Digital Trends

iRiver H10

February 10th, 2005 | by Ian Bell

Setup and Use

If you have Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or higher installed, setting up the H10 is incredibly easy. Just make sure that WMP10 is up-to-date and you are golden. Using MTP (Microsoft Transfer Protocol), WMP 10 will automatically recognize the H10 as a portable audio player. Your PC will also recognize the H10 under “My Computer” and allow you to transfer files using Windows Explorer too. There are two folders on the H10, one marked Data and the other marked Music, just drag and drop the file into the appropriate folder. We found through some iRiver fan sites that the H10 might be compatible with MusicMatch in an upcoming patch or firmware update; otherwise the H10 is only compatible with WMP10 and a couple music services including MSN Music and Napster To Go. MSN Music is not mentioned on iRiver's website, but because the H10 supports “Plays for Sure”, we are assuming it is compatible with MSN Music.

*Edit 2/21/04 - We have had several people inform us that the H10 is not recognized by some custom computers. We have confirmed this on several systems and have been unable to find a solution to the problem. We will most more information when we get a solution from iRiver. In the meantime, feel free to discuss any problems you are having in our forums.

The connection cable that comes with the H10 is very odd. It interfaces with the H10 using a proprietary interface that looks very similar to what we have seen on some cell phones. The other end of the cable uses your basic USB jack. Instead of using a separate input to plug the A/C adapter into the H10, the A/C adapter plugs directly into the USB cable itself. A LED glows red when the player is charging and turns off when it is finished. There are two things we do not like about this connection setup. First of all, the USB cable uses a proprietary connection on one end, so if you lose the cable or damage the interface, you are screwed. You cannot just run to your local computer shop and get a new USB cable; you are forced to buy one from iRiver. And when you visit iRiver's website, they show the A/C adapter for sale for $7.99 but does that include the USB cable it plugs into as well?  iRiver's site is not clear.

Once our player was charged, we tried it out using Windows Media Player 10 (WMP10). WMP10 instantly recognized the player and we then proceeded to transfer music to the H10 using our Sync list. Transfer speeds were very fast and on par with what we have seen from the Apple iPod mini. If you added files to the Music folder on the H10 as a mass storage device, WMP10 may delete those files when synchronizing the H10, so be careful.

The menu system on the H10 is probably the easiest we have seen. There are six different menu options to choose from: Music, FM Radio, Recording, Photo, Text, Browser and Settings. Simply move your finger up and down the touch sensitive slider bar to choose your selection and either tap the slider or hit the “o” button to select it. We were told by iRiver public relations that the touch sensitive slider used on the H10 is very different than the technology used on the Zen Micro or iPod mini. For one thing it's not nearly as sensitive as the other players, and there are multiple touch contact points on the slider which makes changing the volume or scrolling a lot simpler. Some people may not like the combination of traditional buttons and a touch sensitive pad, but we think it works; and it is easier to use in our opinion.

The play, fast forward, and rewind buttons are located on the right side of the player, while the power button is on the left side. Button placement is very intuitive and easy to use. The interface that connects the player with the supplied cable is on the bottom. The H10 comes with a rubber piece which covers the interface, but since the rubber piece is not physically attached to the player, we can see a lot of people losing it. iRiver does include 4 replacements for this part with the package, but it is still a major design flaw.