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[nila]

Hey all.
X-mas is nearly over and I got cash as a lot of my presents and so I'm thinking about treating myself to an mp3 player with the cash.

It's a really tricky area though and so I was looking for advice and comments/suggestions etc.
Here are a few I'm looking at:


http://www.iriveramerica.com/iFP-190T.htm
This one's TINY and so perfectly to slip into a pocket with me 24/7 and just carry on me all the time. I could have it on me and forget about it and just pull it out to listen to whenever I want.
It also has a built in radio which is a nice feature as I sometimes like listening to the radio when I want a bit of variety from the cd's I'm carrying with me.
The memory is not bad and would hold 64ish songs at good quality. I couldn't however carry extra songs with me except the ones on the player as it doesn't accept external memory sticks as far as I can see which is a down side.



Next is:
http://www.iriveramerica.com/SlimX_400.htm
This has a  nice remote which means I could put the cd player in a bag and forget about it. The fact it reads cd's means I could change the media easily and even just buy music while I was out to add to it if I wanted to. The down side is the fact it's a cd player though and so still rather bulky. Means I'd need a bag or carry case for it and it'd be a noticable item to have.


Then is this one:
http://www.edigital-store.com/mxp100spor51.html
Pretty small still, not too bad a price, quite good storage as it'd hold around 128 songs which is not bad. Again I could forget about it in my pocket almost. Also, I could carry extra memory sticks with me with more songs on as it takes compact flash. My digital camera also takes compact flash cards although they are type I and this one takes Microdrives which I know are type II and so I'm not sure if it also takes type I cards. If it did though I could use my memory cards from my camera for music as well which is a big plus.


Last but not least is the iPod.
Probably go for the 10 gig one as the 5 gig one doesn't have a free remote, carry case etc and so by the time I'd bought the remote and case it'd probably be half way towards the extra $100 it costs for the upgrade.
This is a bit bigger than a few so would be more noticable and so I couldn't really just carry it casually 24/7.  It's also quite a bit more expensive than them which is another big down.
The plus side is the LARGE memory which means I could hold all the music I'd want on it without having to worry about spare cards etc.



Ok, well they're the ones I've seen so far that seem quite good. All other suggestions welcomed as well as feedback, comments etc on these ones.
I dont want to waste a load of cash and end up with something junk so please let me know of experience you or friends have had as well as any of your most informed knowledge.

Thanks guys

[Charlemagne 8]

Nila,
I would go for the largest memory and the smallest size. The memory size becomes an issue after a while.
Sounds like the IPOD, so far. Isn't that Mac-based? That would be a problem for me. Surely there are a host of others.
Have you checked on the ones linked to on the Startup page of Media Jukebox or Media Center? At least there were links the last time I looked.
As you can tell, I don't know much about them except what you've said so I guess you weren't really asking me, were you?

CVIII

[JimH]

There have been Windows based iPods for about 6 months now.  They ship with MusicMatch.  We've had a plug-in for several months that works with both MJ and MC.

I got an iPod for one of my daughters for Christmas.  She's in love.

[nila]

I'll be in love with you too if you give me one

They're a bit pricey is the only put off for me really.
Also - you've obviously seen it in real life then, whats it like size wise to just slip in your pocket or something ?

[JimH]

Smaller than a pack of cigarettes.  Just small enough to be OK in the front pants pocket of a pair of jeans (that's a straight line, I know).

It's heavier than you might expect but it isn't too heavy.  I sometimes carry a Nokia phone and I would think it wouldn't be too much different.

It is an extremely nice package.  You'll want to pull it out when you make the pub run.  It is a beautifully designed device.  Plus, the people who seem to use them are uncommonly good folks (no offense to you Rio 300 guys -- I'm one of you.)

[KingSparta]

I seen somthing on tv a week or more ago about a cell phone you can pup in about 128 Megs of MP3 music.

I forget who made it.

[nila]

Your doing a good job of convincing me Jim.

One feature this one has:
http://www.edigital-store.com/mxp100spor51.html
that I like is that it uses voice recognition software to do the browsing - quite nice if you have 100's of songs rathern than just clicking the up and down button 100 times.

Just be like: 'Hip-Hop' - 'Eminem'
and have it find all those tracks

Sounds good in theory, just wondering how well it works in practise.

Also, it's only $189 whereas the 10 gig iPod is $399 which is QUITE a bit more. It holds less music but takes flash cards so I could use the ones from my camera or just buy more later. I could carry a few flash cards with me while I was out and they are TINY so practically unnoticable.

[lee269]

Theres such a variety here and it really depends on how you intend to use it, but I think that largest memory, smallest size is a good rule of thumb. FWIW heres a couple of points that may also be worth bearing in mind:

1. battery life/battery type. How long does it last and does it use standard batteries or do you have to take it home to charge it up. I get about 12 hours from 2 AAAs in my smartmedia player which is about 2 weeks use for me commuting to work. Using rechargeables means I can carry a few spares around.

2. Almost goes without saying on this forum, but make sure the player shows as a drive on your PC or that theres an MC plugin. Dont get locked into the manufacturers software of choice (or at least dont get locked into RealJukebox like I did ).

[marketability]

My vote is for the iPOD

I tried a rio CF player - not much use as it only held a few albums

I got a 20Gb iPOD and use the MJ plugin - WELL COOL

Its really well made, sounds extremely good (much better IMHO than creative or archos)

Size - easy small enough to put in a jeans pocket and with a cool leather case from VAJA, it even survives multiple pocket experiences

Hope it helps

[Kurt Young]

Nila-san,

It's gonna come as a giant shock to those on the board here, but I think you should definitely get an iPod.  

It's pricey, aye, but I believe the cost is offset by:

1. Transfer Speeds -- with the latest build of MC9 and the iPod plugin, I was pulling about 8MB per second while transferring music to the iPod.  Go firewire, go!

2. Portability -- it's the size of a deck of cards and just slightly heavier.  I have my entire music library in my front shirt pocket, and I have the 20GB model.  The 5GB and 10GB models are even thinner!

3. Interface -- the thumb-wheel design of the iPod makes it possible to navigate through all 20GB of music with ease.  I mean with ease.  On a long list of songs, the scrolling speed accelerates as you continue to turn the wheel (or trace the wheel, as is the case with the new "trackwheel" iPods).  You can scroll through to the bottom of a 2400-song list in about 7 seconds.  Plus, the iPod's screen is clearer, brighter, and bigger than any of the competition's screens.

4. Versatility -- unlike the Creative Zen, another 20GB firewire player, the iPod can double as a portable hard drive.  It actually saved my data last week when I NEEDED to have some extra storage space fast.  Other products will only allow music to be transferred to the device, and then only through their own software.  (Note, I have never owned another device, so I could be wrong here).  The iPod mounts as a drive under My Computer and can be used just like any other hard drive.

5. PDA Features -- I never use the calendar on my iPod (it's not very well implemented), but the contacts list is fantastic.  Just drop a .vcf file in, and it can be called up on your iPod's screen.  Software exists that enables contact/calendar download to your iPod from Palm Desktop and MS Outlook, too.

No, I don't own stock, nor do I work for Apple.  I just have had an outstanding experience with my pod, and I believe that anyone else would too.  Plus, I agree, iPod folk are generally very nice folk.  Come visit us at www.ipodlounge.com if you have any questions at all... there's a great FAQ and forums there, too.

[nekura]

My vote goes to the iPod as well.  I previously used (but still own) a Compaq iPaq PA-2 MP3 Player, which while good in its own merits, just didn't have enough space for me.  I mean at first, 128MB was plenty (I can fit 55 songs encoded with WMA on it).  After listening to my MP3 player everyday, I became rather addicted to music and needed more space.  On Christmas, I got the 20 GB iPod and man do I love it.  It's small, well-designed, and very spacious.  The Media Center plug-in works like a charm; as Kurt mentioned, I was getting transfer speeds between 8 to 9 megabytes a second.  It took me fifteen minutes to transfer 2225 songs, and I still have 10.8 GB left.

[rocketsauce]

iRiver is also coming out with a new player in Jan/Feb that has 512mb built-in memory.  Unfortunatley I don't have the link handy.  Plus, they are supposedly going to issue a firmware update in the near future that will add vorbis playback.  You can probably find some threads and links if you do a search over at the Hydrogen Audio forums.

Rob

[xen-uno]

Got to speak out and be heard on dis'

I have a SlimX 350 (CD based) . Support for packet written RW's (DirectCD/InCD), eventual ogg support, dandy little remote (but still has on-case controls), excellent sound quality, up to 20 playlists per disk...you just can't beat it!

I like the HD based players as well (ie: Creative Jukebox 3). But they have said nothing about ogg support (AFAIK). I can fit about 100+ mp3's (LAME enc @ alt pre std) on a InCD disk (560 MB of 700 MB available after InCD formatting). Your mileage will vary depending on song length. This is a hugely flexible way of going about it. At most you'd carry around a few disks (we're talkin days of music)...not bad, eh?

10^-27

[JorgeGVB]

I got a great price on an iPod for my wife for Christmas.  I purchased it at http://www.dell.com.  I was able to use a discount coupon code I found online at http://www.hotdealsclub.com.  The code was stackable on a Dell sale price, so my total savings was about $75 off the retail price.  The iPods are in such big demand, they are rarely on sale anywhere.

[Kurt Young]

Aye, Xen, ogg support is notably lacking in the majority of portable devices.  Here's hoping that the industry catches on and gives me a reason to re-rip all of my CDs!  Till then, though, I'm ogg-less at home, since most of the music I listen to in a day is via the iPod (long commute).  Remember, though, Nila asked for advice on an mp3 player,

OT from the OT, ogg support is creeping up in more places these days; Unreal Tournament 2002 uses ogg files for its music... they sound great and are TINY.