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The highlight of the H10 is an attractive 1.5-inch display that, along with an improved hardware-and-software interface, makes the player a joy to use. Navigating your music library is easy with the touch-sensitive slider control, and IRiver has dropped its oversimplified folder-structure interface for one that allows you to browse by genre, artist, album, or song title.
Music sounds good on the device--provided you upgrade to a better set of headphones than the included earbuds. You can add individual songs, but not albums or artists, to an on-the-fly playlist called QuickList. The player does more than just play music: You can listen to and record FM radio, record audio with a built-in mike, and display text files. The unit also stores and shows photos, but because it offers no easy way to output those photos to a TV or PC, that ability is more a novelty than a useful feature.
Included is a replaceable, rechargeable battery that ran about 10.5 hours between charges. Rounding out the package is an exceptionally useful, protective rubber-skin case that allows full access to the device's navigation controls.
So how does the H10 match up to the $250 IPod Mini? Though it's a hair larger, it offers an additional 1GB of storage. The touch-sensitive controls aren't quite as slick as the Mini's, but they're intuitive. Finally, the H10 has features--including the radio, recorder, and color screen--that the Mini lacks. If these features are worth an extra $30 to you, consider the H10.
Versatile audio player's friendly interface and color display should make the unit a stiff competitor to Apple's IPod Mini.
List: $280
Current Prices (if available)
