Of batteries, discs, and other things

Jun 17 '01    Write an essay on this topic.


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What you should consider when buying a portable CD player depends on what you need. Whether or not you have a CD burner will affect your decision as will whether or not you will be using the portable player in a car or other moving vehicle. The only constant is battery life.

Portable CD players are getting more power efficient these days, but you'll want to get a good brand of batteries. (Translation: Get rechargables.) Most brands should show you how long a charge will last, but the brand you buy may affect that. I remember buying really cheap batteries that couldn't make it through a single song. Right now, with rechargables, I can make it several hours.

Rewritable CD drives are becoming less of an issue, but may still pose a threat to you if you want to listen to music. My old CD player had trouble reading CD-Rs and wouldn't read CD-RWs at all. The one I have now doesn't have trouble with CD-Rs at all. (I haven't gotten around to trying CD-RWs.) If you have a CD burner, make sure the player can handle them, but I doubt you'll have too much trouble finding one that works.

Also, most players will come with some sort of anti-shock technology. It is a must. I've had old CD players that skipped if you sneezed. If you use your player in a car, you'll need anti-skip. Trust me on this one. The only thing left is price, which you can control mostly by shopping around and making sure you get the best deal.

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