Chirstmas Suggestions: MP3 Players

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Iceman

Iceman

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I've seen the large amount of people in the christmas wish list who want MP3 players for christmas. I'm looking for one that is about $200 or less, and comes with a lot of features and is reliable. There seem to be a multitude of different choices out there, so I'd like to hear some suggestions from you guys.

Thanks for the help 👍.
 
Are you looking for a flash-memory MP3 player, or a HD-based one? That makes a very big difference. Also, can we assume your computer has USB 2?
 
It's really based on price Sage, but a HD player would better suit my needs. And yes, my computer does have USB 2 and Win XP.

Thanks for the suggestion Viper Zero, I was looking at that player, and seeing it at such a low price is a great find. Thanks a lot for the help guys 👍.
 
Just browsing around, I came upon a player called the Neuros. It seems like a good possibility, but I can't really find any info about it on the net besides the company site. Has anyone heard of it before?
 
Is it even going to be out by Christmas?
 
Release date for Japan : Dec 12 2004

SCEA : Early 2005

SCEE : Later in 2005 (as always!!)
 
I'd take it instead of the MP3 player, but I don't live in Japan.
 
Could be a good idea to hold out for the PSP, but it's MP3 you're looking for and not gaming.Wouldn't you say it's a good time to be living in Japan at the moment?
 
Hmm, check out Froogle. I bought a road bike off of there for $200 less than the asking price in town.
 
If you're considering a PSP, don't forget to look at Nintendo's DS. It's cheaper, and still has great graphics and features.
 
Nope, not considering a PSP. Just a solid MP3 player for now 👍.
 
Actually on that note, go with the DS. I played one for about an hour at Best Buy about a week ago. The Metroid game is awesome, and the dual screen approach has endless possibilities. And if you really want a small player for media, pick up a mini-disc player.
 
I'm not really looking at either the DS or the upcoming PSP, just an MP3 player.
 
The DS doesn't support MP3 format to begin with.
 
I actually just bought a new MP3 player on friday. I didnt need anything too fancy, I just wanted a pretty small, 128 mb mp3 player. I dint need radio or voice recorder or anything like that, so I found one called a Beatsounds EMP-ZII. Its pretty cool, it holds 128mb (you can also choose 256 or 512mb), is very small (weighs 24 grams) looks cool and has a color LCD screen that diplays pictures you can uload onto it here are some pics:

p.s. the screen isnt that blue in real life, it just looks like that when you take pics of it. Its actually quite clear and good looking, plus its backlit 👍
 
I think my friend has this one. He thinks it's great, but 256 megs is small compared with others.
 
Yeah, I'd really be more interested in something with more capacity and features than that.
 
For me, I'll prolly get a muvo2 FM or the new Zen micro.
 
Ev0
If you're considering a PSP, don't forget to look at Nintendo's DS. It's cheaper, and still has great graphics and features.
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This is a Gran Turismo-based and thus, PS2-based site you know. Even thinking "Nintendo" at this site is sacreligious! :lol:

To follow the crowd, buy THIS: http://www.digitalhome.com.au/MP3AndPortableAudio/424#

By the way - I saw the Wal-Mart price and almost fell off my chair. Is there anything Australian for less than FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY NINE DOLLARS!? Harvey Norman has nothing, Dick Smith Electronics doesn't have a Zen Xtra, and Retravision hasn't even heard of Creative. Digital Home has the best price for me so far at AU$469, even if that IS over the top. At least THEY have a price...

ANYTHING would be great, if those Australians out there could find a better price... :crazy:

:cheers:
 
I looked into it and decided that the creative zen touch was the best for me. I really am looking for good battery life. If you look around you can get one for $220.
 
the zen touch would rock if you only need 20 gigs. The Zen NX will cost the same but will offer 30 gigs... better value but a more clunky user interface.

If you're willing to go up a bit in price, give the iRiver H120 a real good look. One of the best damn players on the market imo. The creative sounds better but doesnt have as many features. The iPod sounds like crap to my ears and has zero features... and the Rio Karma has an amazing gui but Rio's build quality is generally questionable.
 
emad
the zen touch would rock if you only need 20 gigs. The Zen NX will cost the same but will offer 30 gigs... better value but a more clunky user interface.

If you're willing to go up a bit in price, give the iRiver H120 a real good look. One of the best damn players on the market imo. The creative sounds better but doesnt have as many features. The iPod sounds like crap to my ears and has zero features... and the Rio Karma has an amazing gui but Rio's build quality is generally questionable.
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I thought you said the H320 was the best. Was I misinformed? It's the same price as the H120.

I'm gonna get the iRiver H320. 👍
 
I have a 30GB Zen Xtra and i can say that i am quite pleased with it. It holds an a$$load of songs and seems pretty durable since i've dropped it about 50 times and its not breaking. The scroll button is kind of annoying and when you have a ton of songs on it it can be annoying getting to the ones you want, which is why i usually use the play any track function. As someone mentioned above you can find it for under $200 so i recommend it if you can get ahold of one. (also its so good that my brother is going to buy one now that hes seen mine)
 
Event Horizon
I thought you said the H320 was the best. Was I misinformed? It's the same price as the H120.

I'm gonna get the iRiver H320. 👍
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I said the h120 is *one* of the best. The price for the 120 should be a tad cheaper than the h320 if you buy from a supplier other than iRiver. If they're the same cost then yea, the H320 is most definately the way to go
 
I have the newest generation 40 gig iPod. It is very nice, and I get 10+ hours of playtime if I do not use the backlight or activate the hard drive all the time. The sound quality is excellent if you set the equalizer to your tastes and have high end headphones. I have the Shure E3's which are rather expensive, but I needed the canal type phones since I use it at work (a loud factory).

My neighbor has had 3 Creative Noamd Zen extras and I was debating for a long long time between the two, but as I was about to make a purchase, the new version of the iPod came out with the better battery life, which tipped the scales that way, since price was not the main issue.
The Nomad is a very nice product at the current pricing, but there are drawbacks of course. A quick comparison:

1) Battery life - the Nomad wins by about 2-3 hours. iPod has been about 10 for me, about 12.5 for my neighbor. (We both work at same job, 12 hour shifts.)

2) Build quaility - The Nomad is much cheaper feeling than the iPod. The wheel button feels far too delicate. The iPod is much heavier and more substantial feeling.

3) Warranty - iPod has one year warranty, Nomad has 90 days:tdown:

4) Interface - Ipod wins here as it is very easy to find what you want quickly. The Nomad has the same library search features as the iPod, but it takes longer and more navigation is required in general for all menus.

5) Sound quality - Proably a slight edge to the Nomad. The Nomad has a much more adjustable equalizer, you can set each frequency individually, as opposed to the iPod, which takes lots of experimenting to find a good all around preset EQ (No user customizable EQ's)

6) Software - iTunes is much better all around than Nomad explorer,and is a very very nice and powerful program. However, 3rd party software is avaialable for both which is generally better than either factory supplied software, but can be a bit expensive.

Overall, the Nomad is a very nice choice for the price, especially with all the great deals and rebates floating around. But you really NEED some kind of extended warranty with the Nomad. My neighbor had to return 2 different Nomads, one for a defective USB port, the other kept freezing up and the headphone jack was loose and sound would cut out. The 3rd one he bought has worked great for about 5 months now. I paid $360 for my iPod and feel it was woth the money, but the accessiories are way overpriced. If i had to do it over I would do the same. If my budget was smaller, than I would have no worries about getting the Nomad, as long as I bought some kind of warranty with it. If it breaks on the 91st day, you're screwed. it's well worth the price as long as the little drawbacks don't bother you that much:tup:
 
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