iRiver U10 media player

There's no doubt that the U10 is a player brimming with features - I can't think of anything this size that can do so much. However, you have to pay for the privilege. The 1GB player is £140, the same as a 2GB iPod Nano. Just £20 more will buy you an 8GB Creative Zen Micro Photo, though that has a smaller screen and can't play video. Feature-wise, the iRiver wins with FM radio and video playback, but with the latter, the 2GB version would be more useful and that will set you back £190 when it's released.

While the U10 itself scores highly for usability, the non-Apple product loses out as a complete user experience. iRiver needs to sit down and create an iTunes rival to consolidate all the different applications that are currently required to get content onto the player.

So while the U10 might be eye catching, you'll need to be on the techie side to actually make the most of it. For the more technically confident and patient, this is a great alternative to the Nano. It looks good, it sounds great and is the more capable device.

Verdict

The U10 has an innovative interface that works well. The player is feature laden, with music, pictures, video, text, radio and games in one tiny package. The downsides are the relatively high price and the clumsy method of getting content onto the device. Get past those, and the U10 is a winner that just might take a few sales away from the iPod Nano.

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