iRiver H320 review

IRiver's hard disk MP3 players have been creating quite a stir.

The iHP-140 beat the iPod to a Most Desirable award in our recent Labs test (Shopper August 2004) and its latest player, the H320, looks like it could top them all. A 20GB hard disk and high-quality Sennheiser headphones are good starting points.

An FM tuner and an MP3 recording function from the line input, supplied microphone or radio, make it more versatile than the competition. The internal battery lasts for 16 hours and can be charged with the supplied adaptor or from a PC via USB, and there's an additional clip-on pack that takes four AA batteries for long journeys. But the two things that really make the H320 stand out are its colour screen and second USB port.

Most of the time its colour screen is little more than a gimmick. The menus certainly look attractive and the 2" screen packs plenty of information, but the downside is that the screen switches off completely to conserve batteries; mono screens turn their backlight off but still remain legible while in use. However, the screen comes into its own when used in conjunction with the second USB port. This acts as a USB host for digital cameras and other devices that appear to Windows as a removable storage device (go to www.iriver.com to see which ones are certified to work), so you can copy your photos to the H320's hard disk and continue snapping. You can also view your photos on the player's screen.

Unfortunately, using this feature isn't straightforward. There are nine buttons on the front panel, but as soon as you're out of the music playback mode none of the labels make any sense. Many buttons behave differently depending on whether you click them or hold them down, which makes matters even more confusing, and only the most techno-savvy users are likely to get their heads around it. Many other functions are similarly perplexing at first, and although trial and error (or the so-so manual) usually prevails, dreadful FM reception quality meant we didn't have much patience for the radio function.

Other irritations are that the USB charging mode disables data transfers and that the last 90 minutes of battery life were marred by a low battery beep every two seconds. Even so, those who feel confident that they can master the controls will find this a stylish, great-sounding player, and the ability to store and display photos could justify the extra £60 the H320 costs over other 20GB MP3 players. A 40GB H340 is also available for £349.