iRiver iFP-799T 1GB MP3 Player - Deals - Find Best Local Deals and Daily Deals in Your Area at PriceGrabber

I really like this MP3 player....

Strengths: Good sound, sturdy, doesn't skip, great for working out (with sports armband), long battery life, can store many songs (I've got 210 on mine right now and still have 180 MB left), Tuner works good.

Weakness: Controls hard to memorize, shuffle program repeats same songs (about 30 songs, very disappointing)

I really like this MP3 player. It's very easy to use while working out. I have yet to bump it into something and accidentally switch the song. I have occasionally switched songs while trying to adjust the volume (all controlled by the stick on the face) but that's it. The armband that comes with the player is not very good at all. I would definitely buy the sports armband to go with it if you...
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I really like this MP3 player. It's very easy to use while working out. I have yet to bump it into something and accidentally switch the song. I have occasionally switched songs while trying to adjust the volume (all controlled by the stick on the face) but that's it. The armband that comes with the player is not very good at all. I would definitely buy the sports armband to go with it if you plan on working out with this player.

On a negative note, the controls are hard to memorize. When you have all the features this player has and only 3 buttons and a joystick that you can also push down to control everything it gets confusing. There is a lot of holding down buttons to get to a submenu. But It's really not that big of a deal since I mainly use it for playing mp3's.

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this player is the shuffle program. I have tried this player with 100 songs, 180 songs, 198 songs, and 210 songs and every time it wants to repeat approximately 30 songs and not play the others. I imagine there are some songs that I still haven't heard yet. I do have it on the resume setting (that might have something to do with this problem, I'm not sure) but that just starts the player in the song that it was in when it was shut off and keeps it in shuffle mode). There are various shuffle modes where you can stay in one folder of songs if you want or you can have it set up for shuffling all the files. I have it set up to shuffle everything and I still have this problem. Every time I start the player up it repeats the same 30 or so songs and if I want to listen to something else I have to manually select it from the library and it eventually ends up on the same loop again.

I can live with the control confusion on occasion but having the same songs come up gets old. I thought it might be a function of the number of songs you have on the player but that doesn't seem to be the case. Each time I loaded new songs on it it selected around 30 songs and repeated them every time. Some of the songs have been different each time I loaded new songs on though and it's not the same 30 songs (thank goodness).

I tried to be objective in writing this to help all of you make the right purchase. I hope you find it helpful.

By jruss21 - Jun 7, 2005

I originally had the iRiver...

Strengths: Small compact size, Excellent sound quality, Good earphones, Tons of extra features, Long battery life, Firmware upgrades, Customizable EQ settings, Durable, plays mp3, wav, ogg.

Weakness: lack of color choices (boring silver-gray for iFP-799)

I originally had the iRiver iHP-140, which is a 40GB portable hard-drive mp3 jukebox. I sold it off and got this one because of its small compact size. This fits nicely inside my hip pocket. I have about 110 songs in the player, most of them are mp3s encoded in 44khz, 320kbps. I didn't have any problems learning the controls since it's similar to the iRiver iHP-140. Sound Quality. It is similar...
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I originally had the iRiver iHP-140, which is a 40GB portable hard-drive mp3 jukebox. I sold it off and got this one because of its small compact size. This fits nicely inside my hip pocket.

I have about 110 songs in the player, most of them are mp3s encoded in 44khz, 320kbps. I didn't have any problems learning the controls since it's similar to the iRiver iHP-140.

Sound Quality. It is similar to the iPod and iHP-140. There is no sound difference in sound between the iFP-799, iHP-140, and iPod, whether I'm listening via headphones or have it connected to stereo speakers.

Earphones. It comes with Sennheiser earbuds.

More features than the iPod. It has the same features as the iHP-140 such as direct encoding, voice recording, FM radio. Plus it keeps track of time.

Long Battery Life. It uses 1 AA Battery. I usually had to recharge my iHP-140 every 4 days. With almost the same usage, I change the battery in my iFP-799 every 2 weeks. You won't have any problems with the battery as long as you keep the backlit to a minimum.

Firmware upgrade. I upgraded my firmware from iRiver's website. Now, I can use it as a removable storage device, similar to a removable flash jumpdrive. I carry pictures, Word documents, etc. Upgrading the firmware was easy and straightforward.

Customizable EQ settings. I have my own EQ setting when I am listening to WinAmp in my PC. I'm glad I can duplicate the settings into my iFP-799. It's not an exact duplicate but there's no noticeable difference.

Durable. At first glance, the iFP-799 looks very fragile. However, the player still works after dropping it at least 4 times in 1 month from heights of about 2 to 4ft. The item has no scratches or dents probably because I have it always inside the case that came with it.

My only complaint is the color. My iFP-799 has a silver and gray color scheme. I'd like to have it in black-silver.

If you're looking for a small & compact 1GB flash mp3 player loaded with features, I highly recommend the iFP-799.

By james8547 - May 20, 2005

So far I love this player. Like I...

Strengths: Great sound quality. The FM tuner is cool. Great software and PC interface. Nice little size. Light weight.

Weakness: Very few buttons = each button does two or three things which can get confusing.

So far I love this player. Like I said above, since there are so few buttons, it can get confusing which button you need to push to do a certain function. One button can do one thing if you 'tap' the button vs. if you 'hold down' the button. I've had to re-read the manual a couple times to learn some functions, but I've gotten better. It has several play modes (shuffle, normal, etc.) and the...
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By peter1377 - Apr 18, 2005

The iFP-799 was the exact MP3...

Strengths: sound reproduction, size, durability, radio reception, user interface

Weakness: accompanying software, button size

The iFP-799 was the exact MP3 player I had been waiting to buy - compact, durable, FM-equipped and resistant to the elements. For the last five years or so, I had surveyed new offerings and declined to buy any. I wanted a player that wouldn't skip when I took a stride and wouldn't break when I fell in a snowbank. It also needed to have enough memory so that it would serve me during non-athletic...
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By justinbosch - Nov 7, 2004

I have owned other iRiver MP3...

Strengths: Richness of the Sound, Powerful set of functions, Ease of use of the controls, Software is very easy to use. Small and light. Large storage capacity for music. FM radio function is easy to use.

Weakness: I would like to be able to print a music listing from the music software manager.

I have owned other iRiver MP3 players as well as your competitors and think its the best out there. I get good reception on the FM Radio wherever I go. The battery life is excellant. I like the ease of changing my music mix from the PC software. I use the MP3 player primarely for running and walking. I like the ability to place differnt types of music into folders and subfolders while using the...
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By budestes - Nov 27, 2004