Before You Buy...an MP3 Player
August 10, 2008 — Jay Cormier
So you want to buy an MP3 player? Normally you’d have two questions ahead of you:
- Do you want the Shuffle, Nano, Classic or Touch? and
- What colour would you like?
Many people believe iPod and MP3 Player are synonymous, but there are many other MP3 manufacturers out there that have some interesting features that you should be aware of before picking up your next MP3 Player. This is not to knock the market leader, the iPod, but let’s just keep all our options open. Here are some cool new features in some MP3 players that are available today:
- Bluetooth – imagine no wires between your ears and the MP3 player in your pocket/purse/backpack. That would certainly make exercising less annoying (you know, if you needed an excuse to buy a new MP3 Player!)
- Wi-fi – while you’re in range of your wi-fi signal you can stream media (music, videos, photos) from your computer right to your MP3 player. That can be cool if you like to listen to your music in a room other than the room with your computer.
- Memory Expansion Slot – to save money you decide to buy an MP3 player with a small amount of storage. After many months you realize that you are starting to run out of space. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just insert a memory card and increase the storage capacity of your MP3 player? Players with an expansion slot can do this!
- Sync with Outlook contacts and calendar – When you’re on the go and you need access to a phone number or an address from your schedule, it can be quite handy to just check your MP3 player for this vital information.
- Built-in speakers – not many have this feature but this makes it an all in one device for playing your music privately or publicly. If it has Bluetooth capabilities then you can turn this into a speakerphone with your Bluetooth enabled cell phone.
- Sharing music – with Microsoft’s Zune you can actually share a song with other Zune users in the middle of the street! Your friend can listen to their new song up to three times before they’re given the option to go online and buy it.
- Large screen – if you plan on watching videos on your MP3 Player then one with a bigger screen would be nice (though be aware that it drains your battery even faster!)
None of this is meant to take away from the awesomeness of the iPod of course, but it’s always good to know everything you can…before you buy.
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Comments
Bluetooth
...would make my life complete. Be looking forward to that upgrade on the iPod series. As a dedicated Mac user, I can't escape their clutches! WiFi for streaming from my server and Sharing would be nice as well, but I'm so isolated from people who like the same music that it'd be rarely used. But Bluetooth headphones would just complete the package for me. Good article. Renews my interest in an older piece of gear. Whenever you have time, do an article on Home Theatres in a Box (HTIB) or A/V receivers. That's my next big purchase! Thanks in advance!
IPod Touch
I bought the Ipod Touch, I would have purchased the Iphone, but I can't afford the $60 a month charge.
I enjoy the wi-fi on it, but I would have really like to have had a bluetooth option. I have a great bluetooth headset that I use with my laptop that would have been nice to use with the touch.
I stream my music and videos from my laptop to my Touch and also the Wii using TVersity, would be a great subject for the TV Show.
iPod's are okay, but you can get better.
I find that alot of the other MP3 I looked at have more features than the iPod series. I think the iPods have the easy use for them, where other use third-party download software.
different between ipod and mp3
I'm planning to buy ipod but i kindnna confuse. will you tell me the best that i can buy in ther near future. thank
iPod vs. others
iPods, as we know, are the market leaders - and that's not just because they have cool ads. Their product is simple to use and sleek looking. iTunes is also the number one music player which obviously integrates seemlessly with the iPod.
This article points out some of the differences that you might get in a non-iPod solution. If any of those features interest you then you might want to look at an MP3 player other than an iPod.
Good luck in your search!
wow
wow
Multi-function device.
I prefer to get multifunction devices rather than just an mp3 player
I have a Sony Ericsson w300i:
all rolled into one, it's a;
> cell phone
> camera {picture & video} (not the best quality but it works in a pinch)
> mp3 player
> web browser, email, sms text, etc. (when set up to do so)
it's really a mini computer
I believe it has WinCE installed,
it sure acts like it has some form of Win OS because I can access directly on the phone
a C:\ and a D:\ one is the chip built into the phone and the other is the 512MB micro SD
-_-
►RD◄
Cool. So how do you find
Cool. So how do you find the battery life? I am worried about using my cell phone as an mp3 player or video player for fear that I won't have enough juice when I need to use my phone! I'm not concerned about carrying around a few products to get more battery life though.
MP3 - Coby
<p>Hi: I have a Coby 2GB MP3/MP4 player, however, it says "unknown format" when I try to play music on it. I can plug it into my computer and it will play through the computer, no problem. I have tried resetting it and reloading music; I have tried loading it with Windows media player, and also ITunes. All the files(audio) are listed as WMA format. Its a great little touch control player, when it works. Any ideas, please?</p><p>Cheers: Rod</p>
MP3 - Coby
Good Day,
I remember reading somewhere that the music for this type of player had to be converted before it would be recognized by the device. I would recommend reviewing the documentation that came with the unit to see if this is the case.
Fraser
sony lover
Sony product is the best in quality!
I like sony and samsung but
I like sony and samsung but if you talk about ipod I will go for Apple. Yes philips mp3 players are my favorite too.
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mp3 + camera
How do you think about Mp3 which contains camera. Is it lasting or not?
mp3 + camera
Good Day,
I have not seen this yet. Can you provide a make and model so I can look into it further?
Fraser
iPod
I really want to buy myself an iPhone but here in India it's price steeply at over $700 for the basic model. You I have better option with that kind of money. Let me explain, in the US the iPhone is less than $400 dollar with subscription and I would shell out almost double. With that kind of money I can buy a replica Rolex
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The brand itself doesn't
The brand itself doesn't mean much for me, but Apple really produces the best players in the world
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Yeah Apple really produces
Yeah Apple really produces some great stuff. Just look at their Ipod touch and Iphone, great devices for music playing.
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Sony Eriksson
I think the sound quality provided by Sony is the best. Of course the music players from Bose Corporation are the ultimately but I'm not sure if the company makes MP3 players.
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MP3 Player
There are many MP3 players in the market,but i like the Ipod,because it has high quality,so i trust this brand.In 2006,i bought an ipod nano,i still use it today,and the sound quality is perfect.
http://www.ok-replica.com
HP
I was a owner of HP 6515 and I believe that the future is to devices combining all in one - phone, ipd, mpr player and even personal computer device. The problem is that such kind of devices are too complicated for present technologies and they have many defects. So was with mine. I still waiting for trusty devide combining all functions. There are some dealers in Cyprus now where you can find chineese devices for less than 300EUR!!
http://www.cypruspropertyventure.co.uk/
ipod
iPods are the market leaders, ipods are simple to use and sleek looking. I bought an ipod player three years ago, and it is still in good condition today.
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iphone
I love the Apple products, i really want to buy an iphone, but it is sold at a high price. I love iphone because it combines three devices , a mobile phone, a ipod, and a breakthrough internet device, so it is unnecessary for me to buy another ipod player.
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I'm not concerned about
<p>I'm not concerned about carrying around a few products to get more battery life though.</p>
<br />
Great tips
Nice tips. Really great. I appreciate it very much. Well, and I've just bought MP3. Of course it doesn't have a lot of things you mentioned here. Well, I just didn't know about all of it. Well, I surfed the Internet before buying but I concentrated my attention at the brand. I've found a nice research about the IT producers at the pdf search engine http://pdf.rapid4me.com . Of course Apple is ahead, but his competitives have also a lot of advantages. I believe you also have to learn much about its quality.
The brand itself doesn't
The brand itself doesn't mean much for me, but Apple really produces the best players in the world
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Sounds good
Reallylove the Apple products, i really want to buy an iphone, but it is sold at a high price. I love iphone because it combines three devices , a mobile phone, a ipod, and a breakthrough internet device, so it is unnecessary for me to buy another ipod player.
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iPod is not the only player
iPod is not the only player in the world, like iPhone is not the only phone. It's just a great marketing. I agree with Jay - you should know the alternatives
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