Mp3 Players (done to death but hey!) Prices!

Killaqueen!!!

Why are some mp3 players that have much more storage better than others that have less storage? For example, the Creative Zen Touch 20GB is €261 and the Creative Zen Micro 5GB is €251! I'm confused !!!

Also, what mp3 player would you recommend to buy for Xmas? (Less than €200 or maybe €250) I like the phillips HDD series but I hear they are very slow with downloading stuff. Is this true? Please help! THanx a mil! :-)

Nala

I have the Creative MuVo TXFM(128mb) myself. It'll definitlely be less than €200. The memory isn't all that good but it has some good features, i.e. it has radio, you can program in your favourite stations and record off it aswell. Though I am thinking of getting another MP3 player with more memory, and a rechargeable battery. I like the look of the Zen Touch or Zen Micro, or the iPod 20gb.

Killaqueen!!!

I've heard of those cheap-ish mp3 players that have cool features (record opff built-in radio) but is there ones with that which have decent storage? Thats really what I'm looking for.

Bass.exe

The reason the Zen Micro is the same price as the Zen Touch is that the Micro is TINY. It's a Micro-Harddrive player, which is more expensive than a regular sized HDD.
Plus, the interface on the Micro is more complex (in build, not to use). The entire front panel is touch sensitive, whereas on the Touch, there are 11 buttons (i think) and a Touch 'Strip'. Touch panels are more expensive than mechanical buttons.

If you want cheap then go for one of the old Zens. The Zen Xtra 30GB is (or should be!) much cheaper than the Touch. It's interface isn't as "user-friendly" however.

Edit: If you have a nice big broadband line, then the Touch and the Micro are reviewed (with movies) here

super_furry

I'd be wary of buying an old Zen. Many suffer from a flaw that causes the left headphone connection to break, leaving you with just sound in your right ear.

Bass.exe

Do you mean the soldering breaks? I heard the iPod-mini suffers from the same condition...

Don't believe anything you read about any of the players.
Especially battery life. All battery life for all the players is measured under the following criteria:
1) Songs are encoded at 64kbps. - No-one who is serious about their music listens to it at 64kbps. At least 128kbps, and I prefer 192kbps.
2) Songs are in a contiguous order on the HDD. - Sorry, I don't know anyone who listens to songs in order. You'll probably have it on "shuffle", and skip through every 4th track.
3) Songs are 4 minutes long. - Sorry, most of my songs are 6, 7, 8 - 28 mins long. This means more data, which means more power consumption. Dang.
4) No extras turned on. - D'Oh. You need EQ settings to make music sound good. Pity this burns up even more juice.
5) Player is at optimal temperature/pressure/blablabla. - Hmm, as far as I can tell, Li-Ion batteries work best at a temperature slightly higher than the norm for Ireland.

Having said that, you probably want some numbers. Ok, Zen Micro claims 12hr battery life. I have it on good word that it scrapes through 5. All the above "real life" conditions are present. (192kbps, shuffle, skip every 4th song, EQ).

smemon

i cant believe the lack of mp3 review sites etc on the net. unbelievable. it's a huge hole in the usually saturated tech sites.

i got my girlfriend a mini-i-pod for xmas, nice little thing i have to say, €269 of apple.ie, pink with custom engraving. atm my collection fills it just about.

i want to get one of these things myself in the near future but am VERY reluctant to get an i-pod as i believe theyre heavily overpriced and tbh not that great for the diehard music listener. im looking at an iriver h320lite currently, and if i see nothing new within the next few weeks, months maybe i'll probably go ahead with that. tbh im struggling to find decent info on mp3's. at the same time im hunting for a laptop and theres endless stuff on the net for that.

battery life is a huge factor for me, the mini i-pod i can only get about 4hrs out of!! it says 8 but theres not a hope in hell of me gettin 8 hrs out of that yolk. if i get an mp3 player i DEMAND 10hrs minimum, and REALLY 10hrs minimum. the creative zen touch's 24hr battery life is tempting but i dont know much about it and dont like the look of that copied finger thingy on the i-pod.

rubadub

Bass.exe wrote:

All battery life for all the players is measured under the following criteria:
1) Songs are encoded at 64kbps. - No-one who is serious about their music listens to it at 64kbps. At least 128kbps, and I prefer 192kbps.

AFAIK the irivers are quoted at 128kps mp3, the rest is probably all true. When I skip a song you can see the HD light going again. I usually get about 10hr with mine using 128 wma. it is quoted as 16hr, new batteries are out for the irivers for 28 maybe 29hrs

MrJoeSoap

Anyone got any links to sites that review a few mp3 players?

super_furry

www.cnet.com Have some pretty comprehensive round-ups.

DEmeant0r

I've got a polaroid 40gb one. Costed me around 180 including p and p on Ebay. If you're interested in one, go to this link http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3281&item=5738420982&rd=1

You might also be interested in this one as well http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48686&item=5738863813&rd=1
7 hours left in the auction, and it's 56 dollars atm.

That guy is a top bloke, recieved the player 7 days after I payed.