|
LIke andrewmel said, nobody knows whether iRiver has really stopped production of the H300 series. It is a possibility that iRiver could've reduced production numbers to focus on the H10 market but stopped production is a great exaggeration at this point.
Also, we do not know what iRiver has under their sleeve (or what kind of stupid plans) they have as iRiver has stopped their traditional "road maps" that previewed the upcoming new products for the year.
The thing with the M5/X5 is that it's essentially the same features if not improved as the H300. Basically they're a bit behind in terms of releases and so on. If the M5/X5 wasn't the same or better than the H300, that would be pretty sad as iAudio had more than a year to get things right. For now, it seems there isn't one single working model yet to show off, not even a rumored beta testing in Korea... it seems iAudio is planning to get a working model at CeBit though, so high hopes there. But I really hope that the H20/H40 DO NOT use the same chipset otherwise, yes, it woudl be the end of iRiver's greatness it has been enjoying over the past few years.
But you have to understand that it is only inevitable that growing companies drop their niche markets in an attempt to expand their company to other markets of potential, where basically iRiver is tryign to appeal to the mass market.
|