Personal MP3 Players

Dec. 2002

So... you've seen the new MP3 players and are wondering what they're all about.

Ok, first you'll need to familiarize yourself with what MP3 format is and how to rip your audio cd's to mp3 format, etc, etc. Click here to see that info.

There are basically three types of portable mp3 players.

Memory players. These units have some semi-permanent memory like the ram in your computer. Generally they come with 32mb, 64mb, 128mb and more. Look for a player that has a memory expansion slot so you can add more memory later and one that has simple "drag & drop" software which makes loading your music very easy. Read below for more.
Hard drive players. This is the technology of the Apple I-Pod players. They are very nice units and use a mini size hard drive just like the one in your computer to hold 5, 10, 20GB which is a LOT of music. 20GB is around 5000 tracks. If you can afford the $600+ price tag these are nice units. The only disadvantage is the music software since they are Apple-based. I've heard the PC software isn't very user friendly. I can't speak from personal experience though.
MP3 compatible cd players. These are your typical cd-walkman style players or what is used in some newer car audio cd decks. They can play regular cd's and those that are encoded with mp3 format audio tracks. You can fit around 100 audio tracks on a single 74 minute audio cd if you use mp3 format so many people are buying single cd decks in their vehicles because with that you really don't need a cd-changer anymore. The portable units are typically cheaper than good memory or hard drive players but they can suffer from skipping audio if you try jogging with one.

I bought my wife a Creative Nomad II player with 128mb memory for Xmas. The Creative software that comes with it is very easy to configure and use. It plugs in via a USB port and loading an audio track takes just a few seconds. With 128mb memory it holds about 35-40 regular size mp3 audio tracks with 128bit near-cd quality. It uses a AA battery which lasts 8-12 hours which is typical for this type of unit. You might think about buying a battery recharger and rechargeable batteries if you use it a lot. The only negatives of this unit is that it's physically a bit larger than it's RCA and Samsung competition but it's still quite light in weight and it doesn't use the inferior MusicMatch software which has to convert your mp3 tracks to WMV format for the player. Well... that's what I heard from those who have bought and reviewed those players. One other point to consider with the memory players is the type of memory expansion slot (if any) they use. Look for a player such as the Creative unit that can use generic type memory cards which will be the least expensive. Some of the other units use manufacturer specific memory which will cost you an arm & a leg. Other than that I like the Creative Nomad II player quite a bit. One thing you will notice is that any of these players don't play extremely loud (which is also damaging to your hearing) but you can only get so much "juice" out of a 1.5v AA battery.

Have fun!