Alternative to iPod?

[TheNiceGuy]

Hey all.
I only play music, and I use it mainly for excercise.
I was going to get a Nano, but the memory size is only 8GB, and it plays videos, which I don't need.
Is there some alternative? The iPod classic has good memory, but it also has a bunch of stuff I don't need and is a bit bulky/expensive.
Are there any reliable SD card type players? The cost of SD memory is so cheap, I could buy a few cards and swap them out as needed. I thought that would be a great design, if it had good firmware that allowed you to just dragndrop files without a software interface.
Ideas?

 

[gorcorps]

Most sandisk players sound right up your alley. They're pretty cheap with not a lot of bells as whistles, and they all have microSD slots. They're still solid mp3 players though.

 

[tdawg]

yeah, one of the e2xx series sound like they'd fit the bill. MicroSD slot right on the side and a very nice size.

 

[Deeko]

Well, most of them play video these days. The biggest competitors to the Nano are the Sansa and Zune - I've had good success with both. Sansa is probably cheaper and takes SD slots.

 

[Strk]

You can get a 16gb Nano. The Creative Zen X-Fi is also quite nice and goes up to 32gb. If you don't have an issue with HDD base, you could also go for the Zune. It's kind of big though, if you ask me.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

The Sandisk looks like a neat player, and appears to have all the functions I need. I'm just wondering about the quality (durability) compared to a Nano. I use the player a lot.
Also, if there are any "surprises" - such as driver issues with Vista 64, or unable to use 16GB SD expansion cards, etc.
My iPod mini has been great and very durable, after 4 years the battery is going, so I'm looking for a new player. The capacity was a bit small (4GB) and I was always worried that a drive would get tanked with all the jostling of excercise, but it was fine. I had a Rio cardtype before, and it just died after a few months of use, and the earjack was getting wonky.
Any ideas?

 

[Deeko]

I had an older Sansa e260 for years - its still going strong, I only just upgraded to something else because I wanted more functionality. Trust me...durability is the least of your worries, compared to the iPod. iPods aren't exactly known for their durability.

 

[destrekor]

I'm going to echo what many have already said.

If you are looking for a flash-based player, there is the flash Zune, but I wouldn't recommend it. A good player, but there is a better option. Of which is the Sandisk Sansa line.
I don't know if they specifically offer a 16gb model, haven't been following the new Sansas, but I still own my Sansa e260, which I love. The new Sansas I know have SDHC, so you can throw large micro-sd cards (like another 8gb) in the player and it'll work just fine. The Sansa players can be found be very cheap in comparison to other flash players, and are completely open, meaning they can be synced with any program, and operate perfectly in Explorer.
The Sansas are quite durable - I've never run into a single problem.

Now, if you want more storage space and don't mind a hard-drive based player, the Zune 80gb and 120gb are excellent players, great body and again quite durable for being a hard-drive player. My Zune 30gb is still going after I dunno how many drops, but I recently upgraded to the 120gb so I could have more space, and they feel better (and have better sound) - thinner, in generally just feel a LOT less bulky. The 30gb was a monster brick but a great player.

But yeah, I'd advise a flash-player for you, especially if you are looking for a lack of bells and whistles (although the Sansas can play video, it's basically just something all players have these days). If you feel a need for a lot of storage space, go for a hard-drive based player, but yeah I wouldn't go running with one. While you can, both the extra bulk and just the idea of jogging with a player with moving parts inside sounds like a bad mix - although apparently they can handle it just fine. But the Sansas come in some very small varieties, and are excellent players.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Are all the Sandisk players compatible with Vista64? I know thw Apple nano is for sure. But Ive been shocked since upgrade, becasue of so many periferals I had to replace, such as my SD card reader.