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The MP3 Player Guide: The iPod vs. the WorldLast updated 2005. With the giant iPod craze steamrolling over the industry I decided it was about time I release a good comparative guide to give you the best idea of what mp3 player is your best option. For those of you that don't know - MP3 players are essentially small audio listening units, much like walkmans or disc-mans - you can take them most anywhere with you and listen to music. There are three general types of players out there: Flash-based MP3 players - These are the smallest typically available on the market, both literally in size and also in song carrying capacity. The iPod shuffle is an example of a flash-based player. They typically vary in size between 32 mb and 1024 mb - so holding around 7 to 225 songs on average. They're the least expensive and prone to damage from shock because of the way they're built - with flash memory. Small hard drive MP3 players - a good middle range player the most infamous of these is the iPod mini, though there are many brands out there. The offer a good mixture of capacity, cost, and battery life - typically 4-6 gb of space (1000-1500 songs), are usually priced around 200$, and often have battery life of more than 12 hours. Large hard drive MP3 players - represent the pinnacle of mobile music short of a real computer. They typically will carry many features and are sometimes integrated into PDA's and other elements of technology. Size, capacity, battery life, etc... all vary depending on the player, but typically they hold thousands of songs, will play for about a dozen hours, and cost upwards of 250$. MythsI'd like to dispel some common myths associated with iPods, first: iPods are better because they don't break during exercise like all of the others do Blatantly false. This 'breaking' during exercise is skipping or loss of reading off of the hard drive due to shock. iPods use hard drives just like any other player type - they have skip protection, which reads ahead and stores the data, but so do nearly all other hard drive mp3 players. The best mp3 player for excessive are large impact environments is one based on flash memory - there is no hard drive present to skip in those players. I myself had an iPod break due to hard drive failure, don't tell me it doesn't happen. Everyone has iPods they must be better Everyone had AOL at one point in time, was it better? Everyone has windows, is it better? Apple has a brilliant marketing scheme - it's called sex appeal and taking advantage of herd thinking - or people's need to feel part of the in-crowd. Sex appeal in this case means aesthetic visual appeal - people want to buy the darned things because the look sleek and almost sexy. They're associated with cool people and wealth and class. I personal enjoy being different and knowing I made an informed decision about buying an MP3 player. You can purchase mp3 players that are better in every single way (battery life, size, file type playback, capacity) for less money. When you buy an iPod you pay extra money for the brand name, the sex appeal, the ability to be like everyone else. Is that worth it to you? I have an iPod, I have to use iTunes Untrue again - you can use third party programs and plug-ins like WinAmp or Ephpod to load and unload material off of your iPod. iPods are easier than all of the other players out there, I don't want to learn new things Most of the mini-hard drive size players are all as simple as the iPod is. Chances are if you're able to get to and read this web page you can figure them out. If you really truly need the most idiot proof player out there (even so simple that it doesn't have an 'on' or 'reset' switch the iPod may be your best choice. Or you could take a menial amount of time and learn how to use something better. What to Look For in Your PlayerSo now that you've realized the iPod isn't the best and only option out there, you can take the next step, which is to figure out what you need. MP3 players have a common set of attributes that you should consider: Cost - self-explained - the cost for the player in question Capacity - How much data or music the player will hold - this translates to how many songs - depending on the file type of song and length. Battery Life - How long the player will last with average volume and file-type playback File Support - The types of files the MP3 player will play - wma and mp3 are the most common formats - but iPods don't support the former format. Weight - The physical weight of the player - many people are concerned about the mobility. Dimensions - literally how big the item is - how easily you can fit it in your pocket. Display - the size and type of display on the player Special features - items such as skip protection, FM radio playback, the ability to broadcast music to radio, ability to view photos or text files, the player's audio quality, ability to record, stopwatches, games, etc... ComparisonAnd now, a comparison between some of the different MP3 players out now. Middle Range MP3 players
High End Model Hard Drive MP3 players
Mini Hard Drive MP3 players
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