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Best MP3 player for under $200?

as long as it has the basic features of an mp3 player, extras are always nice, but its not a major concern. the capacity should be over 1gb.
 
The tradeoff is between size and capacity. $200 is the low end of the hard drive players. You can find 6GB or 20GB players, but they're big and heavy compared to a flash-based player.

The 2GB iPod Nano is a pretty good player for your budget. If you only need a basic 1GB player, there's a lot of decent models for under $100. The best deal right now looks like the 1GB Zen Nano for $90 at Amazon.
 
Originally posted by: dwcal
The tradeoff is between size and capacity. $200 is the low end of the hard drive players. You can find 6GB or 20GB players, but they're big and heavy compared to a flash-based player.

The 2GB iPod Nano is a pretty good player for your budget. If you only need a basic 1GB player, there's a lot of decent models for under $100. The best deal right now looks like the 1GB Zen Nano for $90 at Amazon.
Click to expand...

I would take that even further and say that the tradeoff is between size/durability and capacity. The flash-based mp3 players will be much more durable and better suited if you will use them in situations where they are prone to abuse like running/working out/ or any other outdoor physical activity. The hard drive models will get you much more storage for the money.

Personally, I'm using a 2GB Ipod Nano and am satisfied with the storage capacity. I can place several CD's worth of songs on it. I still have not filled it to capacity since I only listen in short bursts at a time: running, commuting to/from work, grocery shopping, etc...
 
I have an iPod Nano and love it. As long as you get a nice case for it, it is sweet because it does scratch pretty easily
 
MobiBlue DAH 1500(i). Super small (1 cubic inch...), supports a bunch of formats, cheap (come on, it's sold at Wal-Mart!!). or, if you want more of a cool factor, get the iRiver U10.
 
I bought the iaudio u2 a few weeks ago, and I'm glad I picked it over the ipod ripoff. It's the 1GB flash model, has more features, sound quality is very nice, no need for extra software, and it doesnt even have any scratches yet. It's also about as big and heavy as a pack of gum.
 
seriously think about an ipod nano. i hate apple, but ipods are real nice and no one ever says they hate the ipod. i have a mini myself, but my friends all have the nano and after figeting around with it i think it's great. itunes takes some getting used to because its one of those heavy handed i-do-everything-for-you-my-way programs, but it does it's job well. just mess around with it.
 
Originally posted by: makoto00
seriously think about an ipod nano. i hate apple, but ipods are real nice and no one ever says they hate the ipod. i have a mini myself, but my friends all have the nano and after figeting around with it i think it's great. itunes takes some getting used to because its one of those heavy handed i-do-everything-for-you-my-way programs, but it does it's job well. just mess around with it.
Click to expand...

Why do you hate Apple? The computer user interface as we know it might not have happened without Apple. They've done a lot to contribute to the furtherment of usability in the computer world even though their market share does not reflect it. Although I have not owned an Apple computer in nearly 10 years it puzzles me when people have this hatred of a corporation whose products they don't use, and in many cases have never used except fleetingly.

The knock on the iPods, and that's all iPods, is it's reliance on iTunes or another app to transfer music over to it. I find this annoying even though I have an iPod. There are alternatives such as ephpod and a plugin for Winamp that will allow you transfer music but still a hassle. They do have a very intuitive interface, arguably the best, for navigating through your songs once you get the songs onto the iPod. IMHO, best DAP interface.

I have used iRivers and own an iRiver iFP-999. It's an easy to use device once you get the hang of it though it's interface is not as good as the iPod's, it's serviceable. Excellent battery life on it and you can just drag and drop music onto it. I think most other DAP's will be similar to the iRivers in terms of general usage.

There's the question of storage which will also affect battery life. A hard drive based DAP will give you more storage but the battery life will suck compared to a flash based device due to the mini HD spinning.

If you're constantly changing songs nearly every day you might opt to skip out on the iPod and get a different DAP due to the ability to just drag and drop to copy over files and just deleting files as you would normally in Windows Explorer.

Don't let the geeks fool you with feature sets. The average person who buys a DAP will only listen to mp3's so that's basically the only format you need. Sure, it's great to be able to listen to ogg, wma, flac, etc but most people don't use those formats. You'll also hear someone rant about gapless playback, overrated feature. If it was that important, 80% of the DAP's sold now, which don't have gapless playback would get complaints. Does it play the audio format(s) you use? Then it doesn't matter what else it does play or doesn't play.

The other thing is fm playback. I find the lack of am radio worse than the lack of fm radio on the iPod. Most people also have such a large collection of mp3's that they don't need or want to listen to the radio. The only problem with the lack of fm reception is that I've heard some cities have places like train stations that transmit information over an fm radio band.

 
Originally posted by: akugami
If you're constantly changing songs nearly every day you might opt to skip out on the iPod and get a different DAP due to the ability to just drag and drop to copy over files and just deleting files as you would normally in Windows Explorer.
Click to expand...
Or get an iPod and still do that, just giving up the pretty colors in the interface, using the Apple firmware purely for automatically downloaded podcasts.
You'll also hear someone rant about gapless playback, overrated feature. If it was that important, 80% of the DAP's sold now, which don't have gapless playback would get complaints.
Click to expand...
They do get complaints. I bitch about it whenever I get the chance, and have sent word to the manufacturer of my DAP. It's sad that a CD player that can be had for under $10 will do something that an expensive DAP will not. I don't want to have a 40-70 minute MP3 for one album*, and separate tracks for another.

The sad thing? Unless others wise up, my next DAP will be an iPod, for exactly the reasons I don't like stock iPods.

It looks like Rockbox is the savior, not the manufacturers. Drag&drop, gapless playback, replaygain support, an actual EQ, a file-based browser, and the option to boot into the Apple firmware. You can have your cake and eat it, too.

I agree about FM, though. An AM tuner would rock; but FM is mostly pointless.

* currently five, on a 1GB player
 
I have a related question about the ipod nano. Can you use it like a USB flash drive, transferring other types of files?

Edit: spelling
 
Originally posted by: SViper
I have a related question about the ipod nano. Can you use it like a USB flash drive, transferring other types of files?

Edit: spelling
Click to expand...

You can use all iPods as if they were external or flash drives. I think the only ones that had any problems operating as a flash drive or external HD were the 1st gen ones.
 
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