Mp3 Players

[pirred908]

I'm looking for the best mp3 player I can purchase for under $300, anything over that price range and I might as well get an iPod which is the best of the best, or maybe thats just what I've been brainwashed into thinking? I'm looking for an mp3 player that can handle alot of abuse. I'll only be using it for working out (i.e. jogging, cycling, jump-rope, etc.) Thank you.

 

[amdguy]

Creatize ZEN touch will be your best buddy

the IPOD gets scratced waayyyy tooo easily and it looks childish

 

[Gusty987]

iRiver's are always good

 

[BespinReactorShaft]

If you really only use it for sports or other rugged activities, I'd say forget hard drive based players and go for solid state (Flash mem) players like those from iRiver. Compact with zero moving parts. Downside is that you don't normally get gigabytes of storage on those devices.

 

[Gibson12345]

You can score an iPod Mini for $230 if you're a student, $250 if you're not. But don't pretend you're a student if you're not. No. Definately don't do that. It would be bad. Bad, bad, bad. ^^

 

[golgotha]

I have an iRiver: iFP-195 which has 512mb of memory bought for $249.00 on Newegg.com about 6 months ago..

I bought this model because it met specific requirements I was looking for in an mp3 player:

1)Flash memory vs. Microdrive
I needed a device that would not skip or break during physical activity such as walking/jogging/jumping etc.
i.e. I needed solid state flash memory and not a hard drive.

2)AA battery vs. Rechargeable
When my battery dies I can't stop using the device to plug it into the wall for several hours of charging.
I wanted the flexibility to switch out batteries immediately.
1 Duracell AA lasts about 15-20 hours of continuous play.
Using rechargeable AA's sweetens the deal.

3)Size
The device had to be concealable, so that I can use it at work without my boss noticing.
The iRiver fits in my pocket. It also comes with an armband, belt case, AND necklace.

4)Memory Size
Storage space is the sacrifice of choosing flash memory. Microdrives offer 1-20GB! of storage. Flash players are paltry in comparison. With 512mb on my player I can store about 3-5 full albums, or 1 entire audiobook (~40 mp3 files @45 min. ea.)
However, I use my player on a 12 hour night shift with an earbud in my left ear, and I rarely play my entire memory (depends on the encoding of the mp3). Even if I did run out of playback, the iRiver i195 comes with a built-in radio receiver, which works very well. In fact, I listen to the radio for the first hour of my shift (murder mystery theater, )
If you don't mind replacing your playlist every day, then 512mb is just enough space to be useful.

The newer iRiver products, the 500, 700 and 800 series flash players, come with up to 1GB of storage. The IFP799T 1GB is a significant upgrade of the iFP-195. Most notably it has double the memory and can be used as a USB drive to transfer files, which the i195 can only do only after much difficulty. It costs $355.55 from newegg.com, and would be my choice if I were buying today.

You simply need to decide how you want to use your mp3 player, and buy based on that decision.

::edited for grammar::

 

[SickBeast]

Wow. These forums are full of iPod bashers. I'll bet none of them have even used an iPod for more than 5 minutes.

In case you haven't guessed by now, I'm going to reccomend the 15GB iPod for $299 minus a 15% student discount if that applies to you. That brings it down to $249.15, making it a better buy than the iRiver IMO. As for Dell and Creative, well, the Dell won't cost much less, plus it's bigger and it lacks the iPod interface. Ditto for Creative, unless they pulled a rabbit out of their hat with the touch. I can't see a vertical line for a touch pad being as intuitive as the circular scroll wheel of the iPod. I haven't heard the best things about Creative's reliability and warranty service either.

 

[3LEMENT0]

first what do you need it for? How long will you be using it daily?

For Jogging, workouts (usually last 30 min to 2 hrs at most) get those smaller ones that use flash mem. around 64-128MB would be good enough, 256 if you use large files. Rio, Samsung, iriver, etc. etc.

for travelling, long drives, to be used for long hours of boredom or just for the love of music get those larger capacity ones. dell, ipod, iriver, etc.

I got an old samsung 64MB yep drive used for jogging and walking. I'm usually done before I can finish all the songs I stored in it.

Good luck

 

[golgotha]

I should note that i have not used an iPod. Make your own deciscions.

 

[SickBeast]

I run daily w/ my iPod, if that means anything to you. I bought a rubber case w/ a belt clip and it works great. The iPod has a 32mb buffer, so basically it reads from the hard disk for about 3 seconds every 32 minutes or so (depending on bitrate of course). If you skip songs alot, well then it will read from disk for maybe 2 seconds every time you load up a new song.

In any event, running w/ the iPod is fine, and Apple even reccomends it. The HD players will obviously never be as durable as the flash players, but they seem relatively sturdy. I've dropped the iPod from 4 feet above a hard floor (no case either) and it survived intact, albeit all scratched up.