Do you know or have you heard about how easy it will be to replace the Li-on battery? What is the expected lifetime? 2-3 years? How much will it cost, or will the company have to replace the device?

I honestly don't know. I haven't heard of any issues about battery life with the X5 though. I take it that you are worried the X5 will turn into an iPod? :-D

Not sure what you mean by the X5 turning into an ipod, can you explain? I currently own a iRiver Ifp-799t model, and for some reason or another it won't power on anymore. I had to send it back to iRiver and they are in the process of replacing it. I like the features that the iRiver devices have such as MP3, voice recorder, FM Rado, In-line recording etc., yet for the model I have you need to have the iRiver dedicated software loaded onto your PC in order to transfer files.

I came across the X5 from search engine, I was impress with all of the features and then decided to look some reviews and thankfully yours was pretty good.

Can you confirm for me if the X5 does not require software loaded onto a pc in order to transfer files to and from it? Can it also be used as mini usb drive?

When I do research on a device or anything, I try to get all of the Pros and Cons with it before buying. I think for me the worry is having the battery go bad, and is it expensive to replace, or will the company just say where are going to replace the whole thing. If it ever comes to that then, I hope I will have my music or info backed up to recover quickly. Sorry for rambling, but thanks for any info you can give on this device, I'm seriously considering buying this.

There was a big problem with Apple, where they were charging around the price of a brand new iPod just to replace the battery. That is what he was referring to.

There is no easily accessible battery compartment, only screws. I don't recall the manual mentioning battery replacement, the iAudio website (cowonamerica.com) doesn't mention battery replacement and their online store doesn't sell a battery for the X5. That tells me that its off to the factory if the battery has problems. Unfortunately I don't have an extended amount of time with the player so can't comment on battery lifetime.

As far as needing software to transfer files, I know that for XP and 2k you shouldn't even need a driver. On my systems at home and work, I just plugged the player in and could immediately copy files. The X5 uses a folder hierarchy and you can copy files anywhere you like, although it is best to use the folder structure and put music files in the music folder for example. So yes, you can use it as a flash drive and I certainly did that on a few occasions while I had it.

I have another question. When recording from the radio, voice or In-line, does the X5 convert the recording automatically to MP3 format or do you record the file first, and then go to the X5 software package to convert the file to MP3?

it automatically converts it, you don't have to do anything in software.

Does the iAudio X5 allow you to upload copyrighted music files or copy protect music files to a PC? I know recently that IriverAmerica is adjusting their devices due to copyright guidelines, MP3 / WMA files cannot be uploaded to a PC.

Im not sure I understand the question. So ill just spew a little :0

The X5 does not support the 'plays for sure' standard (if its really a standard) so it may not work with music purchase sites that use DRM protection.

If you're asking if you can copy mp3s from the player to the PC, the answer is yes. You can copy anything from the player to the PC. However, if that music file has DRM protection, it may not play on the PC. This is a limitation of the file itself, not the player.

I believe you answered my question. Basically what I asking is this: Does the iAudio allow you to upload MP3 files whether they are copyrighted or not to a PC? I believe that your answer was yes. Next, I was stating a comment that I had saw and experience with iRiver. Because of copyright laws they are no longer allowing you to upload copyrighted mp3(protected) files to a pc, which they had at one time. I'm wondering in the future will other or all mp3 players be affected by copyright laws to hinder users from copying or sharing music.