interprets it as a skip command and jumps you to the next track,
b) the screen is very small. add sunlight into the mix and there's no way to see it clear enough (again, while driving) to navigate well,
c) the FM transmitters compatible w/ it have power cords

While it is a really nice player, this combination of little irksome items has me annoyed enough to be investigating the features and friendliness of an iPod Nano (wireless FM transmitter and somewhat larger LCD) w/ Podzilla.

Long story short, you may want to one in your hands to play w/ before commiting to a purchase....

regards,
Malac

[cptgrudge]

I've got an iRiver H120 that has been with me for years, although iriver doesn't sell them anymore. Works perfectly with Dapper and Breezy both and mounts as an external hdd. Recently, I replaced the regular firmware with the Rockbox version, and that has amazingly breathed even more life into it. Purely anecdotal story, but it survived a 120+ mph car wreck that I was in without any problems. One thing I'll mention, though, is that the controls on the iriver players have changed over time. My sister got an H340 and that has a different control layout, and I prefer the H120. The iPod does have a great control layout.

Would you do any recording at live concerts? Some of the iriver devices (like the H120) have a recording function, too. Just get a decent little external mic and you can record for hours.

I don't use iTunes or any sort of software for organization; I just make a folder directory and use EasyTag to keep the tag data on the MP3s and OGGs in line. Personally, I would get an iriver, but you might want to see if you can try out one of each.

[IYY]

Zen Micro: 6 GB, $200 (canadian). Great price, and the player works well (and works with Linux with gnomad2).

[mbrang00]

iriver,c

Hands down

I worked part time in the geek squad for best buy, i cant tell you how many of those white things came back in because they are built like crap... and with crap...

I have a 20Gig iriver h120....had it for 2 years...works like a champ.

[slimdog360]

Ive got an iriver T10, has a fantastic battery life and you can get it in models up to 1GB. It supports playlists and folders etc which is great for a flash based player. personally Id much rather this over one of those big bulky hdd based players.
Also because its a flash memory player its less prone to hdd failure, largely due to the fact that it doesnt have a hdd. This means you can run with it etc and its fine.

[GuitarHero]

I have an iRiver H10 20gb and It's great.

[Derek Djons]

Well, everybody I think knows by now I'm an Apple advocate. I've had all kinds of mp3 players.

I have a huge music collection. It's 80+ GB. For me the Apple iPod shows confidence, a mature but playful attitude and it's easy to use. I found the iPod the most handy to operate. I have a 30GB and I can find, select an play songs with one hand while riding my bicycle to work.

Except that you can also download a lot of content from iTunes for free (podcasts) and you can buy thousands of extras for your ipod, for your ipod at home, work, car and more. This is something other players dont offer!

[Soarer]

I have an iAudio X5 30GB, my wife has a 4GB Nano.

I bought the X5 as it plays ogg & flac, as well as mp3, mounts easily & reliably on Linux, you can run (for example) rsync against it (its just a file system). SOunds great especially with these phones (http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i.aspx). I love it.

My wife loves her iPOD. Solid state so she can run with it, drop it etc. (I'm careful with mine, as it has a HDD). Its easy to use and there are lots of accessories.

I use Ubuntu, she uses XP. Maybe that says something :)

[Luggy]

I love my iAudio 5X.

[Pancetilla]

Iaudio X5 is better than those :cool: