Review: iriver E100
At CES 2008, iriver unveiled a panoply of new digital media players it planned to release in various regions throughout the year. First out of the gate in select countries and scheduled for a U.S. debut by early April is the iriver E100. In addition to being the company's first device to natively support FLAC, the E100 has built-in stereo speakers, line-in recording capabilities, and a microSD card slot.
Read my full review below to decide if you'll be first in line to pick up an E100. And if you can't wait for the official release, Warehouse123.com is standing by with 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB models in stock and ready to be shipped to you today.
This review is based on the E100 running firmware version 1.03.
System Specifications
| Capacities: |
2GB, 4GB, 8GB |
| Expansion: |
MicroSD card |
| Supported audio: |
MP3, WMA, ASF, OGG, FLAC |
| Supported video: |
MPEG4-SP (less than 30fps, 2Mbps, 320 x 240) WMV9 (less than 30fps, 768kbps, 320 x 240) |
| Supported photo: |
JPG, BMP, PNG, GIF |
| Extras: |
Photo viewer, FM radio, FM & voice recorder, line-in recording, stereo speakers, text viewer |
| Display: | 2.4" TFT (320 x 240) |
| Dimensions: | 3.65" x 1.88" x 0.44" |
| Weight: | 2.09 ounces |
| Colors: |
Black, white, chocolate, pink, sky blue |
Packaging
More so than in previous years, iriver seems to have really considered the importance of presentation and a user's first impression.
While last year's players were packed like luncheon meat in "snappable" molded hard plastic, the E100 (and presumably the rest of the new line-up, including the Mplayer portable speaker) appears to "float" inside a clear plastic box.
The low-tech effect is achieved by setting the player into a plastic divider that sits in front of a white cardboard box full of accessories. It's simplicity without sacrificing style.
Contents
Inside the accessory box are a USB 2.0 cable, earphones, mini software CD, warranty pamphlet, and quick start guide.
Design
The E100 itself is equally simple and stylish, with rounded corners, no contrasting color, and a clean face. Although the player feels slightly toy-like because of its lightweight plastic casing, it still lives up to iriver's usual standards of quality.
The plastic is smooth, durable, and in the case of the white model (sky blue, chocolate, black, and pink also available), resistant to fingerprints and scratches.
Size
The iriver E100 is rather unremarkable in size. At 3.65 x 1.88 x 0.44 inches, it isn't the world's smallest, thinnest, biggest, thickest, or longest flash player.
It's about mid-sized for a flash player, something that probably wouldn't generate negative or positive comments from those who have never seen it before.
Shown above is the E100 sandwiched between the SanDisk Sansa View, Samsung P2, Sony A810, and iriver clix 2.
Display
Gracing the front of the player is a 2.4-inch TFT QVGA (320 x 240) display. Colors are bright and accurate, but viewing angles could use some improvement. Truth be told, it's difficult to be impressed by the E100's screen after being spoiled by the glorious AMOLED used on the clix 2.
Videos automatically switch the screen orientation to right-handed landscape mode, while photos can be manually rotated in 90-, 180-, and 270-degree increments. The rest of the system (as well as the main menu) is locked in portrait mode.
Controls
Beneath the display are the E100's main controls.
Early details indicated that the player would utilize the same D-Click navigation system found on the clix 2 and other devices, but iriver never mentions it by name in the product manual and it's confined to the bottom third of the unit.
In other words, the E100 doesn't have traditional D-Click controls that make use of a DAP's edges. Instead, the menu buttons (as iriver calls them) are housed beneath a plastic plate so that each printed arrow is easily and satisfyingly clickable; the recessed square in the middle is the OK button.
Icons and text displayed on the screen indicate what action each menu button will perform in various areas of the system. There's no visual guide for what will happen when a button is pressed and held down, but the right button typically opens an options menu and the left usually brings you back to the main menu.
Additional controls and I/O ports can be found on all four sides of the E100.
On the right side are a power button, microphone, and volume rocker.
A reset pinhole and hold switch are on the left.
At the top is a covered microSD card slot that iriver says can support cards up to 4GB in size. I only have a 2GB card at my disposal, but Jeff from MisticRiver has confirmed for me that SDHC cards up to 8GB are compatible as well.
I'll go into more detail below, but since you're looking at the card slot right now, I should mention that content stored on microSD is not integrated with the E100's internal memory.
A line-in jack, covered mini USB 2.0 port, lanyard loops, and headphone jack are at the bottom of the device.
And as on the iriver X20, the E100's stereo speakers are located on the back.
User Interface
Many will notice the similarity between the horizontally "sliding" icons used in the E100's main menu system and the Cover Flow interface Apple uses to display album art in iTunes (and various iPods).
Before upgrading to the latest firmware (version 1.0.3 as of this writing), the interface experienced a slight lag when cycling through the icons. Since the upgrade, however, responsiveness is greatly improved.
The largely monochromatic UI is not skinnable, theme-able, or wallpaper-able, but it's straightforward and fairly easy to use. Accessing media is not a simple click away, though, so beginners may need some guidance when picking up the E100 for the first time.
The primary stumbling block is that the microSD card's contents are not integrated with the internal storage. Because of this, most areas of the system include a "Dir List" option that brings up "Internal Memory" and "External Memory" items when clicked.
Having to select where content is stored adds an extra step between finding what you want and playing it. For example, here's the path to watch a video:
- Use the left/right menu buttons to navigate to "Videos" in the main menu.
- Click the OK button to select it.
- Use the down menu button to highlight "Dir List."
- Click the OK button or the right menu button.
- Select "Internal Memory" or "External Memory," depending on where the desired video is located.
- Find the video file and press the OK button to play it.
- Note: Everything stored on the microSD card will be listed if "External Memory" is chosen, so pre-transfer organization is important if you don't want to scroll through long lists of loose mixed media files.
The music menu is the most well organized because it reads ID3 tags and appropriately categorizes audio stored on the E100's internal memory. Music on a microSD card still needs to be accessed through the "Dir List" (or the File Manager in the main menu), but at least everything on internal storage is sorted by artist, album, genre, etc.
Transferring Content
The E100 is both MTP and UMS/MSC-compliant, so there are a variety of methods for transferring content from a PC or Mac. Switching between transfer types can be done through Settings -> Advanced -> Connection Type.
Selecting UMS/MSC ensures compatibility across platforms and enables the E100 to appear on your Mac or PC as standard removable storage (just like a USB flash drive). A folder structure is already present on the player, so transferring content is as simple as dragging supported file formats into the correct folders.
Drag-and-drop is also available in MTP mode through Windows Explorer.
If you prefer the software route, the mini CD supplied with the E100 contains both iriver plus 3 (MSC connection required) and Windows Media Player 11 (MTP connection required). Software is required for creating and managing playlists, as on-the-go playlists or quick lists cannot be created directly on the E100.
Iriver supplies Movie Converter to transcode videos into an E100-compatible format and recommends iriver plus 3 to transfer them to the player. Having been unsatisfied with Movie Converter's performance in the past, however, I would recommend skipping it entirely and using either CloneDVD mobile, iriverter, or SUPER. For help on getting videos on the E100, please visit the MisticRiver forums.
Audio
The iriver E100 supports music purchased/downloaded from online services such as Napster to Go and Rhapsody, as well as unprotected MP3, WMA, ASF, OGG, and FLAC formats.
Playback features include A-B repeat, play modes (normal, repeat, repeat one, shuffle, shuffle + repeat), presets EQs (normal, rock, pop, classic, soft, jazz), a 5-band custom EQ, SRS WOW HD audio enhancements (SRS, TruBass, Focus, WOW, Definition), fade-in, scan speeds, ratings, and bookmarks. As stated earlier, playlists cannot be created directly on the E100; they must be created, managed, and transferred with software.
Like with the clix 2, skipping to the next/previous track is managed by the up and down menu buttons (rather than the more logical left and right buttons). Unfamiliarity with the layout will result in frequent user error at first, but learning the new system doesn't take much getting used to.
Sound quality
I've always been really pleased with iriver's sound quality in the past, but my ears and Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 Pro in-ear monitors are a bit . . . well . . . underwhelmed by how the E100 sounds. It should be more than satisfying for casual listeners who use the earphones supplied with the player, but those with more discerning ears or experience with other DAPs may long for richer and perhaps cleaner sound.
I still maintain that iriver produces players with above-average sound quality, but I'm just not as blown away by it as I used to be. In a purely subjective side-by-side comparison (same song playing with no EQ or other enhancement enabled) between the E100, Sony A810, Toshiba gigabeat T400, and Creative ZEN, my ears and UE super.fi give top honors to the gigabeat. Your experience may vary, but I'd put the E100 in last place compared to the others.
Video
The preloaded video clips are a bit pixelated so they don't adequately showcase the E100's video capabilities, which are actually quite good.
Colors are nicely saturated, playback is smooth, and the size of the display makes extended viewing pretty comfortable. In addition to being able to delete videos directly from the device, the E100 features video bookmarking, sequential playback, and scan speeds up to 32X.
Extras
Photo viewer
The iriver E100 supports JPG, BMP, PNG, and GIF photo files and can display them individually or in a slideshow. Photos can be rotated, zoomed in, and deleted from the player without the use of a computer. Pretty standard stuff.
FM radio
The FM radio is also standard fare.
Tuner sensitivity cannot be adjusted, but it seems to be perfect where it is. It doesn't pick up those static-filled in-between stations that some tuners find and save as presets, so there isn't anything to be undone after an automatic scan.
Reception will vary by location, but here in Honolulu it's crisp and clear.
FM and voice recorder
FM and voice recordings are saved in WMA format and vary in bitrate according to recording quality settings: high (192kbps), medium (128kbps), low (96kbps).
Saved files are kept together and can be accessed through Music -> Saved Recordings.
Line-in recording
One of the E100's stand-out extra features is its line-in recording function.
When hooked up to an external device via the line-in jack, the E100 can record audio played on the external unit in three qualities (96kbps, 128kbps, 192kbps). Like FM and voice recordings, line-in recordings are saved in WMA format and accessible through Music -> Saved Recordings.
Stereo speakers
The line-in jack also allows other DAPs to use the E100's stereo speakers. Sound quality is poor, but I suppose it's better than nothing.
The speakers can also be put to use by the E100 itself, of course. Unfortunately, they don't sound much better than when used with an external device. By comparison, the built-in speakers on the Samsung S5 are louder, clearer, and generally just superior.
The E100's speakers are sufficient for personal use in a quiet room, but the volume needs to cranked up really high for anything to be comfortably audible.
Text viewer
TXT files under 10MB can be opened and read on the E100, which offers automatic scrolling in 3- to 7-second increments, font sizes (small, medium, large), bookmarking, and file deletion directly from the player.
Player in Action
Battery Life
The E100's non-removable lithium-polymer battery has an estimated runtime of up to 5 hours for video and 25 hours for audio playback. Actual runtime will vary according to screen brightness, bitrate, and other factors, but based on my usage of the player, iriver's estimates are generally accurate.
Conclusion
The iriver E100 is a stylish digital audio player that ups the ante with native FLAC support, built-in stereo speakers, microSD card expansion slot, and line-in recording functions on top of the usual feature set many expect to find on modern DAPs.
Unfortunately, some of what sets the E100 apart from the crowd isn't done as well as it should be (e.g., speaker sound quality, non-integration of microSD card contents), turning what would normally be considered strong points into part of the player's weaknesses.
The E100 is still a solid player that does many things well, but it isn't the stellar DAP many were hoping for when details were first revealed at CES 2008. Most users will be pleased by the unit's sound quality, battery life, design, and extra features, but some (like me) will be left wanting more. The iriver E100 is undeniably good . . . but it's not great.
Scheduled for release in the U.S. in late March/early April, the iriver E100 can already be purchased with a chamude pouch from Warehouse123.com in 2GB ($110), 4GB ($139), and 8GB ($190) capacities.
UPDATE: 4GB ($110)
Jen,
When can we get some video of the E100. I would love to see a video walkthrough of the UI.
Posted by Heath | 09:00 PM on Mar 14, 2008
Hi Heath. I'm waiting for it to process on YouTube right now. I don't know what's taking so long (it's been nearly an hour already). I'll add it to the review as soon as it's done.
Update 10pm: The video is up now. See "Player in Action" above "Battery Life" section.
Posted by Jenn | 09:10 PM on Mar 14, 2008
Jenn,
Thanks, looks like a great little mp3 player.
Posted by Heath | 03:13 AM on Mar 15, 2008
Hi,
I want a new mp3 player but i can't choose-iriver e100 or iriver clix 2 .What do you think?
Posted by Stoil | 04:52 AM on Mar 16, 2008
i say get the e100. i tried the clix 2. not that good because after a while. the side buttons become loose. def. the e100
Posted by Reply to hi | 07:13 AM on Mar 17, 2008
Does this thing play divx files without requiring conversion? A long shot I know, but hope springs eternal...
Posted by Jimmy Suggs | 11:58 AM on Mar 17, 2008
@ Stoil: It all depends on your needs. For example, if you need built-in speakers and memory card slot, the clix 2 is not the player for you. On the other hand, if what you're after is a gorgeous display, flash games, and a customizable UI, then you should skip the E100
@ Jimmy: No such luck. Conversion is definitely needed. I loaded several DivX4 videos and only got a "format not supported" message when trying to play them.
Posted by Jenn | 03:20 PM on Mar 17, 2008
Jenn,
You say you are not impressed by the sound quality, do you feel that it is better than an ipod?
Posted by Heath | 11:36 PM on Mar 17, 2008
Aw nuts.
Follow up question, if I may?
Roughly how long does it take to convert a video? I've never done it before and I'm just wondering if it's a laborious process or one that I could stand sitting through?
I really like just about everything about this player, but if it takes 3 hours to convert an hour of divx- I'd probably have to pass.
Thanks in advance and thanks again for the great review.
Posted by Jimmy Suggs | 06:37 AM on Mar 18, 2008
@ Heath: Keeping in mind that I'm not an audiophile and am basing this assessment purely on my ears and Ultimate Ears IEMs, the E100 does not sound better than the iPod. I did a side-by-side this morning with the E100, new shuffle, new nano, and iPhone, and the E100 produced the flattest, most unbalanced sound (the iPhone sounded the best).
Posted by Jenn | 01:15 PM on Mar 18, 2008
Hi Jimmy. Conversion time varies according to the program you're using and your system, but on my Vaio TZ (1.06GHZ Core 2, 2GB RAM), it took 44 minutes to transcode a 42-minute DivX file to WMV using the built-in conversion tool in iriver plus 3.
Other programs should be faster, but I didn't have time to download and try any of them today. Ripping a DVD into a compatible format should take less time as well (my app of choice is CloneDVD mobile).
Posted by Jenn | 02:59 PM on Mar 18, 2008
That looks terrific!!
Posted by philz95 | 12:10 AM on Mar 19, 2008
Hi Jenn,
Exceptional review, very informative!
In your opinion, how would you compare the E100 and the Creative Labs newer Zen. Seems to me that they are very compatible, but the screen quality with the Zen would be better, correct?
Which one would you suggest as the best, between these two I mentioned?
Thank you!
Posted by qudduz | 05:54 PM on Mar 20, 2008
Hi,it's me again
I want to ask -does the e100 supports set the tempo of the song(faster or slower).What about clix 2
Posted by Stoil | 10:01 AM on Mar 22, 2008
great review. How about comparing it to the SanDisk Sansa e280? Features and price seem similar. Thanks
Posted by kkong | 02:03 PM on Mar 23, 2008
Hi,it's me again
I wanted to buy clix 2 but when i saw creative zen i was beginning to have second thoughts,because the Zen has the same features and it's nice looking and it has 16.7 million colours and it has micro SD slot.I prefer the clix 2 but can you tell me why the clix 2 is more expensive than the Zen
Posted by Stoil | 09:51 PM on Mar 23, 2008
Hi,it's me again.
The Clix 2 has unremovable battery so when it "dies" what am i supposed to do.I live in Bulgaria
and the is no iriver centre in Bulgaria.Am I supposed to sent it to america or to the closest country where there is a iriver centre.My second question is:if I charge it every week after how much time the battery will need charging
Posted by Stoil | 10:33 PM on Mar 23, 2008
Hi,
Well I like this Iriver e100 pretty much, but now I've seen the review, I'm not really sure...
because the sound is not really good? Or is that not what your saying, is only the sound with earphones good, or also not?
Do you suggest this to buy, or not to buy?
Well,so I like it, but I'm not sure, I don't know what to do..
Oh and very good review, it's nice because I haven't seen another review here in Holland.
Thank you for the review. Bye.
Posted by Anoniem. | 07:56 AM on Mar 24, 2008
Hi,It's me again :)
in the review of the clix 2 you said : the screen is gorgeous.In the Zen's review too.I want to ask which of the screens is better
Posted by Stoil | 10:43 AM on Mar 24, 2008
@ qudduz: The ZEN has a much better screen than the E100.
@ kkong: I don't own and have never used the Sansa e280, so I can't do a comparison.
@ Stoil: There's no cut-and-dry answer why iriver DAPs are generally more expensive than Creative's. Iriver's 2007 line-up (which the clix 2 was included in) was just priced higher than most of its competition. It's too soon to tell right now, but it appears that the new generation will be priced more competitively.
I don't know how you would get the battery replaced. You'd need to contact iriver directly for that (my guess is that you'd send it to the nearest iriver headquarters). How often you would need to charge the battery depends on your usage.
The ZEN's screen is better because it's an AMOLED.
@ Anoniem: The E100's sound quality leaves much to be desired, both through earphones and the built-in speaker. As stated in the review, though, casual users should be satisfied with the way it sounds. It really comes down to your personal standards and what kind of earphones you'll be using.
Posted by Jenn | 01:30 PM on Mar 24, 2008
"The ZEN's screen is better because it's an AMOLED."
I think the clix 2 has an AMOLED so which is better the AMOLED or LCD
Posted by Stoil | 09:13 PM on Mar 24, 2008
Oops, sorry, that's what I meant to say. I guess my fingers weren't listening to my brain! The clix 2's screen is better because it's an AMOLED.
Posted by Jenn | 02:36 AM on Mar 25, 2008
Should I sell my iriver X20(2gb)and buy iriver E100 ? is it worth it? (the stereo speakers are very important to me)
Posted by Adrian | 02:37 AM on Mar 28, 2008
Hello i'm interested in buying a mp4 that basically have these options: Is any expert here that can help me ??
a Mp4 that could play wav files, read text and listening songs at the same time. Also Record fm easily.
By browsing many mp4 the iriver suites more or less my wishes. Samsung T10 also is a good option but doesn't play WAV. Creative ZEN doesn't record fm. And one of my needs is the ability to record fm.
At the beginning the iriver x20 suited me but i think doesn't support txt. Then i found iriver clix2 but in other review here in pocketables says about the difficult and easeless to record fm : (“One thing I don't particularly care for about the clix 2's FM feature is that recording can't be done from the radio screen. That is, when you're listening to the radio and you want to record something, you can't do it with a simple click. Instead, you need to press and hold the right edge of the player to bring up the context menu, select "Record," and then click the right edge again to start/stop the recording” (post here). I want to know is this difficult when recording a broadcasting directly from FM is watched in the new iriver E100 or E100 improve this option.
Another question i have for the experts is if iriver E100 can play WAV files cause iriver clix 2 can do it
At iriver.com says that new E100 player has got a timer recording. What this feature means exactly ? ( I’m from Spain and my english is not rather good ). Does it mean that you can set up how many time the player is recording or it means that you can schedule the recording at fixed time and at fixed fm station ?
How about quality sound between iriver clix 2 and iriver E100 ?
And finally does iriver x20 and iriver clix2 support view text while listening song at the same time ?
I love listening music at the top quality while singing and learning lyrics. As so as be able to memorize a good and strange indie songs broadcast in strange fm station. So recording from FM options is a very important point to me.
You can write me at saleshuguet@hotmail.com. Thank you very much
Posted by HUGO | 12:38 AM on Mar 29, 2008
I have a iriver e100. after 15 days, the tuner is dead (no station is received), vers. 1.3. i have downloaded the 1.4 (not installed). to be continued
Posted by Winy | 09:24 PM on Mar 30, 2008
i, I want to buy a DAP. My choices are the iriver E100 and the Creative Zen. I'm only interested in the sound quality and the response of the user interface. Is there such a big diference between these two players? (in my country, the Zen costs aprox. 30$ more). What is your advice? Thanks
Posted by Florent | 11:27 PM on Mar 30, 2008
#to Florent# the aproximativ from Creative is Zen V Plus,sound is more quality on E100 with earphones only,a plus is the software,convert all video file needet.(the fm tuner problem is from country freqence..not supported to be ripared)
Posted by winy | 01:16 AM on Apr 01, 2008
Off Topic: I hope I'm not causing too much trouble by asking if you plan on reviewing the Cowon iAudio D2. I know the player has been around since 2007 but I'd like to hear your take on it(you do EXCELLENT WORK SO,........). Well, thanks for letting me put this up and also, I also find the E100 to be a huge letdown - could have been a STELLAR player.
Posted by nywytboy68 | 03:32 AM on Apr 13, 2008
Well, I've finally planned to buy the e100... But I still can't decide on the colour xD
White, or black? Which colour do you prefer? Will the white plastic lose his shine ?
Does the e100 look like a toy ? oO
Just want to know ^^
Thank you :)
Posted by Bryan | 08:07 AM on Apr 24, 2008
what size head phone jack dose it take is it 3.5mm
Posted by jk | 01:37 PM on Apr 26, 2008
sorry forgot to put my email in same question as above
Posted by jk | 05:21 AM on Apr 27, 2008
@ jk: It's a standard 3.5mm jack.
Posted by Jenn | 02:09 PM on Apr 27, 2008
i like e100 file man, text and speakers but i like ZEN display and i hobe the sound quality
what to choos?? :D
Posted by scm | 05:46 AM on May 02, 2008
I'm choosing between the e100 and x20. What should I get? I like both of them, but which would be better for in terms of overall quality and usability? Thanks! :D
Posted by revhead | 04:40 PM on May 03, 2008
i own e100 and im loving it. Im using bose qc2 and e100 can drive my headphone so good.
Even my fren samsung p2 cannot drive the bose headphone as good as e100.
to me, once i played some good flac music (which does not hang like what people said) i wont be navigating the "sluggish" menu until i feel like changing the mood.. but so far it never hang on me.
worth your money thats all i can say. Try it. for casual listening its fine though. Im very satisfied for the past 1 month.
Posted by JunkieG | 03:05 AM on May 08, 2008
Hoping somebody can help me out with this (seemingly simple) request.
My boyfriend purchased the 8gb iriver E100 a fortnight ago after his iPod having spluttered its way through several years of on-off service.
We have ripped CDs by 35-40 different artists using the supplied iriver plus 3 software.
The issue is that when scrolling through the "artist" list on the device, artists appear not in alphabetical order but in the order they were transferred to the device (ie the "newist" artist added is at the bottom of the list).
There's nothing in the manual about this and I've searched all of the in-built help files to no avail.
We just want the artists to display in simple alphabetical order and I'm sure it's as easy as changing a few options but we're tearing our hair out as we can't figure out how.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Aside from this it appears to be a great little player - personally I use a 20gb Creative Zen but for a smaller machine the iriver E100 looks excellent.
Posted by Kathryn | 04:05 PM on May 08, 2008