This is one of the smartest moves that iRiver has made in a very long time. No longer will you by default have to use their proprietary application to get media onto the device. This opens the way for the iRiver MP3 players to be used easily with Windows Media Player. I know several Podcasters are jumping for joy.
I was able to sync my Podcast subscriptions very easily with Windows Media player. The following link takes you to the IFP-700 series firmware download page. [iRIVER Firmware Upgrade 700 Series]
Also, if you’re doing any line/mic-in recording you are still required to use iRiver’s properietary software to convert the internal .rec format to .mp3 once you transfer the files to the desktop. (Previously the conversion was done transparently as you copied the files to the desktop using the iRiver manager software.)
Craig
Actually, this only seems like a smart move until you look at the other changes iRiver has made in this “upgrade.” Namely, the maximum MP3 recording quality for line/mic-in recordings has been lowered from 320Kbps to 96Kbps. If you’re using your iFP to record podcasts (as I am) then suddenly there is much less joy in Mudville.
Craig
Just to clarify; the iRiver series H100 and series H300 players have always been USB Mass Storage Devices.
Why they didn’t have USBMSD out of the box on the 700s is a bit of a mystery, but it’s good to see that they added support for it! I can certainly vouch for it being far more preferable than using proprietary software.