[pomegranate]

For the sake of prospective buyers (and for the sake of not interfering with people's ability to express their opinion without criticism), iHP-100 series owners, please give a rating for your player and any comments you may wish to add, particularly any specific technical problems or noteworthy experiences/applications, and comparisions with other players you have used. Thanks.
Edit. just so you know, my vote was 4/5 - I think the scroll speed on menus could have been a bit better thought out.

 

[White Knight]

4 out 5. For sound iHP > iPod (iPod = lame bass)

 

[e-r0ck]

i'd say 4/5 just because there is room for improvement.

i wish the joystick left\right would function like a page up or page down on your computer. so when you hit left or right it would skip an entire "page" or screen of files or folders. then the play and stop buttons would be left alone to go in and out of directories.

also, on the fly playlists. those are always neat when you wanna play a set of songs for friends.

 

[DigDub]

4/5. would be perfect if i could delete tracks on the unit itself.x

 

[PooJou]

4/5 because as e-r0ck said, theres room for improvement obviously...

I'd like to see, that on the fly playlisting, an all metal case (no paint please ) and... a wheel like the ipod (i know that wont happen, but meh, cant hurt to wish)

 

[Claude]

My rating is 4 .

Performance (sound, compatibility, connectivity) is excellent, but the navigation knob sucks, especially for controlling the volume. I don't use the remote, too many cables and not much better easy of use either.

Another thing that annoys me is the fact that when a track plays the folder name (album name in my case) does not scroll, which means I only see the artist name most of the time ("Charlie Parker - The"). Or did I miss something in the settings?

 

[rodbac]

I voted 5/5 just to reflect it's current status as the best all-around MP3 player right now with regards to features, which I feel is pretty hard to argue (and I know it's been done ad nauseum an infinite number of times already so I won't waste bandwidth discussing further).

 

[AGR]

5/5....... It's my first, and I just really like it a lot.

 

[sanity8me]

4.5/5... so i had to round up and vote for 5/5.

player is phenemonal. not as "beautiful" as the ipod, but personally i like the looks better. got a chance to compare both at the same time and sound quality of the iriver is just a bit better then the ipod.

flaws in order:
1) no playlist on deman (but a-b button lets u queue

)
2) huge icon on the left takes up about 20% of the screen
3) scratches too easily
4) build quality is a slight step below ipod (ipod is 3rd generation vs ihp's first)
5) loud clicking noise on joystick


...not too big of a deal to me, but I do hope the next generation iriver hd player will not have these flaws. Iriver needs to be only praised for their first atempt at the hd mp3 market. People have been admitting to me that the reason they went for the ipod is because of 1)looks 2)What is an ihp? 3)simplicity. i went for the iriver cause of 1) sound quality 2) features 3) looks/build quality 4) joystick

 

[4P4me]

3 out of 5 here.

Overall I find the sound rather average with anything but the Ety 4P's. And to me, the E5's sound ATROCIOUS with the IHP. With the Ipod, just like the previously owned Zen, almost anything I plug into it sounds anywhere from pretty good to amazing.

Plus I see a LOT of IHP fanboyism here, a lot like the Ipod fanboyism that goes on, based on the fact that it's not an Ipod. Doesn't cloud my judgement at all but I just thought I'd point it out.

Functionally I prefer the Ipod. I'm just waiting for the joystick to go at some point. Like the recording features, but not a deal breaker for me not to have. Plus there are other so called "advantages" that people say the Ihp has over the Ipod that just aren't true.

It's a good player, but not better to me than my old zen or the Ipod.

 

[GSTom1]

Pomegranate, was this poll and thread started in response to Austonia's recent review of the iHP-140? It certainly seems timely doesn't it, considering you were so vocal of his review?!?

 

[pomegranate]

4P4me, I'm all for objectivity instead of fanboyism, but in answer to
Quote:

Originally posted by 4P4me Plus there are other so called "advantages" that people say the Ihp has over the Ipod that just aren't true.

- I'll admit that some of the iHPs features have marginal benefits to most users (line in/out, on-board voice recording) what about about the battery life? Are you really denying that the iHP's battery doesn't last significantly longer? What about the radio? I find the remote far easier to use than the iPod's, and that's without even looking at it.
Also, I use the iHP as a portable harddisk, which is hardly practical with the iPod, although I realise not many people probably use the function.
Otherwise, what "advantages" are you referring to?

GSTom, yes you are right, I think my introduction kind of indicates that, as does my final post in austonia's thread!

 

[austonia]

Quote:

Originally posted by pomegranate Also, I use the iHP as a portable harddisk, which is hardly practical with the iPod, although I realise not many people probably use the function.

I guess you don't know much about the iPod, but it can be used as a portable hard disk just the same, no drivers needed. Software is only needed for adding music to its database. You can get a firewire OR USB2.0 dongle, for the newer ones. so it would seem even better suited, considering you can use it as an external drive on Mac and Windows computers....

 

[4P4me]

Quote:

Originally posted by pomegranate 4P4me, I'm all for objectivity instead of fanboyism, but in answer to - I'll admit that some of the iHPs features have marginal benefits to most users (line in/out, on-board voice recording) what about about the battery life? Are you really denying that the iHP's battery doesn't last significantly longer? What about the radio? I find the remote far easier to use than the iPod's, and that's without even looking at it. Also, I use the iHP as a portable harddisk, which is hardly practical with the iPod, although I realise not many people probably use the function. Otherwise, what "advantages" are you referring to? GSTom, yes you are right, I think my introduction kind of indicates that, as does my final post in austonia's thread!

Exactly how is it hardly practical to use the ipod as a hard drive?

I give the IHP props on practical battery life (with a caveat). Would anyone really complain if it didn't have a radio? (I know NO ONE who yearns to have a radio if they carry an MP3 player). If a radio were that important and in that much of a demand, more CD and MD players would have one over the years.

The recording functions are an advantage (since they're proprietory).

The IHP remote is NOT easier to use than the Ipod's. It has the LCD and is more complete, but ease of function comparitively speaking is not an advantage. If you need a remote, fine. I find remotes to be overstated as far as importance, but I could understand if you want one. I don't find the IHP's remote to be something that would sway me if picking between the two. I do know with the Ipod remote, I could use it without looking at it though. That, to me, is an advantage.

Advantages the Ipod has in my book:
* The scrollwheel. Much better ergonomics and much easier to navigate with than the IHP. Not sure if it was better than the original Zen's scroll wheel, but I'd rather use the scrollwheel than reach for a remote.
* "Playlist on the fly" function. The IHP doesn't have it. Will it? I would hope so.
* User interface. Easier than the IHP, may not fit your style. Maybe easier isn't the word, but less clumsy perhaps.
* The backlight. If I need it, I don't have to access a menu to get to it.

You can, if you wish, also drag and drop with the Ipod (at least on a MAC, and I'm pretty sure with a Windows machine as well through Itunes).

This has yet to play itself out, but The Ipod has more capabilities as far as accessories to make it even more versatile than the IHP. You can say you have to pay for them, but what don't you have to pay for anymore? Plus it lenghtens the usefulness of the Ipod.

As far as battery life, if you followed the directions and conditioned the battery, you'll get eight to nine hours on it. Not the 13-14 hours of the IHP (realtime user life), but not horrible either. Plus you can get a battery backpack readymade and use AA's with it if you want. No real need to be paranoid of the battery life.

Whatever player sounds better to you, so be it. But the one thing I've found about the Ipod it that it really allows the headphones to project themselves and their characteristics more. To me, the IHP has a sound character that impresses itself more on the headphones than vice verse. The Ety's sound great with it, but everything else I own sounds marginal at best. To each his own though.

 

[AGR]

My Nickel's worth:

It costs more to do 'everything' with the iPod, than with the iHP. I have invested $312.00 in my iHP-120. No need to buy a case. It comes with a nice one (really nice one). No need to buy a remote; it already has a nice one.

Really: no need for any more additions (except headphones), if you so desire.

For $312.00, you can get a Mini iPod (4gb), a case, and remote (if you really shop).

I think the iPods are cool, and; I was really close to buying one. And; one day, I still may. But dollar for dollar, I think the iRiver iHP-120 wins.