iRiver Flash mp3 player (iFP 780T)

Rating:
Summary: This Is Great For The Price...
Review: (...) But for the price this is a great little player. I love the interface, I love the software and I love the arm band for walking/working out. It will serve my purposes well and then when it is time I will buy a new one. Maybe I someday I will buy an IPod and then I can talk trash about these entry level, solid players.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent MP3 Player
Review: I would definitely recommend that 780T to anyone who wants a quality MP3 player for a relatively low price, especially if you are going to use it to workout.
PROS:

-The Price: No MP3 player can be considered cheap, but in comparison to other MP3 players, the 780T is pretty inexpensive.

-The Quality: The sound is perfect, and the screen is clear and easy to read. The player never skips, even when I go running and it bounces all over the place.

-The Neck Strap: I bought the iRiver primarily because I wanted an MP3 player that I could go running with, which is why I love the neck strap. Granted, the player bounces a bit while I'm running, but not enough to significantly bother or distract me. Also on the strap is a clip to attach the strap to your clothing to reduce bouncing, but I found the clip uncomfortable (it was sticking in me) so I just took it off (it's easy to take off).

-Installing the Software: Installing the program onto my computer was extremely easy, and if you make a mistake, you can just check the detailed instruction manual.

-Transferring Music: Once your music is in a format acceptable to the iRiver, it takes less than a minute to transfer a whole CD's worth of songs onto the player.

-The Instruction Manual: The iRiver comes with 2 manuals, one for the player and one for the software. The manuals could be set up a little better (it can get confusing trying to find a specific section) but overall they are very detailed and helpful.

CONS:

-The Headphones: The headphones that come with the player are made for running, so the left ear cord is much smaller than the right ear cord (it's supposed to prevent your arm from pulling the headphones out of your ear if you're wearing the armband). However, while I was running, the left earphone kept falling out anyway, so I had to buy a new pair.

-The Armband: I tried to use the armband when I went running, but my arm started going numb. When I loosened the armband, it kept slipping down my arm. Plus, it's very big and bulky.

-The Controls: You definitely need to read the instructions before using the MP3 player, because the controls are by no means obvious. However, I got the hang of the controls relatively quickly after thumbing through the instructions.

-Downloading Music: The software is kind of a pain. It's a little complicated if you don't know what you're doing.

Overall, I am completely happy with my iRiver. However, if you have the extra money to spare, I would recommend buying the iRiver iFP-790T 256MB MP3 Player, which is the same as the 780T accept that it holds more music.

Rating:
Summary: Reasonable player, but choose a jukebox/service first
Review: Overall, the 780T is a reasonably good player. The unit itself has good sound quality, although the headphones that come with it are a bit weak. It is relatively easy to use for such a small device. 128M of RAM is on the low side. You will be able to store roughly 2-3 CDs worth of music on it. You need to decide if you are OK with managing the music on your PC and periodically shuffle songs onto and off of the iriver.

The iriver software is acceptable, however you really should consider checking out the various jukeboxes/music download services that are available before purhcasing a player. Each of the jukebox/music download services supports a small number of players, meaning you can control the player directly from the jukebox. This is a very convenient way of managing your music. I have found that Iriver works with Windows Media Player. although the Creative Labs devices seem to be integrated much more tightly and work better. If you want to use MusicMatch's jukebox you might want to consider a player that is supported by it.