Performance & Testing

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Before testing the player, I did go online and download the latest firmware release from iRiver.  My sample shipped with firmware 1.23 but was quickly updated with their latest official release, version 1.27.  Oddly though, the player itself identified the new firmware as version 1.28.

Interface & Navigation

The interface on the U10 is quite remarkable and a pleasure to use.  For one, I love its unique "direct-click" interface.  Basically, you just tap on either corner of the player to navigate through your menus with ease.  This works very well and is super responsive.  Also, you have the ability to adjust sensitivity to your liking and it will even lock the display when you set it to HOLD.  The GUI itself is quite well designed, especially considering the fact it is a flash player.  No corners were definitely cut here nor there was some kind of compromise considering its capacity.  The most important thing to note is that the U10 does indeed offer full tag support.  You can browse your collection of music by artist, album, genre or title.  After playing with a majority of these products, I can say this is a feature that is seldom implemented properly and the U10 certainly is an example of how such a product should be designed.

Video Playback

Video playback on the U10 is excellent, as long as you convert your videos properly.  You can use that third-party app they recommend, but I honestly would stick to other options.  I won't elaborate on them here but you can feel free to post in the review thread and I will help anyone looking for a way to easily convert any video file format for flawless playback on the U10.  I was seriously impressed with how it managed video files provided you stick to the following video specs:

File Extension: AVI
Video Format: Compatible with MPEG 4 SP(Simple Profile)
Resolution: QVGA(320x240) or less / 15 Frames per second or less / 384 Kbps or less
Audio: MP3 128kbps, 44.1KHz CBR

Audio Playback

For a flash-based player, the U10 does impress in this area.  You do have a "Quick List" option which basically means it supports on-the-fly or "on-the-go" playlists.  It works well and the player also has full tag support so you can easily browse your music by Artist, Album, Genre or Title.   

Text & Lyric Support

The U10 does a good job at displaying text files properly.  Only a couple of the text files uploaded were not displayed exactly the same way they were uploaded.  The quality of text on its large display makes it easy to read and the auto scroll feature works well.  Now, the U10 also happens to support song lyrics.  However, like the Cowon iAUDIO 6 I recently reviewed, getting it to work is no easy task and many may either not know how to get it to work nor would want to waste their time trying.

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To take advantage of this feature, you'll have to use either the iRiver LBD Manager or resort to a third party tool called iLyrics Pro.  Basically, the way it works is having to link a song to lyrics that are either imported or pasted onto the application.  Personally, I found it much easier to just load a text file in auto scroll while playing the tune. 

Recording Quality

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When it comes down to recording quality, this is honestly the best player I have looked at.  Recording quality was excellent from all three supported sources.  Voice recordings are excellent and there is little to no background noise at all.  However, you will have to deal with the click noise when attempting to stop the recording.  When you attempt to do a voice recording with the headphones on, you'll hear a lot of background noise.  However, when you actually go to play the file, you'll be pleasantly surprised!  The FM recordings are crystal clear and will actually sound as good as any MP3 file you may have.  Line-in recording was tested using my custom electronic drum set which consists of an Alesis DM5 drum module.  Unlike the Cowon iAUDIO 6 I recently reviewed, the U10 was simple to hook up and required no additional cables or adapters.  The U10 cradle includes a line-in cable and all you have to do is hook it up to a headphone jack for high quality sound.   In order to emphasize just how good line-in recordings are, I would suggest you compare the sample here to the one on the Cowon iAUDIO 6 review. 

Below are sample recordings from all three supported sources...

  Sample Voice Recording

  Sample Line-in Recording

  Sample FM Radio Recording

Note:  All recordings where provided as is, and not altered or edited in any way.  What you hear is what the player recoded without a need for alteration.

Sound Quality

The iRiver U10 has excellent sound quality.  It was tested with MP3 files all encoded at 192Kbps.  The earbuds sound decent but I do not like them at all.  They are too big and don't fit properly in your ear.  I found myself having to constantly push them back into place to isolate exterior sound.  Sound was primarily tested using some excellent in-ear japan-only earbuds.  The U10 has a high signal-to-noise ratio and volume levels are quite good.  Unless you are really hard of hearing, I don't see anyone really setting it to its maximum level.  This makes the player ideal for use in noisy environments.

Battery Life

The iRiver U10 has an impressive battery life of up to 28hrs.  After properly conditioning the battery and conducting some tests, I was certainly impressed.  I was able to achieve an impressive 27hrs and 25mins.  It was tested with a collection of MP3 files encoded at 192Kbps in repeat and shuffle mode.  There was little interaction during testing.  I would occasionally go in and activate the display and skip through a few tunes.  A full charge took just over 2.5hrs.  Also, the battery meter on the player is quite accurate.  This is important to note because I've found a majority to be inaccurate and quite useless.

Durability

The iRiver U10 is well designed with solid build quality.  I don't see any potential issues except for the screen.  However, a highly durable and inexpensive shield for the front will protect it.  I will show you the best option below.  The main white outer shell is not easily prone to scratches.  I can say the same about the optional cradle I will show you below.

Accessories

There are a number of accessories available for the U10.  In fact, some may not know that some aftermarket products will indeed work and save you some of that hard earned money as well.  Let's first show you the excellent cradle.

The way a cradle should be designed!

I will provide a thorough look at the optional cradle simply because I find it is superbly designed and while quite expensive, it does unleash other neat features and provides a high level of functionality.

The cradles comes in a neat little box and includes a remote, line-in/out cable and USB cable. 

Its design is unique and quite clever actually.  It is designed to look like a TV and when you pop the U10 in, it might even fool some people.  Attaching the U10 is easy.  Just click on the inner dock and it will pop out allowing you to mount the U10 with ease.  On the back of the cradle you'll find your in/out line jacks and a mini USB jack.  But what is most impressive is the fact that it does have built-in speakers and yes, that's a snooze button on the top.  The Cradle will double as a very suitable alarm clock as well.  The only thing that seriously did upset me was the fact that they did not include a power adapter.  In order to use it as an alarm clock, I think this is a must have.  You won't rely on an alarm clock on battery power would you?  Anyways, considering it has a high price tag of $70, they should have seriously included it. 

For those of you looking for the AC Adapter, you'll quickly find it is impossible to find.  iRiver America doesn't even have it listed on their online store.  However, chances are you'll pay a good chunk of cash for it anyways.  With that said, I can confirm you can get an aftermarket AC to USB Adapter to power your U10 via the cradle.  An adapter like the one from Ziplinq above will work just fine and you can purchase it for as little as $4.99.  Do a Google search on it and you'll find a number of stores stocking the product at this low price.

One of the best products I have found after taking a look at a number of DAP models are the shields from ShieldZone Corp.  These are seriously the highest quality shields you can buy and I highly recommend them.  They are available for a variety of products and you even have the option to custom order one if you own a device that is not listed on their website.  Fortunately, I noticed they stocked a shield for the U10 and quickly contacted them again for another sample. 

Now, I have looked at their product a number of times now and I'm glad to see they keep improving their packaging.  In fact, this time they have got it right.  They don't only include the application spray, but a squeegee as well.  Also, they now have application instructions in the packaging and you no longer have to refer to their website for detailed info.  I would highly recommend you follow the instructions carefully and allow the shield to set for a full 24hrs as suggested.

The shield was the perfect size.  Above are some shots with and without the shield applied.  This is really all you need and it will indeed protect it well and allow you to carry the U10 around without the pouch or any other third party case.  As always, this product is highly recommended.  In the past, the company has sent me some test strips and these are the toughest shields out there.  You will not penetrate it easily, even when using a fine point pen.  They are backed by a lifetime guarantee and are practically invincible.  For those of you who are currently looking at their new Clix player, this shield will work for this model as well.

Next: Conclusions