Customer Reviews:
 Try before you buy May 27, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
The reviews on the Clix2 were great, so I bought one "sight-unseen". Big mistake. After the first Amazon recommended seller failed to have any in stock (despite being listed as such) I managed to get one through JetAudio, another Amazon recommended seller. Their shipping was slow and expensive (USPS turned out to be much cheaper and faster, see below), which is surprising for a business based on shipping things online.
I finally received my player about 2 weeks after placing my initial order. They had sent me the Rhapsody model, which is not the same as the vanilla CLix2 I ordered, but the difference is minimal as far as I can tell. Nevertheless, I was not impressed by the Clix2. The build quality seemed flimsy. The buttons were small and cheap looking. The top plate (which serves as the click device) could rotate slightly on its housing, which added to the subpar feel of the device.
Despite much talk of the interface, it is nothing spectacular: you click into menus and select songs just like any other device. So I returned the Clix2 within 2 hours, shipped it back via USPS which cost less than the original shipping options from JetAudio and took only 2 days to get back to them. In JetAudio's defense, they responded promptly to my email and quickly authorized the return. Once received, it was not long before I received my refund.
My lesson learned was not to buy a player online that I had not physically played around with. Online reviews and videos are fine but don't give you a feel for how you will like the device. Paying for shipping twice to try out then return the Clix2, plus waiting 2 weeks to receive it, will have me buying my next player (probably the Creative Zen) from MicroCenter which has a 30 day return policy.
 Great buy May 23, 2008
I got this to replace my Ipod nano that has gone flaky. I have used it continually for about 4 weeks, and have learned how to work through the menus. Love this player.
Pros:
Great Battery Life.
Beautiful styling.
Excellent Music quality.
Plays Flash.
Easy to use software.
The button (click) interface is easier to use than ipod while moving.
Cons:
Manual is obscure at best.
Questionable support.
Hard to read in daytime sun.
Menu traversal a bit difficult and not obvious.
Notes:
Lots of good forums with great info. Use them.
Get a good set of ear phones. Big difference.
Spend some time learning the product and set your quick button. That way you will know your menu paths while on the go.
I got mine refurbished, and a lot of original content was missing. The afore mentioned forums pointed me to an area to pick it up and more.
Better than an iPod May 15, 2008
I have been looking around to buy my first mp3 player and after some research and talking with friends, I decided to go with the iPod. There were 2 reasons - cost and accessories. The cost was acceptable and the accessories seemed limitless. I bought the iPod and thought it worked very well. During my research, I came upon the iRiver. I thought it sounded great but because it was more expensive and I couldn't walk into a store to buy, I didn't get it. After thinking about it, I decided to buy the iRiver from Amazon. I figured I could always return it if I didn't like it. I was so glad I tried it! I couldn't wait to return the iPod!
For those that have the iPod or for those looking to change, here is what I discovered when comparing the two:
A. Comfort: The iPod Nano is tiny. Too tiny. I don't have large hands but I couldn't use the wheel without 2 hands. I may not have the dexterity but I just couldn't get my thumb to contort. The iRiver click screen can easily be done with one hand and I'm not accidentally going to the wrong screen.
B. Available Songs: I signed up for iTunes with the iPod but just couldn't get myself to pay for each song. So we used Limewire which allowed for distorted songs and whatnot. We use Rhapsody with the iRiver and it's just great. For one monthly fee, we get all the downloads we want to the iRiver and they're CD quality. We haven't purchased any songs to burn but that's fine with me. One more thing about Rhapsody - their channels are great! I can download 5 hours of a particular type of music and even save a song if I like it. Instead of searching through thousands of songs (or trying to remember an artist from long ago) I listen to the 80s hit channel and suddenly, I'll hear a song I used to love. I'll save that song and add it to my own playlist. As they said in the 80s, "it's like, wicked easy!"
C. Cost: The iRiver cost about $50 more than the iPod I bought and it's worth it. I bought the wall charger and that has helped heaps! I plug my iRiver into the wall and my stereo and it's great! I didn't buy any accessories with the iPod so I could only charge via my computer and the charge only lasted for a few hours.
D. Overall: I'm a newbie to this technology but so far, the iRiver is steps ahead from the iPod. CNET has it right when they said that if you're looking for something other than the iPod, go with the iRiver. From ease of use to trouble free downloading, the iRiver wins my vote. I have since returned the iPod and have never regretted it.
Hope this helps anyone looking for a new mp3 player or their first one. I haven't even taken it outside yet!
 Iriver clix is very nice May 14, 2008
I've owned it for several months now and really like it. I listen to music and lots of audio books. I'm discriminating about the sound quality and it's noticeably better than iPod. I particularly like to use my Bose Quiet Comfort's with this. Synchronization via Windows Media player is fine.
I really love the Clix interface. Pressing the sides is something I can easily do without looking, as when listening to music or a book in the night.
I don't watch video on it at all. Don't want to. The earbuds sound decent for a free set, and have a tendency to come unscrewed. I've somewhat abused them by dragging them around dangling outside the hip case I bought for the unit.
Battery life is pretty good, not great, no complaints. I like the cradle and rapid wall charger. All in all, a very easy to use, great sounding, convenient unit that stores all my music, audiobooks, and doubles as a flash drive when needed.
The Perfect Portable Media Player May 8, 2008
I bought the iriver Clix2 in September 2007 and have loved it ever since. For the past year I had been using a Creative Zen Nano and was sorely in need of an upgrade. With a collection of music that amounted to about 10 Gigabytes, I decided I wanted something that was still small and easy to carry, but with a nice screen and interface. After much research, I decided the Clix2 was perfect. I had to wait two months for the 8GB version to arrive in the United States, but it was well worth it.
PROS:
The Clix2 has just about everything you could want in a portable media player packed into an amazingly small space. Music, photos, video, FM radio, audio recording, text reader, and FLASH GAMES for crying out loud. The player operates completely using Flash Lite, which allows you to load new games, applications and custom themes onto it. It can pretty much look and work any way you want. And with all these features, the Clix2 doesn't sacrifice usability for a second. The D-Click interface makes operation simple, easy, and consistent. And the machine's design is simple, sleek, and elegant. I love looking at it; without any recognizable buttons, it looks like a tiny TV the size of a credit card. And the amazingly sharp AMOLED screen makes it feel that way when watching video, too. Plus, you'll never need any specific software to load it with content. It plugs in via USB and acts just like any standard flash drive. Brilliant. I can't really say enough good about it.
CONS:
My single major gripe is the fact that music playback is not seamless between songs. There can be anywhere from half a second to two second gaps when the player switches from one song to the next on the playlist. I learned to live with it, but I really wish the industry would recognize this necessity more often. Other minor gripes would be the lower-than-expected battery life, but that's no big deal if you keep it charged, and the fact its performance slowed down after several successive digital additions to the library, but that was fixed when I formatted the player and reloaded all my content in one feel swoop.
OVERALL:
This player is, IMHO, hands down the best flash-based media player on the market today. Support and accessories are a bit limited since it's really primarily marketed in Korea, but for someone looking for all the big features in a small, beautiful package, this one's for you.
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