IRiver America IMP-350 SlimX
This sleek MP3 player has an LCD screen conveniently located on the remote.
Michael Gowan
Like Apple's IPod, IRiver America's IMP-350 SlimX garners looks of envy from passersby. The trim case of this MP3 CD player is only a smidgen larger than a CD and as thick as two CD cases, significantly smaller than most MP3 CD players. The casing also features minimal functions--play, stop, forward, back, and volume, but no display. Instead, the SlimX moves the display and menu functions to the remote control on the headphone cable. The small LCD screen packs a lot of information into a little area (including artist and track details), as well as a graphic equalizer. You also use it to navigate among the hundreds of songs you can pack onto an MP3 CD. The tiny screen doesn't help this process, though having the information it provides on a remote that you can clip to your belt is convenient.
The player has great skip protection and an external AA-battery carrier pack for those really long road trips when you would likely use up its rechargeable batteries. You'll need your own CD-burning software to rip the MP3 files and create an MP3 CD, as the unit doesn't come with any. Fortunately, most CD-RW drives come with the necessary software.
UPSHOT: The SlimX's great looks, slender case, and convenient LCD on the remote overcome some of the problems with MP3 CD players, but its poor file management offsets its advantages to a degree.
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