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mp3 player recommendations

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I'd like to get one for under 100 bucks, and maybe a gig of memory.

I see some of the Sandisk mp3 players fit the bill, but I'd like to see what you people would recommend before I lay down the cash.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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I don't want an iPod, for sure.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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You can always go to ebay and get the no name mp3 flash mem stick drive. That's where I got mine. 1 gig and for 50 bucks after shipping. I've had mine for over a year and still works great, and I can put other files on there if I need to move files from one computer to another as well.

Granted, not the most complex thing nor does it have a lot of options, but its small, it works, and its cheap. Did a quick search now on ebay (search 1 gb MP3) and most 1gig players are going for way under 50 bucks after shipping. However, you do deal with a no name brand. Could end up with a lemon...
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Originally posted by: HotRod
What's wrong with iPod?


Nothing that I've ever seen or experienced. Mine's a gem. My wife and I have three of them between us with two being over two years old and they work like champs. I only bought the new video version because I got a great deal on it. Otherwise, I'd still be using my old Gen3 iPod.

Most of the people I've witnessed who badmouth iPods have no experience with them whatsoever or have had one bad experience and gave up the fight. That's like having your car stall and then swearing you'll never drive again. Problems just show themselves more readily on an iPod because they have a single function... to play audio/video. Computers have thousands of functions, so one little problem barely registers as a blip on our radar. For chrissake people, an iPod is a computer! They have issues once in a while. Yes, I have to soft reset my iPod every now and again, but I do the same with my computer. I don't go throwing it out a friggin' window as a result.

You'll have issues with any player you opt for. That's just how it is. I've read nightmares about every MP3 player on the market. It just happens. But the dreams outweigh the nightmares by a long shot. Whatever you decide, just make it a decision for YOU, not for everyone else. This is your MP3 player, not theirs.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
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Kevin A
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The only negative thing I will say about iPod is that the older models had issues with their batteries, where they would die after a short period of time and no longer hold a charge, and the only thing you could do is mail the unit back to Apple and pay them a premium to fix it. However, after lots of consumer complaints, and a big lawsuit Apple lost, they fixed this problem. But that was a while back and I don't think there is anything wrong with them now. I have an iPod Shuffle and like it.

EDIT: Another choice might be a Creative Zen. My wife has one of those and likes it.
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I don't have a bad opinion about iPods, I just want to spend as little money as possible.

I might go with a no-name, or a Creative MuVo from Amazon, or a Zen Nano Plus. Anyone have any experiences with Creative's products?
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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ONE OF MY COWORKERS HAS ONE, AND SHE'S HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH IT. THE PROBLEMS RANGE FROM MEMORY LOSS TO THE EAR BUDS BREAKING. SHE NOW WISHES THAT SHE HAD SPENT A LITTLE EXTRA AND GONE WITH AN iPOD.


BTW, ALL iPODS COME WITH A ONE YEAR WARRANTY. IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH YOUR iPOD ALL YOU DO IS TAKE IT IN TO AN APPLE STORE OR AUTHORIZED DEALER, AND THEY WILL FIX IT FOR FREE OR REPLACE IT IF IT CAN NOT BE FIXED.

"I'VE GROWN TIRED OF ASKING, SO THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME..."
The Mangler Bros. Psycho Dayv Armchaireviews Notes on Suicide

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Bloody Mac-users and their ways of persuasion! I will not be taken in by your sorcerer's ways!

Just kidding, I'll look into them and see if I can persuade someone in my immediate family that I'll need an mp3 player for college, because I don't have quite enough funds to cover one.

Are the video models truly worth it? One of my Brasilian friends got one when he came here, but he didn't want to take it out of the box until he got home, and he had a pretty high opinion of them.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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I don't have a lot of experience with the video iPod, but I have seen a couple, and I wasn't very impressed with the video quality. It seemed like I'd get a headache trying to watch the video for very long, but maybe it was mostly the video and not the iPod. I can't really say for sure. But I do know that I'm personally not impressed with them because of the very small screen, and when I want to watch videos on the go, I'll bring my portable DVD player.
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Do as I did. Wait a little longer, save some money and get a Pocket PC that will work as a palm pc, a cell phone, a camera and an mp3 player.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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I have a video ipod. No complaints, except the battery doesn't last all that long if you are watching videos.

The ipod is pure class though, right down to the packaging.

War does not make one great.

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I bought an Alienware CE-IV with 512MB memory. The device has a SD memory card slot, so you can expand it. I would have bought the 1GB model, but I didn't like that it was offered only in silver.
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I also have the video iPod and, while I wasn't really planning on doing too much with video initially, I friggin love it now. I've watched TV shows, music videos, feature-length movies, cartoons, and stand-up comedy acts. All are spectacular on it. You just have to be careful to make sure not to scratch the screen. Get that puppy protected. And, like YIYF said, the battery doesn't last particularly long in video mode. No biggie. Any player with video will have relatively short battery life. But the screen resolution is pretty damned awesome and the pieces of freeware available for converting any video to iPod ready is astounding. Everybody wants in. They know what the winner is.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
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Kevin A
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What freeware do you use to convert, Bossk? I've been using 3GP Converter, but the audio sometimes lags behind the image, causing annoying lip sync problems. I'm looking for a good (and free) alternative.

War does not make one great.

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I rip from DVD using, shit, what's it called? It's on my home computer, not my work one (where I am now)...

Umm...

Handbrake! That's what it is.

Then I convert to iPod video using iSquint. Actually, iSquint seems to be able to convert quite a few video file types to iPod ready format.

These are both Mac programs for sure, but I think at least Handbrake is PC-format as well.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
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Kevin A
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I reccomend against iPods for two reasons:

1) Use of iTunes, a bloated and unnecessary program, is required.

2) You can't transfer things back onto a computer after you've transferred them to your iPod. You can delete the tracks from your iPod, yes, but you can't transfer them to your computer.

Both of these issues can be gotten around using various iTunes surrogate programs, but they're also issues that can be avoided if you go with another product, and you'd also probably be saving yourself $50 in the process. I've had a 40GB Creative Nomad for two years now and it's done me no wrong. A friend of mine has a Zen Micro and has been using it fine. As DAYV points out, results may vary with Creative's products, and that's a valid point to consider. Just shop around, but those the two reasons I stated right there were the deciding factors on my not getting an iPod.

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Originally posted by: Bossk
Handbrake! That's what it is.

Then I convert to iPod video using iSquint. Actually, iSquint seems to be able to convert quite a few video file types to iPod ready format.
I'm not the best person to be giving advice as I have neither a video iPod or a PSP and have never used iSquint, but have you tried Instant Handbrake? It is another version of Handbrake that spits out appropriately sized videos for the iPod (and PSP).


Originally posted by: Bossk
These are both Mac programs for sure, but I think at least Handbrake is PC-format as well.

Yep, Handbrake started its life as a BeOS program and was ported to Mac OS X and Linux. A Windows version is in the works.


Originally posted by: ReverendBeastly
I reccomend against iPods for two reasons:

1) Use of iTunes, a bloated and unnecessary program, is required.

2) You can't transfer things back onto a computer after you've transferred them to your iPod. You can delete the tracks from your iPod, yes, but you can't transfer them to your computer.

Both of these issues can be gotten around using various iTunes surrogate programs, but they're also issues that can be avoided if you go with another product, and you'd also probably be saving yourself $50 in the process.

You seem to be partly contradicting yourself here; you say iTunes is necessary, but this can be gotten around by using other programs (most media players now feature iPod connectivity, so it is possible whatever you already use is capable of it)? I'm not sure how this is a problem, unless you mean that you prefer just dragging your files straight to your player through your file browser. I find that most people prefer the opposite to you. I'm not saying your way is wrong, but both methods should be mentioned in any recommendations given so the person can figure out what way they would prefer. While for certain applications I much prefer the full manual control of file movement, in the case of hundreds of music files I much prefer the usage of iTunes-like programs for sorting and exporting of the data. I think the only time this is ever a problem is when people have a large portion of their audio files tagged poorly, which I couldn't stand!

As for the second problem, this is only true from within iTunes itself due to music piracy concerns. You do NOT need other programs to transfer your files off the iPod though, all it is is a hard drive so any file browser is more than capable of moving the files off it. You just need to unhide the folders, something REALLY easy to do in Windows as it is a general Explorer option (and due to their very nature, anyone likely wanting to transfer files off it usually has this option checked by default!) and just 'standard easy' in Mac and Linux (via a simple Terminal command, for Linux users this would generally be their default too).

What can't be so easily transfered is the certain meta-data from the iPod's database. This includes file play counts and ratings, neither of which I personally use; your usual tags are still included in the files themselves. If the database info actually was needed then this is what all those iPod ripper programs are for.

[edit]I should read what I write before posting![/edit]

[edit2]After all that I forgot to post a reason why an iPod may be a better option than a slightly cheaper competitor! Because of the mass saturation of the market there are literally hundreds of accessories for the various iPods (possibly thousands, I know last year there were 1000 officially licensed accessories). So if you need any accessories (cases, car audio systems, chargers, remotes, lanyards, straps, etc) then there will likely be many easily accessable options for you. All the competition gives you a variety of options and decent prices. Whereas if you buy a slightly cheaper competitor you generally will only find generic accessories that won't perfectly fit your model or more expensive specific accessories from the player's own manufacturor. In the end you may find yourself spending more than the iPod.

If you aren't in a rush then wait a couple of weeks. It is quite likely a new bunch of iPods will be released in mid-August with price drops (due to parts all getting cheaper now). This will also affect the prices of the current models, which may already be cheaper at some stores due to their impending DOOM! I bought my iPod just before a model change and ended up saving a heap over the previous week's prices.[/edit2]

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After using it for a while, I love itunes. It does slow my computer down considerably though, but for an organistaion freak like me, it's great.

War does not make one great.

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Yeah, I tried Handbrake Lite and, for whatever reason, it wouldn't import the audio. I don't know if it was a communication error between the final result of the HL conversion to the iTunes import function or if it was truly stripped out. Another time, it wouldn't recognize the video file for conversion and that video file was actually created by its big brother, HandBrake, when it imported off a DVD.

But I haven't had the problem with iSquint, so I'm running with it.

Bear in mind, folks, that iPods also have one of the most intuitive menu systems on the planet. Yes, it was created by CreativeLabs and Apple is being sued for using it (despite them using it for years before the copyright/trademark/whatever was processed), but it works and works well.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
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Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
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A question for the iPod owners (not shuffle, but ipod/mini/nanos) Are these things just very scratch prone, or are people careless with them? It seems like quite a few of the iPods that I've seen are very scratched up.
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Originally posted by: Bossk
Yeah, I tried Handbrake Lite and, for whatever reason, it wouldn't import the audio. I don't know if it was a communication error between the final result of the HL conversion to the iTunes import function or if it was truly stripped out. Another time, it wouldn't recognize the video file for conversion and that video file was actually created by its big brother, HandBrake, when it imported off a DVD


Bossk, Handbrake Lite and Instant Handbrake (the one I mentioned) are two different programs by two different dev teams. Instant Handbrake is a new program by the same team behind Handbrake, whereas Handbrake Lite is a 'horribly-mangled abomination of HandBrake' (haha, I love that programer's own description!) by the iSquint team. So Instant is the 'true' little brother of Handbrake and should work just as well (though it sounds like it might be a bit slow at the moment due to its recent development).

http://www.kineticpast.com/starwars/thecheatlaserdisc.gif
Ooh, a laserdisc. The Cheat's playin' something on a laserdisc.
Everything is better on a laserdisc. Whatever happened to the laserdisc? Laserdisc!

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Originally posted by: Number20
A question for the iPod owners (not shuffle, but ipod/mini/nanos) Are these things just very scratch prone, or are people careless with them? It seems like quite a few of the iPods that I've seen are very scratched up.
They are extremely scratch prone. I was uber-careful with mine, and small scratches still snuck onto it, so now I have plastic covering both the front and back, a rubber 'glove' and a case. As a result my ipod is *almost* perfect. The video ipod actually comes with a little slip case, but it's pretty useless because it has no hole for the screen or controls.

War does not make one great.

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Meh, so shoot me, I went the cheap route.

Creative Zen Nano-Plus 1GB -- Black
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."