Tell me about portable music players

[Kuan]

What I want is simplicity, but I can't figure out what I should get. I need one which allows me to put songs on directly from CD, either directly from a CD player or from my computer. It should have an FM tuner. If possible, it should use an SD card. That's all I need. Any suggestions?

Napster to go or itunes?

[iwrock]

(cough cough)limewire(cough cough)

I have my little samsung yp-mt6 MP3 player, as well as an Ipod. I like my samsung better as it is smaller (but only has 512mb of memory) versus the ipod (which is bigger and has more storage). MY samsung has a tuner built into it..

But still, you need a good application to copy the songs off of CD into an MP3 format, and then copy it onto the MP3 player. I just use windows media, as it is the simplest to copy and transfer music to my samsung.

However, with the apple, it all seamlessly integrtes into one program, Itunes. You can copy from CD to hard drive, then copy right over to your ipod which may save you some headaches.

And about your SD card, it has been a really long time since I seen an mp3 player that uses upgradeable flash cards versus built in memory.

[Kuan]

Originally Posted by MedMech

Napster to go or itunes?

I have no bloody idea. I want to put a CD in the computer and transfer it. Does it have to be MP3?

Originally Posted by justinwrock

And about your SD card, it has been a really long time since I seen an mp3 player that uses upgradeable flash cards versus built in memory.

Duh, maybe I should start one of those "how long have I been out of school" threads as well. Can I copy from CD onto the Samsung like the ipod as well?

[G-Benz]

I've just finished dealing with the same issue right now.

I bought my daughter an mp3 player for her birthday last summer. the iPod-types players are nice, but I didn't care to spend that kind of money (and have her accidentally lose it later).

Here's the scoop on players:

Many mp3 players available costs ranging from $70 - $300. Pricing is usually based on memory and features. My daughter wanted a player and a tuner, so I got one for $80 that allows you to preset favorite FM/AM stations, holds photos and text, mp3 or .wav files, and has a line in feature that allows you to record from an external source or directly from the tuner. Memory is 256MB. Doesn't use an SD card but like the others out there, has a USB 2.0 plug-in, so you can maintain your files from your PC. Personally, an SD card would be a PITA to have in a compact personal player IMHO. Having one limits the design aspect of the player, and I've seen a lot of cool designs! I'm thinking of getting the $99 Philips mp3 player...red anodized case with display, a bit larger than a flash drive!

The Apple iPod units range from $99 for the shuttle to $399 for the 4GB iPod. The Nano goes for $299 and I believe it's 2GB. The iPod and Nano have view screens...the shuttle does not. The Apple units support mp4 (which is what iTunes downloads are formatted to), but owners I've talked to say that you can't selectively delete songs from the players unless you want to dump the entire library.

On download sites:

There are others, but the most prevalent are Napster and iTunes. Napster allows unlimited downloads for a $19.99/mo subscription, while iTunes requires no monthly service fee. Each iTunes download is $ 0.99. I chose iTunes because I don't download massive amounts of songs per month, but either way is fine. Napster's music library may be larger though, and the downloads are formatted to mp3.

Again, iTunes is designed to support Apple products, so the downloads are formatted to mp4 for the iPods, although it will convert mp3 and .wav files to mp4 so you can load those into the iPod as well. iTunes copy-protects the internet downloads however, and the utility software won't let you convert them to mp3. You have to burn a CD then import back to the PC as mp3. iTunes has some weird OS issues with Windows with are non-existent with the Mac (go figure).

[iwrock]

I use windows media 10 for putting music onto my MP3 player. I can copy it to the computer, then I can almost instantly copy it to my MP3 player without much hassle. It is simple enough to do, as it only requires a few clicks of the mouse. I got my samsung for 109.99 on sale, but I was over at best buy last night, and I saw it for sale for about 79$. It is a nice MP3 player for the money, and I like it much more than my ipod.

[Kuan]

OK I got the Samsung 512MB one. So far I like it, music is a little distorted with the standard headphones but I have a pair in the closet I can fish out. We'll see how it works. $109.99 also, I hope I didn't get ripped off.

Still cheaper than an Ipaq.