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MP3 PlayersFollow

#1 May 31 2004 at 6:00 AM Rating: Good
Drama Nerdvana
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Sorry to bug yall, im looking to buy MP3 player for a friend for birthday but im a Minidisc man myself, what should i be looking for, i dont want high end just something middle of the line for him?
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#2 May 31 2004 at 7:42 AM Rating: Decent
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Depends on how the friend is going to use the player ;)

If he's going to do exercise with it (gym, jogging), then it's best to get a small player, preferably solid-state, and one that has an arm strap is even better. Small is good in this instance.

If he's going to just use it as a portable music source, then it's fine to get a hard drive based one if you want. They're more expensive usually, but hold much more music. Of course, most of the hard drive based players can also double as workout mp3 players.....usually. Personally, I would never workout using a drive-based player.

That being said, in either instance, you want to make sure the player will support playing WMA and MP3...and some I think even support MP3Pro. Being able to firmware update it is also a plus.


Then, you want to look for ease-of-use for the interface and buttons. About the best way to do that, unfortunately, is to look up reviews of several MP3 players.

Oh, finally, for solid state players, make sure they have an expansion slot !


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That being said, if you want a basic MP3 player (gets the job done), then you could consider the Rio S10 or S50 (?) I think. It's a tiny, solid-state mp3 player that's only like $50 for the S10. Comes with 64MB of built-in memory, and it also has an expansion slot that will take up to I think 512MB expansion card (Either MMC or xD, I can't remember).

Anyway, it's perfect for what I use it for (workout), and I just use the 64MB built-in. Doesn't seem like a lot, but really if I encode songs using Windows Media player, at about 64Kbps, it doesn't sound bad at all, and I can fit an hour or more on the player. Even just sitting around the house listening, it sounds decent. Of course, I wouldn't pump this through a home system, at least not at that quality.

Supposedly, WMA audio encoded is about the same quality while 1/2 the size of MP3, so being at 64Kbps isn't as bad as you think.
I have the choice of using the included software, or I can just use Media PLayer (drivers support this device in XP) to transfer files....each are as easy as the other.

Controls are easy to use, etc. My only complaint - it comes with a waist clamp instead of an arm strap.

Uses 1 AA battery, supposedly up to 35 hours of play time from it ("up to"...I hate that phrase). I know I've had at least 10 workout sessions using it (at about 1 hour each), and some regular listening time, and the battery is still going strong.


Oh, also, if he's going to be working out with it, you might consider also springing for either some earbuds with a retractable, locking cord, or get a very small pair of regular earphones/buds with the actual headband thingy....since when jogging, the cord seems to get in the way because it's so long, and some people have a problem with earbuds falling out when jogging if they're not "braced" by the headband that usual headphones have.

I'm able to use earbuds, while jogging, just fine, but my wife, using the same earbuds, can barely FIT them in her ear without them falling out ;)




#3 May 31 2004 at 9:51 AM Rating: Decent
I second the notion that using a drive-based mp3 player is bad if you are working out with it.
BUT, if that will not be the case, spend a little extra money and get the drive-based one.... the person won't need another mp3 player until drives are 100-300% smaller, and that will take some time... hope it helps!

ps bah i wish i worked out.
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