Good MP3 Player Under $100

[MDE]

My 8 year old cousin wants an MP3 player for his birthday, and we obviously don't want to spend a lot. Anyone know of a solid MP3 player in that range other than the default choice of the 512MB iPod Shuffle? Storage isn't a big concern, but durability definately is.

 

[Ika]

Durability-wise, it's tough to beat a shuffle. No screen means no LCD to damage.

 

[theslickvik]

you might want to check out the new zen V 1 gb. Its around $100 and its built like a brick. It looked pretty tough when i went to see it at Fry's.

Happy Searching
Cheers

link

 

[BlueWeasel]

The Creative Zen Nano Plus 1GB is a great buy for $70, but I don't know if it would meet your durability criteria.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
The Creative Zen Nano Plus 1GB is a great buy for $70, but I don't know if it would meet your durability criteria.

It looks like something I may consider, but I don't know about getting it for an 8 year old. Has anyone actually used one enough to comment on the interface and usability?

 

[BlueWeasel]

Originally posted by: MDE

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
The Creative Zen Nano Plus 1GB is a great buy for $70, but I don't know if it would meet your durability criteria.

It looks like something I may consider, but I don't know about getting it for an 8 year old. Has anyone actually used one enough to comment on the interface and usability?

I bought one for my Dad for Father's Day, and liked his so much I got one for myself. Basically, you've got a power button, a play/pause button, volume up/down, and the scroll wheel.

It's simple to figure out how to use, but the only drawback is switching between folders is kinda slow. You press the scroll wheel in and then rotate to move within the folder structure. The music in each folder will start playing and press it in again to make the directory current.

One plus is no software is needed. XP sees the player as a USB drive, and you can simply drag and drop songs to it in Windows Explorer.

I'd say it's probably not as durable as the Shuttle because of the LCD screen, but it's not a flimsy player. An adult with really large hands might find the scroll wheel hard to use, but a child shouldn't have any problems operating it.

 

[yosuke188]

iRiver T10. I've heard some good things about them.

 

[theslickvik]

Yea...for your budget I would definetly go for a ZEN. I dont think durability fits into an MP3's job description (the zen comes close)

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: theslickvik
Yea...for your budget I would definetly go for a ZEN. I dont think durability fits into an MP3's job description (the zen comes close)

Are you kidding me? My Zen sleek has been dropped on concrete (and I'm a tall person to drop things...long fall) a few times, and it still works great.

I've seen the Zen touch on sale for $100 (I think at Fry's)...not sure how well that would work with a younger kid though.

The Zen V would be a great choice too.