IRiver

iriver (formerly iRiver, full name iriver Limited), a subsidiary of ReignCom, is a consumer electronics brand founded in 1999 and based in Seoul, Korea. It is known for producing portable digital audio players or “MP3 players” and video players. Iriver products commonly include USB mass storage, FM tuner, and recording capabilities. Iriver’s first product was the iMP-100, a portable CD player capable of decoding MP3 data files to CD in 2000. The current iHP-100 product range (now called H100) Players (100, 120 and 140) are capable of playing MP3, WMA, Ogg Vorbis (with some limitations) and WAV audio files. Viewing of text files is also supported. The H300 series models (320 and 340) can play MP3, WMV, Ogg, WAV and AVI video files (the latter two only with firmware updates) and can display JPEG and BMP image files (which do not use the dimensions screen unless converted to proper dimensions / resolution).

Products

The range of the iriver H340, as of September 2005, is as follows. For hard disk and flash memory based players, the amount of built-in storage is indicated in parentheses. Some models have been discontinued from production and retail:

Some of the iMP-Series are known as C-Series in Korea.

Hard disk based players

  • E10 (6GB) (2006) Comes in black and white. It uses an interface similar to that of the U10 series. The device also has a remote control for the base of the U10 and a television.
  • H10: (5 GB, 6 GB, 20 GB – except Asia) (2005), available in 4 different colors (red, blue, silver and gray), 16-bit color screen, can record from radio, internal microphone (voice ) or Line-In (Line-in only with base, sold extra). The device is roughly the size of the iPod mini and is made primarily of aluminum. Navigation is done with a touchpad designed by iriver.
  • H300 series (2004), similar to the H100 series, but capable of transferring images directly from digital cameras and UMS-compatible devices such as flash drives, as well as displaying digital images and XviD movies at 15 FPS on a color screen (support for video is not available on US players with US firmware). The H300 also lacks the optical inputs / outputs that were on the H100. Models: H320 (20 GB) and H340 (40 GB). It has recently been discontinued in favor of the newer and anachronistically fewer features H10 series.
  • H100 (formerly branded “iHP-“) (2003): H110 (10GB), 115 (15GB), 120 (20GB), and 140 (40GB). It has been discontinued for all territories.

Flash memory based players

  • T10 series: (256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB) (2005). In the form of a semi-prism.
  • T20 series: (256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB) (2005). USB memory design.
  • T30 Series: (256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB) 2005. In prism shape, the first iriver MP3 player to use AAA battery.
  • H10jr .: (512 MB, 1 GB) (2005). Smaller but the same shape as H10. Use Flash memory instead of hard disk
  • N10 series: (128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB) “medallion style” – worn around the neck.
  • N11 series: (128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB) “medallion style” – worn around the neck. It has a longer battery life than the N10.
  • IFP-1000 series: (256 MB) and 1095 (512 MB). Both with built-in digital camera; in the form of a prism.
  • IFP-900 series: (256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB). With color screen.
  • IFP-800 series: (128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB). Prism-shaped with rounded edges.
  • IFP-700 series: (128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB).
  • IFP-100T series: 195TC (512 MB), 190TC (256 MB), 180T (128 MB), 140 (64 MB), 120 (32 MB). In the form of a prism.

European customers should be aware that several models lack the FM radio functionality available in other world markets.

Criticisms of the U10, T30, T20, and T10 models after iriver discontinued UMS support in favor of Microsoft’s Media Transfer Protocol have partially abated with the introduction of an official iriver firmware updater.

Disrupted

  • iGP-100 (1.5 GB)
  • IFP-300T series: 395T (512MB), 390T (256MB), 380T (128MB), 340 (64MB, US only). In the form of a candy bar.
  • IFP-500T series: 599T (1 GB) 595T (512 MB) 590T (256 MB). Soap bar shape.
  • IFP-900T series: 999T (1 GB) 995T (512 MB) 990T (256 MB) ?. Soap bar shape. 1.2 “color LC display, microphone, line in and FM recording, usb host usb 1.1, usb charging – firmware upgradeable.
  • iMP-1000 (DivX video playback with TV output)
  • Subseries “SlimX”: iMP-550, 450, 400, 350
  • iMP-700T (“sports” model), 250, 125, 100, 50
  • IHP-100 series: iHP-115, iHP-120 and iHP-140 (15, 20 and 40 GB respectively)
  • H300 series: H320 and H340 (20 and 40 GB models)

DataPlay media-based players

  • IDP-100 series: (500 MB).

Portable media players

iriver has also developed four models for the portable media player market (i.e. audio and video), capable of playing various digital video formats in addition to playing audio and displaying still images, with two models:

  • G10, which is currently under development, will play music, video and digital games. A Wi-Fi connection could allow streaming of music and videos from a digital download service to the device. The G10 will be available in 4 or 8 GB hard drive capacities and will be less than half the physical size of Sony’s PSP.
  • iRiver Clix (2GB) 2006 Rebranded U10 with improved parts and interface for WMP11, US and Australia only.
  • U10 2005 (512MB, 1GB, 2GB flash memory)
  • PMC-120/140 (20/40 GB) (“Portable Media Center”) 2004, running Portable Media Center based on Microsoft Windows Mobile.
  • PMP-120/140 (20/40 GB) (“Portable Media Player”)

The U10 and Clix can also play Flash Lite 1.1 games in .swf format.

Exclusive electronic dictionary player for Korea

  • D-10 (Dicple, which is a simplified character dictionary and player (mp3)) This is an electronic dictionary with music playback. Sold after December 2004.
  • D-20 (Dicple á) It is also an electronic dictionary. With an upgraded sleek design and 4.3,260,000 TFT color screen, it supports images and other features that a typical electronic dictionary does not have. It is designed to mimic the look of a laptop at 176 (W) x 81.9 (D) x 26.7 (H) mm and comes in bright red or black. The device has a 22 hour battery life for browsing the dictionary and a 30 hour battery life for audio. Sold as of January 2006.

Alternative Firmware

The Rockbox-Project, which wrote new GPL firmware for some Archos players, has successfully ported the rockbox firmware to the H100 and H300 series.

An official firmware updater from iriver allows users of the U10, T30, T20 and T10 models to switch between UMS and MTP operation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *