Mike Rubeo asked:


Next to cell phones, MP3 players are the must have, hot product everyone wants to own. There are lots of great players available, but how do you know which one is right for you? Here are some tips that will help you make the right decision before purchasing an MP3 player.

Tip #1 – Type of MP3 Player – There are basically four types, flash, hard drive, micro hard drive and CD based players.

Flash players are small, have a memory chip built-in, and are more durable with no moving parts, which mean they will not skip a beat during sports activity or running. Because of their compact size, space is limited to 4gigs or less depending on the model you choose. iRiver, SanDisk and Creative MuVo are three popular brands of flash memory players.

Hard drive players are great for anyone who wants to take their entire library worth of music with them. Featuring high capacity storage ranging anywhere from 4gigs to 60gigs of hard drive space. With so much disk space available, you can also store data files, pictures and video, allowing for true portability.

Unlike flash players, hard drive players are larger in size, cost more and have more movable parts, which may not make it idea for physical activity. Popular among the brands are Apple Ipod, Creative Zen Vision, and Wolverine MVP models.

Additionally you can opt for an micro hard drive player. Micro MP3 players are a cross between a flash and a regular hard drive player. Max storage capacity is usually 8gigs, have a miniature hard drive, and are light weight and compact. These players still have movable parts and some models include non-removable re-chargeable batteries.

CD MP3 players are similar to CD players, except they can read data CD’s. Capacity is the same size as a CD which is 650mbs, and the music needs to be burned. They can also play standard CD’s.

Tip #2 – Digital Format – Not all players support every music format but should play the standard mp3, wma, wav formats. For additional audio format, look for players that support aac, asf and ogg. Not stopping at audio format, you may also have a need to view video formats such as mp4, mov, wav, avi, and flash. To get the most out your purchase and enjoy your favorite digital pictures, look for models that support picture formats such as jpeg, gif, tiff and png. Flash Players such as Creative Zen, iRiver Clix, and Cowan iAudio can display text documents.

Tip #3 – Battery Life – Next to storage capacity, battery life is probably the most critical consideration with MP3 players. Options include standard batteries (AAA or AA type batteries) or rechargeable batteries. With standard batteries, you can easily replace them when needed, while some rechargeable models are non-removable lithium-ion batteries, and typically last two to four years. Since flash players need to be synced more often, recharging occurs as you sync. For larger players, battery life is usually longer but may not always be the case. Make sure you inquiry about battery life for those models.

Tip #4 – Features – With the capability to view video and photos, bright color screens with image display are usually a favorite among buyers. Voice recording with built-in or optional voice recorders, let you record seminars or meetings. Want to listen to other music, some models include an FM tuner for listening and recording (mp3) radio stations. Players such as Apple iPOD and Creative Zen line allow for personal information management options such as phone books and calendars that can synchronize data between desktop applications and the player.

Other features to consider: advanced playback features such as shuffle, repeat, resume, and playlist functions. Newer models now offer the ability to create on the fly playlists, smart playlist for grouping songs in shuffle mode and automatic volume control that makes songs play at the same volume. Don’t forget about music search and sort options to find songs.

Tip #5 – Connectivity Options. Most if not all MP3 players support USB 2.0. Other connectivity options you may want to consider is Firewire, audio and line inputs. Some next-generation models include Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth capabilities.

Tip #6 – Functionality – Don’t just consider bells and whistles when looking for the right MP3 to purchase. Functionality is usually what makes MP3 players stand apart from each other. Test drive each player and notice how easy or hard it is to navigate the menus. Do the buttons feel cheap or easy to press? Is the screen display sufficient in bright light? Is it compact enough for daily or sport activity? What accessories are available for the player?

No matter what model you choose, an MP3 player will be a great addition to your entertainment hardware!



CAREY

Nilakshi Handique asked:


Digital MP3 players are probably the most popular music devices today. For, it is with the advent of digital MP3 players, that MP3 downloads has become immensely popular among music lovers. The digital MP3 players allow several songs or pieces of audio to be stored without occupying a large amount of storage space.

MP3 audio files can be played on a computer, using software applications such as Winamp or Windows Media Player as well as on specialized digital MP3 players such as the Apple iPod. For all these amazing attributes the digital MP3 players are believed to usher in the dawn of an MP3 era.

There are several well known brands that have created a niche in the digital MP3 players market. Read on to get the right one for yourself:

Sony MP3 Players: Sony has earned the reputation of being a brand that manufactures top notch music players in the world. Procuring a Sony MP3 player with a minidisk player will allow you to view or store photos along with the other functions.

Sandisk Mp3 Players: Touted as user-friendly, the Sandisk MP3 players are known for affordability without compromising on performance. Buy any of these for a great music experience.

Transcend MP3 Players: Instead of opting for an over the top design, transcend MP3 players have adopted a design that is modest. If quality is what you are focusing on and looks don’t matter then Transcend MP3 player is the one for you.

Zebronics MP3 Players: Zebronics MP3 Player is upbeat about technology yet highly affordable to the masses. Omega ‘MP3DJ’, ‘MP3DJ Sigma’, ‘MP3DJ Delta’ is among the best selling brands of MP3 players from Zebronics.

If you do not own any of these great digital MP3 players then hurry just get one for that incredible music experience. You may procure one at a physical store or at an online mart. Most of the online marts display a wide variety of digital MP3 players from various brands and offer attractive discounts. And to add to it, most online marts offer free shipping options. So, if you want to buy digital MP3 players as gifts, online marts are indubitably a great option.

But one word of caution before you procure any of the digital MP3 players is that you should always check whether a particular brand is compatible with your current computers operating system. This means checking for PC or Mac compatibility before you make your purchase. You might also find that some digital MP3 players include features, such as voice recorders, FM radios, and even video players.



EARLE

just a girl asked:


I heard that limewire isn’t good for your computer, is that true?
I’d like some websites that I can download music for my mp3 player.
Thank you.

JAMAR

Dude asked:


I’m gonna get the Creative Zen 30gig because its easy to use.
anybody used it and recommends it?

I’m wondering how to sort out the tracks
because you just drag and drop them to put them on.I know how to rename tracks but how do I change the album, artist and genre details on a mp3 file?

I’m temped to buy the 80gig ipod
but i’ve never used one before and theres a lot of downloading and converting of tracks involved and it kinda puts me off.(I dont have an i-mac but, I dont need one right? cause all I have to do is download the right sofware.)

Any other players you recommend and why?

Are there any durable,sporty mp3 players with large storage space? because I’ll be using it a lot for training and it’ll get exposed to a lot of movement, rain and might get dropped the odd time.

(I know I’ve asked a few questions so feel free to answer only one or some!)feel free to link me to reviews and sites where I can buy them-I can get the 30gig for 269euro and the 80gig for 400euro.

MARLON

David Liu asked:


A digital audio player (DAP), more commonly referred to as an MP3 player, is a consumer electronics device that stores, organizes and plays audio files. Some DAPs are also referred to as portable media players as they have image-viewing and/or video-playing support. MP3 players are now regularly built into mobile phones, making them the most common form of digital audio player. In short, an MP3 player is a portable device that plays digital music files–although many MP3 players can do much more than that. They evolved from the portable cassette and CD players that we carried around in the 1980s and ’90s. Instead of bulky cassettes or scratch-prone compact discs, most MP3 players play files stored directly on the device. Aside from a pair of headphones, there is nothing extra you need to carry to enjoy your music collection.

An MP3 is a digital audio file compressed with a standard defined by the Motion Pictures Experts Group (MPEG). MPEG was formed to develop techniques for dealing with digital video; since most video also contains audio, MP3 was developed as an audio extension of that work. Officially known as “MPEG-1, Layer 3″, MP3 is a lossy compression algorithm that uses psychoacoustic modeling to reduce the size of audio files by up to 90%.

Psychoacoustics takes advantage of deficiencies in the human hearing system to throw away digital bits corresponding to sounds that cannot be heard. The human ear cannot hear soft sounds in the presence of loud sounds having a similar frequency; for example, a voice conversation becomes inaudible when a jet flies low overhead. This effect is known as auditory masking, and done correctly the discarded sounds will not be missed.

MP3 is a lossy algorithm in the sense that the original bits cannot be recreated from the compressed bits. In terms of hearing, however, MP3 is lossless because the human ear cannot distinguish between a CD recording and a properly encoded MP3 version of it. MP3s achieve this transparency at a bit rate of approximately 256 kilobits per second, or roughly one sixth of the 1.4 megabits per second required by the compact disc format.

MP3s can be recorded at lower bit rates, saving even more space, but audible differences begin to appear at rates below 128 kilobits per second. At these lower bit rates, MP3 can use a trick known as joint stereo to improve quality. Audio generally consists of left and right audio tracks. Joint stereo combines, whenever possible, the sounds common to both left and right tracks into one track. Instead of left and right, it has “common” and “different” channels.

Being an open standard, and therefore available to anyone, has played a major role in the widespread adoption of the MP3 file format. While specific implementations such as those by the Fraunhofer Institute may be protected by patents, there exist numerous open source implementations. MP3s were originally only playable on computers, but inexpensive, portable MP3 players such as Apple’s iPod have since been developed.

History

The immediate predecessor in the market place of the digital audio player was the portable CD player, which was sometimes referred to as a “portable audio device.”

Briton Kane Kramer designed one of the earliest digital audio players, which he called the IXI. His 1979 prototype was capable of approximately 3.5 minutes of audio playback but it did not enter commercial production. The related patents expired in 1988. Apple Inc. hired Kramer as a consultant and presented his work as an example of prior art in the field of digital audio players during their litigation with Burst.com almost two decades later.

The first mass-produced DAP was created in 1997 by SaeHan Information Systems, which domestically sold its “MPMan” player in the middle of 1998. The South Korean company then licensed the players to Eiger Labs which distributed them—now branded as Eiger Labs MPMan F10—to the North American market during the summer of 1998. The flash-based players were available in 16 MB storage capacity.

The Rio PMP300 from Diamond Multimedia was introduced in September 1998, a few months after the MPMan. It was a success during the holiday season, with sales exceeding expectations. Interest and investment in digital music were subsequently spurred from it. Because of the player’s notoriety as the target of a major lawsuit, the Rio is erroneously assumed to be the first DAP.

In 1998, Compaq developed the first hard drive based DAP using a 2.5″ laptop drive. It was licensed to HanGo Electronics (now known as Remote Solution), which first sold the PJB-100 (Personal Jukebox) in 1999. The player had an initial capacity of 4.8 GB, which was advertised to be able to hold 1200 songs.

In October 2001, Apple Computer (now known as Apple Inc.) unveiled the first generation iPod, the 5 GB hard drive based DAP with a 1.8″ Toshiba drive. With the development of a minimalistic user interface and a smaller form factor, the iPod was initially notable within users of the Macintosh community. In July 2002, Apple introduced the second generation update to the iPod. It was compatible with Windows computers through Musicmatch Jukebox (now known as Y!Music Musicmatch Jukebox). The iPod series, which grew to include microdrive and flash-based players, has become the market leader in DAPs.

In 2002, Archos released the first “portable media player” (PMP), the Archos Jukebox Multimedia. Manufacturers have since implemented abilities to view images and play videos into their devices.

In 2003 the first MP3 players were installed into mobile phones in South Korea and the first artist to sell songs as MP3 file downloads directly to mobile phones was Ricky Martin. The innovation spread rapidly and by 2005, more than half of all music sold in South Korea was sold directly to mobile phones. The idea spread across the globe and by 2005 all five major handset makers, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG and SonyEricsson had released musicphones. By 2006, more MP3 players were sold in musicphones than all stand-alone MP3 players put together. The rapid rise of the musicphone was quoted by Apple as a primary reason for developing the iPhone. In 2007, the installed base of musicphones passed the 1 billion level, and today more than half of all moblie phones in the world have an MP3 player.

Although online music services such as RealNetworks’ Rhapsody also offer legal downloads through a subscription plan, the launch of the iTunes Store in 2003 established the model of selling individual songs and albums for purchase.

Operation

Digital sampling is used to convert an audio wave to a sequence of binary numbers that can be stored in a digital format, such as MP3.

Common features of all MP3 players are a memory storage device, such as flash memory or a miniature hard disk drive, an embedded processor, and an audio codec microchip to convert compressed sound into analogue form that is then played through the speaker jack.

Most DAPs are powered by rechargeable batteries, some of which are not user replaceable. Listening to music stored on DAPs is typically through earphones and stereo systems connected with a 3.5 mm jack.

Types

Digital audio players are generally categorized by storage media:

Flash-based Players: These are non-mechanical solid state devices that hold digital audio files on internal flash memory or removable flash media called memory cards. Due to technological advancements in flash memory, these originally low-storage devices are now available commercially ranging up to 32 GB. Because they are solid state and do not have moving parts they require less battery power and may be more resilient to hazards such as dropping or fragmentation than hard disk-based players. Basic MP3 player functions are commonly integrated into USB flash drives.

Hard drive-based Players or Digital Jukeboxes: Devices that read digital audio files from a hard disk drive (HDD). These players have higher capacities currently ranging up to 250 GB. At typical encoding rates, this means that thousands of songs can be stored on one player.

MP3 CD Players: Portable CD players that can decode and play MP3 audio files stored on CDs.

Networked audio players: Players that connect via (WiFi) network to receive and play audio.

Common audio formats

MP3 is the dominant format, and is nearly universally supported. The main alternative formats are AAC and WMA. Unlike MP3, these formats support DRM restrictions that are often implemented into files from paid download services. Open source formats, which are completely patent-free, are available – though less widely supported. Examples include Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, and Speex.

Most players can also play uncompressed PCM in a container such as WAV or AIFF.

Controversy

Although these issues aren’t usually controversial within digital audio players, they are matters of continuing controversy and litigation, including but not limited to content distribution and protection, and digital rights management (DRM).

Lawsuit with RIAA

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a lawsuit with Diamond Multimedia for its Rio players, alleging that the device encouraged copying music illegally. But Diamond won a legal victory on the shoulders of the Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios case and DAPs were legally ruled as electronic devices.

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DAVID

lost asked:


i am getting ready to buy an mp3 player. any suggestions besides ipod? i looked on amazon and have the choice of hard drive or flash. what does that mean? i know what a hard drive is.

CARY

C & L Discounts asked:


An MP3 player review is an important resource for any potential buyer. It provides information on the product, having been tested by a range of people including experts and in a range of environments. The whole point of a review is that it allows the reader to get a well rounded outlook on a product before purchasing. Any basic MP3 player review should, therefore, give the reader clear information, considering the variety of users that may purchase the item and also the ways in which they may use it. The review is that meant to provide the best possible consumer information, and so the best type of review should give the reader the opportunity to make an informed choice about their purchase, and with confidence.

MP3 player reviews come in various styles. Some are simply tables with ratings clearly next to the criteria that are being considered. Others will consist of explanations and considerations of the various features, and also provide clear realistic examples to back up the opinion expressed. The best type of MP3 player review will provide both. This makes the review both easy to understand, will make the plus and minus points stand out, and also provide more in depth information on the device that catches the consumers eye. It will also have a clear and functional search facility that will narrow down the criteria that is most important to the buyer. This saves time and energy, and prevents unnecessary information being read.

Any review should consider a range of MP3 players within a range of price categories. The price should be clearly displayed as this is often one of the first criteria that will affect the consumer`s initial decision when choosing a product. It would be unfair to produce a review that enticed the buyer, only to show a price outside of the budget afterwards. The descriptions should place the MP3 player in the top, bottom or lowest end in terms of quality for the price category it fits. Consumers know that the higher priced models are probably the best in terms of quality and special features, but it is only the products within their price range that truly interests them.

MP3 player reviews should provide detailed information on the performance of the product, and compare it to others similar in both type and price. The sound quality should be tested thoroughly, with a range of music considered as the quality of sound will differ, for instance, with additional bass or a faster beat. The sound quality should also be tested in a variety of scenarios to ensure that most possible uses are considered; for instance, the sound quality when jogging may differ from the sound quality in a busy street. The sound should be tested through both MP3 player compatible speakers and headphones, as both are realistic possibilities.

The portability of the MP3 player is another major consideration. Size and weight can vary, and often matters a great deal to the buyer. Exact measurements should be provided where possible to give the clearest possible picture. In addition to this, the usability should be a major consideration. Some are more functional and easy to navigate than others. The buyer that is an MP3 player veteran will want a different product to that of a first time buyer.

Another consideration in any review should also be the durability, as potential buyers want to know that their chosen product is not only the best possible quality, but that it will also last. The battery life and the time taken to recharge is another important factor, and exact or average figures should be provided.



BRAIN

winterized asked:


I have a Sandisk Sansa e260, and I usually load it up with speeches that I don’t need to hear more than once. But there is no way to delete the MP3s that I’m done listening to unless I hook the Sansa up to a computer.

I’d rather just delete the file right there on the device.

Are there any inexpensive MP3 players that can do this?

RICARDO

Matt A asked:


What is the best music program to use for a variety of MP3 players? I have several different types and my wife has still another brand. So what is the best program to use?

CLEVELAND

David Rahimi asked:


MP3 players are great for taking your music wherever you go for private listening. But sometimes you might want to share your music outloud with others. This is where MP3 Player Speakers come in. Whether you’re at home or at the basketball courts, you can listen to your music straight from your MP3 player outloud.

As with most technology, it can be hard to find the right speakers for your personal situation. In an effort to help assist you in finding the right docking station for your mp3 player, a list of things our product specialists recommend our customers to think about before buying MP3 Player Speakers has been compiled below.

Compatibility: First and foremost, you need to make sure that the speakers are compatible with your MP3 player. Some MP3 Speakers are designed specifically for certain types of MP3 Players, such as the iPod. On the other hand, many speakers are created to connect to almost any MP3 player with a 3.5mm jack. If your MP3 player has a 3.5mm jack (which is the standard jack for headphones), and you’re not too sure if your compatible, then you should get a universal type of MP3 player speakers just incase.

Size: Depending on what you plan to use the speakers for, the size of the system may be of importance. If you plan on taking it around, make sure that the system is small and lightweight making it portable. If you plan on just keeping it at home, then your only limited to the size of the table you plan to place it on.

Amplified Speakers: If you want louder and better sounding music, then getting a pair of speakers that feature a built-in amplifier would be a good choice. Otherwise, you should be just fine with a pair of normal speakers.

Controls: Take a look at how the control configuration is. Will it be easy for you to use the system? There’s no point in getting speakers that frustrate you to a point where you don’t want to use them.

Battery Life: What good are speakers that run out of battery after you play just a few songs? You should consider the battery life of the speakers. If you get a great deal on a pair of speakers but they have a low battery life, you may just end up paying more in additional batteries. Note that some MP3 Player Speakers can connect directly to your wall socket, so if you plan to use the speakers primarily when a wall socket is available, battery life will not be as an important a factor when determining what speakers are best for you.

Included Accessories: Check to see if the speakers come with all the necessary accessories. These can include things such as a 3.5mm male-to-male cable (in order to connect to your MP3 player to the speakers), Batteries, an AC adapter, Travel Case, Remote, etc.

Definitions:

Docking Station: An MP3 docking station has speakers built into it, which allows you to play songs off your MP3 player to be heard throughout the room.



DON