Portable MP3 Player

[nord1899]

I was wondering if anyone has used either or both of these portable mp3 players?

Bantam BA350
Rio 800

Basically, what I want is a solid-state mp3 player (no CD mp3 players, I already have a Rio Volt) for going to the gym and other physical activities that the Volt isn't appropriate for (size/anti-shock). I want at least 128 megs of whatever RAM they use. And it needs to be small, about the size of the two above.

Any reviews/insights/help is appreciated.

 

[nord1899]

bump and subscribe

 

[sohcrates]

here's some Rio reviews

here's another

can't say i've ever seen much about the bantam

 

[Antoneo]

The Rio 800 looks a hell of a lot better than the Bantam thing... I have tried my friend's Rio 600 and it is a solid piece of hardware. The only thing that irks me about it is the proprietary "backpacks" it uses. Uhm... try the Nomad II or Nomad II MG from Creative. The MG is very nice and you can get 128 megs here from buy.com.

 

[Erioll]

I've had the Nomad II MG since it came out, and its a solid piece of hardware. Comes with 64MB onboard, and buying SM cards for it is now less than $1 per megabyte, so put in another 64 or 128 and you're set.

I don't know how much it costs these days compared to others though. I obviously have not needed to check prices of them since I got it. But for good compatability (MP3, and WMA), it's really a good machine.

Another plus is the software. You can d/l Creativeware even if you don't have their soundcards, and still use it. It can encode MP3s, and WMAs, and can even encode WMAs without DRM, which is nice.

If you're looking for a good unshockable machine that you can even drop a few times (believe me. I have), this is a good one.

Erioll

 

[nord1899]

Any recommendations on what brand of SmartMedia to use? Or does it not really matter?

Thanks for the info.