Which MP3 player will allow me to load and use folders?

I have a sony network walkman nw-hd1 that allows me to set up my own folders on my computer and transfer them to my mp3 player. It has a 20gig hard drive.

I hope this helps. I think Ipods let you do the same thing by setting up play lists on itunes.

Creative Labs (the company that makes the Zen) also makes Jukebox products. I have an older 20GB (which I've since upgraded) Jukebox that I can load folders onto... either directly through Windows Explorer, or by using the CReative Labs software that it comes with... the latter being the much easier option.

The menu system on their Jukebox products is very easy to use as well.

Now, you CAN'T use multiple level folders... for example, if you have an artist with multiple albums, you cannot create a folder for the artist, with sub-folders for the albums, and be able to scroll through them.

Hope that helps.

I would recomend the Archos Gmini 402 Camcorder. It allows you to use Folder Browsing and UMS. All you basically have to do is drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste your music folder into the device and then on the device you can folder-browse.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Archos_Gmini_402_Camcorder_20GB/4505-6499_7-31595017.html

Its only one gig but it does work with folders.

I didn't research this product before I got it but I got what looked like a fairly good price at the time - about $109 at Best Buy a couple months ago. At least it was a competitive price for other products in the stores that day.

I practically twisted the saleskid's arm behind his back, making him promise me that it worked with folders and didn't rely on any proprietary media organizer. My stuff is tagged fairly well but still its all outlined in categories, subcategories etc within folders. I wanted to drag and drop.

He promised me it was capable of both folders drag'n'drop and also the proprietary software. Even so, I was a bit leery about the interface on the player. He couldn't demonstrate it to me so I just took a chance. The reason I was leery is because of how small the thing is. Its about the size of your thumb, only shorter and flatter.

I've been amazed at how much I like the display and interface. Very simple, very capable, very user friendly and intuitive. I had it for months, using all the features, before I cracked the operator's manual. Actual to be honest I did glance at the first few pages of the book, just checking for warnings that wouldn't be obvious. For example, they recommend that you always play the device until the battery runs all the way down before you recharge it, and then charge it completely. If you don't do this, the battery life will be shortened.

Since I brought it up, this is the only shortcoming I can see with this product. It started to be kind of a drag for me, to always have to get the battery run down to zero. To do that, the battery doesn't always "die" at a convenient time. So if you're in a good position to recharge before it dies, what do you do? just turn it on for a while to let it completely die?

My solution is to just ignore that advice. They say the downside is that the battery life may run down sooner. Oh well I'll just have to deal with that when the time comes.

I know one gig is a bit smaller than what you're looking for but I took the time to post for the following reasons. The good points of this device are good enough that you may settle for the smaller storage. After all, its so incredibly easy to swap music off and onto the device. Second, maybe Samsung will have a very similiar product with just a bit more capacity.

One other downside I might see for someone that is a lover of music. The sound quality isn't the absolute best that I've heard. I've also owne a couple Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtras - 30gb and 40gb - and the sound quality is pretty amazing on those. At least as good as a high quality CD walkman.

The Samsung is not a huge step down. If you have an ear for music, for quality in sound, you will probably be able to detect it. For me its not a big deal because I use the Samsung almost entirely for podcasts, and I keep the Zen Xtra around for music. Of course I use the Samsung for music also and I don't even think of the sound quality, I just relax and enjoy. I'd say its at or slightly above good FM reception quality. It definitely gets you by in a pinch.

In the end, I hate trading off music quality for any other thing. But since the Samsung isn't primarily a music device for me, I LOVE the size. Its ultra light, flash, with a built in clip. It fits in the coin pocket in my jeans, I can't detect it. Or I put it on my cell phone holster or even the collar of my T-shirt.

BTW, it does also have FM and voice recorder.

This player allows you to do it.
If you use WMP10 to transfer music (MTP Mode), it'll create it's own folder structure, which in my opion, really sucks.
But if you just connect it to your pc without opening WMP it goes into USB mode and you can drag and drop files and folders using your own structure.
I dont' think it'll allow you to transfer non supported media files tho, as it's not UMS, so you can't use it as a portable flash drive.

havn't tried yet tho

you could get an older iRiver product and load Rockbox on it

www.rockbox.com

i say go for the iAudio X5L 20/30gb I loved mine. you can just copy and paste your music onto it, and it will appear on the player the way it does in your computer

I`ve been loading mixed music files on my c150. You have the option to load as a mass storage device file.
I`ve also organized my non-copyright protected music by file since Musicmatch won`t upload or handle unprotected music.