MP3 players....Recommendations?

[Goofy]

I'm looking to get an MP3 player and not sure what I should get. Any suggestions?

I'll mainly use it at the gym and on bike rides. For Father's Day my wife and boys got me the Delphi XM MyFi 2Go Satellite radio which is awesome in the car or at home (when attached to the antennaes), but the reception won't come in at the gym. You can store up to 5 hours of music, which is fine, but the radio itself is pretty heavy. Its kind of a pain in the neck to lug it around. Thats why I'm turning to an MP3 player.

I definitely want something that is simple to use. I want to be able to load CDs very easily as well as download easily. I'm somewhat technically challenged....

So far, the Apple IPod Mini has me the most interested, but thought I'd see what you guys had to say.

Thanks for any help!!

[mamakimberly]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

listening in, cause I want one!

[NoMorePumpkin]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

OOh, ooh, me too - me too!!

Although I'll add that my friend's brother works at Best Buy and he says that iPods get returned the most. Some lose memory for no reason at all. The brother recommended Creation, but I haven't checked it out yet.

Listening in...

[miss adventure]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

I have to give a big YES to the iPod mini! I've had both the regular 15g iPod and the Mini, and while they both work the same, the Mini is smaller and easier to stick places while I'm @ the gym! Bonus? It's so cute. Now, the Mini is no longer being made. It was phased out to make room for the new Nano, which looks like a cross between a Shuffle (it's very slim) and a Mini - you should definitely still be able to purchase the Mini, though, as they were JUST phased out last week. If you do want to look into the Nano, it's the same price and holds the same amount of MP3s (1000).

The program that comes with it is called iTunes and in my (somewhat vast, actually) experience, it's the easiest, most user friendly, and smartest program that I have ever used for importing music from CD, organizing my music on the laptop, and transferring it to the iPod. They just released a new version that has even more features than before. I just love it.

If you're looking for something super simple and less expensive, the iPod Shuffle is nice too, but it has no display, and you can't have multiple playlists at once - just the one. I bought one for my mom for Mother's Day, and it's just perfect for her to use at the gym - but she doesn't really care about the more advanced features or extra storage.

I have to stress that though people sometimes talk about the price of the iPod line (which ranges from $100 for the shuffle to upwards of $500 if you're going for the Harry Potter Special Edition which comes engraved with the Hogwarts crest and has all six audiobooks pre-loaded!), but in my opinion (and the opinion of any iPod owner), it's completely, 100% worth it. They're superior to anything else!

So, clearly the Mini (or anything iPod) has my vote!

*Edited to add: the problem with the battery has been corrected, and hasn't been an issue with new iPods since the 4th generation iPods were released over a year ago!

HTH!

[goin2Bgood]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

My son just got an iriver and he's loving it

[sadie147]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

When shopping for an MP3 for my stepdaughter i checked with a coworker who's wife is a runner. She's gone thru 3 RCA Lyra's, so he did NOT recommend them at all.


I ended up going with a BenQ from Bestbuy. Was a great price and it works well. 256 meg, with an FM tuner and voice recorder and it's expandable.

[Goofy]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

OOh, ooh, me too - me too!!

Although I'll add that my friend's brother works at Best Buy and he says that iPods get returned the most. Some lose memory for no reason at all. The brother recommended Creation, but I haven't checked it out yet.

Listening in...

Do you mean the one from www.creative.com? There is a Zen Micro they make that looks really cool...it has an FM radio/recorder, too. This might be nice at my gym as they have a bunch of televisions and you can tune in a headset to listen. Its about the same price as the Ipod Mini. Hmmmmm.....I'm very torn!!!

[Perry]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

Another vote for iPod Nano. $199 but stores 1,000 songs, 25,000 photos and has a battery life of 14 hours or so.

[NoMorePumpkin]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

I think so, I was just quoting what was left on my voice-mail today. I'll have to check out the site you listed.

I really want the FM tuner, too. However, I did just look at the iPod site and it's pretty cool.

Hmmm.... I'm torn too!

P.S. Okay, he must have said "Creative" not "Creation" - Thanks!

[DebbieY]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

I have the ipod 30Gb (since I like to listen to books on tape.) I have all of the Harry Potter books on my Ipod and several other books, and over 100 songs so far. I haven't even used up 1/2 the space. (I got it for my birthday when I turned 30.)

My husband has the 20Gb ipod for when he's working at night. He wanted something to work out to, but he thinks the 20Gb might be too big for really working out.

My cousin is a big runner/exercises A LOT, and she loves her Ipod mini. It's super small, can hold a lot, and is easy to exercise to.

[MaizieMarley]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

I was hoping someone was going to ask about MP3 players. I am also looking into purchasing one. Thanks everyone for all the useful information! One other question - can you transfer music from one player to another without putting them all on the computer? I am talking about a direct transfer. My friend has a Dell Pocket DJ - would I be able to transfer music from her Pocket DJ to an Ipod Mini or is it just not compatible? Thanks, in advance, for any input.

[miss adventure]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

would I be able to transfer music from her Pocket DJ to an Ipod Mini or is it just not compatible?

Maizie - the short answer is nope! iTunes formats the music in a different way, to a wm4 file instead of an MP3. It's one of the reasons that you can't use Napster if you have an iPod - unless you want to burn everything to CD, then import it again using iTunes, then transfer it to the iPod.

The longer answer is maybe - but not directly from player to player. If you can get the MP3s off of her player and onto your computer (which is doable, but sometimes a teeny bit tricky), you can then import the MP3 files into iTunes and onto your iPod. The reverse wouldn't be true for the DJ, because wm4 files aren't compatible with any othe player - just the iPod. IMO, this is kind of Apple's way of keeping it all in the family .

HTH!

[ChixRule]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

Another vote for the iPod here. I've had a couple of Mp3 players over the past couple of years and they have really evolved. My hubby bought me the iPod Mini last summer, and I LOVE it. iTunes is very easy to copy all of your music into and then transfer to your iPod.

BUT.. if I was gonna buy an MP3 player today.. I'd go w/ the iPod Nano. Definitely check it out. It's SO tiny and it holds the same amount of music as my Mini. Go to www.ipod.com and look at the different ones. The Shuffle is kinda cool too, but it doesn't have a display and doesn't have nearly as much memory. BUT if you want it to take to the gym and just have a few playlists of music, it's probably your best bet. I use my Mini in my car and have ALOT of music on it.

So... I'd go w/ the iPod. You just need to decide which one suits your needs the best. (Nano, Nano, Nano haha I'm just saying that cause I want one!)

Good luck!

[MaizieMarley]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

Another dumb question.... I assume I am able to delete songs from the iPod if I get sick of listening to them and then I can add more. Is this correct? I guess after all this feedback I am leaning towards the iPod Nano. Thanks!

[DebbieY]

Re: MP3 players....Recommendations?

Yes, if you go with an Ipod, it comes with software for Itunes. Itunes allows you to load songs from CDs, your computer, or downloading songs. It also has a music store in which you can buy songs and audiobooks. You can then add/delete/rearrange songs on Itunes and then download it to your Ipod. It's pretty easy to do too.