Initial enthusiasm diminished as problems arose
Written: Dec 04 '04
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Pros: Good battery life
Small size
Large memory (256mb)
Cons: Annoying sound problems
Included earphones not too good
The Bottom Line: Nagging problems with my iRock prevent me from recommending this mp3 player.
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| simplegifts's Full Review: FID Irock 860 (256 MB) MP3 Player |
I've had my iRock for about 5 months now, and I use it almost every day, and have a mixed impression of the device.
Initially it worked well, but after a few months it started acting up. My chief complaint is that the sound often cuts out from one channel after about a half hour of play. It seems to be random as to which channel. I've tried a variety of headphones, and the problem is definitely from the iRock. I've also tried cleaning the earphone receptacle without having any success with this problem.
Another annoyance is that the volume generally has to be set at about 90% of full volume to hear the music (mp3's and wma files that were created from Real Player and Windows Media Player).
I've found it much easier to simply use Windows Explorer to copy files to the iRock than using the supplied software. I've had no problems transferring data.
The lanyard broke after about a month. A safety pin fixed the problem, but it appeared that the point at which the strap loop connected was not properly glued.
The digital FM tuner works very well (with the exception of the above-mentioned sound problem).
The size of the unit if very impressive. It is really tiny, and fits easily into a shirt pocket.
The included ear buds have an odd, asymmetrical connection to the main earphone cable. The buds didn't stay in place very well, and after about a month I discarded them and began using a different set of ear plugs.
The “random†feature seems a little scatterbrained, and often repeats songs several times while many songs in the same folder have not been played.
The display is pretty small, but acceptable.
The included leatherette pouch fits well and helps protect the unit.
Battery life is good. I typically get about three weeks per battery using the iRock for about an hour and a half a day.
I'm planning on replacing the iRock with a CD player capable of playing mp3's, because it will be much less expensive (around $50). It will also be more convenient to have a library of CD's burned with mp3's, because a CD will hold about three times the music as the iRock, and it will be easier to select from a collection of CDs rather than download files.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 149
Recommended for: Audio Book Listeners - Download Audio Books and Radio Programs
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Epinions.com ID:
simplegifts
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Location: Austin, Texas USA
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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