Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

iRiver decisions

Dec 20, 2004 12:42AM PST

Trying to decide between the iFP-8/799 "flash" and the H320 "HDD" player.
This is my first mp3 player. Looking for longtime useability. I have a small library but will be building large. Really not looking to put 40GB of music...just enough.

799: I like the 1GB flash ability. Just enough songs to listen to, then swap them in and out. Also it's a memory player...no possible skipping or HD breakage.

H320: 20GB. Color. Mostly concerned about the HDD. Do they skip? I've heard that you have to be VERY careful and can't even drop 6".

1. I'm looking for some feedback from both users...especially the H320 or other HDD owners. How durable are they?
2. With DRM, Is there a problem "flashing" songs to/from the players"?

Thanks,
Steve

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
899
Dec 20, 2004 10:20AM PST

I have the 899
greatest decision made
I exercise with it so flash was the way to go for me
better built quality than the 799
ports are better placed too
record radio and voice
A couple hundred songs is enough for me on the player
More than enough time for whatever I am doing and enough so I won't get tired of listening to the same songs over and over
Plus one AA battery
I am loving not having to charge the thing
plus all the extras that come with it
make it a great player

- Collapse -
Iriver decisions for steve
Dec 21, 2004 9:38PM PST

Hey,

I don't have the H-320 but i do have the H-340 (my first as well, bought a month ago). It's the same but just 40GB instead of 20GB.

Dunno much about the HDD. I've had no skipping problems. Never dropped it, touch wood. Seems like a robust machine. Dunno about longtime useability. I'm worried that in time, battery life will get rubbish, and then what? It'd be so much better if there some external battery that u could replace.

Pros: Great machine, great sound quality, can record line in (from tape, cd, md - useful for me as i'm a musician), internal mic, external mic. Recording quality is really good, picks up whispers from the other side of the room. Can record directly from radio. Really simple drag and drop interface with pc. No need for id3 tags i don't think. Can burn all your cds to wma and onto mp3 player using windows media player. Beautiful screen, good battery life.

Cons: Crap case, navigation is a bit weird, once u get used to it it's not too bad, but still, i dunno why they made it like that. Playlists have to be made on winamp - i still haven't worked out how to but i've only been trying for a couple of days (PLEASE HELP!!!). Quite expensive (i paid