I Rock, or so my son says!
Written: Feb 20 '03 (Updated Feb 20 '03)
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Pros: Small, lightweight. Great sound and battery life. Cheap. Durable. Expandable memory.
Cons: Doesn't support ID3 tags. Bud earphones look a little cheap. No backlight for the display.
The Bottom Line: Very good no-frills player. Great sound quality, excellent battery life, incredibly easy to use, CHEAP! If you're looking for a good little player, this is a great choice.
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| javajnkie's Full Review: FID Irock 530 (128 MB) MP3 Player |
My oldest son had a short Christmas list this year:
MP3 Player
Trip to Seattle to visit family
There was no trip to Seattle tucked under the tree this, but there was an iRock! 530 MP3 player. Given its two months of continuous use, it was well worth the $100 (on sale) price Santa paid. I recently borrowed it for a week-long trip, and may go buy myself one now.
The Unit and Packaging
The iRock 530 is small, incredibly lightweight, and comes with 128mb memory. This seems to be enough for my son now, but if he ever needs more, the memory is expandable using a smart media port found on the back. The unit is sleek and his is gray-ish blue. For some unknown reason, comes with a hot-pink wrist strap. I'd love the strap, but for some reason, my 16 year-old thought it was just a little too...well, pink. Thankfully, the unit has a belt clip, and even if it didn't, it's small enough to stick in a pocket and light enough that you'd forget it was there.
It's packaged in a bubble pack, and along with the player, comes with:
* 1 AAA battery,
* bud earphones,
* USB-to-player cable
* software
* the aforementioned pink wrist strap
* a manual (I'm sure it came with one, although my son, being infused with testosterone, was oblivious to it and has never read it)
The bud earphones have already been replaced by something more sturdy. They didn't break, so I don't have much of a leg to stand on if I were to complain about them, but they didn't look like the best quality.
Use and Sound Quality
Before using the player, you install the software. We didn't run into any problems; it's a fairly standard install, and the software is easy enough to use. To transfer MP3s to the player, just hook it to the computer using the included cable, and drag-and-drop MP3's from your computer into the software window. About 20 seconds later, your song transfer is complete and you're ready to rock.
Track control is accomplished through a half-wheel on the side of the unit-flick it down and you move down a track, flick it up and you move up a track. The same wheel is an on/off switch: if you push the wheel in, it plays the song (or stops it if it's already playing); push and hold it down for 3 seconds and it turns the unit on/off. A terrific feature is the 'hold' switch, which, when turned on, will prevent the half-wheel from functioning. This keeps the unit from skipping songs or turning off if you've shoved the player into your pocket and jostle it. It's also important to note that while it's being jostled, the music is skip-free.
The iRock offers a choice of four equalizer settings: normal, rock, jazz, and classic. You can also turn on a bass boost--a function I didn't try, but my son says it's not useful and that it drains the battery faster.
The player has a very small LCD screen on the front, which displays the track number and information about equalizer modes. It doesn't, however, display the song title--my biggest complaint is the lack of ID3 tag support. The display also lacks a backlight, which isn't that important since it doesn't display important information anyway.It's not that big of a deal though, and the lack of a huge display probably adds to the battery life.
The battery life! The coolest part of the whole player (well, besides that whole playing music thing)! I had this player for a week, and probably listened to two hours of music a day--it never died! My son says he can get about 9 hours of continuous listening time in before the battery dies. As an aside, how does any teenager have 9 hours to spare for continuous listening??!
Considering how much time he spends with his new best-friend, the sound quality is really important. I've tried one other MP3 player, so my comparison may be lacking, however, the sound was crisp and clear without a hint of tin.
By far though, the best thing about this player is that it earned me a "coolest mom on earth" award for buying it. My son really did say "you rock, mom!"
The bottom line
The iRock 530 is a terrific little player. The sound quality was very good, and the adjustable equalizer was an interesting touch. The LCD screen is simplistic, but but functional. This is a good no-frills player, and it's a terrific bargain. The player seems pretty durable, and has survived being dropped, left outside in the cold, and banged around in a backpack. Not top-of-the-line, but definitely recommended!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 112.00
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Epinions.com ID:
javajnkie
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Member: Mari Nichols-Haining
Location: Somewhere Out There, USA
Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 22 members
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