MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (Full Version)

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Sanity -> MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 7:47:43 PM)


What's the best bang for the buck? Which ones are duds? I have to buy an MP3 player as a birthday gift, this task has fallen on me for whatever reason - and I have little experience with them.

The one I'm looking for has to play videos and it has to have an FM tuner, and I'm thinkin' 8 GB would be about the right size...

Right now I'm leaning towards a Sansa Fuze. I had an 8 GB Ipod Nano in my hands earlier today, and I'd really like that kind of quality, but it lacks the FM Tuner that it absolutely has to have... and this is for someone who isn't extremely mature so I don't want to spend three hundred dollars on something that could get lost right away, or left out in the rain.

Still, though, I don't want to buy a piece of junk. So I'd like some opinions from those who may know - what is my best choice? Which models have a good selection of accessories to choose from, and have a good battery life, etc.

And where is the best online source to shop for them?








hopelessfool -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 7:49:45 PM)

try a zune... and look online for coupons or google zune discounts or best buy coupons radioshack coupons... youd be amazed at the deals you can get online




Sanity -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 8:18:48 PM)


I just looked it up and I can get a Zune in the color I like with 8 GB of memory delivered for right at $100.00, which is pretty good. It has an FM tuner, 24 hrs battery life, and it's made by Microsoft.

Seems like a nice little unit,. It also has a decent array of moderately priced accessories to go with it. FM transmitter, car charger, and so on.

I'm assuming you you have one - is its menu easy to use?  Is it a tough little unit?




MasterG2kTR -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 9:03:09 PM)

if you want it to play full length videos (i.e.: movies) you will want it to have 30-40 gigs of storage and for that you will want a Zune or (if they still have them) a Dell Zen. I bought a Zen for my daughter two years ago they are equal to the Zune but $50-$100 less




Danibelle -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 9:41:45 PM)

I've had a Zune for years now.  This is a Zune house.  They're great machines- easy to use, worth the money, lots of options... iPods are a hard limit here ;-)




peppermint -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 9:48:49 PM)

Gosh, i'm showing my age.  I wouldn't know what an MP3 player does or what to do with one if i had it.  




Sanity -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 9:49:12 PM)


Okay - so I'm leaning towards a Zune now.




ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 10:04:29 PM)

I've got a 4 G Sansa that I'm pretty happy with, but one of the reasons i like it is that it's very simple and very basic. I only use it to play tunes at the gym while I'm working out. The only thing I don't like about it is that "random shuffle" mode isn't really random - for some reason, it seems to play the songs in the same order every time. Kinda bugs me; I don't like when one song ends and the next tune starts playing in my mind before it even starts. I like to be surprised. Anyway, it seems like a rugged, well-made little unit, fairly easy to navigate, well worth the 50 bucks I paid for it. I know you'd be getting a better model than the one I have, but if mine is any indication, the brand seems reliable. 




Sanity -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 10:24:57 PM)

You should look into them, they're compact and they're easy to load music and other data onto. For example -  I have a brother who is kind of a nit-wit, he got hit by a car when he was three... who keeps asking me to burn CDs for him whenever he comes to visit, to take up to Alaska with him when he goes up there to work on the fishing boats.

And every year someone steals all of the CDs I spend hours burning for him. [sm=banghead.gif].

This year, I got him a nice little MP3 player instead, and he loved it, until he let someone borrow it, and it never came back. But at least it only takes a few minutes to load the damn thing, compared to hours burning CDs.

And he can put it in his pocket, the equivalent to, I don't know, almost a hundred CDs.

It's really the way to go, if you like portable music.

(This one isn't for my brother though, it's for someone else... someone very dear to me, who happens to like pink.)

Here's the Zune I'm considering now:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?oe=utf-8&q=pink+zune&cid=3528516529746238189&sa=title#ps-sellers

And here's the Sansa Fuze I was considering:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&safe=off&q=8+GB+sansa+fuze&cid=3783051632433609178&sa=title#ps-sellers




pahunkboy -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 10:46:46 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: peppermint

Gosh, i'm showing my age.  I wouldn't know what an MP3 player does or what to do with one if i had it.  


same here.   I think it is a walkman.




Sanity -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 11:01:36 PM)


Like a little tiny walkman, yeah. Some are practically the size of a credit card, and you can load tons of music onto them without ever needing a tape or a CD. 

You know, digitally - using flash memory, just like microwaves and remote controls and millions of other devices use to store various other data.

We got the technology from our friends, the aliens...  [;)]









mrmessyhair -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/25/2009 11:21:38 PM)

Creative's Zen is pretty good.  I'm Currently using Cowon's D2 model.  I love it, it has amazing battery life, something like 40 hours if I remember correctly.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16855228033    I have the 8 Gig version, not sure if they still make that, this is 16 gig.  It has an FM tuner and plays movies




pahunkboy -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/26/2009 5:02:50 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sanity


Like a little tiny walkman, yeah. Some are practically the size of a credit card, and you can load tons of music onto them without ever needing a tape or a CD. 

You know, digitally - using flash memory, just like microwaves and remote controls and millions of other devices use to store various other data.

We got the technology from our friends, the aliens...  [;)]



Both my home and car already have radios in them.  I still have a walkman....  If I am wanting to be entertained when say in a waiting room- the cell phone can hold 30 minutes of music.




windchymes -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/26/2009 6:40:54 AM)

I'm also a huge fan of the Creative Zen's.  I have a little 1G that actually went through the washer and dryer over a year ago, and it is still playing!  It was about $45, plus shipping, bought through Amazon.  And it does have really good battery life.  I get about 14-15 hours on one AAA battery.  Next time, I play to upgrade to one that comes with a charger.

What I found most helpful was reading the user comments in Amazon on the ones I was most interested in and averaging the results.  I found that many players have a bad reputation for the software being corrupted and the player freezing up, and many times, it's unrecoverable.  Even if it is recoverable, it's annoying, and sometimes you have to erase the memory and reload.  Back when I was looking, the Creative Zen was the only one that didn't have any negative comments, so I bought that one, and have been totally pleased ever since.

Creative Zen for me!

For what it's worth, I've not heard good things about the Zune's. 




pahunkboy -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/26/2009 6:50:34 AM)

well!

We must return to the basics.  Turn off that racket. 

We could have live entertainment.   Dutch clog dancers, and swiss yodelers.   Maybe a taborine, a harmonicA, heck- play spoons on the knee.






ThatDaveGuy69 -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/26/2009 6:56:55 AM)

Peppermint:
In a nutshell, an MP3 player plays music.

MP3 is a standard for compressing digital music.  Both Windows and Mac computers can "rip" music from a standard CD into files in the mp3 format.  These files can then be copied onto an mp3 player that you can take with you where ever.

It is also possible to do this sort of rip with video.  A player designed for videos will also have a display screen.  So you could, with the right software, create a version "Quantum of Solace" that can be viewed your mp3 player.

A player will typically come with "ear buds", tiny in-ear head phones so you can hear the music.  Other styles of head phone are readily available.

Some models come with built-in rechargable batteries while others use standard "AA" or "AAA" batteries.

Apple's iPod units are the market leader although they do not include an FM tuner.

~Dave




Sanity -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/26/2009 8:50:23 AM)

I just looked it up and it seems like an incredible little unit but there are practically no accessories on the market for it which, that's not a deal breaker but it would be nice.

Its screen is a comparatively large 2.5 inches, and it's got a lot of technology built into it, and it's 8 GBX-Fi  model can be had for a fairly good price...

Hmmm. 


quote:

ORIGINAL: mrmessyhair

Creative's Zen is pretty good.  I'm Currently using Cowon's D2 model.  I love it, it has amazing battery life, something like 40 hours if I remember correctly.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16855228033    I have the 8 Gig version, not sure if they still make that, this is 16 gig.  It has an FM tuner and plays movies





SteelofUtah -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/26/2009 9:01:46 AM)

I've had two Zens, Sadly I am somewhat Accident Prone and Tend to drop them or the get pulled off my clip.

If they are on and Playing and get Dropped they short out and then you get nothing.

Taking them apart will also reveal the Memory Card which cannot be used by your PC for some reason. My PC could not recognize either Memory Chips.

I now Buy INEXPENSIVE and LOW MEMORY 1 to 2 Gig only. Reason.... I spend a LOT of time at my Desk Top and make like 30 or 40 Play Lists and can upload two Playlists to a 1 to 2 Gig MP3 in about 10 mins while I shower up everything is Transfering and then the next day.... Two New Play Lists.

I find that 8 Gig (Which is what BOTH of my Cerative Zens were) is just too much Music. I was unable to listen to even half of the things I put on there .... and RANDOM in the Zen is a JOKE you end up with about 40 songs that repeat over and over and then ever 5th song you get a new one.

Also if you upload from Windows Media and you ever used the STAR system That info gets Transfered with in and those songs that have 4 or 5 stars will play more offten.

The Best Bang For your Buck you ask.....

Go to www.ecost.com and buy what is on sale and when it breaks or dies or stops living you buy a new one. The Last Two MP3 players were both less that $40.00 and cost 50 to 60 TOTAL to ship.

Enjoy.

Steel




windchymes -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/26/2009 9:47:40 AM)

Steel, you are absolutely right about the RANDOM mode.....that is one complaint that I do have about the Zen's, is that it repeats the songs.  In that mode, mine does a pretty good mix at first, and then about every 4th or 5th song, it plays one it already played before.  I thought maybe it was just because I have the cheapey 1G, but since it seems worse in your 8G's......sounds like a problem.  I use mine in whatever the mode is called that just plays everything in alphabetical order.  That way all the songs get play.  Or, if I do play in RANDOM mode, I just forward it ahead a few songs every now and then, and it starts a new shuffle.

I use mine at work a lot, too, and have dropped it many times.  I tend to forget it's sitting on the desk and I jump up to get something and......lol   I do keep a rubbery-plasticy casing around it, though, so it cushions the blow.

Still.....when you open the dryer with tears in your eyes, thinking it's a goner, then push the "On" button anyway, and music starts coming out, and it's still working a year later, it still makes me want to stick with the product! 




Sanity -> RE: MP3 Players, Options, Accessories (4/26/2009 9:53:53 AM)


Thank you Steel.

She had a little Coby that was cheap and tough but it didn't play videos, which her desire for music video capability is the main reason I'm thinking 8 Gigs. That  Coby she had lasted and lasted until it got lost, so I know there are some MP3 players out there that don't die the first time they get in a little accident.

I'd hate it if I paid $150 for it and it broke the first time it got dropped.

I want to bundle an FM transmitter with whatever I buy her so she can listen to it on the car stereo or even the home stereo, but unfortunately most FM transmitters are built into car chargers, and can't be readily used in the home.

But I'm still looking...




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