Reviews iriver Clix 2
| iriver Clix 2 |
| Written by Luck Kanthatham | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 23 April 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The first generation of the iriver Clix was no doubt a big success for
the company. Its small form factor and gorgeous screen coupled with the
revolutionary D-Click navigation method catapulted the device into the
limelight and earning it a c|net Editor's Choice title along the way. Introduction
So how do you improve on an already “perfect” package? iriver responded by replacing the traditional LCD with a gorgeous 2.2” AMOLED, upping the video playback frame rate to 30 fps, and trimming the thickness down, just to name a few. Technical Specification
Packaging
Unlike the Korean version, the earphones and the USB cable come in black instead of white. You can check out the Korean version of the Clix 2 here . If looks could killThe first thing you'd notice about the Clix 2 is that it is tiny; it looks more like a mint dispenser. Its sleek body is about 2 cm. shorter than a RAZR phone and tad bit slimmer. It is hard to believe that a device this small is capable of so many things, including the ability to display video at 30fps.
The shell consists of two halves: the clickable high-gloss top and the base. There are 5 “buttons” along the sides: 2 for volume, 1 for Hold, 1 “Smart” button and, lastly, the power button. These buttons don't really look like buttons at all. When I first look at them, I wasn't even aware that they were buttons since they were so thin and weren't labeled. I soon learned that each button was actually labeled; not on the button itself but on the back of the device. Rounding up the looks department are the USB port and the earphone jack on opposite ends. Once you turned the device on, the AMOLED display just shines; it is crisp and bright. This technology has much lower power consumption and still offers a wider viewing angle than the LCD technology. The first thing I did was testing out the video capability. I was not disappointed. iriver made the right choice for choosing this screen. The smooth video playback and the crispness of the screen is nothing short of breathtaking, especially on a screen this small. More on this when I cover the video playback later in this article. Interface Rundown
Prefer text to icons? Well, the Clix 2 would not disappoint you . No flashy icons here. The menu system on the Clix 2 is text-based. I, however, prefer a hint of graphics here and there but that's just my personal preference. At least on the Clix 2, I don't have to guess what each menu item is supposed to do. The main menu offers the following items: Extras, FM Radio, Now Playing, Music, Pictures, Videos and Settings. You navigate through the menu system by clicking on the sides of the device itself. Yes, hence the name Clix! Clicking on the right takes you down one menu level, clicking on top or bottom goes up/down on the current menu and clicking on the left takes you up one menu level. There is a “smart” key on the side that defaults to taking you back to the home menu but this is configurable.
The user interface components on the Clix 2 is also configurable. You can change the individual fonts, and background. You may also change the whole theme of the UI by selecting on one of the 6 Flash-based themes. The background of each theme changes color depending on the day of the week. A theme called “Rainbow” is even animated. However, it does slows the response time of the player by a few milliseconds. Music Player
The Clix 2 supports WMA, MP3 and Ogg audio formats and offers a variety of preset EQ settings from Jazz to Metal. If you don't like the presets, you can always adjust the EQ settings yourself. In addition, the player also supports the SRS WOW HD audio technology that is supposed to significantly enhance digitally compressed audio.
The display of the Music player is pretty standard with album art and song information. One neat feature, however, is the “buy” option which lets you buy the song you like in case the song is from a subscription service like Urge. Once the player is synced the next time, songs tagged would be displayed by software.
One thing that really confused me at first was the volume buttons. Normally, the left button would decrease the volume and the right one would increase. iriver switched these around. My ears almost burst when I tried to lower the volume and hit the wrong button. However, I have to give them credit for their unique on-screen volume display; each volume level is displayed as a dot forming sound waves coming out of a speaker. FM RadioI wish this is a standard feature on all personal media players. I have about 6000 some songs on my iPod and I do get bored once in a while listening to them. FM radio frees me from listening to the same 6000 songs over and over again.
The Clix 2 offers a basic FM radio tuner. The reception is decent using my earphones as an antenna. You can have up to 30 presets, which is actually more than the number of stations available in my area. If you like what you hear on the radio, you can record it via the FM recording function. The device offers three recording quality: low, medium, and high. I did a comparison between the different settings and was not able to tell the difference between medium and high. Movie PlayerWatching movies on the Clix 2 is a joy due to the combination of the AMOLED screen and 30 fps video playback. One might forget that he/she is watching a movie on a small screen.
The player responds well to rewinding and fast forwarding. I experienced no hiccups skipping back and forth to different parts of the movie. You can also set the scan speed, which ranges from 2x to 32x; the default is 8x. The viewing angle of the AMOLED screen is far superior than that of the traditional LCD. I found no shift in colors no matter which angle I was viewing the movies from. However, not every angle is a suitable angle since the screen is high-gloss; reflections do get in a way. The Movie player supports wide screen format, which means that you can actually upload a rip of a DVD movie and enjoy it on the Clix 2 without missing anything. The screen resolution of 320x240 is equal to that of the iPod Video. The only drawback is that with 4GB you can't store as many movies as the iPod. OK, that and maybe the fact that you can't enjoy movies from the iTunes Store. Picture ViewerThe picture viewer is very basic though it does its job well. Here again, the AMOLED screen shines. The pictures come alive when shown on this screen.
The viewer has a slideshow option, which offers a variety of transition effects. You can also set the delay for each picture right in the viewer itself without going to the settings screen. ExtrasBesides the mentioned features, the Clix 2 also comes with a text file viewer, a hand full of Flash-based games, a voice recorder, and an alarm clock.
Though there are only 5 Flash games available on the device, you can get more games from iriver's web site . All of the games fully utilize the D-Click system for controls.
The thing that puzzled me the most is the alarm clock feature, due to the fact that the player has no on-board speaker. In order to hear the alarm, you need a pair of earphones plugged in. Without them, you only see the on-screen alarm, which defeats the purpose of having the feature in the first place. PC InterfaceThe Clix 2 comes bundled with some essential software: iriver plus 3, Windows Media Player 11 and Movie Converter. For the most part, you can rely on the iriver plus 3 to rip CD's, and manage media files, photos and eBook. The software is a definite improvement over the previous version but it is still a long way from being as polished as Windows Media Player 11 or iTunes. For managing music, I prefer to just use Windows Media Player 11 because it is more intuitive and easier to use. For down and dirty movie conversion, use the Movie Converter. It has the option of just convert and transfer to the device; pretty handy.
Conclusion
The sequel to the original Clix proves that it is possible to improve on perfection. I knew the product would be great but what I didn't plan on was how truly great it would be. I was blown away by the AMOLED screen and the video playback; 30 fps really makes quite a big difference. Pros:
Cons:
Verdict: Highly Recommended
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Comments (18)
weeee-hooooo
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Do you know when iriver is making an armband and when the cradle is comming out? Thank you this was very informative. |
BEnso87
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Maybe the volume buttons are the way they are so you can hold the player sideways and have the buttons in the right way there? I don't know if that wording made sense, but the idea makes sense to me. |
Luck Kanthatham
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I don't know about the armband but the cradles are available at iriver web site here: https://secure19.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=iriver&BusType=BtoC&Count1=527401149&Count2=444541573&ProductID=295&Target=products.asp |
Luck Kanthatham
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BEnso87, if the volume buttons were supposed to be used in a portrait layout manner (instead of landscape), then the button layout would have made sense. However, the default layout is landscape. |
Luck Kanthatham
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nafisha, the Clix 2 can record directly from its FM radio. However, you can not program it to record at a particular scheduled time. That would be a nice feature. |
Luck Kanthatham
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fliken, the review unit has already been returned. We only tried short clips on the Clix 2 and it took a few megabytes. I apologize for this. In the future, I will be more thorough next time and include full-length movie test into the review. |
elicia
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Great review but did you purchase your iriver clix 2 at amazon also how do you convert music videos into the irver clix 2 just wondering before purchasing it . also if i purchase the iriver clix 2 at amazon well everything be included like if i purchased at iriver America  |
Luck Kanthatham
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elicia, you can use the bundled software to convert videos to the Clix 2. Regarding what comes with the unit when purchasing from one vendor to another, I have no idea. I purchased the Clix 2 from iriver America. I usually don't purchase products I review. I normally get them lent to me from the manufacturers themselves. But in the case of the Clix 2, I didn't want to wait so I had to. |
Tommy Long
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I am trying to decide between this and the Cowon iAudio 7 (8GB. Any thoughts if the goal is for audio only. I have my iPod Video for video things...but when I want PURE audio, any thoughts??? I use Shure 530PTH buds with molded earpieces. I also have E4C and SE310's. I like video, but am all about audio. Any other player recomendations? |
Luck Kanthatham
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Tommy, then I recommend you go with the iAudio 7. No mp3 players I tested sounded better than that player. You probably won't get 60 hours of play time if you only play high-quality audio but it still will last longer than any mp3 players out there. Don't count on the video performance of the iAudio 7 though. It only plays at 15fps and the screen is too small for my taste. I personally prefer the Clix 2 because of its overall performance. |
Tommy
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Any others you might suggest...and seriously, price in not an issue...I have more than a few mp3 players...but since I bought the Shure SE530's and went to an audiologist for fillings I would like the best there is. Thoughts? |
Irene
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Just got my clix gen2. How do you change the playback speed. There is no playback button under advanced Prior to purchasing this unit I was told it has a playback speed control but I can't find it but then I'm an MP3 novice. E-mail me please IreneNJ@yahoo.com |
gtobin
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Can someone tell me if it is possible to have the iRiver clix 2 shuffle songs from one artists? I have found that you can shuffle all (but that is my entire library and I want to be able to shuffle between all the albums of a particular artist? Also any advice on how to get the album art to appear on screen? Email please to gerardatobin@gmail.com |
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