how to select a MP3 player?

[silverwhisper]

my wife has elected to buy me a MP3 player. as a commuter, it would be nice to have. i'm considering going w/ the creative zen micro, based on the PC magazine review but i see that's kinda dated. i'll be syncing it up to windows machines, most likely my work laptop (dell p4 running win XP office) as that machine supports USB2 and my home PC (dell desktop p2 400 running win98 original--yeah, yeah, yeah, i'm planning an upgrade come x-mas) does not.

i've heard ipods have trouble working w/ windows boxes. true/false?

ed

 

[bisexplicit]

Go with whatever offers it in pretty colors. *nods* Thats how I make all my important decisions.

 

[silverwhisper]

(i've been developing a fondness for john woo's earlier work.)

the lighting falls across the room at a rakish angle, cutting the room into so many slivers of black, white and a thousand shades of gray.

silverwhisper's back is turned, but he turns slowly to gaze at bi across his shoulder. the fingers of his right hand tense for a moment.

a small flock of doves flies across the scene, the lighting multipling their numbers in the confusion.

there is a muffled sound, and when the doves are gone, silverwhisper leaps at bi, a trout in each hand, and delivers a pair of resounding trout-smacks.

the fluttering of dove's wings can be heard in the distance.



ed

 

[bisexplicit]

hahahahahahahaha.

Brilliant.

 

[silverwhisper]

well, i got tired of just typing [trout-smack] so i thought i should mix it up a bit...of course, if i keep this sort of thing up, i'm gonna have to start adding references to woo-ping yuen and his fight team.

anyway: so how does one select a MP3 player? i'm on a bit of a budget, which i think rules out ipods. anyone? can someone give me a pro/con breakdown on hard drive/flash style players?

ed

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

 

[Ravin the Poet]

The creative players are solid. I have the Muvo one and it works like a dream. Somethings you want to look for when buying one.

Memory - You don't need the huge 1gig, because really, no one needs that much music. I have 526megs and I have hours of music on it. You will never get through it all. Look to spend about 50-100 dollars more when you move up in memory.

Size - I prefer the smaller ones. Apples IPod is huge compared to mine, of course mine doesn't have games and net. But I always think the best when buying an MP3 is smaller. One is about the size of a small beeper, which I can clip onto my belt/pants. Perfect for working out, or storing when walking around.

Color - Yes here you go. They do come in colors, the only difference is visability. They are small, and if it stands out when lost, you can find it faster.

Headphones - Most come with the ear headphones designed for the MP3 player. Mine are working great, even though the ends did come off. Depending on what your using it for, the headphones that come with it, should do fine.

Cords - The less cords and wires the better. You want one that goes into the USB and is a simple Click and drag in the software. Anything else is a waste of time.

Ravin

 

[silverwhisper]

scalywag:

hm...that quarter gig doesn't sound like enough storage. i want more than a few albums running around.

ravin:

thanks, those are all useful pointers. good to get a positive review of the creative hardware, thanks!

ed

 

[Guest]

 

[Lust Engine]

I know you're on a budget but for the simplicity of use and all around functionality, try to save up for an iPod. Get the FM broadcasting unit for it and before you know it, you can also use it for home (broadcast it to your FM reciver) and in your car. It just holds plenty more songs and the ease of use with the controller is amazing. It can also be used as a portable drive so if you want to, try writing it off as a business expense as well.

There's a reason it reigns over the player market and it's not just the marketing of this thing either.

Toss in podcasting and it's a hands down winner in my book.

 

[Pyro Paul]

you got 2 choices in the matter (in my oppinion) either you buy an Xbox, hack the system and turn it into a usable computer then download the roms for flash playing into it,rig it up as a backpack and boom, instant stylish mp3 player/boombox/super computer.

or, get a PSP hack that system and download a rom that Turns It into a free MP3 player/dvd player/ipod/handheld gamer. its sleek stylish and small.

other than that, pfft, there are those measly mp3 players they sell at stores that already play mp3s, but what fun is that?!

 

[wrant]

Hi Silverwhisper,

I don't know a lot about these things, but I can tell you about mine.

I have a SanDish 256Mb Digital audio player. It was on sale at Best Buy for $60, and since I had more than that in Best Buy certificates (I spend WAY too much money there) if fit my budget. I use it mostly while I exercise, so it was nice that it came with an armband. It takes MP3 and WMA files. the manual says it can hold up to 120 MP3 or WMA (128kbps) songs or up to 120 WMA (64kbps) songs. I have it full with 107 WMA(64kbps) right now. 64 kbps is supposed to be similar to FM radio quality, so for me that was the trade-off to get more songs on it. As soon as I figure out what I did with the cable, i'll hook it up and see how many hours of music is on it. They say up to 8 hours at the bitrate i'm using, but I think I have more like about 6

It came with a cable to connect to a USB port; hook it up and I can sync it with a playlist, set up music folders, add/delete individual songs. It came with software, but I have just used media player to add/delete songs. Will not take iTunes songs unless you convert them first. Also has an FM tuner built in.....but I haven't used that yet. Uses 1 AAA battery, get about 15 hours of run time. Has a fairly user friendly LCD screen.

My daughter has an iPod Shuffle 512Mb ($99) Don't know much about it but I'll tell you what I know. Does not have a screen, however there are apparently ways you can select what you want to hear. Takes music in iTunes format only, you'll need to convert to it. Unit hooks up directly to a USB port, and internal battery recharges at same time. Came with earphones, CD and manual but not toher accessories. Additional accessories are expensive.

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

Just as clarification, the last time I checked my iPod would play Mp3's as well as AAC's. So iTunes format only is inaccurate.

 

[Guest]

 

[wrant]

I stand corrected. I went and checked her manual, and it says it will accept AAC, MP3, WAV, and AA (spoken word) formats. Thanks for pointing that out.

No problem. Thanks for taking the correction so gracefully. Seems a lot of people don't...lol

 

[trout, kilgore]

First thing you need to do is decide on what you need.

The short version:

If you want long battery life and don't mind limited space for your music - get a flash based mp3 player.

If you want Lots of space for carrying around more than just music and don't mind spending a lot of time (relatively) charging it - get a hard drive based mp3 player.

The long incoherant version:

If you're only going to use it for music, and mainly only for commuting I think a flash based player would be ideal. They come in sizes up to 1 gig, and don't use up a lot of power (not that it matters since you'll probably want a car adapter anyway)

The only downside is that while 1gig sounds like a lot at first, but it will fill up - and once it does it won't be long before you're sick of those songs and are ready for a refill. If refilling on a monthly basis isn't a big deal for you then it doesn't matter. (I'm a mutant freak and like to have 70% of my music/audiobook collection with me all the time - so no matter what I'm craving I can listen to it)

There is one major advantage (for some people) to having a hard drive based player. Size - they are huge - and most all of them can be used as external hard drives. I can carry all of my work and school projects (some of which are very large files) in addition to a ton of music anywhere I go. Super handy. (for me - maybe not for you).

The big downside is battery power - spinning a hard drive uses a lot more energy than reading a flash drive. But this may or may not be an issue - if you are using your car adapter.

I own an older ipod (15gig) and it works flawlessly with windows and macs (I use both for work). A friend of mine has a Creative Zen Jukebox (hard drive based), and he loves it (although I can't personally reccomend it since I've never used one)

Another friend has one of the flash based iPods (shuffle) and loves it too.

The only thing I can suggest if you're getting a flash based player is don't get one that's smaller than 512megs - and shoot for 1gig. They're not too much more - and you'll be glad you have the extra space.

 

[silverwhisper]

lust engine: thanks!

kilgore: much obliged. that was the impression i was getting from the limited research i've done to date. thanks particularly for letting me know that the stories i heard re: ipods/win are not universally true.

more to ponder, i see.

thanks, everyone!

ed

 

[Guest]

 

[silverwhisper]

but of course! :>

ed

 

[naughtygirl69s]

I recently bought a zen micro, I really like it...I spent an ENTIRE day researching and trying to figure out what I wanted. I ruled out IPods right away. I came out with about a zillion sites comparing different ones and providing info.

here's a couple I found useful

http://www.epinions.com/Creative_La.../display_~latest_prices?zip=66221&x=5&y=8#wtb
http://www2.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?ref=dealtime&sku=CLZNMCROS


From what I read the hard-drive players are better. HOld more, have more options, etc.

It really was a hard decision, because everyone's opinion was different based on the features they thought were important.

i wanted an FM tuner, I wanted something to hold A LOT of music, I dont want to have to deal with upgrades later. I knew I didn't need 20gigs, but I got the 5gig one. It will hold about 2500 songs, more than Ill probably EVER need.

Anyway, good luck!

I paid $299 for mine at best buy