First there were vinyl record players or more popularly known as the gramophones, then came cassette players and then compact disc players or CD players. A few other devices, such as the MiniDisc players, never really caught on. But a MP3 is different from all this. Whether you want to groove while working or entertain yourself while on your way back home, a portable MP3 player could suit all your musical needs. MP3 players storing thousands of songs supplant the traditional walkman style cassette and CD players. But the dearth of names in the space often confuses buyers, but worry not as Buy-o-logy helps you on your way to getting best in the market.
Storage
MP3 players come in two basic varieties. There are hard-disk based and flash memory-based players. Hard disk players tend to be larger on size and are more susceptible to damage due to the fragile nature of parts within. But on a positive side they have a better storage capacity, from 256MB to 60GB depending on the hard drive technology. On the other hand, flash-based players come with a limited storage, which may later be extended by using external storage cards. In effect, they do not suffer the limitations that owners of hard drive-based players face, such as fears of dropping their player or fragmentation. Such players are commonly integrated into USB keydrives. Generally, about 5,000 songs fit into a 20GB MP3 player.
Types of playable files
This is one of the most important things to keep in mind when buying a MP3 player. Most MP3 players play most audio types. The Apple iPod, for instance, is compatible with AAC, WAV, AIFF alongwith playing the usual MP3 songs. Meanwhile, Sandisk’s Sansa series supports WAV, WMA apart from MP3. The series also comes with a FM radio player. Microsoft’s Zune is expected to support WAV, WMA, AAC along with MP3.
The video option
Recent times have seen a slew of video-enabled players. The iPod supports MPEG-4 format but not the AVI. Major video downloads come in the AVI format. It would be advisable that you check the number of formats that your player supports. It would be useful that the player has a large display and provides for a video output to play stored movies on TV. And if you want to view video or photos on the device, the quality of the screen is an even more critical consideration.
The market and the price
The iPod continues to be a favourite among Indian users in this category. There are other players available like the Sandisk Sansa, Creative and Samsung also have their series of MP3 players. Then there is Sony’s Walkman series and Transcend too. The iPod nano can cost you Rs 7,000-8,000 depending on the storage size. While its video-enabled range can cost over Rs 15,000. Meanwhile, iRiver’s ranges between Rs 2,000 to Rs 15,000.
Creative’s MP3 range is priced between Rs 3,000-27,000 while Samsung’s range starts from Rs 5,000 going up to Rs 15,00. Sony’s flash-based players ranges between Rs 5,900 and Rs 16,000 while it has 6GB MP3 player at Rs 9,900 and 20GB HDD MP3 for Rs 20,000.
Use and user interface:
Your decision also depends on how you are going to use the device. For instance, joggers or frequent users will want a lightweight, flash-memory-based device, since hard drives don’t react well to the shock; audio aficionados who want lots of music at their fingertips should keep their eyes on the highest-capacity hard-drive models. Also, pay attention to the user interface. There is no use buying a player where you cannot locate your favourite songs or artists easily.
Power options
Mind your power options always. While some flash-based portable players use replaceable alkaline batteries, others alongwith most hard drive-based units feature a built-in rechargeable battery that cannot be removed. While these devices can keep going for tens of hours, if you’re not somewhere near a power outlet or a computer with a USB port, you might find yourself out of juice.
Where to buy music
If you decide you want to buy songs online, then you need to decide what music store you want to use. This can very much dictate what player you get because these tracks are sold with Digital Rights Management, which limits what you can do with the song. For iPod, iTunes stores is a good place to buy songs, while there are also other outlets like the MusicMatch online store or the Microsoft’s MusicLibrary. There is one catch here — none of these sellers have Hindi or regional songs. For that, you will have to hunt down websites like coolgoose.com or access P2P softwares like Kazaa or Limewire.
Word of Caution though - downloading from such sites is illegal. So what’s the next best thing to do... buy a MP3 CD and rip its content to your player.
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