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Cheap MP3 Player
Digital audio players (also known as MP3 players) have become a major staple
in the lives of those who have embraced technology on a personal level. Whether
it be on the treadmill at the gym, on the bus on the way home from work or
sitting in your living room, these little electronic devices have found their
ways into the hearts of many.
For those considering the myriad of players out on the market today, both online
and in stores, it can be bewildering. Do you go with a well known name like
Apple and their iPod, or do you take a chance on a cheaper, less known maker and
player? Do you take the larger square model with the big hard drive, or the
smaller one which the sales rep tells you is good for jogging with?
Ultimately, the most important thing for you to consider is what makes you
happy as you listen to your tunes.
Fancy features, unknown buttons and dancing icons on the screen make for fun
bells and whistles, but if the player is too complicated, will you really want
to use it? That's where this guide comes in. Listed below are the features we
feel are five basics you should consider before you plunk down your money.
 | Connectivity What exactly is connectivity? Plainly put, it is the
way your digital audio player talks to your computer so that it can transfer
music files. Though a few players are beginning to offer the ability to
wirelessly transfer files, your main options at this point will be one of
two: USB or FireWire. Both require connecting a special type of cable
(sometimes included in the packaging, sometimes not) from your player to
your computer. The computer then recognizes the player and you can begin
moving over your music.
The first type of connection option, known as USB, is the more common one
found today and is something supported by both PCs and Macs. It is also
somewhat slower in regards to how quickly it transfers music from your
computer to the player then the other standard, FireWire. FireWire however,
is primarily supported only on Macs.
Regardless of which standard you use, keep in mind that transferring
music can take some time, especially depending on how many files you want to
copy over.
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| Display The display screen on most digital audio players these
days is tiny. Using the screen is a must though if you want to see what
music is playing, as well as navigating through options like volume control,
song shuffling and the equalizer. The main things to consider here include
making sure you can see the display under all conditions, including being
outdoors when there is a glare, as well as being able to read the characters
on the screen without going blind.
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| File Types When music is copied onto your computer from a CD or
downloaded from a Web site, the type of file it is saved as can vary. While
it will often default to the .mp3 format, which is the most widely handled
by digital audio players today, it could also end up as a .wav, .aac, .wma
or something else. The important thing to know from all of this is to check
what types of music files your player supports: it doesn't help to waste an
hour prepping music to transfer to your player only to realize it’s not
compatible in the first place.
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| Software How you get your music onto your digital audio player is
important to consider. Most players ship today with some type of software
which will allow you to compile play lists and copy files. The big question
here is: is it easy to figure out? Does the software provide guided
instructions, or are you left to struggle with a cumbersome help file? Is
the interface easy to navigate, or a cluttered mess of buttons and words?
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| Storage Type Do you plan on taking your player jogging, or using
it as a supplement to your home entertainment system? This is a big question
to answer because players come in two types of flavors for storage: hard
drive models and flash-based units.
Hard drive models store files in the 1000s and are great for when you
want to kick it with all of your tunes in your cubicle at work without
having to lug dozens of CDs around. The downside with hard drive units
however, is they tend to have movable parts, which means bouncing along on
the treadmill may make your music skip if your player doesn't have a memory
buffer.
Flash-based models are small and sleek, usually slipping into your pocket
with no problem. They are great for more active users and those on the go a
lot, but are offset by the fact that they can't carry more than a few dozen
songs unless you add a usually expensive memory card. |
There is now a vast array of devices that can play MP3. There
are many cheap MP3 Players available.
In car
MP3 Player for your car
x MP3 CD will give over 11 hours of music non stop
Portable USB Flash drives
Not only an MP3 player
1GB of portable storage space - A personal voice recorder - FM Radio
From £ 75.00
Portable Hard Drive
MP3 Players
Archos - Apple IPod - Creative and more
Available with up to 100 GB Hard Drives
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