IRIVER SlimX iMP-350 Personal CD Player
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Similar in Portable CD Players
- CD-R/CD-RW Playback: CD-RW
- Anti Skip Buffer: 180 sec.
- Supported Formats: WMA MP3
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It's not for everyone; is it for you?
Pros
Features galore, well built, price, user support
Cons
Uses CDs, needs all metal frame, the "toilet" faceplate design.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Don't wait for the 400 model when a wickedly satisfying MP3-CD player can be yours now. If that's what you're looking for, that is.
First off, finding iRiver products is very difficult in North America. Especially if you don't feel like going through online sources - honestly, online shopping sucks for those of us who wants the product NOW. For those of you in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada, an electronic outlet store at about 350 College West is the only store I could find in Toronto that carried them.
Secondly, don't bother waiting for the 400 series. Some minor improvements over the 350, and you'll be shelling out 30% more money for them at least. Plus you'll be waiting a good half year I would think.
This is an Multi-Codec CD player and FM Tuner. Multi-Codec means it can play a variety of file formats (mp3, wma, etc). Right off the top, you're not jogging with this machine. It's quite possible that the 400 series will have the anti-skip technology to allow jogging finally, but this one is still time based (meaning you have to sit relatively still until it finishes caching the music. So it'd be fine for walking, rollerblading, and biking (though remember not to crank it on the go for your own safety!).
What made me choose the 350 model, aka SlimX, over the Nomad 6 gig (which was cheaper than the SlimX) - these were the only two players in this store - are four reasons: Portability, upgradability, features, and support.
On the portability issue, the player is very light, and much smaller than a Nomad. It's one of the smallest mp3 CD players out there at 1.6cm tall, and about half an inch larger in diameter than a CD. The remote contains a 4 line LCD (minus the dancing man for all you RioVolt users out there), 3 jog dials, a play button and a stop button. It'll take a lot of flipping from controller to manual in the beginning because each jog dial has about 4 different purposes. After an hour, I have most of the basics down. Losing the remote could prove to be a very bad move as you would be very limited in what you could do with the unit with no interface (though you could still use the buttons on the main unit to charge the batteries, play, and skip tracks).
In terms of upgradability, iRiver has built a reputation on listening to it's customers - something Sony and Panasonic seem to have forgotten about. iRiver releases software updates for it's players which allow for new music formats to be played (Ogg Vorbis coming soon, baby!), faster track accessing, better interface, etc. The upgrades are free and really make the player go a long way.
As far as features go, there's too many to list in total. Here's a rundown on my top 10 features for the SlimX though.
10. Rechargable batteries come with it, as well as a AA battery adapter, and a wall adapter (for charging of course).
9. Can use CD-RW disks in packet write format.
8. Recognises mp3 tags and can adjust the equalizer to match the track genre.
7. Well made remote control clip which really clamps onto you.
6. 480 second anti skip for 128kps mp3s (around 900 seconds for WMA files and 180 seconds for Audio CDs).
5. User forums abound with people with answers to any and all questions.
4. Backlit LCD.
3. Allows you to place your mp3s on a CD in folders so you can keep all artists and albums seperated.
2. User defined equalizer allows for great flexibility in customizing the sound of your music.
1. One of the cheaper portable mp3 players on the market, and at the top of it's class.
Finally, the support area. The user base for iRiver products makes for an unofficial support staff. The iRiver team does offer 1 year parts and labor on the SlimX, and any problem you have can be brought to the attention to forum goers at iRiver's web site and / or the official support staff at iRiver. And you'll actually get a useful response out of them, and quickly too, unlike some companies...coughsonycough.
So there we go. The only reasons you wouldn't want this player is if you want it for jogging, or are looking for something to impress your friends who are more impressed by "looks" than features (the iRiver FP180T might be the choice for both those issues). I won't be getting another mp3 players anytime soon, unless the 400 model makes itself readily available. Even so, if this was the last of the line, I would say it would keep up with the times for a good 3 years before I would want something to replace it. And considering how quickly the portable music industry is expanding in the digital world, that's saying a lot.
Secondly, don't bother waiting for the 400 series. Some minor improvements over the 350, and you'll be shelling out 30% more money for them at least. Plus you'll be waiting a good half year I would think.
This is an Multi-Codec CD player and FM Tuner. Multi-Codec means it can play a variety of file formats (mp3, wma, etc). Right off the top, you're not jogging with this machine. It's quite possible that the 400 series will have the anti-skip technology to allow jogging finally, but this one is still time based (meaning you have to sit relatively still until it finishes caching the music. So it'd be fine for walking, rollerblading, and biking (though remember not to crank it on the go for your own safety!).
What made me choose the 350 model, aka SlimX, over the Nomad 6 gig (which was cheaper than the SlimX) - these were the only two players in this store - are four reasons: Portability, upgradability, features, and support.
On the portability issue, the player is very light, and much smaller than a Nomad. It's one of the smallest mp3 CD players out there at 1.6cm tall, and about half an inch larger in diameter than a CD. The remote contains a 4 line LCD (minus the dancing man for all you RioVolt users out there), 3 jog dials, a play button and a stop button. It'll take a lot of flipping from controller to manual in the beginning because each jog dial has about 4 different purposes. After an hour, I have most of the basics down. Losing the remote could prove to be a very bad move as you would be very limited in what you could do with the unit with no interface (though you could still use the buttons on the main unit to charge the batteries, play, and skip tracks).
In terms of upgradability, iRiver has built a reputation on listening to it's customers - something Sony and Panasonic seem to have forgotten about. iRiver releases software updates for it's players which allow for new music formats to be played (Ogg Vorbis coming soon, baby!), faster track accessing, better interface, etc. The upgrades are free and really make the player go a long way.
As far as features go, there's too many to list in total. Here's a rundown on my top 10 features for the SlimX though.
10. Rechargable batteries come with it, as well as a AA battery adapter, and a wall adapter (for charging of course).
9. Can use CD-RW disks in packet write format.
8. Recognises mp3 tags and can adjust the equalizer to match the track genre.
7. Well made remote control clip which really clamps onto you.
6. 480 second anti skip for 128kps mp3s (around 900 seconds for WMA files and 180 seconds for Audio CDs).
5. User forums abound with people with answers to any and all questions.
4. Backlit LCD.
3. Allows you to place your mp3s on a CD in folders so you can keep all artists and albums seperated.
2. User defined equalizer allows for great flexibility in customizing the sound of your music.
1. One of the cheaper portable mp3 players on the market, and at the top of it's class.
Finally, the support area. The user base for iRiver products makes for an unofficial support staff. The iRiver team does offer 1 year parts and labor on the SlimX, and any problem you have can be brought to the attention to forum goers at iRiver's web site and / or the official support staff at iRiver. And you'll actually get a useful response out of them, and quickly too, unlike some companies...coughsonycough.
So there we go. The only reasons you wouldn't want this player is if you want it for jogging, or are looking for something to impress your friends who are more impressed by "looks" than features (the iRiver FP180T might be the choice for both those issues). I won't be getting another mp3 players anytime soon, unless the 400 model makes itself readily available. Even so, if this was the last of the line, I would say it would keep up with the times for a good 3 years before I would want something to replace it. And considering how quickly the portable music industry is expanding in the digital world, that's saying a lot.
