iriver X20 Portable Media Player

Reviews: Multimedia

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Bradford Day
Kurtis
Warehouse123
Jun. 4, 2007

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Introduction

We're back at it again with another portable media player review. But this one is special; an import not originally destined for the shores of North America. But through the magic of import distribution, I'm holding a little bit of the Asian market in my hot little hand.

I've been a fan of iriver products for a while now. Like many electronics companies they are primarily based overseas. As such, we in the States miss out on a handful of nifty little gadgets that our Asian or European brothers and sisters have in abundance. In fact, iriver showcased a select few non-U.S. market devices at CES '07. I have to admit, I didn't give them much of a glance as I figured we'd never see them again. Not so!

Today I'll be playing with the iriver X20, a 4GB media player that runs with the like of the iPod nano and Sansa E200 line of PMPs. But don't expect to find one at your local Best Buy or Circuit City. The X20 is available online from our product sponsor, but is this little bit of gray-market goodness worth exploring?

First Looks

The X20 comes wrapped in a creamy yellow box that is easy enough to open. But iriver is pretty sparse when it comes to in the box extras. The X20 comes with a pair of earbuds, USB cable, installation disk, warranty info and a minimalist quick start guide (in 10 different languages). I would have liked to see a protective cover included as well.

The X20 bears a resemblance to many other media players. Apart from a landscape orientation, most MP3 player enthusiasts will recognize a scroll wheel/button arrangement not unlike a Sansa or iPod. However, subtle differences set the X20 apart on a few different levels.

But first things first. The X20 player is about the size of an average cell phone resting somewhere between an iPod video and iPod nano in girth. The 2.2" screen, as mentioned before, is oriented lengthwise across the player in a landscape format. This is a little unusual and made me wonder if it would make using the device a bit awkward. The white D-pad button and thin scroll wheel are located off to the side rather than the typical below-the-screen arrangement.

The glossy black and silver color scheme is not terribly unique but looks sharp. Again, I can't help but compare it to the Sansa e260 I reviewed last fall. This comparison is even more irresistible when the X20s glowing blue scroll wheel alights. But where SanDisk situated their D-pad buttons outside of the wheel, iriver has kept them inside. The creamy white buttons act as a submenu guide with the center button providing select and play/pause functions. Volume is controlled by the thin scroll wheel but it also acts as the main menu selector.

The silver band that circumnavigates the X20s midsection contains a hold switch as well as a MicroSD expansion slot. Just north of the D-pad/scroll wheel is a menu button while the power button is to the south (if you're holding the X20 in the default display configuration). Just beside the white button along the silver midsection are the headphone jack, mini USB input and a line-in port.

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Page 1: Introduction & First Looks
Page 2: Testing & Features
Page 3: Testing & Features, Continued...
Page 4: Conclusion

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