Mp3:Flash vs Hardrive...

JackKelly

Hmm need a bit of advice.
I owned a ipod 10gb 3g player, which after a year the battery went dead. So i've been limited to discman for a while now. Thing is, i really hate it! So i want to get a new mp3 player. I was set on getting a new iriver or something when i started thinking, why not just get a 512mb/1gb flash player. Eg a ipod shuffle? All my music is on my pc, which means i could easily change music everyday. Also, obviously, a 512 player is waaaaaaaaaaayyy cheaper and smaller than a HD one also. So 1) Is this probably a better alternative 2) How much better is the battery life on a non-HD mp3 player and 3) what is the best type?

RicardoSmith

Well if you have a bigger capacity you hardly ever need to go back to the PC to swap music. If you think about it a 512 or 1gb iShuffle is €99 or €149. But you can get an iPod mini or Rio Carbon for €200 ish. However they both lack a FM radio and can't record, no line in. Theres also a iRiver H10, Creative Zen Micro for 179, and a bunch of Creative and iRiver flash players.

The only reason to get a flash player is size and robustness. If you are doing any kind of running, jogging then a flash player is better.

I'd like to use my MP3 player a portable drive. So if you do that on a flash drive it doesn't leave much room for music.

pauln

I like the look of the new stuff being released by Iaudio. Their new flash player that is being released around now is the Iaudio 5, it has all the features you mentioned, Fm tuner and line in plus more.
Myself, I'm looking for a harddrive player and am holding out for their new X5 which will around in about another month, starting price around €360ish .
Can't you get the battery replaced on your Ipod even if it's out of warranty? I looked this up before and it's the kind of job you could nearly do yourself if your any bit handy, See here.

RicardoSmith

Where will you buy the iAudio stuff from?

cormie

iAudio X5 is going to kick ass!! Lucky you! I think it's going to be dearer than that though. And you don't get any accessories, well just the essentials, for that price as far as I know.

I wouldn't go for an iPod shuffle, it doesn't even have a display screen :eek:

Tobias Greeshman

To OP, I have an IRiver and I swear by it, its great for going out jogging or a walk, and the sound out of it is unbelievable, 512mb takes quite a bit to fill up and battery life is brilliant, 40 hours on a single AA battery.

Those iAudio Flash players look really cool!

garthv

Flash drives are grand an all but you are only going to get so many writes out of a flash drive. I just ordered a 40gb Sony Vaio Pocket for 250 euro delivered from cyberport.de. Was a bit worried that Sony only do ATRAC3 but theres a firmware update to support native mp3.

Bard

RicardoSmith wrote:

Theres also a iRiver H10, Creative Zen Micro for 179, and a bunch of Creative and iRiver flash players.

Where will you get the Creative Zen Micro retailing for €179???

€229 was the best retail price I'd seen recently...

chicken_food

Dell.ie were doing them for 199. a week or so back. Theres a sony 512 flash player for 120 in a bricks and morter camera shop at the top of grafton st.

Bard

Dell.ie is not exactly a standard retail outlet (i.e.: an actual physical shop). If I heard of Zen Micro's going for 189 in one of them, I'd be worried.

JackKelly

Those iAudio's look the biz. Where can you get them? Im falling more towards the flash player side

dudara

The only concern I'd have, is if you were planning on going running with a HD based player. In that case, you'd probably be better opting for a flash-based player. After that, it's a matter of personal taste.

cormie

Hard drive based players (iRivers anyway, from what I've heard) are supposed to be ok to jog with. I was jogging with mine the other day, no skipping or anything. I had it in an arm band. Although I can't jog long enough to test the anti-skip properly:D

dudara

I wouldn't be overly concerned about skipping as most players have sufficiently large buffers nowadays to deal with that problem (unlike my old Sony MD). My concern would be with the physical wear and tear exerted on the HD due to the impact from running.

cormie

I think it says on iRivers official site it's ok though? I could ask on misticriver.net but too lazy at the mo

pauln

Suntec have the 512mb iAudio 5 for $139 but i'm sure they don't ship to Ireland, I don't know of anywhere else yet. You should have a look around at iaudiophile.net it's a great place for info on the iaudio range and the forums are great on up and coming releases.

JackKelly

hmm.cool thanks.
Im reconsidering getting the ipod battery replaced. Is there anywhere in ireland i can get one?

RicardoSmith

TimAy wrote:

hmm.cool thanks.
Im reconsidering getting the ipod battery replaced. Is there anywhere in ireland i can get one?

I think theres a link on Apples site somewhere. Best to go to them I reckon. I typed "iPod battery" on the Apple home page and one of the links was this one.

http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/service/battery.html