iRiver E100 review

Performance
These recordings sound terrific. The highest bit rate gave excellent results when captured from an iPod, and the built-in microphone is sensitive and clear. This would be ideal for students wanting to record lectures, or even amateurs venturing into the world of podcasting, as the WMA format is easily workable.

But the focus here is music and we're pretty pleased with its performance. There's no gapless playback, which is a shame, but sound quality is decent. Through our studio-grade reference headphones, we heard surprisingly little difference between the E100 and -- wait for this -- Creative's Zen, a player we consider to offer superb playback quality. It's an improvement over iRiver's B20, and while the Zen offers a marginally warmer sound, the majority of people listening to MP3s won't hear a discernible difference.

Sadly, the poor screen lets the E100 down during video playback. Blacks are all but missing, resulting in a washed-out video image with unsatisfactory viewing angles. We didn't have much fun watching video on here, so if that's your main concern, opt for the Creative Zen.

It has to be said, though, that you can't get any simpler than dragging and dropping files from Windows or OS X directly into the E100's memory. You can, of course, use Windows Media Player if you'd prefer. And as it uses standard miniUSB, there's no risk of being stuck without a proprietary cable.

Conclusion
The E100 is a likable player, but it's inferior to its main rival, the Creative Zen. The E100 offers great sound quality, simple operation and a pleasant design, but it's sluggish performance and poor screen make it significantly less desirable to use at this price point, considering how closely priced the Zen is.

But if you're taken with the design or just don't fancy a Creative or Apple player, it's a nice offering and will reward you with simple functionality, some useful features and great sound quality. It's just not a breakthrough device.

Available from AdvancedMP3Players. 

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday