Discover your moment on Lufthansa.Iriver E100 (4GB, sky blue)
Manufacturer: iRiver America Part number: 1E1004BLU
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CNET Editor rating:
3.0 stars Good
- Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Iriver E100 is a decent choice for people who want a ton of features in an easy-to-use package, but if you're after speedy navigation or top-notch sound quality, look elsewhere.
Where to buy
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as of 10/11/2008 |
CNET editors' review
Iriver E100 (4GB, sky blue)
price range: $99.99
- Reviewed by: Jasmine France
- Reviewed on: 04/11/2008
- Released on: 04/15/2008
The good: The Iriver E100 is packed with pretty much every feature in the book--photo and video playback, an FM radio, all recording capabilities, compatibility with both Windows and Mac, extensive audio file format support, bookmarking, microSD card expansion, even external speakers--yet it's inexpensive and easy to use.
The bad: The Iriver E100 has a cheap, plastic feel, and the interface is very basic. The clickpad is not totally responsive, and some navigation is sluggish. D-Click navigation isn't optimal for the control pad setup. No integrated podcast support.
The bottom line: The Iriver E100 is a decent choice for people who want a ton of features in an easy-to-use package, but if you're after speedy navigation or top-notch sound quality, look elsewhere.
For a long time, the Iriver Clix stood alone as the highest-scoring MP3 player on CNET (it is now tied with the iPod Touch). This is both good and bad for Iriver: good, because it helped to sell more units, but bad because now the company has a stellar player against which all of its future offerings will be compared. The E100, Iriver's first true U.S. release since the second-gen Clix, falls a bit flat, but it's not the worst budget option on the market. We certainly appreciate the competitive pricing--$109.99 and $159.99 for the 4GB and 8GB models, respectively--and plethora of features, but the player suffers from irksome controls, an uninspired user interface, and sound quality unbefitting to the Iriver reputation.
Click pad irritation
We wouldn't necessarily say that the Iriver E100 completely fails in the design department, but it could definitely use some work. The main issue is the control pad--it's just bad. It's plastic and feels cheaply constructed. The center button is small and recessed, which makes it difficult to press. Plus, the buttons are slightly unresponsive, and we experienced some delays when moving between selections. Also, when on the playback screen, the D-Click orientation of the pad doesn't quite mesh with the screen above. The center key is play/pause--that makes sense. Then, it's surrounded by a four-way pad with arrow indicators. However, the right and left buttons don't serve to shuttle through tracks; instead, you press up to go back and down to go forward. The right arrow acts as a shortcut/contextual menu key, while the left backs out of screens/menus. It acts exactly like the pad on the Clix, but on the Clix the control pad surrounded the edges of the display, so it worked with the clarification provided by the soft "keys" on the screen. For the E100, it's not as logical, since the soft keys are nowhere near the actual controls.
Design, interface, and other features
Fortunately, the rest of the E100's design isn't quite so bad, although it has a decidedly plasticky feel. The player comes in a variety of colors--black, brown, white, pink, and sky blue--but none of them quite pop. The QVGA (320x240 resolution) screen is nice and big, measuring 2.5 inches diagonally. Its placement and the size and shape of the device makes it look a bit like a Zune clone, not that that's a bad thing necessarily. Around the edges of the player, you'll find a power button, a dedicated volume rocker, a hold switch, a mic, and a reset hole. The bottom side of the unit houses a standard mini USB port for syncing and charging as well as two 3.5mm jacks: one for headphone out and one for line-in. A microSD card slot built into the top side allows for memory expansion, while two speakers on the rear let you share the tunes. Both are nice extras, though don't expect stellar sound from the speakers.
The Iriver E100 has plenty of other features to keep you busy, although the ability to customize the interface to your liking is not one of them. We're a bit disappointed by this, since the overall interface is fairly bland. The main menu is icon-driven, but it's all gray and black, with a touch of red. We'd prefer some more color, or at least the option to change the wallpaper. Still, it's not a deal-breaker, and some users may appreciate the starkness. Other features include photo (JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF) and video (AVI, WMV) support; voice and line-in recording; a text viewer; and a built-in FM radio with recording capability, autoscan functionality, and up to 20 preset slots. We're also pleased to note that the E100 can sync with both Windows and Mac PCs.
Music to your ears?
Of course, audio should be a top consideration when selecting an MP3 player. The E100 succeeds somewhat in this area, but doesn't hit a home run. On the plus side, the player offers extensive file format support: it plays MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, and ASF files and supports subscription services such as Rhapsody. It also offers nine EQ settings, including SRS WOW and a five-band customizable EQ. In addition, the unit offers A/B looping, lyrics display, shuffle and repeat modes, and bookmarking. Plus, there's a neat fade-in feature that gradually increases/decreases the volume on a track as it starts/ends.
The downside is that music doesn't sound all that fantastic; it definitely doesn't stack up to the Clix, or similarly priced players such as the Creative Zen V Plus. Namely, audio wasn't as crisp or as clear as we'd like; many songs (notably, Amy Winehouse tracks) had a slightly muddled quality to them. Also, we found that mids were missing the warmth and richness you get from a device capable of producing top-quality audio. On the plus side, bass was tight and present, and activating the extra bass feature helped it thump. Still, EQ settings in general did little to achieve truly great sound, although the average listener will probably find that the E100 sounds just fine. Another bummer is that any content you add via a microSD card doesn't integrate seamlessly into the music menu. Instead, you have to access the external memory separately. The rated battery life of 25 hours for audio and 5 hours for video is solid, and we hope to match it in our lab testing.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: iRiver America
- Part number: 1E1004BLU
- Description: The product provides rich sound closer to the original sound, by supporting the codec for FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) files, as well as a variety of codec for music files in the form of MP3, WMA, ASF, and OGG. SRS WOW HD sound field technology incorporated into the latest Iriver products help you enjoy richer and live sound. The product supports various codec for video files such as MPEG4 SP, WMV9, and XVID SP and helps users encode video files in an easy and convenient way with iriverplus3, providing 30fps video quality. Stylish design of Iriver and compact size fit to your palm helps users enjoy video contents anywhere and anytime in an easy and convenient. With this product, uses can save JPEG, BMP, PNG, and GIF image files with Iriverplus3 to a device, and intuitive D click interface helps you easily find the photo you want, on top of manipulating pleasure. In addition, image slide show helps you enjoy your own photo album with cool background music. The product enables users to save and manage test files having TXT extension at a device with iriverplus3 in an easy and convenient way, and users also can save and manage files to Text folder, by connecting USB cable directly to E100, which makes it possible to view documents anytime and anywhere free from constraints of time and space in an easy and convenient way. You can listen to FM radio without any additional device, and TIMER RECORDING function helps education contents users listen to radio anytime and anywhere, without the need to listen to radio at a fixed time for their development. Iriver's unique TIMER RECORDING will help you improve your language proficiency to a higher level.
General
- Width 1.9 in
- Depth 0.4 in
- Product type Digital player / radio
- Height 3.7 in
- PC interface(s) supported Hi-Speed USB
- Weight 2.1 oz
- Color Sky blue
- Digital player signal-to-noise ratio 90 dB
- Available body colors Pink, Sky blue, White, Black, Brown
- Flash memory installed 4 GB Integrated
- Digital storage None
- Dimensions (W x D x H) 1.9 in x 0.4 in x 3.7 in
- Voice recording capable Yes
- Included accessories USB cable, Earphone
- Packaged quantity 1
- Software type Drivers & Utilities
- Digital storage media type None
Radio
- Tuner frequency range FM: 87.5 - 108 MHz
- Radio signal-to-noise ratio 60 dB
- Tuner type Digital Radio tuner
- Station preset qty 20
- Tuner bands FM
- Antenna form factor Headphone cord FM
- Tuning display TFT display
Digital Player / Recorder
- Digital player supported digital audio standards WMA, FLAC, ASF, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MP3
- Digital player response bandwidth 20 - 20000 Hz
- Digital player playback modes A-B repeat
- Digital player edit functions Erase
- Digital player supported bit rate 8 - 320
- Digital player ID3 tags support Yes
- Digital player additional features TEXT viewer, JPEG photo playback, XviD playback, BMP photo playback, MPEG-4 playback, WMV playback, GIF image playback
Video Playback Features
- Video playback support MPEG-4 SP, WMV9 SP, XVID SP
- Still image format BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF
Battery
- Required Qty 1
- Rechargeable Battery Rechargeable
- Battery Enclosure Type Internal
- Included Qty 1
- Technology Lithium polymer
- Battery 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
- Mfr estimated battery life 17 hour(s)
- Battery Life Details MP3 playback 17 hour(s)
Audio System
- Sound output mode Stereo
- Additional features Voice recording, Auto power off, Hold button, FM radio recording capability, Upgradeable firmware, Text viewer
Cable(s) / Peripheral(s)
- Cable(s) included External, 1 x USB cable -
System Requirements
- Peripheral / Interface devices USB port
- Min Operating system Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP, Microsoft Windows Vista
- Min processor speed 800 MHz=233 MHz
Connections
- Connector type 1 x Hi-Speed USB Mini-USB Type A, 1 x Audio line-in, 1 x Headphones Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
- Slot(s) provided 1 x MicroSD
Built-in Display
- Audio system built-in display TFT
- Diagonal size 2.4 in
- Resolution 240 x 320
- Backlight display Yes
- Features Adjustable brightness
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
Audio Features
- Amplifier output channel qty 2
- Sound effects SRS WOW HD
- Amplifier response bandwidth 20 - 20000 Hz
- Amplifier signal-to-noise ratio 90 dB
- Timer Sleep
- Built-in clock Digital clock, Timer
CD System
- CD system type None
- Digital audio standards supported WMA, FLAC, ASF, MPEG 2.5 Layer3, Ogg, MPEG 1 Layer3, MPEG 2 Layer3, MP3
- ID3 tag support Yes
Speaker System
- Speaker(s) 2 x Right/left channel speaker Built-in
Equalizer
- Equalizer type Built-in
- Equalizer factory preset qty 10
- Equalizer factory presets Normal, User
Remote Control
- Remote control None
Microphone
- Microphone type Built-in
- Microphone operation mode Mono
Headphones
- Headphones type Binaural Ear-bud
- Sound output mode Stereo
- Connectivity technology Wired
Product series
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Manufacturer: iRiver America
Specs: Digital player / radio, 8 GB, ASF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
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Manufacturer: iRiver America
Specs: Digital player / radio, 4 GB, ASF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
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Manufacturer: iRiver America
Specs: Digital player / radio, 4 GB, ASF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
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Manufacturer: iRiver America
Specs: Digital player / radio, 8 GB, ASF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
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Manufacturer: iRiver America
Specs: Digital player / radio, 8 GB, ASF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
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Manufacturer: iRiver America
Specs: Digital player / radio, 4 GB, ASF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
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Manufacturer: iRiver America
Specs: Digital player / radio, 4 GB, ASF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
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Manufacturer: iRiver America
Specs: Digital player / radio, 8 GB, ASF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
-
Manufacturer: iRiver America
Specs: Digital player / radio, 4 GB, ASF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
-
Manufacturer: iRiver America
Specs: Digital player / radio, 8 GB, ASF, MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, 1 x Lithium polymer Rechargeable Player batteryInternal
Manufacturer info
- iRiver America
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse iRiver America products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.iriveramerica.com/
- Address:
638 Gibraltar Court, Milpitas, CA 95035 - Phone: 408-635-8000
- Email: support@iriveramerica.com
- Fax: 408-635-8002
