There’s a rumbling in the iRiver support forums, and depending on who you ask, it’s either the overblown groaning of a few dissatisfied customers, or the sound of thousands of unhappy users forsaking iRiver for the likes of Archos, Creative, and (lord help them), Apple. The issue is one of firmware, and a lack of updates for the H Series (specifically the iHP-100) line of hard disk players. In April, iRiver promised firmware fixes for the players, like on-the-fly file deletion and playlists, as well as a fixed shuffle mode and gapless playback. But then in May, the firmware was delayed, and since the original June release date for a second firmware release has come and gone, some users are getting very upset.
So is it mass exodus or just a touch of dissatisfaction? Despite claims of revolt, there’s nothing besides a few posts on a support forum to indicate that users are leaving in droves yet. But clearly, there is a breach in communication between iRiver and its customers — many of whom are even more worried that the recently released H-320 and H-340 players seem to use the same screwy firmware. If iRiver is lagging behind in firmware development, leaving loyal fans in the dark is the best way to turn what is likely minor dissention in the ranks into an all-out smear campaign.
Read – Open letter: Firmware Delays – Unacceptable [iRiver]
Related
iRiver H320 Reviewed [Gizmodo]
More iRiver PMP and PMC Details [Gizmodo]
https://gizmodo.com/iriver-h320-reviewed-16514
