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iriver S10 (2GB)

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By Edvarcl Heng, CNET Asia
Oct 3, 2006

Miniature MP3 players are the stuff of a Lilliputian's dreams. In fact, the smaller, the more geek envy it would draw. The newest iPod shuffle is like that. So is Shiro's cube-shaped AD. They drew more raves for their form factors than their features. But the iriver S10 made the waves when it was first announced due to the ingenious way it melded a screen and the D-Click system onto a 42 x 30 x 10.8mm-sized body.

Design
We can't help but allude to the iriver U10 we reviewed last year.

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Both include the D-Click navigation system we were so enamored with. It ranks right up there with the iPod Click Wheel in terms of MP3 player physical navigation. And in the small form factor S10 where player real estate is a precious commodity, the space-saving D-Click system presents an elegant solution.


Who's smaller?

The 1.15-inch screen sits atop a tilt table-like structure. The main playback controls for the S10 lie on the four edges of the screen which can be depressed. This cuts the need to allocate extra space for tiny buttons as seen in the side clutter of the iriver N10, and allows greater maximization of the player's front for a screen.

Unlike the display on the U10 which is viewed in either portrait or landscape mode, the S10 can do only portrait. The screen is bright for its size and, while it has three different brightness settings, it makes sense to use the lowest in the interest of power conservation since the S10 has a rated 8 hours of battery life only.


S10: Deserves to be dangled around.

Navigation on the S10 maintains the same seamless organic flow of the U10. Instructions are clearly labeled for each direction on the display itself; generally, right clicks will lead the user deeper into the menu, while left ones bring one up a menu layer. Up and down clicks also serve to navigate within the menu layer. Colorful icons and animations improve the navigation experience.

Pressing and holding down the right side will serve up a contextual menu relevant to the highlighted feature, i.e. equalizer settings during music playback. Though all these finger pressing will smudge the screen with fingerprints, the large black border around the S10's display minimizes the smears. iriver did not bundle a cleaning cloth with the S10.


It's a snap on for the lanyard attachment.

Other physical controls are the two volume buttons and a power button. There's an extra function to the volume buttons. Hold them both down and the S10 physical controls will be locked from accidental activation. And because the buttons are tiny, it wouldn't be easy to unlock them by mistake.

Despite its size, the S10 feels solid and weighty even with its plastic body. We didn't like the bundled earphones, however. Though the cutesy S10 deserves to be worn around the neck, the lanyard earphones lack the chic factor of the iriver N10 ensemble. Unlike the N10, there isn't a clip to secure the earphones when not in use or an option to use the lanyard with the user's own earphones.

 
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