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General discussion

MP3 Player for serious runner Part 2

Jun 27, 2005 4:52AM PDT

What MP3 players would you recommend for a runner? I don't want a flash player, but one with about 20gb.

Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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(NT) (NT) They don't make flash players more than 2gb
Jun 27, 2005 6:57AM PDT
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Oh srry read it wrong...
Jun 27, 2005 7:02AM PDT

Well with 20gb you won't find anything very compact, which you need for running. Also running with a harddrive based player is not a good idea, you may damage the many moving parts in the process. If you are using your MP3 player for running, exercising, or any strenuous activity flash-based is the only way to go.

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can't use a hard drive mp3 player for running
Jun 29, 2005 10:01AM PDT

I agree with the prior post, you can not use a hard drive mp3 player for running. Well actually that is not true, if you want to spend a couple of hundred dollars on a hard drive and ruin it, you can. A flash player with 512 mb can hold about 8.5 hours of music and 1 GB flash player can hold about 17 hours, unless you are running for longer than 17 hours I think the 1GB would be sufficient.

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I agree
Jul 1, 2005 1:13AM PDT

just wanted to throw in some support for the previous posts.

the hard drive based mp3 player manufacturers don't advertise it, but none of them are recommended for use while doing anything that involves a lot of movement of the player.

my preferred activity is to sit in front of the computer eating donuts, so there's generally not a lot of motion involved (unless i run out of donuts and have to get more).

flash memory is getting real cheap. within a few years, the hard drive based players will probably become a thing of the past. for now, determine what capacity you think you need, your maximum price for the device, and wait for flash based player prices to fall accordingly. or get a used one.

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busted iPOD
Aug 10, 2005 11:50PM PDT

I totally busted my iPOD (hard drive) by running and would recommend against it. Of course the warrenty had just expired when it died. I am looking to get a flash player to run with, but want the maximum size. There are a lot of players that have built-in memory. Is this a hard drive or a flash player? I want to avoid Apple like the plague and don't want to breakdown and get the shuffle. Any recommendations?
Thanks

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running mp3 player recommendation
Aug 11, 2005 4:54AM PDT

Most players with more than 2.5 gb on board memory is likely to use a micro hard drive, and hence, are bad for running.

I would suggest the Sandisk Sansa. It comes in 512/1Gb. Pretty cheap too, considering that it has an SD card slot, which supports 2GB SD cards right out of the box. That means a potential storage capacity of 3 gigs of skip free memory. My one came with a transparent case and armband too. I reviewed it in detail, and you can check it on Epinions at:

http://www.epinions.com/content_186478988932

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You could use a micro hard drive player.....
Aug 11, 2005 10:37AM PDT

I read that you can and the zen micro has the hard drive that is made for running/moving alot. I also read that a smallerhard drive is not as likely to skip as a bigger one like the Ipod is only 4 gb and the zen xtra is 40 gb so the xtra would skip more. They say it is not reccommend but they sell a clip that you can use to run with it.... but its your money