iRiver iFP 999T 1 GB Flash MP3 Player

Rating:
Summary: Spot on for what I need so far...
Review: I purchased the iRiver IFP-999 this holiday season and have enjoyed playing my music through it for about a week now. FWIW, I originally had an old Creative Nomad IIMG that stored 64MB + 128MB Smartmedia card. Suffice it to say, it is a whole lot better. Let me first preface with my requirements before offering any comments:

-must be flash-based since I exercise quite a lot
-must be small since I simply don't like to carry a lot of electronics once my mobile phone and palm are stuck in pockets...the iPod just isn't going to cut it.
-must have enough storage for at least 100 songs.
-must have a rechargeable battery because I don't want to be purchasing AAA batteries all the time.
-must be simple to use with dedicated play and stop buttons, as well as an easily accessible button lock function.
-must be compatible with Windows Media Player 10 and Napster. I used license-protected ripped WMAs and of course, the Napster content-protected downloaded WMAs. I have not used an MP3 in ages.

The IFP-999 has met all these requirements and more. First off, the color screen is way cool. It provides all the track information that I could want (title, artist, album, duration) and has a nice look to it. Moreover, I am surprised how much info they got on it considering the small dimensions of the player. It is simply much easier on the eyes than other flash MP3 players that I have seen with greyscale LCD screens.

Second, the unit is really small. It fits just about anywhere I can think of, though I usually keep it in my coat pocket.

Third, at 1GB, it stores just about all I need for my needs. Unlike the 40GB iPod crowd, I don't need to store ALL of my music on the unit; rather, I am content to update it now and again when I want a different feel.

Fourth, the SOUND is outstanding. Perhaps I am biased because I am coming off an older model, but it's terrific. Although I use the Shure e3c earphones which are phenomenal (see my review elsewhere on Amazon's site), the sounds was still pretty impressive with the stock Sennheiser earbuds. Background noise is very limited and barely detectable. And, I have definitely NOT had the problems another reviewer has had with skipping. Moreover, the unit works great with all of my WMAs. I might suggest downloaded the latest firmware, but a) the site doesn't have one yet, and b) iRiver states that it should work with Windows Media Player 10 right out of the box. I can't speak to users that still use WMP v9.

Basically, I am exceedingly pleased with the iFP-999. Now, to be fair, there are some areas where improvement would be nice. These include:

-the desire for a more intuitive navigation menu system. It's pretty complicated to get the unit configured with all the desired settings. Moreover, song management is definitely best done on the computer than on the unit. Since I usually play on shuffle, it doesn't impact me much, but some users might be irritated. Perhaps it'll get easier the more I use it.
-a removable battery would be nice. Even though the Li-Ion battery does last a long time, if I go on trips, I am obligated to carry the power charger, and the plug is bigger than the IFP-999. They should be able to make it smaller, yes? I imagine this was a cost savings of a negligible amount, but it is definitely a hindrance.
-The arm holster is a little bulky. I know, it's nitpicking, but it takes some effort to get it in the holster to begin with, and then again to put it on the arm. I have recently just been jogging with it clip to my waist.
-Last, the buttons work fine, but they definitely require a little bit of a press to activate. It would be nicer if they were more sensitive, but perhaps not as durable. Who knows?

All in all, I am very please with the unit. At just under $300, it's not SO cheap, but the benefits WELL outweigh the cost and the alternatives. Frankly, even my iPod loving friends have been blown away by the sound and the look. It's clearly the coolest thing out there now because of the color screen and its diminutive size. As such, it gets 4 stars out of 5. Fix the song navigation to make it as intuitive as the iPod and I'll raise the rating.

Rating:
Summary: iRiver iFP-999T/US end user review
Review: Summary: Good to Very Nice piece of equipment. It could be excellent if I did not have a scratch sound every once in awhile during WMA playback and if iRiver would move away from a proprietary battery that is not end-user serviceable.

Received the player 01/03/05; writing this review on 01/05/05. Purchased from Amazon and paid $288.99 total.

Pros
-Pleasing looking form factor and nice small package size
-Light-weight
-iRiver Music Manager easy to use
-Color LCD nice
-Inclusion of sport wrist band and neck strap very welcome. iRiver could have made these accessories but that would make it very tough to use in travel without them. I'd probably be aggravated if they were not included.

Cons
-Proprietary battery that is not end-user serviceable
-User Manual not thoroughly reviewed. For example, page 6-2 says "Remove the battery if player is unused for long periods of time; Battery left in the player for a long time can corrode and damage the device." However, this battery is not end-user removable or serviceable by iRiver design. There are other busts like this in the User Manual. Also, the manual needs a good English teacher to review it. It smacks of non-English origins frequently that, in my opinion, is an indicator of product quality/attention to detail.
-Online registration form says to locate the serial number under the battery pack. See above (battery can't be removed) and the serial number is actually not under the battery pack, it's hidden under the USB door and in very small characters.
-WMA copy protection might catch you. If you ripped all your WMA's with copy protection on in WMP they will not transfer to your iMP. You will need to re-rip everything.
-No iFP-999 presence on the iRiver support site at the time of this writing. At least I'd like the FAQ's to be updated to support the iFP-999. Also, I wanted to confirm I had the latest firmware and iRiver Music Manager software and there was nothing on the support site to provide this to me. I had to call support for this and even then the support rep did not know, just said there had been no update from what was shipped. Talk about a punt answer :-) I also had a couple other questions, such as the battery removal issue (see above).
-Hold time to reach support was ~1.25 hours. The first person who answered my call must have done so accidentally and I heard "dang" and then I was dumped back into the caller queue. The support rep I spoke to seemed rushed.
-Included headphones OK, but recommend upgrading if you've spent this amount. I have a set of Shure E5c headphones coming. These should put this player to the ultimate quality test. Gee, that scratch sounds is aggravating; just heard it again. It's not too often, but does happen ~3 minutes for a 500ms duration. No, it's not my WMA rips. The scratch is not present when I listen to the source file on the computer. I've played with the applicable iRiver sound settings but no help so far. Need to call support on this one as the iRiver answer wizard did not help to resolve this.

Feel free to e-mail me if you want to know more or have input otherwise.
shane(at)yarbrough(dot)net