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General discussion

Need MP3 player, but not Apple stuff

Aug 30, 2009 6:28PM PDT

I need a small MP3 player, which supports drag and play. Further, shall it support FM radio and some other features. As for the latter conditions, the more the better. A good audio quality and touch screen would be a plus, and please no Apple crap. I

Discussion is locked

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some helpful links
Aug 30, 2009 9:17PM PDT

cnet link:
http://reviews.cnet.com/best-mp3-players/?tag=leftColumnArea1.0

what i'm waiting for:
http://reviews.cnet.com/best-mp3-players/?tag=leftColumnArea1.0

I just bought the creative zen mosaic but had to return due to loose
headphone connection. I wanted fm radio and on-board speaker. Luckily
i saw that sony is coming out with exactly what i'm looking for with
better on board speakers. Not sure what's the best for touch screen
or your budget but may want to read through cnets reviews unless you
already have. I'm pretty sure the sony's are drag and drop with WMP.

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what i'm waiting for:
Aug 30, 2009 9:22PM PDT
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644657994&N=4294954535

Pasted wrong link - sorry. Also, i was considering the samsungs as well but i want the best on-board speakers. Don't want headphones all
the time but at least the samsungs have bluetooth for wireless headphones. Wifi is available now as well if you need it. Too many
choices. Trying to keep my costs low as i want to use mine at the beach and pool and don't want to risk damage to a more expensive unit.
Would have kept the zen but i would have had to buy headphones.
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How About A...
Aug 31, 2009 5:48PM PDT
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(NT) Need MP3 player, but not Apple stuff
Sep 3, 2009 12:54PM PDT
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How many dead presidents...
Sep 6, 2009 7:03PM PDT

...do you want to spend?

Drag-n-drop friendly: Sony S-series (2nd generation). Very good SQ. Biggest flaw: no ability to generate on-the-fly playlists. HUGE battery life. FM radio. Reasonably priced. Get the slightly better-sounding X-series if you want the touchscreen and brilliant OLED screen, but be prepared for the huge upcharge in $$$. Also doesn't do on-player playlist building (bad, BAD Sony). Neither Sony is very good w/ video, however (it's mostly in the pain with getting compatible vids ONTO the players). I like Sony mostly because it does MP3, WMA and AAC (m4a) files--all of which I use, and doesn't require proprietary management bloatware (hint, Zune? Zen X-Fi?).

I've heard great things about Cowons, but have no personal experience with the brand.