You fool! Not THAT one!! ARRGGHH!Apr 29 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Blu-ray and DVD Players
The Bottom Line Don't buy whatever strikes you at the time and do serious research. Each player is unique, and the wrong choice will make you $300.00 poorer, and no wiser.
Truly, this past week has really been an eye opener in the field of mp3 players. I can say with all honesty that I can advise on mp3 players to any and all people. Want a player that's cost effective? Get a rave mp2300. Need it to work on a Mac? Get a HotZip. Want something with massive storage space, get the Nomad Jukebox (if you wait a little while, the C version will be out and it's cheaper). (Chupon takes a breath) Need something that looks really cool? Get a Nike PSA [ Play 120. Want a player that can play nice and loud? Get the RCA Lyra2 or Intel Pocket Concert... At this point, you can ask me anything, and I'll be able to tell you. And I will tell you now that you will not be sold with any model out there yet. The Pocket Concert is not availible in Canada (nearly impossible to even get it shipped here), and it looks like the best mp3 player on the market. With 128 megs and an advertised built-in amplifier which does not fear sucking battery juice to output a high wattage sound (which means you can use higher quality headphones and still play it loud), that covers the two most important points of an mp3 player. Storage and sound. 64 megs just isn't enough. While the mp3 players that use Iomega Clik! disks can expand very easily for a very low price, the models which use these disks are very unstable (the Iomega forum for the HipZip is crowded with people griping and swearing about their mp3 players dying on them within a month of buying). The rave mp2300 sounds good, but their online FAQ mentions a lot of the problems that the HipZip has, so be wary. So what can you do? We don't want to wait around for something good to come out! We hate waiting! The only person who would buy an mp3 player is an impulsive shopper, so we want something now! In that case, figure the following out: Cost: Including upgrades, how much do I want to spend on this thing? Disk Space: How long will I be listening to my music at any one time before I can upload new files to the player? Size/Functionality: Will I need cargo pants to carry this player, or will it clip onto my belt / fit in a small pocket? Bugs / Defects: Do I mind sending this player in to be fixed every 2-5 months? Without including the obvious sound section (which is always answered with 'the highest possible quality'), you have a good basis for how mp3 players are judged. If you are happy with 60 minutes of play time, you won't have to spend a lot of money to get what you want, and you can be assured that it will be portable. Go to the manufacterer's site and try to locate a user support forum. That is the surest way to indicate how many problems you'll run into if you choose to buy this product. If you want more than 60 minutes of play time, you have 3 choices. The Intel Pocket Concert (least expensive), an Iomega Clik! compatible mp3 player (HipZip of rave mp2300, both of which are high risk players), or a Jukebox player (bulky and very expensive). It can get very confusing at times, and places like ZDnet do not rate products fairly (a player will get a higher rating under sound quality because it comes with better headphones, not because the actual player is more finely tuned / powerfull). Any store which allows you to trial products for 15 or so days are excellent choices for research. Remember to stick to the main name brands which you can trust for support if you need it (creative labs, sonic blue, intel, iomega) And on a final note, cd mp3 players are still not ready for the public. Until you can get the kind of skip protection found on the high end Sony CD Walkmans, you're better off with a portable cassette player (skip protection is terrible universally on cd mp3 players as of April 2001). If you want a good player, patience and research will reward you with the best.  |
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