Digital Home Thoughts: Girls Gone Mobile Reviews the iRiver Clix

"I’ve been using the iRiver Clix for a few months, following approximately five years of using iPods. The reason for the switch was that I wanted something different from the ordinary. Absolutely nothing wrong with the iPod per se, but a big part of the general geek mentality is using non-mainstream products that “regular” people don’t even know about. I came upon the Clix by chance when doing a buyers guide of MP3 players for Icon. I used it for five minutes after unboxing it, and that was all it took for me to email a workmate and arrange for her to buy my 30GB fifth-gen iPod from me."



My friend Jenneth has not only launched a new site (Girls Gone Mobile - great name!), but she's also published a review of the iRiver Clix, a device that has intrigued me since I first read about it. Jenneth's review covers the highs and lows of using the device, and interesting enough by the end of the review she wishes she had kept her iPod. The biggest reason why? An accessories ecosystem - the iPod has it, the iRiver does not. This is a powerful lesson to anyone entering this market (hello Zune!): the overall experience of using the device is greater than just the device itself. I don't really grasp her frustration about the hold button - it's standard on every audio player I've seen, and I believe iPods have the button as well. How else would you carry the device in your pocket without random button presses happening? And leaving the screen on the entire time will kill the battery, so I'm not surprised she only got nine hours of battery. Anyway, go check out the review for yourself. Be sure to enter her giveaway contest as well!