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iriver Clix Gen 2 / Clix Rhapsody
Testing, Continued...
Pictures Whereas issues while loading and viewing pictures on the 1st generation Clix plagued me, I had no such problems with the newer version. I loaded every possible type of pic I could. Large ones, small ones; they all loaded and displayed just fine. When using the iriver plus 3 software, pictures will be optimized for your player. But you can also just drag and drop them onto the player through the Windows Explorer system. Some images will cause a warning to pop up, saying that "the file has properties outside of device limits," but will allow you to continue with the file transfer. Not one picture was obstinate. The 2.2" screen was clear and bright. Some detail in larger images was lost but, considering the display size, the pictures looked quite nice. Loaded pictures may also be used as a custom wallpaper (just don't use a mostly white image...all white with white menu text isn't a good combo). At CES I seem to recall seeing animated wallpapers but, after just a cursory glance, have yet to find any such thing on iriver's website.   Video Also included on the install CD is a movie conversion program (aptly named Movie Converter) that optimizes video files to fit on the 2.2" Clix display. I loaded up a few videos using the conversion software. A 122MB South Park .avi took about 6 minutes to encode and transfer to the Clix. A larger 350MB Top Gear episode took around 20 minutes to chop down to size. Both videos were completely watchable on the small screen, but I found myself setting the player down off-and-on rather than watching the whole video straight through. I'm still not convinced that I'd want to watch a full length movie on such a small screen. The Movie Converter software seemed to prefer .avi files as all but one of my .mov files were not able to be converted. All files are transformed into .wmv files for use on the Clix. Despite my bias, if I did feel the need to watch the director's cut of Apocalypse Now, the Clix screen is bright enough to accommodate. The screen was crisp with very little (if any) shadowing during playback. Some pixilation occurred but it wasn't bad enough to complain about...the display's resolution is only 320x240 after all.  Games Just as the first gen, the 2nd Clix will also play Flash-based video games. The addictive old standbys such as Freecell and Sudoku are available as well as a number of other fun little numbers like Barnstormer and Launch Fighter. The games are somewhat rudimentary, but fun nonetheless. And with some practice I quickly became accustomed to the tilt screen "buttons". The full color screen does a fine job of acting as a mini-arcade. Games are free to download from iriveramerica.com. Voice Recording Also lurking in the extras menu is a voice recorder option. Simply choose the "Recordings" menu and you will be greeted with a screen detailing exactly how many hours/minutes/seconds of record time you have free in your player's memory. I found that most sounds within 10-15 feet could be clearly recorded. I would feel comfortable using the player as a voice recorder in a meeting, or even a classroom, provided I wasn't in the back of the room. To listen to what you just recorded, however, you have to head back to the extras submenu and choose "Browse Device" to find and play your voice recordings. FM Receiver The FM receiver can be programmed to skip to your favorite stations with a click of the tilt screen. I was able to pick up my local NPR and community radio stations with ease and clarity. I was also happy to find that I could record from the FM source as well. Unfortunately, I was surprised to learn that, as with the gen1 version, I still couldn't return to the main menu without the FM radio turning off, though I could navigate through all the menus with MP3s playing. Additional Features and Settings In addition to all of the above-mentioned goodies, you will also find an alarm clock, date and time display, timer, Rhapsody subscription renewal deadlines, text viewer, and a host of other useful settings in the Clix's vast menu tree. Of course, you can set the display brightness to one of 3 pre-configured settings and may also choose how long the backlight stays lit after you've finished clicking. Battery life is tracked in the upper right-hand corner of the screen via a tiny battery icon. iriver claims an average battery life of 24 hours. I ran the player for at least 5 days without needing a recharge, so their estimate is more or less dead on, depending on video usage and volume levels.
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Add Comment
3 User Comments 1 - Posted by
Skobbolop
on July 23, 2007 - 10:55 am Nice review... the best flash player around imo. btw. the 8 gb version should be released this august...
2 - Posted by
handrail
on July 23, 2007 - 1:46 pm i agree, the clix is one of if not the best flash player. i love reviewing iriver's players. good to know the 8gb is on the way too! thanks for your comments! brad. 3 - Posted by
chanderson
on August 27, 2007 - 7:13 pm Nice review, very thorough and non-biased. I would, however, like to point out something that wasn't mentioned. Since the Clix Gen2 plays .ogg music files and shows up as a separate "hard drive", this player is the ideal solution for us *nix users out there looking for a flash media player. I am partial to Ubuntu Linux and have had no issues with music as of yet. I have not attempted to put any videos on my Clix using Linux (I use a dual boot with XP Pro and Ubuntu 7.04 "Feisty Fawn") I will report back on my endeavors when the time comes. Thanks again for the wonderfully informational review of one of the best flash PMP's on the market. -Chad Add Comment To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields. |
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