What's a good flash-based mp3 player with voice recorder and FM radio?

November 11, 2004 2:53 PM

I'm looking for flash-based mp3 player (256 or 512MB) with a voice recorder and FM radio. Also need it to work as a USB mass storage device. So far I'm considering the iRiver iFP-100 series or the Creative Muvo TX FM. Are there any other good quality options I should consider? And what do you think of these two options? If they both work fine, the prices are a lot better for the muvo. Thanks!
posted by jacobsee to technology (19 comments total)

Before I got an iPod I had the iRiver 256, and I really loved the thing. If I wasn't such a wanker for trying to be cool I'd easily trade in my iPod for the larger iRiver equivalent.

I'm not sure about it's ability to do USB storage, never tried. Although if I remember correctly it really didn't plug and play too well without it's respective software.
posted by Stan Chin at 3:07 PM on November 11, 2004

I own the Muvo TX FM (512MB) and love it (bought it from Computers4Sure-$127). The earbuds that come with it stink though, so you definitely have to change those but once you buy a good pair of headphones you're good to go.

I bought it with the exact motivation you had, want storage, want radio, want mp3, particularly during exercises. The Muvo TX FM comes with a belt clip and an arm band, so you can use whichever you want. It's also pretty small, so fits in your pocket quite easily.

I found the software pretty easy to use as well. I don't think the FM reception is as strong as it could be but for a small device like this I wasn't expecting more.

I would strongly recommend you to buy the 512 though. Don't go for the 256. It just isn't enough capacity to have both a decent amount of mp3 files as well as storage for other digital files.

On the other hand, I own an older iRiver Mp3 player (CD based) and I've been quite happy with that as well. So I don't think you can go wrong with either.
posted by tuxster at 3:40 PM on November 11, 2004

Right now the best deal seems to be a Lexar 1GB JumpDrive Sport ($40-65 or so after rebate) and the Lexar JumpGear mp3 player ($38) that uses said JumpDrive.

The 1GB JumpDrive has been selling at various places (buy.com, dell.com) for sub-$50 prices (after rebate) recently. Poke around and you're sure to find a price of that sort. For under a hundred bucks, you won't likely find a better USB key/mp3 solution with that sort of storage.

The word on Amazon is that the JumpGear has somewhat poor audio quality, though.
posted by rxrfrx at 3:49 PM on November 11, 2004

I just got a Yepp and I really like it. It comes in 128 and 256 Mb only, but has storage, radio and voice recording. It's small and doesn't feel like cheap plastic (part of it is aluminum).
posted by swordfishtrombones at 4:58 PM on November 11, 2004

I have one of the HD-based iRiver players (after owning a Rio 500 and an Archos Jukebox 6000), and I am extremely happy with it.

It mounts as a USB removable drive without requiring drivers or software (an important consideration for me). iRivers have no DRM, an active user communitiy (misticriver), excellent sound quality and good battery life.

iRiver has a reputation for being the geek choice--make of that what you will.
posted by box at 5:08 PM on November 11, 2004

i have the iRiver iFP-180T.
negatives: it requires the iRiver software, which is a little inconvenient and has protection built in so that you cannot upload files with audio extensions from the player to a computer. it allows you to upload other file types, though, so if you wanted to transfer audio files you'd have to rename them before and after the transfer.
i wish it had an armband instead of a lanyard.
i wish it had a bookmark feature so when i'm listening to audio books and other long tracks i could go quickly to where i left off.
it's a little flimsy - i dropped it on the floor at the gym the day i got it and the battery cover broke. a little black electrical tape keeps it running, though.
these are my only complaints. i've used this little player almost daily for the last year and i'm pretty happy with it. the FM radio works great and the voice recorder is surprisingly clear. i like the interface. the record from radio function is neat.
if you're looking for a USB mass storage device, though, this is probably not your best bet.
posted by napsternapster at 5:46 PM on November 11, 2004

Funny, I just got a Rhomba today, and am listening to it right now. Voice recorder, FM radio, don't need software or drivers, and it's real small (using to work out with).

I can give more of a review after using it for a few days, but so far, I like it. The earbuds are fine, and they are loud. Real easy to find buttons, etc.
posted by adampsyche at 6:28 PM on November 11, 2004

I own the Muvo TX FM (512MB) and love it

does the muvo mount easily to a WinXP machine without special software?
posted by jacobsee at 6:37 PM on November 11, 2004

Funny, I just got a Rhomba today

Hey cool! I'd be interested to hear your thoughts in a few days. Here's a link by the way. Did you get the 256MB version?
posted by jacobsee at 6:49 PM on November 11, 2004

It requires the iRiver software

I'm not very familiar with the IFPs, so I'm asking: are you sure the software is required? It appears that switching to the UMS firmware makes the IFP act like a standard removable drive when connected to a computer.
posted by box at 7:30 PM on November 11, 2004

well hot damn, there's another firmware update! i should have checked before saying anything. sorry!
anyway i just installed it and it works like a charm - my player shows up as a USB drive, and i can drag and drop files of any type onto and off of it easily.
my little mp3 player just got ten times cooler. thanks!
posted by napsternapster at 8:50 PM on November 11, 2004

I returned my Rio Forge. It had a design flaw with the battery that caused it to turn off when bumped. I googled after I noticed this & found that many other people had the same problem.

The might have fixed it by now, but I was really pissed off.
posted by Wood at 10:04 PM on November 11, 2004

Not crazy about the iRivers: Their interface software is buggy as hell and they seem to keep a continuous stream of firmware/driver updates coming -- which makes me think they've got some issues.

Also, iRiver flash players lose some of their feature set when you convert them to run as UMS (USB Mass Storage) devices.

That said, I like the form factor and UI on the things. (I have an IFP-890 that I use when I don't want to risk my Archos GMini 400.)
posted by lodurr at 5:51 AM on November 12, 2004

does the muvo mount easily to a WinXP machine without special software?

Yes. Supports USB2 and works with USB1.1 as well. I just plugged it into the USB port and it came up as a new drive. You then copy and paste your files over. That's it!

I also should mention that it plays through the files in the following order:
1) Anything in the root folder in alphabetical order
2) Any first-level folders, playing the folders in alphabetical order

It cannot handle second-level folders. It's pretty easy to skip through folders and select a folder to play, though you can't choose a specific song in a folder, you have to skip them alphabetically if there is a specific song you want to play. So it does require you to be careful about your naming conventions for your folders and files. I'm pretty anal about it and rename all folders and mp3 files carefully, so it was a perfect fit for me.
posted by tuxster at 8:01 AM on November 12, 2004

oh, it also does come with a CD with some special jukebox software on it, but I never even installed it. I just use Windows Explorer to copy the files over. I think you are only required to install it if you are running Windows 98, otherwise it's strictly optional.
posted by tuxster at 8:03 AM on November 12, 2004

They seem to keep a continuous stream of firmware/driver updates coming -- which makes me think they've got some issues.

It's just as easy to read iRiver's frequent firmware updates (most of which seem to add new functionality, often in response to user requests) as indicative of commitment to improving the product and not abandoning current owners. Active development is a good thing, and upgradeable firmware is even better (especially because it opens up the possibility of open-source third-party firmware like Rockbox, or the work people have done on the Linksys WRT54g router).

'Open-source third-party firmware'? Like I said above, geek choice.
posted by box at 9:59 AM on November 12, 2004

I have the iRiver iHP 140 and I'm very happy with it. You can record sound in mp3 or CD quality, and with a decent microphone you can really make high quality sound recordings.

The only thing that irritates me a bit is that after having loaded about 30gb of music onto the thing, it now takes about 15 seconds for it to be ready to play once I turn it on. But otherwise, I'm very happy.
posted by mert at 2:22 PM on November 12, 2004

It's just as easy to read iRiver's frequent firmware updates (most of which seem to add new functionality, often in response to user requests) as indicative of commitment to improving the product and not abandoning current owners.

That's not the sense I've gotten from reading threads on MisticRiver.com. I keep reading about bugs with each subsequent firmware update, and the only response I got to repeated queries about the interface software (before the UMS firmware became available) was "it's buggy, just wait for UMS."

Basically, my sense is that iRiver flash players are hot because of the Jaguar [i.e., masochism] factor: They're sweet looking beasts with nice feature sets, but they're hard to get working right and they screw up a lot.
posted by lodurr at 5:33 AM on November 13, 2004

Anyone have experience with the Creative MuVo Slim?
posted by jacobsee at 4:59 PM on November 16, 2004