Looks like the iriver Spinn is the hippest template for shameless plagiarism these days. Not one but two devices, a camera and a PMP, have popped up with obvious “inspiration” from iriver’s ’70s-influenced baby.
iRiver’s Spinn is certainly beautiful on the outside, but inside its software left a little lacking. A version 2.0 software update is available now which addresses a few of our gripes.
We’ve heard plenty about the iRiver Spinn PMP since it appeared at CES 2008, but now it’s finally available for purchase in US markets. The 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen MP4 player with Bluetooth 2.0 support and roto-dial UI navigation will retail at $US250 for the 4 GB player and $US290 for the 8 GB player. It’s available for directly order over at iRiver.
iRiver’s beautifully designed Spinn we handled in Berlin (that giant analogue knob, mmm) now has official details on U.S. availability: $US250 for 4GB and $US280 for 8GB, with pre-orders taken now to be shipped on October 3. We’d love to see a little more storage at that price, but it’s a great-looking player with a nice 16:9 AMOLED touchscreen, FM tuner, DMB mobile TV (if you’re in Korea), a 1970s hi-fi inspired case and interface as well as support for all the expected video and audio formats. [iRiver]
newVideoPlayer("/spinn_gizmodo.flv", 520, 410,""); I love the new analogue controller in the iRiver Spinn as much as I love its simple brushed aluminium design, the old radio-inspired user interface, and the whole packaging. While I’m still partial to direct touch interfaces–which the Spinn has as well, although it’s not multitouch–the Spinn rolling thingie feels great, giving it a heavenly 70s analogue feeling.
The guys over at Crave UK got their hands on the new iRiver Spinn PMP, and although they have not conducted a full review yet, their initial impressions were positive. They love the 3.2-inch AMOLED screen saying that “Images are stunning; videos are smooth and sharp.” They also found the sound quality to be superb and the menus to be effective–although it may be a little too touch sensitive and the scroll wheel can be awkward at times. As far as PMPs go, the Spinn is pretty feature rich (and it is pretty damn good looking to boot). Let’s hope that the love-in continues when the final verdict is handed down . [Crave]
