iRiver H340

Posted by T3 Online on Mon 22 Oct 2007

MP3 player in colour-screen shocker

There are plenty of personal video jukeboxes around with colour displays - it comes with the territory - but this is the first MP3 player we've seen that boasts one. You'd think iRiver would have made good use of it by enabling you to browse your music collection via album cover art - but you'd be wrong.

In fact, the only real use for the colour screen is viewing JPEG or BMP pictures you've downloaded onto the player from a PC or transferred directly from certain (UMS-compatible) digital cameras. When it comes to navigation, the screen is actually a hindrance. This is because it has to be turned off all the time to save battery life, so every time you go to use the device, you have to press a button first and wait as it kicks back into life.

This model also suffers from the same miserable menu system that other iRiver products have been shackled with over the years. Turn the 40GB unit on and you'll immediately find yourself playing a game of hide-and-seek - all the features have been hidden in obscure places and it's your job to find them! For example, to get to the FM tuner you have to press and hold the record button. The interface is just irritating. Haven't the company's designers ever used an iPod?

On the plus side, the unit pumps out good sonics and has a bunch of interesting features, including an on-board FM tuner, a built-in encoder and an 18-hour battery life. However, it's overly expensive, way too chunky to be truly desirable and just too frustrating to recommend.