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» Hatrack River Forum » Active Forums » Books, Films, Food and Culture » Hatrack recommends an MP-3 player?

   
Author Topic: Hatrack recommends an MP-3 player?
Xavier
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Niki (Valentine014) and I have recently gotten gym memberships, and we would love to have MP-3 players to use while we work out.

We don't have a lot of money, however. We can probably get a couple of lower end ones with our tax return money, but not much more than that.

I'll most likely be doing more research into the different brands and models, but I figure hatrack is the best resource of all [Smile] .

Anyway, the only one I've looked into so far is the iPod shuffle. Niki found one on eBay for $60 she says, so the price isn't too bad. I'm assuming it was the 512mb model. They claim that it can hold up to 120 songs, which isn't great, but should be acceptable with a lot of swapping.

It sounds like you need to use iTunes for the iPod, and that shouldn't be a problem if the software allows you to put any mp3 files into the music library. Is that true? They don't need to be from iTunes music store do they? I've never used the software. If I download music from a different source (or my mp3s from CDs I own) there wouldn't be a problem would there be?

I am by no means limiting myself to only Apple products. In fact, I own not a single Apple product, so I don't exactly have brand loyalty. Its simply that the iPod has been the mp3 player I've heard the most about.

What are the best competing brands and models in this price range?

What we are looking for:

Low in price
512mb minimum
Small, lightweight, and looks good
Preferably FM radio
Easy to use, easy to upload songs to

Any suggestions?

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airmanfour
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I like iTunes, other people don't. You can most definately import your own music library into iTunes. The only bad thing i've heard about the shuffle is its annoying not to see what you're listening to. If that isn't a problem for you, go for it! If it could be: hold off. I have a Nano and I love it. Frequently. You can pretty much go to WalMart or Best Buy and they have whole sections dedicated to exactly what you want.
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erosomniac
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Unless you're willing to spend more money, 512 MB is about as good as it's going to get. You can get used 1 MB players on eBay for roughly $60-80, if you want.

I recommend the Sandisk Sansa m series. the m230 is 512MB, the m240 is 1 gig, m250 2 gig, m260 4 gig. Prices rise accordingly.

CNet review of m240

m230 on eBay

m240 on eBay

Alternately, you can find the older e series (e130, e140, etc.) on eBay as well. Less fully featured and much larger, but it'll get the job done.

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Altįriėl of Dorthonion
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OSC mentioned his loyal iRiver....
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Lupus
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I really love my Ipod. I also like itunes quite a bit. It actually makes a good player. I use it to listen to and organize my music on my computer.

As for importing other mp3s, yes itunes can put normal mp3s onto your ipod (or you can have it convert them to aac if you prefer). It can also rip music off of your CDs to play on your computer or load into your ipod.

HOWEVER, the ipod will not work with other paid music services like rhapsody. They use encrypted files that are not compatable with the ipod.

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Boris
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Personally, I think the iPod is horribly over-priced. From the prices I've been looking at, I can usually get double to memory for the same price by getting something from someone else. Of course, quality is suspect for some of them.

At any rate, I'd recommend getting something with an SD memory slot on it. That way you can save money on it now, and when you want to upgrade, you just buy a memory stick and viola.

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airmanfour
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do you need a memory stick to play the viola? or do they come as a package deal? when they come together is that considered an upgrade? wow, i had no idea that the woodwind family was so cosely reated to the MP3 player family. alright, i'm done, and sorry at the same time.
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Mean Old Frisco
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I have a Sandisk...something or other. I love it. It comes with an armband, a display (unlike the ishuffle) and a toggle button, which is a lot more user friendly, especially when exercising, than the circular...touch pad...thingy that ipods and the like have.

It's 1G, holds about 250 songs, has an FM tuner, and cost me about $100. I've used it pretty much every day for the last year, and love it.

Sandisk review

Sandisk vs. ishuffle

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erosomniac
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See? Frisco seconds the Sandisk m240! It must be destiny.
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Xavier
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Looks like the m230 is only 70 dollars on newEgg brand new. Thats 30 dollars cheaper than the iShuffle, and it has both a display and an FM radio. Sounds pretty cool.

I'll have to do some more reading, but it looks like a good deal.

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El JT de Spang
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I also used and liked the Creative Nomad Muvo.

Froogle search.

It comes in 128, 256, 512, and 1 gig sizes. I think the 256 is actually perfect for working out, as it's about 40 songs. That gets me through several workouts. The two things I really like about it are no software (it uses drag and drop USB connection) and it runs off of 1 AAA battery. Most of the players I've had with rechargeable batteries (two ipod included) lose battery life due to memory effects after a while.

The 256 MB is 65 bucks.

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pH
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Samsung!

One day, I shall live in a house with Samsung EVERYTHING!

-pH

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human_2.0
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How computer savy are you? I've heard some mp3 players are a major pain for computer newbies to use.
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Kasie H
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I *love* my iPod shuffle, and the iTunes software is part of why I love it. You can put all kinds of music on it -- mp3s, CDs, purchased, whatever. Then you make a playlist of all the songs you want the shuffle to play. If you rate your music by how much you like it, you can tell the shuffle to select more often songs with higher ratings. (I keep my playlist stocked with way m ore than 512 MB of music; whenever I plug it in to the computer and re-sync it, I get a new and interesting playlist.)

I bought my shuffle specficially to use at the gym. I also have a bigger normal iPod but I found it was just too heavy and cumbersome to want to deal with. The shuffle is light, doesn't skip, is reasonably immune to damage (you can drop it n problem, though I wouldn't step on it), and it's really simple to operate in the midst of a stint on the treadmill, for example (with my other one I'd have to stop, change it, then flip the hold button back on). THe shuffle doesn't have a touch wheel like the normal iPods; the buttons are all click-y, which is nice for the gym.

I happen to love the fact that it doesn't have a screen just because I don't want to be bothered with it. I bought it because I wanted something that would play the music I already know I really liked and that I would enjoy while on a treadmill. I didn't want to be bothered reading a tiny little screen. THat's personal preference.

All in all, my shuffle has a ringing endorsement [Smile]

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jeniwren
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My son has a Sandisk Sansa and loves it. It is also a radio, which is a nice bonus. And it doesn't require any special software. It runs on a AAA battery, which you either have to buy as rechargable, or figure on replacing the battery every 30 hours or so. His is a 512MB model.

I have a Rio...dang, I can't remember which model. The main thing I like about it is ease of use and built in battery. It was good for at least three cross country flights without needing to be recharged. I also like that I could create my play lists by hand or have it do it for me, by genre or artists or just completely random. I used it for putting me to sleep on airplanes, and for that, coupled with noise cancelling headphones, it worked great.

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Xavier
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quote:
How computer savy are you? I've heard some mp3 players are a major pain for computer newbies to use.
Well I have a BS in computer science, and am a software engineer. But I don't stay up to date on all the new technology or software thats out there, so I'm a bit behind when it comes to MP3 players. I should be able to figure out most snags that come up with usage though.

Thanks for everyone who's posted so far!

JT, the Nomad Muvo looks pretty cool, but my first impression of the SanDisk Sansa was better.

I think the SanDisk Sansa is the one which I am most interested in right now. I have a question though, in some pictures I've seen of it, it looks like this, and sometimes it looks like this. What's the deal? I've seen both pictures next to the m240 Sansa model. They both look great, but I would probably be buying it online, so I would like to know what I'm going to get (if I do go this route).

Pearce, the one Samsung product I have is also my most beloved possession, my 19" LCD monitor (the only thing I've ever splurged on, really). So I'm all ears to the virtues of Samsung MP3 players. Are you thinking I should look at the Samsung Yepp? From a quick glance, it looks like a very comparable product to the SanDisk Sansa. Perhaps I will read more about it.

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Valentine014
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I think I'm starting to lean more towards the ones with a radio. At the gym Xavier and I attend, the only only way to hear the t.v. is to have a radio tuned into a certain station. I couldn't care either way about a display, I know the songs I've downloaded. Being small, light and having the ability to be on the arm is a must though.
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Primal Curve
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I'm amused by the need for an FM radio. I use mp3s and CDs to escape the radio.
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advice for robots
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I have a Shuffle, but it was a gift from my company for Christmas. I had to buy a USB extension to get my computer to recognize the Shuffle, but now it works fine. Sounds just a little flat, though. I don't know if it's the earphones or the Shuffle's music processing powers.
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Valentine014
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PC, you did read the part where I said I wanted the radio so I could hear the t.v in the gym, right? Sometimes I get stuck on a machine that is really far away and I can't read the closed captioning.
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0range7Penguin
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I like the ipod. And know they have all these smaller cheeper models you can look into.
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Primal Curve
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quote:
Originally posted by Valentine014:
PC, you did read the part where I said I wanted the radio so I could hear the t.v in the gym, right? Sometimes I get stuck on a machine that is really far away and I can't read the closed captioning.

Nope. I missed that. Makes more sense now.
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erosomniac
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quote:
I'm amused by the need for an FM radio. I use mp3s and CDs to escape the radio.
Even if you don't like the music, the radio still has stuff to offer: sports coverage, news, NPR, etc.
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Xavier
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*bump for Tatiana*

We ended up getting the Sandisk Sansa and we love it. It comes with an armband and ear buds. It's very light and easy to use. The price was right too.

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Tatiana
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Oh, thanks for bumping this thread, Xav! And thanks for the recommendation! I'll check it out!
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