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Music Media Technology

Latest "iPod Killer" Takes Aim at the Mini 467

Posted by samzenpus from the more-stuff-to-buy dept.
blamanj writes "ReignCom, has just released the iRiver H10, a 5GB MP3 player with 1.5" color screen and FM tuner. Currently available in Korea, the company plans a US release in January. The price is higher than Apple's iPod mini, but it does have extra features. iRiver has generally gotten good reviews for quality, as well." Update by J : We typoed that as "5MB" earlier, sorry.
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Latest "iPod Killer" Takes Aim at the Mini More

Latest "iPod Killer" Takes Aim at the Mini

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  • Quit your bitching! (Score:5, Funny)

    by mr.henry ( 618818 ) * on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:30PM (#11165500) Journal
    5 MB ought to be enough for anybody!

  • 5MB (Score:5, Funny)

    by Uncle Jimmy ( 253443 ) on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:31PM (#11165511)
    the iRiver H10, a 5MB MP3 player

    Who needs 1000 songs, when you can have one?

  • 5MB (Score:3, Funny)

    by TruePaige ( 834087 ) on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:31PM (#11165514) Homepage
    Back in my day, I walked uphil bothways, with only 5MB of music to listen to!

  • Why is everything an iPod killer? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by seanadams.com ( 463190 ) * on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:31PM (#11165517) Homepage
    This iRiver product is not quite as ridiculous as some of the other "iPod killers" which added video support for "only" 2x the price, size, weight, and power consumption, but why is it a "killer"?

    Unless something can beat the iPod on value, the only thing that will kill it is market saturation, plain and simple.

    • That's why it's in quotes - "iPod killer". The iPod has become so ubiquitous with portable audio that anything similar coming along is inevitably labeled an "iPod killer". The Media just love to portray such situations in great adversarial language. But the phrase has been used so much now, and failed to come true, that it's become a cliche. So now it's used as a parody of the pundits and journalists that once (and still) use the term.

    • Re:Why is everything an iPod killer? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Herr_Nightingale ( 556106 ) on Thursday December 23, 2004 @12:04AM (#11165710) Homepage
      Differences:
      H10 - 12 hours batt.
      iPodMini - 8 hours

      H10 - 5GB
      iPodMini - 4GB

      H10 - 1.5" TFT colour display. Gorgeous. [iriver.co.kr]
      iPodMini - 1.67" grayscale LCD w/LED backlight [impress.co.jp]

      H10 - 95.5mm x 54.6mm x 15mm (96 grams) [impress.co.jp]
      iPodMini - 91mm x 51mm x 13mm (103 grams)

      Except for size, the H10 wins. Plus it plays WMA, which is an advantage for a lot of people.

      • Re:Why is everything an iPod killer? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by msimm ( 580077 ) on Thursday December 23, 2004 @12:53AM (#11165906) Homepage
        Does it include a popular online retail music site built specifically for it? Does it have 'best of breed' management software integrated tightly with both the retail store and the hardware?

        Trying to compete with the iPod is a tall order, there is the overall experience which isn't necessarily about built-in features or price.

        And whats up with the chrome framing around the touch pad and the display screen? It makes it look like one of those miniature TV's from the 90's. Not something to aspire to. But its pretty hard to know what its like without actually holding it, the iPod has the looks, but it also has a feel thats pretty nice (not that I own one, but they let me touch it at my local Fry's...still).
        • 'best of breed' LOL. You have been to too many conference shows, my monkey friend.

      • Re:Why is everything an iPod killer? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by diamondsw ( 685967 ) on Thursday December 23, 2004 @12:53AM (#11165909)
        I'll give you the battery life, but a difference of a gig (even though it's 25% larger) won't make or break a sale for most people. Likewise, the size difference is miniscule and won't make a difference either. A color screen - what the hell for? If we're comparing MP3 players, who cares? The iPod Mini has a wonderfully readable screen with a great backlight (far better than my old 2G iPod). And I'm sorry, but given the download numbers of the various stores, I can't accept the argument that WMA is such a plus.

        No, what will will the H10 isn't any of these specs. What will kill it is the fact that in the consumer marketplace, the iPod is *the* thing to have, because everyone knows it works, it's "cool", and it's simple. The fact that the H10 is more expensive will seal its grave.

        Come on guys, we've been over this a million times already. Until you have a product with a MAJOR advantage over the iPod, it's not going to make a dent. We've seen dozens and dozens of players that have this extra feature and that one, maybe a little less money, but nothing huge. One has an FM tuner, one plays more formats, one has 5GB, one shows photos, one costs a little less. Ultimately, these are nits compared to the sheer buzz of the iPod.

        [Where Apple *is* extremely vulnerable is the iPod photo and the high-end - sales numbers are confirming that the iPod photo is a dud, and Apple's refusal to embrace video sounds an awful lot like their initial resistance to CD burners.]

      • I'm not saying one is better than the other (I really have no idea about the H10), but you totally forgot about the interface/usability of each product -- important because if it's unusable, any hardware advantages one has over the other doesn't really mean squat.
    • The Creative Muvo2 retails at 189.99 and has 4 gig drive in it. The iPod mini is 249.00. Up until last week there was a 50 dollar rebate for the Muvo making it 139.99. The Muvo is super tiny, much smaller than Apple's offerings. Photo here. [nikkeibp.co.jp]

      There's competition, albiet not much, out there, not to mention the 512 to 1 gig players out there. Most people have no need for 40 gigs in their pocket or they don't want to drop 249 or 299 for an iPod, which wont record line in nor do FM/AM. I see a lot of 128-512 me
      • There's competition, albiet not much, out there, not to mention the 512 to 1 gig players out there. Most people have no need for 40 gigs in their pocket or they don't want to drop 249 or 299 for an iPod, which wont record line in nor do FM/AM.

        I have about eight separate issues with each one of your statements here. I will cover only the most pertinent in the interests of readability.

        First of all, nobody needs any mp3 player. I mean let's get a sense of perspective here - every single one of these thin
    • This iRiver product is not quite as ridiculous as some of the other "iPod killers" which added video support for "only" 2x the price, size, weight, and power consumption, but why is it a "killer"?

      Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! What the fuck is this idiotic fascination on /. with the idiotic concept of the "iPod Killer". I have an iPod, I'm on my third, a 40Gb model, having upgraded twice. My Dad, sisters and bro-in-law all have the units and we like them quite a bit. On the other hand I just got one of

  • That's 5GB (Score:2, Informative)

    by AnotherFreakboy ( 730662 )

    That's 5GB, not 5 MB.

    You'd think they could have at least read the article title, if not the entire article.

    • Can hardly blame them. Oh look another "iPod killer article."

      "So this one's going to kill it for sure, is it? Or maybe this one. Or this. Wake me up when the damn thing's dead, just don't expect me to go to the funeral of every iPod."

      But why has the iPod got to be killed anyway?

  • Its 5 GIGAbytes (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mtrisk ( 770081 ) on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:32PM (#11165520) Journal
    That should be 5GB, not 5MB, otherwise it wouldn't be much of an Ipod-mini killer. Speaking of which, can we stop calling every portable audio device that? If it's cool, it's cool. It brings more choice to the consumer. But why should the Ipod die? For some people it's what they want, for others it's not. Okay, buy a different player. Sheesh.
    • I'd mod you up if I could. :)

      Why must eeevery audio player be an "iPod Killer"?

    • We can't stop calling everything an iPod killer until someone finally makes a device that beats it on a significant number of features without failing miserably in any major feature. It' been king of the hill so long it's ridiculous, and even the latest competitors still fail to surpass its design.

      Oh, sure, the iPod has its flaws--lots of them. And frankly, I'm waiting for a damn "iPod killer" so I can buy one. Once something actually kills it, we can start talking about that product being beaten.

      Until
    • That should be 5GB, not 5MB, otherwise it wouldn't be much of an Ipod-mini killer. Speaking of which, can we stop calling every portable audio device that? If it's cool, it's cool. It brings more choice to the consumer. But why should the Ipod die? For some people it's what they want, for others it's not. Okay, buy a different player. Sheesh

      Whenever you're on top, someone always tries to bring you down.

  • 5mb, wow (Score:2, Funny)

    by Bin_jammin ( 684517 )
    I hope that it's slightly smaller than the size of a stack of 4 floppies

  • Yeah (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Crowhead ( 577505 ) on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:32PM (#11165526)
    Hear that sound? That's the iPod laughing itself to death.
    • This company didn't release this player to challenge the iPod mini, they released the product to make money. Slashdot seems to think that every new mp3 player is released only out of spite and hatred for Apple.
    • Hear that sound? That's the iPod laughing itself to death.
      Good riddance? ;-)

    • Hear that sound? That's the iPod laughing itself to death.

      I remember that sound... It was the sound that the Mac made when it had 18% marketshare.

      Now it's 2% and whimpering.

      All I'm saying is that if you're an Apple supporter (like me), you shouldn't portray hubris. There's every chance that these Microsoft-based devices will have its ass on a plate sooner or later.

    • Hear that sound? That's the iPod laughing itself to death.

      So what sound does it make when you try to play an ogg file? The Iriver sounds great. How about the sound it makes when you try to upload your music to another computer for the 5th time? The Iriver does that without complaining, as far as I can tell. "Cool" That's the sound my wife made when I told her that some of the newer music players also acted like a photo album.

      Think different? Nah, just think.

      • So what sound does it make when you try to play an ogg file?

        Hey, Joe Consumer called. He left a message: "I have no idea what you are talking about and futher down the road, I don't care".

        Not a flame, just the truth. There is very, very, very little use in adding support for something like 100 000 persons (including me) use on a regular basis.

        And iriver sucks ass. I have tested a couple of them. They have bad interface, ugly design and flat sound. Uploads? My iPod does that. In several ways, in fact. Ph
  • Everything is an "iPod killer" these days. It's not like Apple made the first MP3 player, they just made one that everyone wants. Heck, I want one, too.

  • 5 megabytes! (Score:2, Funny)

    by nxs212 ( 303580 )
    wow, with capacity like that, it will definitely give the mini run for its money.
    (i don't expect nerds to have good "grammer" or use there and their appropriately, but come ON! Gigabytes and Megabytes is something this article's poster should be familiar with)
  • And before you know it old Koreans will be demanding bigger drives on these things. All kidding aside though the little toy sure looks pretty from the pics. I just wonder how good the user interface will be? Guess I'll have to get myself a late Christmas present.

  • Bad Timing (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rel4x ( 783238 ) on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:37PM (#11165566)
    Is it just me, or does it seem like it would be a better idea to release this thing DURING the Christmas season, rather than directly after it? (you know, when everything else drops to clearance prices to ditch unsold Xmas stuff)
    • Is it just me, or does it seem like it would be a better idea to release this thing DURING the Christmas season, rather than directly after it?

      These days you release when you're ready, xmas or not.

      We used to struggle to release before Christmas, until we figured out that the Christmas rush is about the same, whether you have new product or not. Ironically, nobody releases much in the summer, when electronics sales are slow and they could really use a little boost. I guess they're all at the beach...

    • Re:Bad Timing (Score:3, Insightful)

      by fiddlesticks ( 457600 )
      maybe they're, um, not actually going for the christian holiday thing, what with them being 65% non christian [wikipedia.org] and the ones that are christian not using christmas as an excuse for just large-scale gift giving [cvc.org]

      so yeah, maybe it's just you.

  • No, No, No, never going to happen (Score:3, Informative)

    by Stubtify ( 610318 ) on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:39PM (#11165580)
    Everyone claims that the next ipod killer is around the corner, but they forget that most people who buy an ipod aren't doing so for feature sets. I know 10 year olds who want an ipod. Why? Because everyone else has one. They won't buy another brand because it holds 2000 more songs or has an FM tuner.(note: ogg support is one of thes non-mainstream features) Until apple makes a mistake (ugly design, WAY overpriced, crippling features) the demand for anything else will never come close. Truth is, the ipod isn't all that expensive for what you get, most other companies are right around the same price point, it just works for anyone no matter how technically challenged, and it fits the needs of almost everyone in the target demographics.
    • iPod iMini iIs iDead

      / Sinserely yours, Rio Carbon [digitalnetworksna.com]
    • Seriously. I wanted to buy my girlfriend an ipod mini for christmas; as the first n stores I tried were sold out, I looked seriously at the 10 zillion other "ipodalikes" out there (including many very nicely priced and very small flash players).

      After doing that for a while, I realized that I'd just have to keep on trying new stores, because frankly the ipod mini is far more appealing than any of the competition. Not least (hey it's apple), it's so elegant -- the size, shape, and controls are perfect, it

  • Rip Off (Score:3, Insightful)

    by bedouin ( 248624 ) on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:40PM (#11165582)
    This player is $344, almost $100 more than the iPod mini. With educational pricing one can get an iPod mini for $229. People purchasing a mini iPod don't care about photo viewing, and there won't be much room for any once all your audio fills up the 5gb hard drive. Built-in radio? Every walkman I ever owned had pathetic radios that were essentially useless, not to mention radio itself is barely worth listening to nowadays.

    Just another example of how Apple just 'gets it' and others attempt to add the kitchen sink and clutter to make up for their design inadequacies.
    • Just another example of how Apple just 'gets it' and others attempt to add the kitchen sink and clutter to make up for their design inadequacies.

      They get what, exactly? I'm not so impressed, though I know a couple of very satisfied owners.

      The H320 [iriveramerica.com] is cheaper and rocks. It has a 20GB drive, does USBFS on USB2 and plays ogg and other music formats. No pesky software or DRM got in the way of me moving my music onto it. I just made an entry for /dev/sda1 in /etc/fstab, plugged it into my laptop and coppie

  • iPod-Killer List (Score:5, Insightful)

    by tirefire ( 724526 ) on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:41PM (#11165589)
    To be a certified iPod-killer, a new product must undergo rigorous tests and examinations. Specifically, it must meet these criteria: 1. Must be ugly as sin. 2. Must be a rectangular prism. 3. Must have a square display of the exact same size as the iPod. 4. Must incorporate a stupid button/barrel system instead a scroll wheel. 5. Must lie about battery life, giving figures that are for 48 k/sec files. 6. Must have an FM tuner, since people buy Mp3 players to listen to the radio, not their music files. I'm happy to say that this candidate meets most of these criteria easily (though it's not quite ugly enough), in addition to adding some of its own: -Useless color screen -Voice recording (since it's the same shape as a tape recorder)

    • Radio on minis (Score:5, Insightful)

      by nick_davison ( 217681 ) on Thursday December 23, 2004 @12:08AM (#11165730)
      6. Must have an FM tuner, since people buy Mp3 players to listen to the radio, not their music files.

      To be fair, a lot of people who buy the minis are buying them specifically for the gym. Most gyms also have TVs that are muted with their sound broadcast via FM for those with radios. A built in radio stops you looking like a complete nerd, having your MP3 player on one arm, radio on the other, graphing calculator in one pocket, cell phone on your hip, PDA in the other pocket and god knows how many pocket protectors.

      Of course, it's an understandable mistake to make on /. as 1) we're all nerds and think that sounds cool and 2) what the hell is a gym anyway?

      Which, I guess, is why I married a personal trainer/physical therapist and still bought her an iPod last week which I get to endlessly worship for it's unmatched UI design while never going anywhere near her beloved gym.
      • A built in radio stops you looking like a complete nerd, having your MP3 player on one arm, radio on the other, graphing calculator in one pocket, cell phone on your hip, PDA in the other pocket and god knows how many pocket protectors.

        So do they have special "nerd" t-shirts with pockets for the pocket protectors? Or do nerds just wear button down shirts in the gym too....?
  • Over, and over, and over, and over again.
  • because there really is no article, and because the reading comprehension on slashdot is so bad, the article was submitted with 5mb and then posted by the "editor" without modification.

    A photo of this had already leaked out about a week ago, but iRiver's new H10 MP3 player just got all official on us. Right now there's only mention of a Korean release (it goes on sale there December 22nd with a list price of about US$344, which is way too high for over here), but everything is about like we'd expected

  • ...at least until something comes out that actually kills the iPod?

    Yes, there are a lot of pretenders to the throne. However, the iPod is still king, and doesn't look like it's going to be deposed any time in the near future. Maybe one day a descendant to one of the current pretenders will knock the iPod off its throne, but that day is hardly today.

    So please, /. editors -- can we stop calling every handheld device released that has a digital audio playback system an "iPod Killer"? Can't we just call th

  • iPod is to Apple as (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Macondo ( 836066 ) on Wednesday December 22, 2004 @11:50PM (#11165640)
    Walkman was to Sony. Many alternatives appeared to compete with the walkman but Sony is still counting the cash...

  • Radio Tuner (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Singwolf ( 842847 )
    I really like the FM (and AM likely too) tuner feature. I haven't bought and iPod because of its lack on it.

    Listening to music is fun and pleasant, but sometimes people want to hear something with less lyric and more up to date content (as for example the news).

    • Re:Radio Tuner (Score:2, Informative)

      by Mad Leper ( 670146 )
      Exactly why I passed on the iPod and got an iRiver H120 instead.

      Having FM radio is important to me, as I listen to CBC radio every day on the bus. I gladly paid more for the Iriver than I would have for the iPod, just to get the FM radio.

      And I must say, the H120 is the best MP3 player I've ever used. Great sound and battery life, along with a wonderful inline remote control.

      And outfitted with a black iSkin, it looks way cooler than that shiny white brick everyone else is carrying around..

    • Re:Radio Tuner (Score:2, Insightful)

      by xaotica ( 638075 )
      Some ipod owners I know use software to automatically record NPR and other audio streams to mp3, then load it onto the ipod and listen during the day. Although that's not nearly as timely, I think it's still an interesting alternative.. particularly if the radio shows you're interested in are broadcast at odd hours of the day/evening.
  • All the comments above about the 5mb make me want to invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet... Seriously people, do you REALLY think it's actually 5MB, or that you're the only witty person who noticed that and decided to make a wisecrack?

    *ahem*

    Back on topic, this will be interesting to watch. iRiver makes some gorgeous MP3 players, and their interface designers generally know what they're doing. Their MP3 CD players are, IMO, the best on the market. They don't quite
  • Still working on the ipod killer but I got the ethernet killer down pat. http://www.tburke.net/fun_stuff/pictures/computers /ethernetkiller.htm
  • it goes on sale there December 22nd with a list price of about US$344

    OK That's just too expensive for a 5gb player. I'd probably lose/break it anyway.

    *huggles 20gb iPod*

    If I was in the market again I'd probably get one of iRiver's other offerings (the 20gb is nicely priced and has great features apparently, though I haven't used it), but I already spent my money before I knew about it.

    Side note: just got my 20gb 4G iPod working with USB connectivity in linux; just had to set CONFIG_EFI_PARTITION=n i

  • If I gave my fiance an iRiver over an iPod for Christmas, she would not be happy. Despite all the features other mp3 players have, the iPod has become a cultural icon and Apple has done a wonderful job of marketing it. They make it seem as if everyone needs an iPod.
  • My three year old iPod just got killed - thanks a lot iRiver!!!

  • None of these "killer" articles mention... (Score:5, Informative)

    by michaeldot ( 751590 ) on Thursday December 23, 2004 @12:33AM (#11165836)
    ...the "other half" of the portable music equation.

    Synching between the computer and the device.

    The iTunes+iPod combination is so effortless, it's barely even noticeable: one instant the music's on your computer, the next it's in your hand.

    When these devices' FireWire/USB 2.0 synching gets to this effortless state, then maybe we'll start talking "killer." Until then, keep posting the driver links.
    • What could be more effortless or straightforward than mount, ls, and cp? (Especially if you've been doing it for years.) Or select, copy and paste to removable device?

      For at least some people, itunes is just redundant, and therefore not part of the "portable music equation".
  • It says this iPod killer costs more than the iPod mini. This is an obvious misprint, because as we all know, Apple products always cost more. ;-)

  • ...is a nice try, but oh-so-wrong. 50% of any motion the user makes while manipulating it is non-value-added therbligs!

  • More Pics from the Premier (Score:3, Insightful)

    by glamslam ( 535995 ) on Thursday December 23, 2004 @12:42AM (#11165869)
    http://club.iriver.co.kr/freeboard/view.asp?Page=1 &SrchItem=&SrchString=&idx=172358 [iriver.co.kr]

    Scroll down for some real pictures of it in action.

  • On three different news shows i saw segments that cover portable MP3 players none of them mentioned the ipod. it seems like every week therre is another ipod killer device out there, but still apple is selling so many of them they cant keep them in stock. maybe its the king of the hill syndrome or something stupid like that. the fact is that the ipod is not just a device, its a system. you can buy music load it onto you ipod from cd or the itunes store. the entire thing is designed so i can give it to my gr

  • "Latest"? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Trurl's Machine ( 651488 ) on Thursday December 23, 2004 @04:32AM (#11166558) Journal
    Latest "iPod Killer" Takes Aim...

    I wonder if Steve Jobs has a whole collection of these, somewhere in his mansion - labeled "iPod killer #841, iPod killer #842, iPod killer #843...".

  • Spamming Slashdot (Score:3, Informative)

    by mapmaker ( 140036 ) on Thursday December 23, 2004 @11:16AM (#11168592)
    This seems like a good story in which to pester ya'll for some recommendations. I've got some spare karma to burn after all...

    I've been unsuccesfully searching for a replacement MP3 player for a while now. What I want and can't find is an MP3 player that uses CF cards (not SD/MMC) and has minimal/nonexistant internal storage (as I've got lots of CFs already and don't way to pay for unneeded internal storage capacity) and uses regular batteries (AA/AAA) rather than a sealed internal one.

    My 2 year old Nex meets those specs but it's getting pretty long in the tooth. Wish I hadn't dropped it so many times...

    Does anyone know of any other players out there that meet my criteria?

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