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General discussion

Clueless about MP3 players, need help!

Dec 5, 2008 7:12AM PST
Question:

Hello there. I hope your community of members can help this novice out. For the holidays, I'm planning to surprise both my grandkids (ages 11 and 14) with an MP3 player each, but the sad thing is I don't know a thing about them. I went to the local store and I was quite shocked to find how many of these players there are. For instance, I thought the iPod was just one type of player, but to my surprise there are a few different models just from the iPod name, which makes it even more confusing. I know it would be difficult for you to determine what is best for my grandkids, but I would like to get them something that they will enjoy for years to come. I don't want to buy them a cheap one, nor do I want to overspend (budget is $100 to $200), but I do want them to be happy with what I get them and be the coolest grandma who is hip with what's in. It's a big surprise for them and bigger challenge for me because right now I'm clueless. If you can help me out and explain with simple terms the overall differences between the varieties of MP3 players there are, what makes a good and bad MP3 player, what features are favorable or unfavorable, I would be forever grateful.

Submitted by: A lost grandma, Louise T.

Here are some featured member answers to get you started, but
please read up on all the advice and suggestions that our
members have contributed to this member's question.

The MP3 player rundown --Submitted by MehStrongBadMeh -
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7595_102-0.html?forumID=71&threadID=319109&messageID=2921723#2921723

MP3 players... --Submitted by Watzman
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7595_102-0.html?forumID=71&threadID=319109&messageID=2921728#2921728

MP3 purchase... --Submitted by forkboy
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7595_102-0.html?forumID=71&threadID=319109&messageID=2923013#2923013

If you have some additional suggestion, advice, or tips for Louise, please click the reply link and share it with us. Please be keep it in simple terms and when necessary in details when appropriate. Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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no problem with video
Dec 12, 2008 10:18PM PST

Sorry but I have to disagree with you on the video part. With the Zen you download the music, video, tv program, movie, pictures etc to you pc, than it's downloaded via USB onto your player. (like any other MP3 player) I've downloaded a bunch of music videos, a few episodes of sitcoms like Scrubs & Seinfeld and even an audiobook. These downloads didn't take very long at all. I think my longest download was maybe 15 minutes for the audiobook. The sitcoms only took about 7-8 minutes. And what's the big deal with that? While it's downloading you do other tasks like check your email, surf the web or do it while you're watching tv. I find that having sitcoms downloaded to my MP3 player makes for a much more enjoyable plane ride. As opposed to trying to read on the plane while the older couple behind you spends the whole flight talking about their grandkids or listening to the baby cry two rows behind you.. No thanks! Pop in the noise cancelling headphones and enjoy a couple of sitcoms or an audiobook. Granted, I have yet to download a movie, but I can't imagine it taking more than 30-45 minutes at the most for a full length movie.

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Cancel the IPod war
Dec 12, 2008 9:47PM PST

Won't someone just tell her something about an MP3 player??? OK, then I will. A little background: MP3 is a compression format. A song on a CD is relatively quite big, being about 10 megabytes per minute of music. MP3 compresses this by a factor of 10 or so. This not only makes it easier to store as far as memory requirement, but much easier to transfer, especially over the internet, which is usually the worst bottleneck. MP3 allows different bitrates, the higher number being the better quality, yet bigger music file. The lowest, (also most common) bit rate that still has quite good music quality is 128,000 bits per second. There are also 160, 192, 256, and 320 thousand bit per second rates. To simplify this a little, call it about a minute of music per megabyte (mega = million) at that standard 128k (k = kilo = thousand) bit rate. So (for example) a song is often 2 to 5 minutes or 2 to 5 megabytes big.

Of course, one of the first considerations is how much memory the player has. A gigabyte is 1,000 (actually 1,024) megabytes and these players come in 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8, and, lately, 16 giabyte sizes. They also come with mechanical hard drives (instead of memory) with relatively huge sizes like 40 gigabytes, but then you have to worry (more) about what happens when you drop the player and the price, of cours, is stiffer. Probably the best place in the price vs memory curve right now is 4 gigabytes. That would allow for, say, about 65 hours of music at that 128 bit rate, or say, 1200 to 1400 songs.

After that it's a matter of features. Do you live in a place where an FM radio would be useful? Remember that it probably uses the earphone as an antenna, and in any case, it won't be all that sensitive as far as reception. Do you need or even want it to be able to record things? Little details, like can it record from its radio? Do you care if the LCD display is color? Some of these players can actually play movies! Do you want that? Movie format is often MP4, by the way, another compression format. There are other audio (and video) formats, like AVI, DIVX, WAV (not even compressed at all), WMA (Windows format for audio and video), OGG, and some more unusual ones. Can the player you're looking at do any other formats than just MP3? Do you want it to? My recommendation, especially in your case where you probably can't even answer that question, is to go for one that can do as many formats as possible. Some of them have some very exotic features, like electronically flipping the screen so it can be held upside down, a built in graphic equalizer, base boosters, all kinds of settings, and too many other things to list.

Then there's ease of use. Are the controls (buttons) intuitive and easy to learn or are they more confusing than anything else? One feature I would insist on is a lock function; that is, a switch that will make the player stop responding when the buttons are pressed. This keeps the music playing even if buttons are accidentally or unintentionally pressed while running through the mall with a purse banging against the player with every step.

The battery and how it charges should be a big consideration. These things, like most other devices, can use anything between AAA batteries, which will be expensive and inconvenient, to a lithium (ion) battery that recharges through a computer's USB port the minute you plug it into a computer. You should consider this.

Finally, the price and all things related. You want to get the most "bang for the buck" now that you've taken the trouble to learn all these things. Examples of all things related would be shipping charges vs just going to a store and buying it or getting free shipping; also what it comes with, i.e. headphones.

For the price you mentioned, you can get a WORLD of features! The sum of money you mentioned is way more than you need to get REALLY NICE players! By the way, the IPod is a little like the Mercedes; you pay for the name. There! I almost made it without even mentioning any brand names or engaging in the war.

One more note: There are lots of utilities that will convert songs on CD's to MP3 format, including Windows Media Player, so, for me, all these music service thingies (like ITunes) aren't even a consideration in determining which player to get.

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agree
Dec 13, 2008 4:58AM PST

my aforementioned daughters used MP3 players for years, as did I and my husband. We still use our players ocasionally when we want to just listen to audiobooks from the library or just plain CD's. Since wireless is sketchy up here in Alaska, our FM transmitters don't always do the job for us while taking car trips....so we still carry our dependable players with us....call us oldies but there u have it.
not hip but very practical.
Actually even after giving my girls their iPods I still see them occasionally using their players....
gri in alaska (-40 and falling)

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MP3 players
Dec 5, 2008 11:44AM PST

There are plenty of MP3 players out there and they are all very inexpensive. The main difference would be in storage capacity and ease of use (navigation abilities). MP3 players can only play MP3 files. Now, Ipods are totally different. IPods can play MP3, but Apple also has it's own proprietary encoding systems which allow higher fidelity and smaller storage space than MP3 (eg. ALE and AAC). In addition, IPods can store and play video (not the "shuffle") ie. movies, as well as downloaded podcasts. MP3 players may be able to download podcasts as well. The IPod interacts with ITunes which is Apples version of Napster ie. a place where you can "buy" tunes and download them to your Apple computer and hence to the IPod. I have recently purchased an Apple laptop as well as an IPod (8GB). I don't know how well an IPod would interact with Windows.
Peter.

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ENOUGH ALREADY with iPOD !
Dec 12, 2008 12:23PM PST

Why be held hostage to Apple software? Much nicer to be able to transfer files from ANY computer to a MP3 player without hassle.

CHECK OUT SANDISK CLIP. For starters read some of the 298 reviews on Amazon. I have several other MP3 players. My latest was the 1 GB version of SANDISK CLIP. It cost less than $15 and works great. Very loud audio and good FM tuner are nice features. I see no point in having zillions of files on any one MP3 players. The Clip is very easy to use. Not needing special dedicated software is a big plus. Very easy to plug and play with no strain on the brain.

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Easy?
Dec 12, 2008 1:01PM PST

I'm not sure this person is worried about being held hostage to anyone. She pretty much just wants something for kids. It probably should be easy.
Copying files back and forth may be easy for some, but not for others. I found it to be an annoyance when I had my 1GB player. Even now, the person I gave my 1GB player to comes to me to add new songs on it.
It requires a certain amount of technical know-how to copy things around. In short, its not easy. Its less easy, in fact, when you run out of space, because you only have 1 GB.
Now you have to manage an MP3 library on your computer somewhere, so you have them available to copy to your 1GB player at some time when you want to listen to them.
This is one thing iTunes does right, it takes the computery-ness out of the whole process. It handles all that for you.

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SIMPLICITY
Dec 13, 2008 12:14AM PST

I DISAGREE. Anyone with little or no computer experience can handle Control-C (copy) and Control V (paste) and Control X (cut). Also, for those of us with zillions of audio files, automatic "syncing" often executed with software dedicated to Apple and other schemes, can make life far complicated than it needs to be. It's much nicer to be able to copy albums to an MP3 player without needing special software.

I would submit that minimal learning is required to copy and paste MP3 files from ANY computer to any SANSA MP3 player. Although I've several MP3 players with capacities ranging up to 8 GB, One GB in a nice little Sansa Clip (cheap but good)handles enough content for most of us for a day's activity. For example, my initial test of my new $14 Sansa Clip had me on a long walk as I heard all ten hours of The Prosecution of George Bush for Murder. After above listening, it took only seconds to delete the file from player (kept on computer) and to load "fast" 150% and 200% albums of same book. Serious books worth reading or listening to once are worth hearing again. I normally process talking non-fiction books for "speed hearing" at 150% and 200% of "normal" 100% speaking speed. Comprehension and understanding often maximize at faster than "normal" 100% speed. Try it and you'll agree. I like to control manually which albums are loaded in players.

Cheers,

GERY www.gjs.net

Madison, WI and Freiburg, Germany

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more simple-er
Dec 13, 2008 12:40AM PST

I just plug my ipod in, wait a sec, then unplug. Don't have to copy anything, because all my music is in the library and automatically gets synced. No learning anything. When I put a CD in, itunes asks if I want it ripped into the library. Nothing to manage.

I had a Creative 1GB before and it was a nice little player, but I wouldn't call it easy to manage. I'm technologically savvy, so it was trivial to copy and paste, but I try not to assume that of others.

When you really think about it, how easy it is to manage a bunch of mp3's that you have to put in folders and copy to other folders you make on the device? Its easy for us, but for these kids it may just be more trouble than its worth after time goes by. My wife has to ask me if she's doing it right when she backs up things to an external USB drive. Its not that easy for everyone.

Control C, V X aren't exactly the pinnacle of ease and intuitiveness. I think its really about a music device as a music device, not as a part of a computer. Computers are hard to use for some people, if you can take the "computer" out of the MP3 player, it makes it easy to use and attractive to everyone.

BTW, how was the book? I loved Helter Skelter, so I thought about reading that one too.

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Sansa Clip is very sweet
Dec 13, 2008 3:27AM PST

I agree completely, I bought a 4GB Sansa Clip from Best Buy for $35. It is EASY to move my files to, has great battery life and the FM Tuner works great. Glad I didn't waste more money for less on an iPod Shuffle.

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NEED HELP
Dec 19, 2008 10:41AM PST

I have Vista 64 Laptop

Can you suggest me a Music player
that will play a list of my songs
& after i shut it down & latter
want to listen to music after 2 days
will countinue playing from the same
place i had stoped it

like in my PPC eg: core player
its so easy to open a folder click the ones i want to play & when i restart it plays from the same place i had stoped it

Please Help Me Happy

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Clueless about MP3 players, need help!
Dec 5, 2008 11:45AM PST

If you want to stay the hip grandfather, it's an iPod Nano 4th generation that will keep you in their graces. Available in 8GB ($149) 16GB ($199), you can find them discounted from a number of online retailers. The 8GB is probably your best choice considering the age of your grandchildren, and above all, whatever you decide to buy make sure they are the SAME.

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missing the point
Dec 13, 2008 8:13AM PST

I agree that she should go with the ipod nano.
The actual question is what should a grandmother buy for pre-teens. most of the responses are for which is the best and what features to base your decision on. I am not an ipod fan and love my Creative Zen, but I think from the perspective of a child the ipod is the only real mp3 player and the rest are pale comparisons.

I don't think the ipod is the best one out but I think the ipod is the best for a grandma to get her grandkids and seem like the coolest grandma ever to them.

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What kids REALLY want
Dec 19, 2008 12:06PM PST

Since this debate has been happening I decided to check with my nieces and nephews and see how they REALLY think and what they REALLY want. (not what a bunch of middle aged folk on a forum THINK they want) I've got 12 nieces and nephews and I spoke with each one of them over the past couple of weeks. (they range in ages between 8-19 years of age) 4 of them have Ipods, 3 of them have Creative Zens, and and 2 of them have a Sansa mp3 player. (3 of them don't have anything yet, but are hoping they receive one for Christmas. The girls of the bunch all have the Ipods and their brothers have Zens. The other two kids, each a boy and a girl, had a Sansa because they were the least expensive and their parents are on a tight budget. Every one of the girls agreed that they like their brothers Zen players because it has more options (specifically the FM radio tuner) and the battery life lasts longer. They all said they requested Ipods because their friends at school have them, but if they had a choice to do things over, all 4 of them agreed that they would much rather have a Zen.
The only thing they really like about their Ipods is that they each have them in their favorite color. So there you go folks, the proof is in the pudding. Kids really will be happy with ANY MP3 player you get them and although they may request an Ipod because their friends have them, they'll be quite happy (if not more so) with a less expensive player such as the Zen. There really is no reason to spend 150to200+ dollars for an Ipod for a teenager. Especially in this day an age when money is tight and everyone is trying to budget more wisely.

So Grandma, do yourself a favor and buy two Creative Zens for your Grandchildren, for the price of one Ipod. That is what's called being a smart consumer.
Happy Holidays!! Happy

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What's FM? (kidding)
Dec 20, 2008 1:37AM PST

Thank you very much for your input.

I'm honestly shocked that kids give a hoot about FM. Most kids seem to get thousands of songs, by hook or crook, that will play on anything. In my opinion, most FM programming stinks. Many people are getting satellite-enabled radio, for their cars. So, what does anybody need FM for now? - other than maybe to listen to the TV at the gym.

I've had iPods for 5 years and Love 'em. (You can get 'em cheaper at Cosco, Sam's Club, etc.)

With an open-mind, I'll gladly check out the Creative Zen for future purchases. (I hope it works w/Rhapsody, which is awesome.)

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Zen will work with Rhapsody
Dec 20, 2008 2:37AM PST

Just an FYI....The Zen WILL work with Rhapsody and pretty much any MP3 song download site out there. It's even compatible with Apple Itunes files (ACC) without having to convert the file over to MP3 or WMA. That's one of the great features about the Zen, it's compatible with many more file types than the Ipod is.
While there is certainly nothing wrong with the Ipods, I do think their great players, but for the money the Zen is the way to go for me and many people (& kids) I know. Give them a try sometime, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
I purchased a couple of 8MB SD cards for my nephew's Zen for Christmas. You can purchase SD cards fairly inexpensive these days and is a great way to add more storage to this MP3 player.
There are a couple places online that sell 128MB SD cards for around 30 bucks. (can't beat that!)
Have a great wknd everyone!

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Zen w/Rhapsody
Dec 21, 2008 1:11AM PST

Thank you for the info about the Creative Zen and Rhapsody. I love my Rhapsody subscription. I'll definitely have to check out the Zen.

I'll probably just start listening to Rhapsody on my phone.

I also really like the expansion card idea, for the Zen.

The main thing I don't like about my iPod, which I generally Love, is that Rhapsody-to-go feature doesn't play nice with iPods. (I believe, that's a licensing issue between Rhapsody and Apple, not a device issue.) Many other features of Rhapsody work great with the iPod.

Also, as much as I Love the huge capacity of my iPod, it does worry me that if I drop it, I may trash the hard-drive. However, that's why I have Best Buy's service/replacement plan. With a flash-based device, this wouldn't be an issue.

Btw - When I have had damaged iPods, Apple has handed me brand new ones, no questions asked, after a year of use each. Also, Best buy replaced my 4 year old 40 GB iPod with a beautiful 160 GB iPod, after my Monster FM car transmitter killed it.

Again, I'll definitely try the Zen. One of my friends is in the market for his first audio device now.

File Formats:
(I'm an audiophile/freak and I love my iPod. iTunes) When I first got into digital music, I ripped everything as 240-320 Kbps variable bit rate (vbr) wma files, and listened to 'em on Windows Media Player.

128 kbps aac files sound great and take up much less space than the vbr wma's or 192 Kbps mp3. (I'm very impressed by that.) So, I don't think of it as a limitation.

With your $34/quarter subscription, Rhapsody sells everything as DRM-free 256 Kbps mp3 now for $7.80/album. I can easily transfer them to the iPod, in Rhapsody. They play/sound great on iTunes/iPod. However, they take up more space than the equivalent 128 aac's would.

With a Creative Zen or a Sansa whatever, and many other devices, I could take advantage of the Rhapsody-to-go program and not have to purchase the albums. - Just load/re-load whatever I want. That would be a huge, awesome, feature, that I currently can not enjoy with my iPod. (That's my biggest issue with the iPod.)

However, most important to this whole debate is that, many people do not subscribe to Rhapsody and simply get their music by hook or crook and load it on their device, including the iPod.

Again, I'll probably just start listening to Rhapsody on my phone.

Thanks again for your helpful info. Happy

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FM - IP HYPE
Dec 20, 2008 3:02AM PST

DON'T UNDERSTAND THOSE DISCOUNTING VALUE OF FM.
Here in Madison, Wisconsin we have a lot of good stuff that appeals to those who think. AIR AMERICA and several NPR stations. Public sector FM radio in Germany is WONDERFUL. Deutschland Funk, etc. The new and cheap (mine cost $15) Sansa Clip MP3 player has good FM.

All the iPod stuff is very irritating. Granted these Apple gadgets may be OK for those having software installed on ONE computer. But for those of us who travel around a lot and use different computers, being held hostage to special Apple software is not practical. Although all major world cities such as Berlin give us ready access to computers - don't assume that APPLE software is installed on them or that it is permissible to do so. It is SO MUCH NICER to be able with a few keystrokes to transfer MP3 files back and forth between portable storage and ANY computer and ANY plug and play device such the line of Sansa players. I've several MP3 players (all with flash memory) that work without fuss. The "syncing" of my untold zillions of files in my primary home computers to any of my players is of no interest. When alone (I do a lot of "marathon" hikes throughout Europe) I load one or more players with spoken word content running at "normal" (100%) speed as well as quite often same content playing FAST (150% or 200%). 20 or 30 hours loaded on a player is ENOUGH.

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Good point regarding the FM issue
Dec 20, 2008 5:09AM PST

Good point regarding the FM issue. Don't discount it just because you may not have any use for it. There are a number are great FM stations in my area (East Idaho) as well as having access to local news and especially weather. I do alot of hiking, camping, snowmobiling and snowboarding and it's absolutely critical when you're out doing any outdoor activity, to be able to know when bad weather may be heading your way. Can't get that kind of information on an MP3 file.
And kids like to listen to their favorite FM stations as that's their main source for new music, which they can later download in mp3 format.

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FM good / bad
Dec 21, 2008 1:41AM PST

(I was kidding/teasing about FM.)

Much congratulations to you, if you have great FM/AM, where you live.

I, actually, listen to C-SPAN, political/news radio, on 90.1 FM, Washington DC area only, all the time. I like it better than others because it's great programming, with no ads, and very respectful hosts.

However, if I wanted to listen to my beloved C-SPAN anywhere besides DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis, MD, I'd have to listen on Satellite-radio. The FM music stations we have around here (MD) play the same tired songs over and over again, until you wanna kill yourself, or have idiotic morning shows, endless ads, etc. I like music or intelligent conversation.

Another person mentioned having to have FM for the weather. That seems nuts today, when there's tons of devices you can get http://www.weather.com on, and get your weather faster, w/out having to listen to FM.

I appreciate the info about syncing your device, w/multiple computers, all over the world. For me, it hasn't been a limitation 'cause I have more music than anyone I know and keep my 160 GB iPod loaded w/tons of it. I love iTunes and the iPod, their intelligent play-lists, etc. I, honestly, don't understand what some think is so limiting about it.

Apple's 128 Kbps aac format is great. I sounds great and takes up less space than 240-320 Kbps vbr wma files or 192 Kbps mp3 files. (I think I'd stick w/it, even if I wasn't using an Apple device.)

I do plan on looking, w/an open mind, at other devices, for a friend, very soon.

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Repetetive FM music
Dec 22, 2008 12:21AM PST

I completely agree with the comment about repetetive music on many FM channels. I grew up in South Florida where every channel was owned my Clear Channel and have found that most of Clear Channels radio stations across the country are this way. I was pleasantly surprised when I moved to the NorthWest part of the country where Clear Channel doesn't have their hooks into any FM stations (as of yet that is) and its a nice change to have a variety of music, news and weather stations that aren't so repetetive as what I was used to.
Most of the Eastern, Southern and midwest radio stations are owned by Clear Channel and they are the worst when it comes to non-stop advertising and repetetive playlists. But get away from Clear Channel stations and it's amazing to hear the difference in both the amount of ads played and the amount of times each song is played during the day.

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I agree
Dec 20, 2008 8:22AM PST

I second that! I'm surprised anyone cares as well.

We have one good station (Milwaukee, WI) and it didn't come into existence until after I got my ipod. I understand "good" is in the ear of the beholder, and that is even more reason to get an MP3 player. You get what you want.
MP3 players are really around because FM radio is too repetitive.

I had a friend who had an MP3 player with AM radio so he could listen to baseball games, but other than that, I don't get it.

The best would be to use the Belkin FM transmitter in my car to transmit the FM channel I'm picking up on my MP3 player over my car speakers. Genius.

I looked at Creative Zen reviews online (Walmart.com), as it was well regarded in this forum.

The Zen looks nice and is cheaper, but a lot of people had issues with freeze-ups and one guy could never get his email or phone calls to customer support answered.
It sounds about what I expected. Cheaper, and you'd better hope you get sick of it before it conks out.

That said, the Zen looks pretty sweet and if you get a device like this (with no moving parts), unless its just junk (or DOA), it will probably last a long long time.

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firmware updates
Dec 20, 2008 8:51AM PST

Good comment. I've heard about the Zen's "freezing up", but haven't actually known anyone that has had the problem. From what I've read about the issue it's been corrected with their firmware update. (which I've done to my Zen player) Just go onto Creative's website and you can download the firmware update right to your player, which is also good to know in case any future updates may become available.
I know the Playstation 3 had certain issues as well which were corrected this way.

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Zune, all the way
Dec 26, 2008 4:45AM PST

I never wanted an MP3 player, ever. That was 3 years ago. Ha! I received a surprise gift of a Zune (didn't ask for one, never heard of it) and I've never looked at another MP3 player since. I've also bought 3 other 30GB Zune's for my partner and two BF's and they love them as much as I do.

We're all in our 50's and use them for various reasons. I only listen to mine at home since my work environment is too noisy to hear any music. Also, I can't wear head phones so being able to have the music come out of a speaker is how I listen. My other friends use it for working out, walking to work, and are all headphone wearers.

I knew all the hype about iPod. Gave hundreds and hundreds of dollars of ipod gift cards to my friends...talk about a Black Hole that would never be filled! I could not fathom spending .99 cents for every song that I wanted to listen to, especially since I've never downloaded a single song in my life but only download entire albums.

With my Zune, I got a free month-long Zune Pass. THAT IS WHAT SOLD ME ON ZUNE AND WHAT CONTINUES TO SELL ME! No matter how much I like certain music, after a couple of dozen listens, I tire of it. Since I got the music for "free" ($15.00 bucks/month for unlimited downloads), I can dump that album and load up on more.

This weekend, I dumped over 160 albums that I haven't listended to in months to a couple of years and spent all of Christmas Eve downloading 113 new albums...again, for $15.00 bucks! Since that's the cost of an average CD, I consider it money well spent.

On the tech side, an ipod friend of mine is considering a Zune. She states, "I am SO sick of ipods constant and chronic 'updates' and new versions! Sometimes, I just want to go onto their site WITHOUT having to download a 'new' version before I look at my library."

From listening to the news, I remember that two large music sites went belly-up this past year and that rumors are always coming out about Apple price increases and fights with regards to their downloads. That makes me even more happy that I've got a Zune. It's a sturdy little ******; I've had the same one for the past 3 years (since it came out) and dropped it numerous times; an ipod friend of mine is on her 3rd one...all died an early death. (she's one of the ones that I bought a Zune for; she uses that now, rather than get a 4th ipod.)

Poor Zune. It can't get "no respect" despite the sturdiness and fair pricing of it's Zune Pass. Oh well, more for me to enjoy.

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not what a bunch of middle aged folk on a forum THINK they w
Dec 21, 2008 3:29AM PST

"not what a bunch of middle aged folk on a forum THINK they want"

Excuse me?

So experience doesn't count for anything now, eh?

Besides which, I/m 56.....wayyyyyy past middle age, thank you very much.

Tongue-in-cheekedly yours,

Mickey

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The MP3 Player Rundown
Dec 5, 2008 12:04PM PST

There are many different types MP3 players out there and getting the right one can be confusing. Here are the main basic groups:

1. Workout/Mini Players
Identifiable for their small size and cheap price, thus making them well suited for a workout. Players of this type often have no screen, or a small one, making them unsuitable for videos. They usually have 1gb (240 songs) to 4gb (1000 songs) of storage space. Some have extra features like a radio or a voice recorder.

Some players from this category:
-iPod Shuffle $49.99-1gb, $69.99-2gb
-Sansa Clip $49.99-2gb, $69.99-4gb
-Creative Zen Stone $39.99-2gb


2. Flash Players
Probably your best choice if you have absolutely no idea what player to get. Usually have small (about 2 inches diagonally) a color screen suitable for watching short videos. Larger than Workout MP3 players, but still pretty small. Also suitable for workouts. They usually have 4gb (1000 songs) to 16gb (4000 songs) of storage space. The screen allows for easier selection of media. Some have extra features like games, a radio, or a voice recorder.

Some players from this category:
-iPod Nano $149.99-8gb, $199.99-16gb
-Zune 4/8/16 $99.99-4gb, $139.99-8gb, $179.99-16gb
-Sansa Fuze $69.99-2gb, $79.99-4gb, $99.99-8gb
-Many more...


3. Hard Drive Players
For those of us who need to have gratuitous amounts of music wherever we go Wink. There is only a limited selection of these players available. They are medium in size but still will fit in pockets well. The screen sizes are medium (2.5" diagonal for iPod classic, 3.2" diagonal for Zune) and are suitable for watching long videos. They have a whopping 80gb (20,000 songs) or 120gb (30,000 songs) of storage space. The larger screens are easier to read text on. They both have games and the Zune has a radio.

The players from this category:
-iPod Classic $249.99-120gb
-Zune 80/120 $229.99-80gb, $249.99-120gb


4. Portable Video Players
You're probably not going to buy this type for your grandchildren. They have huge screens that are great for watching full movies. Also, they are large in size and probably won't fit in your pockets unless your are wearing cargo pants. But, most importantly are expensive starting at $349.99 for the Archos 5 with 60gb and going up to $549.99 for the Archos 7 with 320gb. They also have advanced features like a wifi web browser.


5. The iPod Touch
Yes, this player gets its own category. The iPod Touch features a Touch Sensitive screen that allows it to have an extremely long list of features. This includes things like address book, calendar, internet, calculator, games, email, etc., etc., etc. The screen is well suited for watching videos. The iPod touch is about the size of the Hard drive players although it uses flash memory. Its shortcoming is its expensive price for its smaller amount of memory.

iPod Touch $229.99-8gb, $299.99-16gb, $399.00-32gb


That's the end of my list. I hope this made your buying decisions easier. Keep in mind that if you buy one grandchild a better (more expensive) player then the other child may become pissed off.

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Subscription vs. Download
Dec 15, 2008 1:11AM PST

One item that seems to have been missed in all this is if users want to subscribe to an unlimited amount of music or to pay for each individual downloaded song. My preferance is to subscribe to music, which brings the user into a Zune player environment. As an added bonus with the subscription model, each user is eligible for a addtional 10 downloads per month, wireless network support, and the ability to listen to thier favorite FM music stations and add music direclty to their Zune device from selected songs that are played on the radio...Not appealing to everyone, but to some this is a major feature....

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'Touch' category....
Dec 20, 2008 1:38PM PST

Ipod touch is not a category on its own. There are more players that fit in the touch category that are as good as or better than the touch.

1. Cowon S9 - cowonamerica.com

2. Onda vx787 - mp4nation.net

3. Nationite OS81 - mp4nation.net

4. Nationite S:Flo - mp4nation.net (this player is the size of the ipod nano with a full touch screen, beat that Apple)

5. Iriver Spinn - iriverinc.com


Research, its more rewarding.

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iTouch category
Dec 24, 2008 5:19AM PST

You might not consider the iTouch it's own catagory because there are other touch players that sound better. However, none do what an iTouch does (I can't believe I'm defending an Apple product because I love my Cowon D2). There is no other MP3 player out here with the range of games and other aps, OR the coolness factor. You might have lost sight of the original question: you're trying to help a Grandma look cool to her grandchildren, and right now, iPods win out in terms of coolness. Again, it's best to consult the grandkids to be sure your choice matches their desires, but you most likely can't go wrong with an iPod within budget.

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lol....
Dec 24, 2008 12:20PM PST

Like I said earlier, if you want games, get a psp. The touch has terrible games, btw.

The ipod touch is like the wii, a fad product, and once you get past the "coolness" of a "new" interface, it is way over hyped for what it actually is.

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lol the_eternal_dark
Dec 29, 2008 7:08PM PST

Are you high on crack? Just exactly what have you been smoking?
You said the ipod is like the Wii...a fad product. Something tells me you said the same thing when they invented television and again said the same thing about rock and roll. You don't pay ANY attention
to what's going on in the world around you at all. Do you? Nursing homes are now using the Wii product for it's exercise software that is done in a way that is fun...like games. It helps improve mental and physical abilities. Racing stripes painted on a car...that's a fad. A "**** happens" T-shirt...that's a fad. A "where's the beef" baseball cap...that's a fad. Also, the pet rock...come on!! I've no idea how old you are. I do know you don't know what you're talking about. If you readers don't recognize the fads mentioned...point made.