Thought this might be a good idea given the number of threads that keep popping up on this particular subject. To be found below will be a thorough (but not exhaustive) guide to the various mp3 players available, the merits of each one and some technical support information for iPods. This will hopefully enable those users who aren't so tech savvy to try and make an informed choice. Mac users take note, the majority of players featured are PC only, stick to your iPod.
You can break down the various mp3 players available into three main categories. 1)
Very small flash based players which will typically hold between 50 to 250 tracks. These will have a memory capacity of between 64MB and 1GB and will cost between £25 and £100.
2)
Microdrive based players, these will hold between 1000 and 1500 songs and are based on either 4,5 or 6GB microdrives and will cost between £100 and £180
3)
Hard drive players, these will hold between 5,000 and 15,000 songs and are based on 20-60GB hard drives and typically cost between £180 and £300
So you ideally need to pigeon hole yourself into one of the three categories above based on your specific requirements of cost, capacity and physical size.
CodecsCodecs are something which all us geeks tend to get quite excited about however they do also have an important relevance here. A audio codec is basically a means of compressing the music you have on CD. So for example if you were to simply copy a CD onto your computers hard drive it would take up around 640MB of space. This would mean that you wouldn't be able to fit much music onto your portable player so a codec is used to 'squash' the music to a much smaller size. There are many audio codecs floating around and, depending on your usage you need to ensure you buy a player which plays certain codecs.
MP3 is the most commonly known codec and is universally supported by almost every portable player out there.
Atrac3 is a proprietary codec used only by Sony.
AAC is an Apple designed codec but is more universally used than Atrac.
WMA stands for windows media audio and is the format used when you use Windows media player to 'rip' your Cd's.
There are one or two others out there but the purposes of buying a player those are the most important ones. Now why is this relevant. Well if, for example, you want to download music online from an online store such as iTunes, Sony Connect or Napster, they come in a specific file format which
isn't MP3. For example, iTunes is considered the biggest online music store and is also one of the most competitive on price with downloads costing 79p per track or £7.99 per album. However if you have a Sony player that music which you have bought from the iTunes music store will
not play on your Sony as none of Sonys' current range of players support AAC files, which is the codec used on iTunes. The same goes in reverse, if you use Sonys' online music store, they will not play on an iPod. Bottom line, check what codecs a player supports before buying.
Codecs also vary in terms of sound quality however the more technically minded can actually
choose your own sound quality by adjusting the codec's bit rate (a higher bit rate will give a better sound quality but take up more hard drive space) However to keep it simple the codecs used by the most common audio software tend to have a default setting of 128Kbps. At this setting all three codecs mentioned alongside MP3 above, WMA, AAC and Atrac, will offer a significantly better sound quality than an MP3 ripped at the same setting.
Find out more about codecs
hereSmall Flash based playersFor those on a tight budget, not wanting to store a huge number of tracks or wanting something particularly small you should be looking at a flash memory based player, category number one above. These are the sorts of players that can be picked up in Tesco or Asda as well as the major electronics retailers. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of different players available as a simple search for the term "mp3 player" on ebay will testify. If you are after a bargain basement player this is probably where I would start. You can pick up a non branded 512MB player for as little as £15. However be aware that this will probably be shipped to you from the far east and you will be liable for a high postage cost as well as possibly having to pay import tax @ 27.5%. You also run the risk of having little or no comeback should the product develop a fault.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/512MB-MP3-Player-7-in-1-USB-REC-WMA-CHDB2-NEW_W0QQitemZ5807845031QQcategoryZ80019QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemOf the more mainstream products that you will likely find in dixons here is a quick selection.
Firstly the
Sony NWE105LThis is a very small circular player with an excellent battery life. However it uses the standard Sony Sonicstage software which is not particularly good. It comes in a range of other colours.
The
iPod ShuffleAvailable in 512MB or 1GB models, around the size of a pack of chewing gum, this lacks a screen and battery life isn't brilliant but but of all the cheaper players it has the best software.
The
Creative MuvoAvailable in 256MB, 512MB and 1GB models this is slightly bigger than the other two players but is also slightly cheaper. An added bonus is that files can be simply drag and dropped onto the player without the need for additional software.
MicroDrive based playersThe most popular type of player, these are based around miniature hard drives. they combine a small form factor with a good song capacity.
The first one that springs to mind is the most popular 'MP3' player in the world.
The iPod mini. Whilst this has recently been discontinued to be replaced by the iPod Nano it is still widely available.
Available in four colours and two different capacities,4 and 6GB. Battery life is solid and menu navigation is a doddle. The supplied software as with all Apple players is the universally acclaimed iTunes.
A slightly cheaper option is the
Rio Carbon This is a 5GB player and personally is the only model in it's class that comes close to the iPod mini in terms of design, ease of use and value for money. The price on the linked model is for a refurb unit so expect to pay around £119 for a brand new model. This is still £20 cheaper and a good alternative to the iPod mini.
Also available is the
Creative Zen MicroAvailable in a wealth of colour options this is a decent 6GB player that also comes with a spare battery in the box. Slightly cheaper than the iPod mini it also has a very similar menu system although the scroll pad is not quite so intuitive as the iPod's scroll wheel.
Hard Drive based playersThese were the first type of 'jukebox' style players available and you can now get them with up to 60GB capcities. That's enough for up to 15,000 songs at a good sound quality. These are the choice of the road warrior, someone who wants their
entire CD collection available to them.
First up is the
iPod. The first mainstream jukebox to market and the market leader. Now has a colour screen as standard and improved battery life. Available in 20GB and 60GB models. There is also a limited edition
U2 model as owned by one Steven Gerrard. Around the size of a cigarette packet the iPod also has a massive range of accessories available such as laser pointers, voice recorders, cases, radio transmitters and many many more. This is now a big selling point for all iPod as many of the competing players have little to no add on available and those that do are very difficult to get hold of. All standard iPods now have photo capabilities meaning you can transfer photos from your library on your computer or directly from your digital camera with the aid of an adapter.
The
iRiver H10 is a highly competitive player with it being slightly cheaper than the 20GB iPod. It has a built in voice recorder to enable it to be used as a digital dictaphone straight out of the box and comes in four colours. It also has a built in FM radio, something the iPod lacks and this is a great bonus compared to some of the competing players. Again it has a colour screen which can be used for viewing photos.
The
Sony HD5 is Sony's offering and is quite frankly not worth looking at unless Sony start some serious price cutting. Lacking a colour screen and with battery life claims that are, quite frankly not true. The claimed battery life of 40 hours falls to around 14 hours if you are playing a 128Kbps MP3 file. Combined with the very poor supplied software I'd give this one a miss.
The
Creative Zen Sleek is a new model based around the Zen Micro but with a 20GB capacity. It is a very sleek design and the menu system is almost a carbon copy of the iPod. Slightly cheaper than the iPod it also lacks a colour screen but does have a solid battery life with up to 18 hours of playback.
The
iRiver H-340 is a 40GB player, again with a colour screen. Considerably chunkier than the players listed above it does have a wide ranging feature set. In addition to a built in voice recorder, colour screen for photo viewing and built in FM radio it also has the added benefit of being able to play certain video files. Solid battery life also make this a good choice for those wanting that little bit extra from their player as long as you don't mind the extra size/weight.
The recently released
iPod Nano doesn't really come into any of the above categories as it is a flash memory based player but with a capacity similar to the MicroDrive based players. With 2 and 4GB models available and a colour screen the iPod Nano is of a new breed of players. Around the size of three credit cards stuck back to back it is the smallest 4GB player out there. This of course comes at a price with the 2GB priced at £139 and the 4GB at £169. This is quite a bit more expensive per GB than some of the other players. Is it worth it for the smaller size, ultimately that is a personal opinion.
iPod Technical Support InfoFirst and foremost, the iPod is generally a very reliable piece of equipment. The rumoured problems of battery life were basically just that, rumours. There are thousands and thousands of iPods sold every day and the failure rate, I would guess, over the course of the 12 month warranty is less than 5%. That said there can be problems however most can be fixed yourself by doing one of two things. NB this excludes iPod shuffles. First thing to do is a 'soft' reset. This can be done by pressing the play button and the middle button simultaneously for around 6 seconds. Should this fail to resolve the problem a 'hard' reset can be performed by connecting your iPod to your computer, opening the iPod updater software,
not iTunes and performing a factory reset. It is also worth noting that Apple releases software updates for the iPod periodically and it is always worth making sure you have the latest version installed on your computer/iPod as this will minimise problems you may have.
Also worth noting is problems with headphones. Apple will replace any defective set of headphones free of charge within the 12 month warranty. Simple phone them up (08708 760933) and they will arrange for a replacement set to be posted to you. There is also a wealth of support information on the apple website at
www.apple.com/uk/support/ipod.
Happy Listening.
*wonders whether it will be Graeme or Gareth who bemaons my not mention Ogg Vorbis once*
