Haier America ibiza Rhapsody 30 GB Media Player - Features
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Features
Built-in Wi-Fi
This is a feature that is becoming increasingly popular among high-end MP3 players. The ibiza Rhapsody supports 802.11b/g Wi-Fi networks for connecting to the Internet wirelessly. This player has a useful feature that saves various Wi-Fi networks, along with the access passwords, for easy access to the networks in the future.
The ibiza comes out of the box with a free 30 day subscription to Rhapsody for unlimited music downloads. You have the ability to access Rhapsody via Wi-Fi, and you can then download music directly to the player, essentially eliminating the need to use a computer to put music into the MP3 player. To continue the Rhapsody subscription it will cost about $15 per month, which is a fair price for unlimited music downloads that come with album art and descriptions.
The ibiza also has the ability to surf the Internet via Wi-Fi using the Minimo Internet browser. The Internet capabilities of this player are limited, as you might expect, but it's still useful for checking web mail, stock quotes, weather, and more. The ibiza will automatically bookmark websites that you visit so that they are easier to find next time. This is useful because there is no keyboard for typing, so it can be time-consuming to "type" a few words into the search box.
Bluetooth 2.0
Integrated Bluetooth 2.0 allows you to wirelessly transmit files to other media devices and use wireless headphones. The Bluetooth feature is able to work simultaneously with the Wi-Fi feature to stream music from the Internet and play it on a Bluetooth-enabled speaker system. In tests, this feature showed a range of about 30-40 feet. Not bad.
AOL Video Service and Rhapsody to Go
The ibiza works with AOL video to provide streaming videos to the player via Wi-Fi. This is a service much like YouTube; it provides an easy way to access video through the ibiza interface. The one downfall of these videos is that they can't be downloaded to the player. They can only be viewed where Wi-Fi is available. This player will download movies from other sources though.
I've already mentioned Rhapsody on the Go, which is a service that provides the ibiza with unlimited downloads along with album art and other goodies. This service is well worth the $15 per month cost, and it should be strongly considered when purchasing this device.
Podcasts
Much like the new 80 GB Zune, the ibiza Rhapsody supports a wide variety of podcasts. What's great about this player is that it will automatically upload the latest podcasts that you are subscribed to via Wi-Fi. The ibiza already has a few hundred podcasts listed in the player's directory and you can add any podcast you'd like. Subscribing to a podcast is just a matter of clicking on the one that you want. The only downfall of the podcast feature is the lack of support for video podcasts, but this issue may be addressed in future firmware updates - stay tuned.
FM Radio
Some MP3 players overlook this feature, but I think that most people are looking for it. The ibiza has a simple FM radio with a radio broadcast data system (RBDS) for displaying the station's information. This player allows you to bookmark your favorite stations.
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