I have a 40-gigabyte iRiver H140 MP3 player more or less grafted to my hip. It's currently loaded with 6,853 songs — nearly three continuous weeks' worth of punk, funk, disco, chamber music, emo, Disney soundtracks, voice clips from Orson Welles movies and stuff that's just too weird to describe. I have a file of Las Vegas songs ready for last-minute trips to Sin City, a mix of calming anime themes to help me wind down after a long day and Phantom Planet's "California," on the off chance that I'm kidnapped and forcibly taken to "The O.C."

iRiver H340

Any iPod owner should understand what I just said, except for the "iRiver" part. You heard me right — I bought an MP3 player that's not an iPod. It wasn't an easy decision, to be sure. I had already purchased an iPod for my girlfriend and I consulted Apple's iPod Web page right up to the minute I bought another company's player last May. The iPod just couldn't deliver the features I knew I'd need, and for the price (thanks to online discounts, iRiver's player was appreciably cheaper than the comparable iPod), it was pretty much a no-brainer.

(Note: Both companies have since discontinued production on the models I purchased. Apple is now producing a fourth generation of iPod, and iRiver has replaced the H100 series with the H300 series. The basic functionality of both units remains largely the same, however.)

WHAT'S DIFFERENT

The iRiver can do things the iPod will not do; it can record MP3 and WAV files, either through its built-in mic, external clip-on mic or with an optical patch cord that plugs into most any audio equipment. (Both the external mic and the recording cable are included with the unit.) It has an FM radio tuner and even comes with a free remote that allows me to hide the player in my bag on rainy days.

While iRiver doesn't have Apple's stature as a company — a Salon.com writer recently called the iPod "bigger than Jesus" — it does know how to make a solid digital jukebox. I'm amazed that the company hasn't made a bigger splash because iRiver is producing a more useful product at a lower price. The 40 GB iRiver H340 is a powerful little bugger that takes all the best features of its predecessor — the built-in recorder, the FM tuner — and adds a color screen and the ability to store and show JPGs.

Its list price of $429 puts it well below Apple's only comparable product, the $499 40 GB iPod Photo — which still has no FM tuner or recording function. And iRiver seems to be more flexible with its pricing: According to my most recent look at tech review site CNET.com, you can get the H340 for as low as $370 from some online retailers, while the lowest price for the 40 GB iPod Photo is still a relatively hefty $441.

However, I can't deny my own eyes, and if looks matter to you, iRiver's awkward, boxy look couldn't be more different from Apple's sleek, sexy design aesthetic. The iPod is a thing of beauty — "the engraved cigarette case of this generation," said a friend of mine recently. In fact, if you order your iPod online, you can get it engraved. The iPod is an art object, while iRiver's H340 is merely a handsome machine.

WHY TO BUY

APPLE COMPUTER, INC.

Apple iPod

If you haven't made up your mind on the iPod — and if you've gotten this far, you probably haven't, because Apple does inspire fierce brand loyalty — let me give you the three best reasons why you should give iRiver your money:

1. Price. To put this in perspective: Apple's candy-colored, 5 GB iPod Mini — available today at the Apple Store in University Village — has room for a thousand songs. However, at $249, you'd do just as well to get a regular 20 GB iPod for $50 more, and have room for 5,000 songs — or the $299 iRiver H320 player, which has the same storage capacity plus a color screen and the ability to view JPGs plus the FM tuner plus the recording function. Apple doesn't offer an iPod Photo for less than $500, and it doesn't offer the latter features at all.
2. Plug-and-play. Unlike Apple — whose iTunes software must be installed on your computer in order for you to upload songs to your player — the iRiver players can plug into pretty much any computer, no software needed. It appears on the desktop simply as an external disc drive.
3. Recording. I'm sorry that I keep coming back to this, but wouldn't you like to go to a friend's house, hear a song that you like, and leave with it on your player? How about transforming all those sentimental mix tapes into MP3s? The iRiver can do those things with the push of a single button.

Unfortunately for Washington residents, the iRiver seems to be available online only (check CNET.com for the lowest prices), which is what happens when one company grabs more than 90 percent of market share. I can't deny that iPods are a phenomenon, but that hardly means they're the best thing that will ever happen to your senses. Even if iRiver's players aren't as striking to the eye, they're just as good and better to your ears. That's where the end product of any MP3 player is supposed to go, anyway.