| Thursday, July 24, 2003 |
12:09 - PseudoPod
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/31943.html
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They just keep a-comin'!
While the iHP-100 certainly lacks the iPod's styling, it does have some neat touches of its own. Like the latest iPods (but not the 10GB version, it has to be said), the iRiver device ships with a remote control unit, but the iHP-100's version has a full-size backlit track information display screen. The iHP-100 also offers digital optical audio input and output ports, and you can hook up any source to digitise sound directly to the player's hard drive. There's a built-in microphone too. The iRiver also contains an FM stereo radio receiver.
But you apparently navigate it using a thumb-dimple joystick, and the screen is cluttered up by the usual Aiwa/Tokyo-at-Night display-candy. Plus it loses out to the iPod in price. (?!)
The iHP-100 connects to a host PC via a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed link. It plays MP3 and Windows Media Audio files. Neatly, you don't need jukebox software to transfer files to the iHP-100 - Windows Explore will do.
Which I guess means no playlists or ID3-tag-based organization, or auto-synchronization. But hey! It's more conveeeeenient! Plugging it in and having it automatically sync everything is too restrictive. Oh, and is that USB 2.0 2.0, or USB 1.1 2.0? I'm sure it's the former. Such naming schemes have the consumer's best interests at heart.
One of these days I'm going to have to put that "PseudoPods" page together, showcasing all these game attempts at, um, flattery.
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