MetaChat - Ask MeCha: What Mp3 player should I get?

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01 April 2006

Ask MeCha: What Mp3 player should I get? →[More:]Here's what I'm looking for in an Mp3 player:

-cheap (#1 criteria)
-non-Mac product
-easy for a relative Luddite to use
-convenient for use during workouts

I don't know anything about these little doohickies, other than I can see how convenient they are. Don't laugh, but I still go running with a cassette Walkman. Help me join this century.

post by: Miko at: 15:34 | 11 comments

APRIL -- !!!

Oh, fuck it.

posted by mudpuppie 01 April | 15:35

There are two basic types - the kind with a little harddisk inside, and the kind that are flash-memory based. The flash players have no moving parts, and are therefore somewhat better suited to the jostling of exercising. The tradeoff is reduced capacity.

I have a harddisk type & I am quite fond of my 5 Gb Rio Pearl. For your purposes, I'd recommend the Rio se510 flash player, $130 msrp.

posted by Triode 01 April | 15:50

APRIL FOOLS!

posted by Eideteker 01 April | 15:55

-non-Mac product

WTF? I thought the one and only mac-only product became cross platform many moons ago.

posted by Space Coyote 01 April | 16:08

I'm very happy with my 512MB MuVo Micro.

Flash memory (won't skip during workouts), friendly interface, LCD, relatively inexpensive, good small formfactor. Runs for 17-odd hours on a rechargeable AAA battery. Longer with single-use alkalines.

It shows up as a removable drive when you plug it into a computer, no software needed. Plug it in, drag folders of MP3s or individual files to the removeable drive. Or you can use the included software if you want.

The earbuds they come with aren't the greatest, though, but it has FM radio and recorder (either from internal mic, external mic, or FM) function.

posted by porpoise 01 April | 16:13

I like my iRiver H10, but I don't know if it's cheap enough for you.

posted by cmonkey 01 April | 16:17

WTF? I thought the one and only mac-only product became cross platform many moons ago.

I had a really bad experience with iTunes and their support department. They aren't getting any of my money.

posted by Miko 01 April | 16:47

I use a Creative Muvo TX FM 1 gig, very small + lightweight, and it includes handy fm radio capacity and voice recording.

posted by moonbird 01 April | 17:31

Yay for disabling the Apple tyranny! Yay for other choices! Yay for cheap other choices.

YAPRIL FO!-- oh fuck it.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 01 April | 22:03

I think that 6GB Rio player looks like just the thing. I can't really imagine getting anything with less than a gig. The only portable player I have is a Rio 500 I bought seven years ago, and it has 128MB in it and uses smart media (which is going the way of the dodo). It wasn't usable even then, in my opinion.

I'd feel differently if I had 40 or so 128MB smart cards. I have a sort of a fetish for little, tiny things and making each smart card a CD and making little labels for each really appeals to me. That'd be really cool.

posted by kmellis 02 April | 00:56

So you're saying that you were one of the suckers who bought a minidisc player, kmellis?

posted by porpoise 02 April | 15:16

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