iriver had one of the coolest looking booth at CES and really was the only manufacturer that showed anything new and compelling. Walking behind the tent like structure you entered an ultra white and extremely well lit display area. It was a ultra modern and I would have expected to see the iriver reps wearing white lab coats. Still they knew their stuff and were quick to answer any questions.

Over the last few years iriver has been more of an enigma in the US by only releasing a handful of their products to the store shelves, keeping many of the really cool and compelling products back in Asian countries. However, iriver PR and two of the reps told me that the US will likely see a lot of what was on display and they will be making more of an effort to sell in the United States.

Below I have a rundown of the various players, a quick and dirty booth tour, and a video demo of the Unit 2.

The first generation clix was a great player with a smooth and easy-to-use interface. The clix2 is different only in that it’s even better than its predecessor. The player is very customizable and offers many settings and features - enough to keep even the setting-tweakers happy. Among the plethora of features, the clix2 is very flexible and will lend itself well to any set up, whether Mac, Linux, or Windows.

Without a doubt, should check out the clix2 if you’re in the market for a flash player. Because iRiver doesn’t do much advertising, the clix2 is very underrated and under exposed, but read on for a closer look at the clix2.

Anybody who has been holding out in hope of the promise of an iriver clix2 with 8GB, your wait, although not yet over, hasn’t been in vain. The release date for Korea has recently been marked as July 11 by iriver, but news of a capacity increase for the remainder of the world is still nowhere in sight.

Before jealousy and impatience gets the better of us all, let me remind you that a product launch in Korea is a reasonable indication that your wait for the second generation iriver clix will before long come to a close. Besides, Rhapsody support may just make it all the more enjoyable for you.

[iriver (Korea)]

Some pleasant news for many Rhapsody subscribers has been released today, as iriver and Real have announced the launch of the clix Rhapsody. The partnership will integrate features which are exclusively compatible with Rhapsody services into the popular second generation clix, in much the same way as Sandisk’s Sansa 200R series of digital audio players.

The new model will automatically be updated with music from personalized Rhapsody channels each time it is connected to the service. Rhapsody components are then included in the device’s interface to allow the presentation of album art, editorial reviews, and the ability to rate songs, albums, and artists.

A 4GB version of the clix Rhapsody can already be purchased online for $190. Alternatively Rhapsody compatibility can be implemented on the clix2 by applying firmware from iriver’s website.

[Press Release via Engadget]

Last week, iriver Korea began an elaborate countdown of the days leading up to today's release of the clix2 everyone ogled at CES. The player is oddly just being called the "clix" over there. Aside from that, though, everything else is still the same: 2.2-inch AMOLED, better video playback, and of course that wafer-thin design.

Details on the 8GB model are suspiciously absent, but the 2GB and 4GB models are priced (too high) at about $170 and $213, respectively. The good news is that if you do spring for one of the players, iriver can already hook you up with a bunch of accessories.

[Product Page via dapreview]

We've been holding off on covering the slew of iriver DAPs appearing at CES in hopes for some hands-on time, but it seems we'll have to wait like everyone else for the official releases (most of which are unknown). That's okay, though, because from what we've seen and heard, most of the devices should definitely be worth the wait . . . assuming they'll be available in the U.S., of course.

In the meantime, let's take a quick look at everything the lovely folks at iriver have in store for us this year.