MP3 Players - Know nothing

I am looking at getting an mp3 player, but with so many on the market it
is hard to know where to start. Have heard that the 5gb iriver is a
good buy, but is it any better than the ipod nano or creative zen 6gb,
which all seem to be around the same price. Am a complete novice in
this area please help.

 

I am looking at getting an mp3 player, but with so many on the market it is

Ok, firstly: How much music do you generally listen to? Not worth getting a
5gb player if you're only going to put 20-50 songs on it.

You may be better off 'trialling' a small, say 256mb, secondhand player from
eBay before buying a $400 player and not using it. Generally you can fit
around 50 tracks per 256mb.

For light usage, you may also find a simple 'previous/next song' interface
easier to use than an Ipod, which has playlists, track by artist, track by
genre, multi-level folder options etc.

Best to borrow one from a mate for a few days; and see how much usage you
would get out of one; to decide if it's your thing or not.

-mark

 

The ipods are great but there software is about as sucky as software gets.
You can't just drag and drop mp3s in windows explorer as you'd expect you
have to use the iTunes software. It doesn't support windows media files
which is a big disadvantage. Once the ipod is away from the PC and you are
using it it is excellent imo. The sound quality is good and it just feels
and works like a high quality product. I'm just using a shuffle as I think
the larger ones are too big.

Whatever you do, avoid the unknown brands, I've had a couple that were
completely worthless. One I took straight back and the other I got as a
freebee with another product, used it once and never again. The sound
quality was so bad I couldn't believe they'd ever sold a single unit (they
probably hadn't that's why they were giving them away). Stick with the known
brands like iRiver, creative and apple.

Michael

 

Hi Michael,

Check out Anapod Explorer http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/ .. it has
the drag and drop interface, and integrates into windows explorer. There is
a trial version but it is limited to tranferring one file at a time plus a
few other things.

I bought a mini iPod a year or more ago but hardly used it because iTunes
sucked so hard. Then a month ago i discovered using the anapod explorer and
i listen to the iPod every day

I think there are also free alternatives around - one interfaces with Winamp
but I haven't used it to comment.

Ross

 

Thanks Ross, I'll have a look, although it would be good just to use windows
explorer (not a plugin for windows explorer) like every other player on the
market.

I'm really suprised people say macs are any good, if they're anything like
iTunes....

Michael

 

Ipod Nano = nice compact size, but no FM radio, no FM radio record, no
voice record, battery cannot be replaced except by experienced technicians,
no mains charger supplied (must use USB cable), no case supplied.

Iriver = larger size, has FM radio, can record from FM radio, has voice
record, battery is removable just like a mobile phone, comes with mains
charger and is supplied with a case that has a belt clip.

Zen is much like the Iriver but doesn't come with a carry case, not sure if
it comes with the mains charger either.

My pick would be the Iriver. Nice, solid design and they don't try and rip
you off by excluding things like cases and mains chargers.

Mike

 

As someone else said, get yourself a small and cheap Flash based one
first to see if you actually use it. The device does not need to
support play lists etc as when you rip your CD collection to MP3 you
can automatically store them by artist, album or whatever and then
simply drag'n'drop to the flash drive.
I'd recommend the Creative NuVo FM as it plugs straight in like a USB
stick, no cables required. Runs from a single AAA. Doubles as a USB
stick too of course!
The MuVo is excellent for audio books at it automatically restarts
playing where it left off.

The flash based ones you can't beat the crap out of and use while doing
sports. The others (>2GB) are hard drive based and subject to shock
limits.

Yep, everything with the iPod is extra. Not getting a mains charger
sucks, non-replaceable battery sucks, can't play MP3 or WMA files (or
anything) without going through iTunes software sucks, no FM radio
sucks.
But it's trendy, sexy, works well when set up, and sounds quality is
excellent.

In my book the Zen would be the pick, it just "looks right" to me. One
model has a 24hour battery life at the expense of a bit more weight
(big deal), I'll take the extra battery life any day. Zen I think
claims to have the best SNR and sound quality.

In the end though, you can't go wrong with iPod, Creative or iRiver.

Dave