iRiver X20: Distinctly affordable

Should you not be content with the MP3 offerings on the market today, iRiver has unleashed its brand-new X20 digital media player and hopes to satisfy your needs at a low, low price. It's a flash-based player that comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities and plays video as well as music -- and the 4GB version is only £99.

The X20 has been touted -- by a public-relations person, no less -- as "revolutionary", so we're very keen to get one to try out ourselves. On face value though, this new player appears distinctly average. It's got a 56mm (2.2-inch) screen for watching your favourite music videos on, a microSD card for memory expansion, support for OGG-format music (which nobody really uses) and 22 hours of battery life.

We're not overly excited about these features on their lonesome -- the only thing remotely revolutionary is that the 4GB player is under £100. This makes it £30 less than the iPod nano and gives you a few more features to boot.

Crave is in two minds about the X20. On one hand it seems like a very mediocre player with nothing particularly exciting about it -- there are no new features to be impressed by. There's still a big market for non-iPod players, however, and this is a model that'll churn out WMV video for the same price as the super-sleek, video-lacking Samsung YP-K3. Can it thrill us in person more than it does on paper? We'll bring you a full review in two shakes. -NL

Update: We now have a full review of the iRiver X20 live in our Reviews channel.

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