Rating: 
Summary: Technology Not There Yet
Review: This is a very nice player. It's the first one that I've owned so I have nothing to compare to. However, I have used flash memory drives. In retrospect, I should have waited until they came out with USB 2.0 and the ability to PnP without having to install custom drivers (Like flash drive, digital camera etc.) Why they haven't adopted these technologies yet is beyond me.
Good: Usability, Sound, Battery life, Capacity.
Bad: USB 1.1. Packaged software did not work. Had to download latest version from vendor web site. Does not come up as PnP logical drive letter like a flash drive.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: This is actually a review for iRiver iFP-395T. The difference between this one and iFP-195T is the latter has no linein encoding and the shape and backlight are different.I just upgraded my iRiver firmware from v1.05 to v2.06. They added bunch of very helpful functions such as Voice detection, Auto Sync for linein encoding (similar to Yepp's WOW function only it's better) and several new EQ like 3D sound.These changes enable you to enjoy iRiver much more. (...)I've had it (iFP-395T)for 3 months now and used it almost everyday. It is almost a perfect player. I know a lot of people will pass it because of the price..., but I got a very good deal. My roommate has a Yepp (256MB). Both players are small and easy to carry around, expecially good for gym because there is no moving part and both have good sound quality and very similar functions such as voice recording, FM tuner & recording, and linein recording, ... + Not as small and light as Yepp becuase it uses one AA battery, but is still small enough to be carred around in your pocket, hung on your neck or held in your hand. AA battery will give you longer playing time.
+ Big, bright blue LCD display with 4 lines of informatin and multilanguage mp3 tag display
+ Although the buttons, esp. the joystick, and the navigation system are a little bit tricky, but once you've learned it, you'll find they are extremely convenient (much better than Yepp)
+ Sleep timer (Yepp doesn't have it!)
+ Folder structure: you can arrange your files as you do on your computer (Yepp doesn't have it!)
+ Good FM tuner and it's easy to set up the stations
+ The triangular shape is not as bad as other people said. It feels quite comfortable in hand and stays steady on your desk
+ Some people say the arm band is not very comfortable, but still, it's good to have - Cannot plug directly to USB port, neet a USB cable (Yepp works like a local drive)
- Cannot upload MP3 files
- No WOW function which makes it inconvenient to record from another audio device because you have to manually separate one song from another (Note: upgrade your firmware, then you will have this function)
- Most of the EQ are not very useful, the sound is not loud enough (Note: the new firmware v2.06 will provide you with more EQ settings)
- The mode button is not very convenient (a minor inconvenience)
- Some bugs need to be fixed, e.g. If you use UMS (enable the player to be a driver) and download the files into the player, the files are not in order, it is extremely bad when you are listening to Audiobooks. I bought it for gym or running, but now I use it mostly to listen to AudioBooks. Radio is another nice feature. Some people will say it's too pricey considering that with the same money you can buy a 5GB hard drive based MP3 player. I'd say, it's all personal preference and needs. I don't need to carry my whole collection with me because it's sure going to grow bigger and then I need to buy a new one with larger space. I just want to carry enough audio files with me and 512 is a good size. I hope it has a clock and WOW (Now I have it with new firmware :)), but right now, I am content with this MP3 player. Sure they will always be better one out some day in the future, but I cannot wait so long. Why not buy it and start enjoying the music today!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Small MP3 Player Out there
Review: This is an intelligently designed MP3 player. The addition of FM radio (and even recording FM to MP3) makes small device even more remarkable. It holds about 17 hours of music and runs on one AA battery which lasts for hours. While it cannot compete with jukeboxes (such as the iPod) in terms of storage, it's storage space is big enough to get the job done with an overall package size which is much smaller and lighter than the Jukeboxes. As noted by someone else, some of the switches/doors feel a little cheap/plastic - but it seems to be holding up fine and the light as a feather weight is appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: Just about as good as it gets if it suits your need
Review: This player isn't for everyone 1) It is not 20-gig 2) It isn't cheap. Here are 3 reasons why this player suited my need 1) Battery. Battery last 2 or 3 times the length of HD based players. It is user replaceable. You can find AA anywhere in the world. Rechargeable batteries in most Giga-players will die in 2 or 3 years and most of them can't be replaced. 2) Super light-weight and small: I carry the player in the included armband and hit the trail or track. 3)No motion mechanism : Since I use it for running, no worry about moving parts. All HD will fail eventually. I don't even want to find out how much it would cost to replace a drive in iPOD. 4)FM Radio: I wasn't able to find out anything about 195T's radio feature before I purchase it. Now that I have it, It is good. Pull in better signals than my Sony AM/FM Headphone. Recording feature is a nice bonus. I listen to NPR a lot and it is nice to be able to record something while I run and refer back to it later. 5) Large enough memory: I didn't say large, but it sure is large enough for what I need. I don't know how people can fill up 20gig of space with music. I don't have the time to go through that and don't have the desire to carry my entire CD collection with me everywhere. 512MB is enough music to last me a long time and is enough to carry most audiobooks. Enough about the good points. Here is what I think 195 can improved upon. 1) Battery door feels flimsy.
2) The knob on the 5 direction key make it hard to remove the player from armband.
3) Limited amount of buttons means that all buttons has many functions assigned to them. You definitely need to spend sometime with instruction manual to figure things out. Luckily, it is very clearly written. This is a niche player and it also looks great! It serves my needs perfectly.
Rating:
Summary: After firmware upgraded,It can serve as a removable disk.
Review: This removable disk design makes it even simpler to transfer music files.
Sometimes,it is handy to carry a few warez and documents in 195.Maybe,it can aslo be a usb bootdisk. My classmate bought one at 2300RMB,about 278Dollars in shanghai,China.
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