Help on choosing a HD MP3 player

[brain29]

So I'm looking to buy a mp3 player for school. I have had experience with the 3rd gen. iPods, and they have been decent. Although two of my friends have had to send them back in for repairs. I like the new 4G ones with the click-wheel and lower price. But I have also seen the new Zen by Creative. It looks nice and has a longer batt. life. However, I have read that the interface is pretty bad. I can get the 20gb iPod for 269 with a student discount. Anyone have experience with the new Zen? Which should I go for??

 

[zodder]

Have you checked out the Dells? They seem to be rated well and they aren't as expensive.

 

[Runner20]

Originally posted by: zodder
Have you checked out the Dells? They seem to be rated well and they aren't as expensive.

Yup, Dell's jukeboxes are nice although slightly bigger, but I would buy them. But if you got the money get the iPod

 

[tk149]

I believe that Creative actually builds the Dells. Note how similar the Touch and the DJ's are.

 

[brain29]

Yes creative does build the dells. In fact the Dell and the Creative Xen xtra are the exact same items with different controls and a different style.

 

[quikah]

Rio Karma has an excellent interface and can play back mp3 gaplessly.

 

[rainypickles]

consider the iriver ihp120 amazon ihp120

i have it, i like it. it is feature packed, but the interface is not as intuitive as the ipod. in my opinion, ipods are maded for people who want it to work with minimum hassle, the iriver is made for the power user. the interface is not "bad," it could be better though.

features i like: drag and drop onto the drive (functions as a portable hard drive), built in radio tuner, built in recorder.

features i dont like: that stupid button in front, line out volume is low.

i'm not saying the iriver is the best choice, but take a look at it.

btw, look at creative's warranty on the player. last i saw, their mp3 players had only a 90 day warranty.

EDIT: i hate making links, never work for me.

 

[brain29]

Anymore personal experiences? I can read all day about which is supposed to be better. And when I am done each one has as many good / bad reviews as the other.

 

[Wuzup101]

Put it this way... there's a reason the iPod has 35% of the total MP3 player market share. They are very nice machines. The new 4g iPods are very nice, are thinner by a mm than the 3gs and have 12hrs of batt life as opposed to 8hrs. I personally would go with the iPod but that's just me. Then again I do own a mac too...

 

[usernamemax20charact]

I've looked at the Dell, Zen, Karma, etc. and in the end I went with the iPod (3G). Why? Small size, easy to use navigation/interface, easy to use software, durability/reliability, and overall design. The new 4G iPods are nice. Though if you want to save some money take a look at Apple's refurbished 3G units. And you can't even tell the difference between a refurb and a new iPod. Apple makes them look like they were brand spankin new.

Right now you can get a 20GB refurb for $249, a 30Gb refurb for $279, and a 40GB refurb for $329 (what I paid for my 20GB unit 6 months ago :frown: )

 

[Munkies123]

ipods are generally smaller and they have games and cool stuff

 

[aolsuxs]

I am in the same boat as you are, I am slightly leaning towards the Zen touch, or maybe even the I-River since I am interested in some of the additional features and better bang for buck, if anyone has the touch and has any input that would be great.

 

[Devcon]

I just bought the IAudio M3L. It has all the features of the IRiver but with 35 hours battery life. I really wanted the extra battery power, so I went that route. It should arrive in a couple days, so I'll post impressions when the time comes.

 

[RaNDoMMAI]

Can you use an Ipod as an external HDD like the nomad zen xtra?

~RaNDoM