iRiver PMP-140 Portable Media Player (40 GB)

Rating:
Summary: Sorely disappointed
Review: Fairly savvy PC/Smartphone user; VERY disappointed in this. Quality was a bit cheap - plastic stand and USB port covers were fairly flimsy. Many typos in user manual (operationgs, for example) and even the word FM Tuner on the actual screen was spelled FM Tunner. Bad form. Many instructions in manual made absolutely no sense; written by someone in Asia with a mediocre command of English.
Worse, the machine locked up several times and wouldn't play certain .jpg images even though others in the same file were fine. Worse still, I couldn't get the software to load. Historically when this happens, I know the product or company are going to disappear. Happened to my photo scanner and my first laptop company. Anyone hear of Tamarack, BDI or buy an Olivetti PC recently?
When I get a product like this in 2004, I don't go on-line to fix it, spend a few days on hold for technical support waiting for Jason or Dinesh to figure out how to sort through their in-house databank of problems and cures, or download patches. I return it. I don't need the headaches. Do you? I'll get the Samsung YEP 999 or wait till the Sony equivalent comes out and get something that'll actually work. Very sad product.
Joe Ullman

Rating:
Summary: Bring in the MP4!!
Review: I got this for xmas, and despite being 26, i play with it everyday like a child with their favorite toy.
I'll try to really cover the points that i was concerned about, as the general stuff such is pretty well explained in the description.

Size:
Yes it's a bit bigger then the ipod or the music only irivers, but it's still smaller then a cd player, and is about the same size as the new gameboy DS. So size isn't really an issue for me, and with having big hands (yes i like the original xbox controllers!!) it's a great fit.

Construction:
Feels very solid, I don't have any fear of breaking it if i drop it, unless i'm throwing it around. The usb port door is likely the only thing that could break on it easily, but i'm always gentle with things that cost a lot of money, so again not an issue with me.

Button layout and use: So this is the exact opposite of ipod. The controls are unique and this is one of the few times that i've had to read the manual to figure some things out, but even if you're confused, there's a help button that you can hit at anytime to give you the hints you need with the buttons. Took me about a full day of messing around with it before i became comfortable and could navigate with no problems.

Screen: the picture on this is absolutely amazing, really impressed with the colors and the contrast between darks on such a small screen. Bright colors are bright, dark are dark, and there is little bleeding that i've been able to notice so far with the videos that i've put on it. Very very happy with the screen. Viewing angle isn't too shabby either, so if you're sharing, you don't need to sit on each other's lap to both watch.

Software: Besides the internet connection that you have to have, didn't realize it at the time, and had to use dial up when i tried to install, zzzzzz) and make sure you have direct x installed, the software is great, and easy to use. I've put an entire season of one of my fav tv shows on it using the provided software, and it works like a charm. For all you replay tv owners, this is a dream, record to your pc, then put on your iriver, any show you missed you can now watch on your way to work, school, whatever.


Overall, i am thrilled with this gadget, i think they could use a solid firmware update to address the little things, like spelling tunner right) and better recognition with the .ogg files (had a little hitch with that earlier), but i can find issues with anything if i look long enough.

IRIVER if you're reading this... sell a remote for this, i'd be nice to be able to keep this in the case all the time that i'm just listening to music.


IF you have the cash, and want to buy something other then ipod (boo mac/apple) that gives you a huge amount of flexibility for music, photos, radio and movies, this is the toy for you.

Hope this helps!!



Rating:
Summary: an alternative
Review: I'm a Korean who wanted to buy the PMP from IRiver last Christmas. I have been going to lot's of electronic markets in Seoul and have found that the sellers did not recommend the PMP from iRiver. After reading the advertisment on the iRiver site, I was so keen to purchase that gadget, yet after looking at the sellers' expressions and listening to their recommendations, I have found that this PMP was not the best machine.

It has lot's of codex that needs to be downloaded off the internet, and the use is more complicated. It also needs to have some of the websites paid in order to use the PMP. What the sellers recommended was a PMP from i-station, another Korean mp3 company. It is more simpler to use, and has a touch pad that you can use with the pen that comes with the gadget to choose your moves. It works like an USB drive, so all you have to do is just copy the file you wish to put into the PMP "drive" and paste it. It's that simple, while the iRiver one needs to have softwares installed and you need an internet connection. The i-staion version has more functions that the iRiver version. It contains a movie player, mp3 player, a photo album, FM radio, and what's more, it has a electronic dictionary that is excelent for students. I have purchased the i-station version of the PMP and is very saticfied with it. However, since this gadget cannot be purchased outside of Korea yet, it would be best to go to Korea and purchase this instead of the iRiver product. (A little note: the one from i-station is a little more expensive than the iRiver one, due to the functions and the origin of the LCD. iRiver's PMP's LCD is made in China, while the i-station's PMP's LCD is made in Japan)

Rating:
Summary: Overall i-river quality
Review: This is a warning about i-riverI do not have this specific i-river product, but I have purchased two of their products in the past, and the quality of both began to deteriorate within months. Both of them damaged numerous sets of headphones, wearing the connectors to the point that only one earpiece would work. On one of my players, the backlight on the LCD stopped working, and on the other the connection between the player and the USB chord no longer holds properly, preventing me from changing any of the MP3's on a 64 MB player. When I contacted the company about these problems they gave me the good ole runaround, basically vouching for the poor qaulity of their products. I will not being buy any of their products again.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome player!
Review: Wow I just love this new media player - plays songs at Top Level quality sound, crystal clear picture too - nice everything! It's got TONS of space - 40GB of disk space which is enough to watch movies, thousands of songs, and is portable to take with you anywhere. Easy to connect to the computer as well, simple USB cord. Just plug it in and go.

I think what I like about this the most is just how simple it is to use, I thought it would be difficult, but it's very easy -- you can take songs from your home computer and just transfer it to the media player with a touch of a button and you can listen to songs or watch videos or store pictures, etc.

This is an awesome buy and I'd recommend it to anyone -- it looks very sharp and has excellent quality sound and picture.

A very satisfied customer