The word innovative is often used when talking about new gadgets but rarely is it warranted. The so called innovation is normally a re hash from some other device in a parallel market, so when the U10's user interface got described as innovative we wondered if it really was. Open the packaging and you are presented with a cute yet small flash based media player measuring 69 x 47 x 16 mm and weighing 70 grams.

The 2.2" display is the key to its innovation, instead of bristling with tens of buttons to control replay it seems iRiver have actually had a think about how the user might want to control an MP3 player. Similar think tanks in Apple created the click wheel and iRiver have come up with direct click, this uses the 4 sides of the screen as touch sensitive buttons which are similar to soft keys as introduced to the mobile phone by Nokia.

However the iRiver direct click does not lose the tactile feedback of many slider systems, instead it is closer to the click wheel as you can feel the switch depress under your finger when you click a side. This both is reassuring and will mean your jacket can't select tracks for you when the U10 is tucked in a pocket.

The menu system is so simple and yet very effective, using the upper and lower edges of the device you can scroll through the menus and the right edge selects an option while the left edge acts as a back button. You can have on screen arrows showing you where to press along with a clock and battery meter or alternatively you can switch off these aids for a more pure experience. On review we have the latest 2gb model which is jam packed with audio files in the various flavours that the iRiver U10 supports, these include MP3, WMA, ASF and Ogg Vorbis. For some reason unknown to us you have to navigate to the Ogg tracks through a different option on the menu, although annoying at least we can use our preferred format.

Replay is an ever so slightly frustrating affair as the scroll speed is a bit too slow meaning that 2gb of audio tracks take quite some manoeuvring to find what you are looking for, however ID3 tags are supported and you can bring over play lists from windows media player. Audio quality however is first class with little or no electronic noise and a good strong output which given a good set of earphones sounds just right. Without its little cradle the U10 is a small although slightly chubby device that fits well into a pocket and is very portable, its nowhere near as thin as an iPod Nano but it does seem to rival the Apple on style. In its cradle its a bit James Bond like and gains external inputs and outputs plus the use of a remote control and external speaker.

Getting audio tracks onto the U10 is simple using windows media player and its auto sync function, you can also move whole play lists, alternately windows explorer can be used to move files manually. But the iRiver also supports both Video and Images, these are moved by different methods, the videos are dragged using explorer if they meet the replay format and the images have to be moved using iRiver picture plus.

Video replay on a small 2.2" display even with QVGA resolution is always going to be more for show that realistic daily use. Still we managed to get a few MPEG-4 clips on the device after a long tussle and numerous failed conversion attempts, easy it is not. The MPEG-4 clips must use the simple profile and be encoded 320 x 240 15 frames per second.

Apart from being an awkward process for which iRiver provide little help it also produces fairly poor quality files which lack 10 frames when compared to the standard TV format. This makes images jerky and almost wooden especially on fast moving footage, video is best left alone on the U10.

Using the USB 2.0 connection files are moved onto the U10 speedily and the USB port is also used to charge the internal rechargeable battery which in our tests ran for a whopping 22 hours when playing 128kbit MP3 files. iRiver also endow the U10 with a number of extras including direct encoding, voice recording, clock and even flash games, but its key feature for us is that dash of something different an unusual yet funky design to outdo the iPod generation.

However like all things stylish the iRiver U10 comes at a cost, when it first launched this 2gb model was horrifically expensive, now although it's reduced in price to around £155 it still looks pricey next to an iPod Nano. Then the sting in the tail, the uber cool docking cradle and IR remote are optional and will set you back another £35 making £190 in total for a 2gb MP3 player. Ouch! for that kind of cash you can have a full big boys iPod or a Nano with all the extras.

It's a real shame that having waited so long to review the U10 it ends up being a mixed bag with great user interfaces, undoubted style and street cred but coupled with poor video playback and a crippling price tag.

More iRiver Reviews

Published - 16/04/2006

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