iriver X20 Portable Media Player

Reviews: Multimedia

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Editor:
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Bradford Day
Kurtis
Warehouse123
Jun. 4, 2007

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Conclusion

The iriver X20 is a great little player and is in keeping with the impressive feature set I've come to expect from this company. The display is top quality and battery life is more than sufficient. Music playback sounds good and iriver has included such nifty extras as a voice recorder, FM tuner and internal stereo speakers. The menu selection screens and input buttons can be a bit annoying at times but should be picked up quickly by most users.

So why then has iriver chosen to keep this player ostensibly hidden from the mainstream U.S. market? Well, if I had to guess, I'd say that this player is a little too similar to other offerings from Creative and SanDisk (among others). iriver has a rather small presence in the U.S. market so they must choose their product releases wisely. And with the recent introduction of the Clix 2, I suspect iriver wants to keep internal competition at a minimum.

However, a few importers have gotten their hands on the X20 and are making them available to consumers on our side of the pond. So if you are an iriver fan or are looking for a new player at a lower price point than comparable SanDisk or Apple products, the X20 might be for you. Personally I'm a bigger fan of the iriver Clix 2 and would be willing to pay the extra $40 to get that outstanding interface. But at $159 for a 4GB and $219 for 8GB, the X20 is well priced and bursting with great features.

Kurtis' Note:

A few extra words about the company who sponsored this review, Warehouse123.com. Going into the review, we were excited to be checking out an MP3 player that we normally wouldn't have access to directly through iriver USA. Unfortunately, I'm a bit uneasy about recommending anyone buy from this website. In my experience, members of the press normally receive better treatment from PR people than the average customer will receive. That's not necessarily a bad thing, that's just the reality of the matter. However, our experience with Warehouse123.com didn't turn out to be a pleasant one (I won't go into any details) and this really makes me wonder if their customer service is any better. This is just something to consider when it comes time for you to fork over your hard earned dollars.

Pros

Well priced and feature-packed player
Nice display
Good battery life
Easily removable and replaceable battery
Internal speakers

Cons

Confusing menus
Limited availability in U.S.

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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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