[James Fee]

I think the other problem WMA players have is that there are too many of them. That means many accessories don't get adapted for many of them and ad dollars are spread thin.

People always use the example of PPC over Palm to explain how iPods are going to be hurt. I don't really consider that a true example. It was more HP over Palm and in turn the other PPC makers had to innovate and went along for the ride. If it was up to Casio and Philips to lead the charge, I doubt we'd see PPC as a viable platform today.

In this case, if iRiver/Rio/Creative could make that next iPaq, then maybe they could pull the whole market with them. But having 70 players means the message gets lost sometimes and all Apple has to do is run a few ads with U2 and enjoy the press.

[James Fee]

I think the other problem WMA players have is that there are too many of them. That means many accessories don't get adapted for many of them and ad dollars are spread thin.

People always use the example of PPC over Palm to explain how iPods are going to be hurt. I don't really consider that a true example. It was more HP over Palm and in turn the other PPC makers had to innovate and went along for the ride. If it was up to Casio and Philips to lead the charge, I doubt we'd see PPC as a viable platform today.

In this case, if iRiver/Rio/Creative could make that next iPaq, then maybe they could pull the whole market with them. But having 70 players means the message gets lost sometimes and all Apple has to do is run a few ads with U2 and enjoy the press.

[ctmagnus]

While we have the master (Suhit) here, I have one slightly-OT question for him:

Does the file system of the IHP-120/140 integrate nicely into Windows Explorer, like flash drives do, or does it require a separate app like the Nomad Jukebox 3 does?

[Chris Gohlke]

Originally Posted by ctmagnus

While we have the master (Suhit) here, I have one slightly-OT question for him:

Does the file system of the IHP-120/140 integrate nicely into Windows Explorer, like flash drives do, or does it require a separate app like the Nomad Jukebox 3 does?

It mounts just like an external USB drive. This was the main feature I wanted when I switched from the DJ to the iRiver.

[rlobrecht]

I read somewhere that you still had to run an iRiver app to tell the iRiver that you had copied music to it.

[Chris Gohlke]

There is a database software application that you can install on the host PC. However, you can copy music to and from the device with any computer just by plugging it in as a normal USB drive. I have never had a need for the software and am not even entirely sure why one would want to.

[rlobrecht]

I wonder what that software does then. I'd have to say having it work with regular USB storage drivers is definitely killer. They should be able to sell a lot of units on that basis alone.

[Suhit Gupta]

Exactly. You can just plug it into a USB port and now you can surf your files. The database application (which you can actually use on the device itself as well) just creates a full db of all the files you have on your iRiver. It makes for much faster access.

Suhit

[kiwi]

Originally Posted by Suhit Gupta

Exactly. You can just plug it into a USB port and now you can surf your files. The database application (which you can actually use on the device itself as well) just creates a full db of all the files you have on your iRiver. It makes for much faster access.

Suhit

Is this the way ALL the iRiver MP3 products work? I am looking for a flash based player to take skiing with me this winter. The IPOD I have will freeze :-)

BTW - I owned an Iriver 350 CD player a few years ago and had a few problems with iRiver customer support as well. It was a 1 person operation as far as I could tell at the time. too bad. Nice products.