Play the field...
Feb 27 '01
The Bottom Line Weigh your options, determine your needs, and buy the one you just can't live without!
Decisions, decisions...
So you've decided you want to buy a portable MP3 player, and now you need to decide which one you want to buy. Well, I'm afraid there is no easy answer. As with any "hot" product or technology, there are a number of competitors out there vying for your cash.
What's available
To begin with, a short explanation of the various types of MP3 players...
CD-MP3 players: These units generally look just like regular CD players (they are available as both portable units and home stereo components). The major difference is that they play music CDs (usually including CD-RWs burned by yourself or a friend) AND MP3 files burned onto CD-Rs and CD-RWs. The pros for this type of player is that you generally have unlimited storage space, it plays regular CDs, and it's usually the cheapest way to go. The cons for CD-MP3 players include the hassle in burning the CDs and keeping up with which MP3 is on which CD, the need to burn the CDs in a specific way, the fact that CD players aren't quite as portable as many other MP3 players, they usually run through batteries faster, and the data CDs usually have a limit on the length of the filename.
Solid State MP3 Players: These units use flash memory to store a limited number of files. Usually these players come with 32-64 megabytes, and are expandable with standard or proprietary memory upgrades. This was the first generation of players, and are being somewhat depricated now, but are not yet dead by a long shot. Every week sees a new player, and many of them are still of this type. Pros for the solid state players are that they have no moving parts, are usually extremely portable, usually have the best battery performance of all the players, aren't usually too expensive, and they come on all shapes and sizes (there's even one that is shaped like a cassette tape, and can be played in a standard cassette player). Cons for these players include limited storage space (necessitating they be tethered to your computer so you can swap MP3s), often use proprietary memory upgrades, and aren't ALWAYS as solid state as they claim (some Compact Flash based players are upgraded by the IBM Microdrive, which is just a VERY small hard drive...).
Hard Drive based players: These units have expanded the field dramatically. The player has a built in hard drive (ranging from 40 megabytes to 20 gigabytes or more), which frees you to store all your MP3s on the player, rather than needing to swap them back and forth with your computer, or keep up with a bunch of CDs. Pros for this type of player are dramatically increased storage, almost all of them use rechargeable batteries, most of them accept almost any length of file name, and at least one of them can be used as a standard hard drive (so you can store and transfer ANY type of file, and can even move your MP3s back and forth among your computers). Cons for hard drive players are fragility (hard drives don't like to be jarred), a static limit to the number of MP3s you can store, more likelihood to skip than solid-state units (though less likelihood than CD-MP3 players), and many of them won't let you move files back to your computer once you've transferred them to the player.
Making your decision
The first thing you need to think about is how much of that cash you're willing to part with. The prices for MP3 players range from about $90.00 to over $1,000.00. Much of this depends on the type of player you choose, but even among the same types, there are great ranges in price and quality. The CD-MP3 units are the cheapest, with prices starting around $90.00 and ranging to less than $200.00.
Keeping that in mind, another consideration you should have is where and when you'll be using it. Obviously, you won't want to buy a CD-MP3 unit to use while you're out jogging. If you want something that plugs into the car, you can choose a cassette adapter (or choose the player that IS a cassette adapter) for almost any of them, or you can actually buy one of the several new car stereos and car stereo add-ins that are designed for auto use (these are the ones that run into the $1,000.00 range). Generally, the more physical environments will require the solid state units, with hard drive based units bringing up a close second. If it's going to be sitting on your desk at work, a CD-MP3 player would be fine.
The third thing to think about is how many MP3s you own (or, according to the RIAA, "don't own"). If you've got hundreds, you'd like to have access to at any time, I would suggest the hard-drive unit, but if you've got thousands, you should probably go with a CD-MP3 player. If you've only got a few, or if you don't mind swapping out MP3s, think about the solid state players.
Another factor is ease of use. Obviously the solid state players will be the easiest, since you've got ten or twenty songs...you can just move back and forth through them like a CD. If you've got hundreds, or thousands, this poses a slight problem. Few of the CD-MP3 players have a good display. The one I owned had ten buttons set in a circle, and movement through the MP3 CDs took five or ten steps. The hard drive players usually have a good display, but they still require some navigation to get through all your MP3s. It's not a task I would suggest you perform while driving in stop and go traffic.
There are a few other ideas you may want to keep in mind. Some of the players play more than MP3s. Some play Microsoft's WMA files, while others play RealNetworks RMX files. Many are upgradeable, but others aren't, and some players are USB (providing faster data transfer and possibly Mac compatibility) while many older models may use your parallel port (which is slower and only works with a PC).
I suppose there is ONE other thing you should consider. You'll usually know when you've found the right one. Your heart will race and your palms will get a bit wet. If you don't buy it then, you'll find yourself drawn back to the store or website almost daily to fantasize over that sleek plastic case. In the end, you really have to choose the player you feel you've just "got to have"...to do otherwise will only make you regret your decision.
As far as suggestions go, I can only advise you with the choice that I made for myself. I've owned FOUR MP3 players since mid 1998 (two solid state players, a CD-MP3 player and a hard drive based player), and I've liked each one for its own strengths. I did return the CD-MP3 player I owned, but that was mostly because I had made my decision to buy an Archos Jukebox 6000 (hard drive based) player.
It made my palms sweat.
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Epinions.com ID:
antjenkins
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Member: Anthony Jenkins
Location: Nashville, TN
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Stay-At-Home Dad, "gadget geek".
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