MP3 Player - Which to get?

[DisturbedPervert]

I got a 8GB SanDisk Sansa Fuze a few months ago. Really like it. You can drag and drop music into it without having to use crappy software.
Plus if you want more space you can insert a memory card (micro SDHC) into it to expand it. I got a 16GB memory card, so my Fuze now has 24GB of memory.

hmm...and it has a scroll wheel.  Micro SD, no itunes, drag and drop, scroll wheel, I think this is exactly what I'm looking for. 

[Barrister]

The, uh, Zu(m)e.

:facepalm:

Anyway Meri, I would suggest a larger capacity hard drive-based mp3 player; I only have a few audio books on my Zune, and they take up a decent chunk of space.  I would go at least 80gb.  So I would say: Zune (80gb or 120gb) or iPod (120gb or 160gb)

Except MS no longer makes a HD based player.  They discontinued all other models when they came out with the iPod touch-like model.

[Maximus]

Why would you want a hard drive anyway? Shorter battery life and increased chance of killing it if you drop it?

[derspiess]

Except MS no longer makes a HD based player.  They discontinued all other models when they came out with the iPod touch-like model.

Ah, so they magically evaporated from the stores, then?    There are still plenty out there.  Walmart was selling Zune 80's for $99 a few days ago.

[Lucidor]

Anything with AA or AAA batteries. Build in batteries is the antichrist.

[derspiess]

Why would you want a hard drive anyway? Shorter battery life and increased chance of killing it if you drop it?

Still unrivaled in capacity, and much cheaper per GB.  Both the iPod Classic & Zune 80/120 have decent battery life.

Having said that, if Meri's confident she'll never need more than 8gb, get a cheap flash-based player.  I got the Sansa Fuze (mentioned above) for my sister in law a few months ago & she loves it. 

One thing to consider since she'd be using this for audio books, is bookmarking.  My Zune 120 does an auto-bookmark (I think the iPod Classic does this as well) for my audio books, so whenever I go back to the book, it takes me right to where I left off (imagine having to fast forward through a gigantic audio file to find your place).  The Creative Zen series of mp3 players goes a step further & allows you to set manual bookmarks if you choose.

[derspiess]

Anything with AA or AAA batteries. Build in batteries is the antichrist.

Yeah, 'cuz having to keep spare AA's with you wherever you go & not being able to charge via USB or a wall is so convenient

[Lucidor]

Anything with AA or AAA batteries. Build in batteries is the antichrist.

Yeah, 'cuz having to keep spare AA's with you wherever you go & not being able to charge via USB or a wall is so convenient

I get 20 hours from storebought batteries, and 5-7 hours at present from my often recharged AAA batteries. I need one for it to run. Compare that to iSuck iPod Nano after 12 months, when I got perhaps 2 hours from it.

[DisturbedPervert]

Why would you want a hard drive anyway? Shorter battery life and increased chance of killing it if you drop it?

Still unrivaled in capacity, and much cheaper per GB.  Both the iPod Classic & Zune 80/120 have decent battery life.


Having said that, if Meri's confident she'll never need more than 8gb, get a cheap flash-based player.

Micro SD gets cheaper everyday, you can use multiple cards giving unlimited capacity, and you can use them for everything.  16gb is only like $40, and you can use it for a hell of a lot more than just your mp3 player.  They have 64 gb cards out now too, but those are still pricey.

[LaCroix]

Anything with AA or AAA batteries. Build in batteries is the antichrist.

Yeah, 'cuz having to keep spare AA's with you wherever you go & not being able to charge via USB or a wall is so convenient

I get 20 hours from storebought batteries, and 5-7 hours at present from my often recharged AAA batteries. I need one for it to run. Compare that to iSuck iPod Nano after 12 months, when I got perhaps 2 hours from it.

did you abuse your nano like a red headed step child? i recharge mine once every week or two, and that's after two years

[Admiral Yi]

did you abuse your nano like a red headed step child? i recharge mine once every week or two, and that's after two years

I'll give you a fake internet cookie if you start cropping your quotes.

[Barrister]

Agreed - my nano is 2 years old and I get a hell of a lot more than 2 hours battery life.

[Lucidor]

did you abuse your nano like a red headed step child? i recharge mine once every week or two, and that's after two years

First generation nanos weren't that good.

[LaCroix]

First generation nanos weren't that good.

@yi: that's about as good a deal as i'll get anywhere!

[Valdemar]

Agreed - my nano is 2 years old and I get a hell of a lot more than 2 hours battery life.

I agree that they give longer time than 2 hours, but they don't administer it very well.. I've more often than not had mine show green 40-50% left and then run out completely after less than 10 minutes if its just a tad cold outside.

V