Rating: 
Summary: great gaget for the technophile!
Review: After only a few weeks I'm addicted. I carry this thing with me everywhere. It's small, discrete and 256mb seems huge. I'm carrying 4 or 5 albums with me right now and the memory is only half full. Despite it's size it's packed with features! The hold button is wonderful no trouble hitting keys accidentally with that on! Even with backlight time maximized I can still go over a week without changing the battery. I can't plug it in anywhere like a usb key, but with the driver installed on both my home and work pc's I can use it to transfer data files when necessary. Mp3's not recorded with the player can't be uploaded.Almost plug and play: the interface isn't completely intuitive, I did have to read the manual, but it's short about the size of a cd and 50 pages long. If you've used an ftp program or a cd-writer like roxio the proprietary software for uploading files to the player is a breeze, but it could be a bit intimidating if you haven't been exposed to this type of GUI before. Since it's a data transfer system it's compatible with any MP3 software. Be aware that the included software is only for file transfer; if you already have a substantial digital music collection this will be good news (you don't have to switch), but those new to MP3 will have to find another program real, roxio, musicmatch, liquid, etc. before they can really get started. Every button on the player (there are only 5) has multiple functions, and operation can be awkward until you get accustomed, but that happens quickly as you use it. Those familiar with Garmin and those multifunction toggles won't have any trouble, but as i met GPS later I was frustrated for the first ten minutes or so until I realized I had to read the manual Rock, Rap, & Jazz need the built-in equalizer setting to get the best from your earphones, but classical sounds great no matter what. The customizable equalizer has only bass & treble boost, but the built in settings for each genre will satisfy most people. FM tuner works beautifully in most circumstances, elevators & appliaces can cause interference and I can't use it in my basement either, but I take it jogging all the time and can use it to watch TV at the gym. Voice recorder like most small recorders is good for personal notes, but lectures are sort of mediocre quality. I still use it for that ocassionally because I don't have to flip the mini-casette over mid-hour. FM recorder is good quality, not like mp3's from CD, but still near CD-quality if reception is good. firmware has "root" directory, can't wait to experiment with Linux compatibility! Haven't tried WMA files yet, but documentation says they work as well. The -'s
The lanyard/neckstrap is a silver cord encased in plastic. It matches the player well, and would be easy to keep clean, but is uncomfortable unless your wearing a turtleneck. (I found it a simple matter to replace the cord and am really happy with it now.) It works well for most situations now, but I pin it inside a pocket when I'm working out. Earphones are a failed attempt at one size fits all, painfully large for my ears, and too small for the larger members of the family. Just a quick update, after you buy the player check the iriver international website. New firmware upgrades include a more customizable equalizer and the ability to use the player as an external USB drive.
Rating:
Summary: Restored faith
Review: Ahhh... I'm writing to update my sad story of the 180t I'd purchased that didn't work. I returned it this morning for the 190t, and I am in mp3 HEAVEN! I really can't find anything bad to say about it. The size and weight are perfect, the sound quality (with aftermarket earphones) is excellent, the software is simple. The two minor cons are: 1) the "help" on the software is in "a language not supported by Windows," and 2) the neckstrap is kind of a joke. However, there is an armband and carrying case you can purchase from the website which should fix that problem. Overall, I would highly recommend this player to anyone in the market.
Rating: 
Summary: Against all odds
Review: Yes, I know my rating sticks out like a big sore thumb, but I have to share my story as it is true. I bought the 180mb version of this player last night, and it ended up having 0 mbs of memory instead of the advertized 180. I even called customer support and had this manufacturer's error confirmed. The guy told me about another person who ended up with a 120 mb player's insides inside of the 190t's shell. Now, I'm going to go back and exchange this player for the 190t (can't resist the 256 mbs). Am I crazy? Maybe, but all of the INCREDIBLE reviews this player gets can't be wrong. I will send an update to this review after I get my new one. Wish me luck!
Rating:
Summary: Great Gadget
Review: Out of the many MP3 players I've experienced this is by far the best I've seen for the money. First of all, it's very light weight and the buttons are not only easy to manipulate but easy to figure out. There is a built in equalizer with sound type options to listen in classical, rock, bass or simply customize your own sound. The volume through the headphones isn't bad either. The 256 MB flash memory is just enough for me but I'd gladly pay more for the 512 MB system. I definately recommend this MP3 player for anyone who's on the go. There is a very easy to use voice recording option which can record up to 4 hours of that boring meeting or class. Oh, can't leave out the FM radio which is wonderful for one who needs to get a quick listen in on the news.
Rating:
Summary: Compact and Loaded!
Review: The amazing thing is there is no moving parts as your MP3 files are saved on a chip set. What does this mean no skipping! No more having to burn CD's and the clutter of having them. Jogging, Skateboarding or whatever it's just pure continuous music. Oh yeah and it's literally the size of your thumb so you can put it anywhere and not feel like your carrying around a boat anchor. Finally, the sound is better than anything I have heard to date, Sony, Panasonic and Samsung don't even come close~ Oh heck, just buy it and see for yourself~
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Product for the size!!
Review: I have been researching MP3 players for months. Since I had planed on using the player on long hikes, I had some important prereq's to consider. I had wanted a player w/ decent storage, light and compact, FM tuner, and at least 15 hours of battery life. Unfortunately, most of the players I had considered could not give me all of that, until the iRiver 190. The 256mb storage can hold up to 63 songs (that I have loaded on my player now), at 128k quality. The sound quality far surpassed my expectations. I have used the player consistently this past week to test the battery life, and it seems to be living up to the 20 hour claim. Software is relatively easy to use, although it has an annoying popup that tells you that it cannot connect to the MP3 player if it is not connected to your PC. And I think it's silly to not allow you to upload MP3's from your player to the PC, but I hear there is a way around this. Overall, I am VERY pleased with this purchase and would highly recommend it, especially for those who are concerned w/ weight and size.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent player - a dream to use
Review: I bought my iFP-190T two weeks ago, and I use it everyday. It is SO SMALL, and yet I can carry 64 songs on it encoded in WMA format at 128 kbps. There is a lot of good community user forum support for this too at the iriver website. I can carry it in my pocket or attach it to my arm using the optional arm band (you should buy this arm band and carry case directly from the iriver estore, since the player unfortunately does not include them). the only problem I see with this player is that it has no memory expansion ability. But 256 MB is plenty for me to carry around songs for at least a few days before I go back to my computer and upload a different set of tunes. The other issue is that this player is definitely for a gadget head, and not for a technophobe user. You have to read the manual to fully appreciate all the features. But it's worth the effort. This player can do it all. Buy it now, you won't regret it!
Rating: 
Summary: Top Performance, Rock Bottom Price!
Review: This unit is really something!
I'm not only impressed, but this is the first electronic device I've bought in quite some time that made me excited, like a kid again. Finally, a player with no moving parts! I've been waiting for this particular unit to drop in price (into my range) and it did.
The signal/noise ratio is excellent, just as it was touted to be. The FM radio works well, but outside better than inside.
The voice recorder isn't the best in the world, but I didn't expect much concidering there is no room in this tiny lighter-sized unit for much else, let alone a high quality mic.
The only thing I wish it had is a mic/line input, but again, no biggie. The controls were intuitive, even though many reviewers said they had issues with it, I had no problems learning the controls.
The only problem I forsee with this player is ease of destruction. It's only plastic, even though it looks like chrome/metal. If someone sat on this, I'm sure it wouldn't survive. But, at nearly half of what other players cost, you can afford to be careless. Not that I can afford to be.
I bought this unit from Amazon and the reviews from this site and other sites helped me in my decition. Cnet was most helpful, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Good while it lasted
Review: Much and enough has been said about this unit. Was very happy with it for the 18 months I used it. Suddenly, without warning, (as with others) the on/off button ceased to function. Iriver responds with, "oh well, out of warranty and we do no repairs." Do their newer products still have this issue? Who knows, so I am moving on to iAUDIO CW300.
Rating:
Summary: This is nice!!!
Review: Are you big on portability? Are you big on sound quality? Do you want a FM stereo with your MP3 player? Then the iRiver is for you.
I don't know how much this thing weighs, but it's next to nothing. If you're working out, this is a big advantage. It works even better if you order the armstrap from the iRiver website, but that runs about $15. (I understand the newer iRivers might come with the armstrap, which they should.)
The sound quality is terrific. With a good set of headphones, the sound is transcendent. And it never skips -- another good quality if you're working out.
The biggest disadvantage is the program for loading the songs onto the player. My old Intel MP3 player let me put the songs in the order I wanted to hear them. The iRiver likes to make those decisions itself. I've tried to figure out the reasoning behind it, but I can't. So if I try to copy a whole album onto the MP3 player, I have to put it into a folder; otherwise, the iRiver will disperse the songs amongst all the other songs on the player. This is kind of annoying, but not a dealbreaker. Just copy the whole folder over to the player, and you're set. Still, this costs the iRiver one star.
All in all, though, this is cheap and effective. I highly recommend it.
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