iRiver T10 1 GB MP3 Player

This is my second iRiver, and I keep gravitating toward it because it uses one AA battery that can be changed in 2 seconds. This player holds just under 300 "songs," and some are classical pieces that last well over 4 minutes. In this one respect, it just beats my iPod which is now on its third battery in two years.Yes, my iPod holds 1350 songs, but the iRiver is actually easier to load. Just have Windows Media running, plug in the T10 to a USB hub and make your selections. With two of them, I just switch off periodically...If there's a complaint, it isn't the fact that it's kinda orange/yellow instead of blue. It's that the settings for shuffle don't always come up the way they're supposed to. And the instruction manual was obviously not written in the U.S. Still, once you're used to the buttons and combinations, it's a great little player.One last thing, and it probably deserves another half star for it, the FM reception on this in the hilly San Francisco Bay Area is tremendous. However, since FM is affected by line-of-sight, time of day, and the sun spot cycle, tomorrow I could lose all of them. I've had my other iRiver for well over a year and I still get my favorite station (on the other side of the Berkeley Hills), so it really looks like this is one stable player.Maybe one day they'll come out with AM as well.

// updated 6 YEARS later: it is still working just like in day one. I wish I could say the same thing for a lot of other electronics I've purchased... yes, 1 GB is laughable by today's standards, but for a decent MP3 collection to hear while walking, running or biking, it's fine.I have it for almost a year now (11m), and the price now is a bit expensive, in my opinion. There is the 2gb version, and it's even more expensive... Anyway, I think it's a great player. FM and recorder are a must for me. I can record classes and listen to radio when I feel like listening to random tracks.First, let's reply to some previous reviews:// edited Apr 19, 2007 >>A) This player uses standard AA batteries, which may be better when you prefer to switch batteries and have a player working immediately after. Not accounting the problems someone can have when trying to recharge an internal battery. Other than that, people say there is an internal battery soldered in the circuits. I can't see for myself, but perhaps someone could post such a picture showing us the battery (or point where we can find that information. Really, I was not able to find this).// << editedB) "Reb" and "Stephen M. Kerwick": I truly understand your problems, I don't like DRM products either (why complicate what should not be complex?!?), but this device DOES work as the famous standard known as "USB mass storage". Yes, it does come as DRM-activated, but just download the update utility from iriver and it will give to you the option to change the device to an UMS system. Then, it will work everywhere, on Windows, Linux, on your old computer. Everywhere. That's what I did to mine like 6 months ago. Granted, iRiver didn't offer this option since the launch of the T10. Judging by the date of your reviews, I can tell you that iRiver was already offering that functionality when you two wrote.OK, so now I may begin with my review. :)AA battery: I live in Brazil, so it will be a pain (if not impossible) to get replacement batteries for those with internal, specific ones. I can stop at a shop in the middle of nowhere and it will have AA batteries. And, after all, ~ 50 hours of sound is not a bad thing. Mind you, I never measured, but one battery does work for 3 or 4 days when I'm travelling, but I don't care about the exact time. Also, the battery place is well built. Once it locks, IT DOES LOCK.FM receiver, Sound recorder and flash memory, all that was a must for me and work as it should. Only the FM reception is not great, but it works OK. I like the OLED display, it's nice and beautiful. The USB cover is made of a kind of rubber material. It stays in the place. It's very well built and feels solid. About the flash memory, those players have less memory, but I like the fact that it's not HDD based for reasons that you can understand when you search Google ;).Downsides? Controls, earbuds and price... Given the fact that the player is small with few buttons to push, there are many functions for each button. You will get used to it, even if it takes a week or two. The middle-button, on the circle, is probably the most used button on the player, and has 100 functions depending on the situation... .The included earbuds are not good ones. Probably not the extremely cheap that you will find on less expensive players, but still not what I would consider "middle-class" earbuds.Finally, the price. I can't agree with this tag: $169.95, as of 2006-DEZ-21. I (believe I) remember seeing it beeing sold here for less than $100 some time this year. God knows why it's more than $100 again. It's an excellent player, but I wonder if $169.95 is a fair price to pay. One year ago when I bought it, it was... but today...

The iRiver T10 1 GB flash player was my first adventure into the world of MP3 players. I was unimpressed with the hype (and price) of the iPod line, and spent a good month researching a good, introductory MP3 player, and the iRiver T10 fit the requirements. The sound was surprisingly clear and detailed, even with the included headphones, and all was well. I mostly used my MP3 player at work, and finally while doing light cardio exercise (in other words, cycling or stair stepper, nothing that would damage it). It began freezing and otherwise shutting down while in use, so I deleted everything from the drive and attempted to update the firmware and format the drive. Somewhere in all that, after repeating it for the 6th time spread out over a few months as recommended by iRiver and other helpful product owners, my MP3 player froze while updating itself and died completely.I had a techie friend look at it who declared the drive to be irreparable and a piece of junk. In all, I got about a year of use out of it before it bit the dust, despite caring for it and not leaving it in extreme temperatures. I wish the quality had been more realistic and reflected what I paid, but I enjoyed the product so much while it did work, I purchased another MP3 player from their company that was not a flash drive.