Quick Takes: ChromeX Rocks

Tom Mainelli

IRiver America dazzled us with its slick CD/MP3 player, the $180 IMP-350 SlimX, our 2002 World Class award winner for MP3 player. A new budget unit, the $99 IMP-150 ChromeX, despite being bulkier and less refined, retains all the SlimX's major features. An LCD permits you to navigate song lists once you master a tricky remote. And the firmware is upgradable. I'd rank my preproduction unit among the best MP3 players at this price.