iRiver Clix 4GB review

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Verdict:

A stylish MP3 player that has it all - and the price tag to match. This feature-packed MP3 player, isn't much cheaper than some 30GB players.

Review Date: 14 Feb 2007

Price when reviewed: inc VAT

Reviewed By: Ben Pitt

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

With Apple's 4GB iPod Nano currently selling for around £120, it takes a brave manufacturer to release a competing player that costs £30 more. What can the iRiver Clix possibly offer that the delectable Nano lacks?

The answer is quite a lot. The most obvious difference is the colour screen, which is considerably bigger and more detailed than the Nano's. This means that album artwork and your own JPEG photos look far more attractive. It can also play MPEG-4 video - files must be 320 x 240 pixels and no more than 15fps, but these videos look great on the screen. It's a shame no software is included to encode the files, though.

The radio offers reasonably good reception and can scan for stations. The main purpose of the Clix, of course, is MP3 playback and it's here that it really excels. Large libraries are quick to browse, the player has a focused, clean sound and the headphones are far better than those usually supplied with MP3 players.

Apple's strongholds are its flair for design and innovative controls, but even here the Clix is a worthy opponent. It appears to be almost devoid of buttons - there are a few along the sides for power, volume, lock and a programmable Smart Key. However, the majority of functions are accessed by pressing the screen, which is pivoted to tilt in four directions. The result is an extremely intuitive, satisfying interface.

One disadvantage of the Clix is that it can't play music bought from iTunes Music Store, but PlaysForSure 2.01 certification ensures compatibility with the widest range of stores that use the WMA format. We would prefer a mains charger, but the player managed over 20 hours of playback between charges via its USB cable.

Overall, there's little to criticise. It's expensive, but not overly so for such a high-quality player.

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