What are the best mp3 players for user friendliness and price that compete with the 2gb/4gb nano.

What mp3 player do you own?

What do you like/dislike about it?

I nevered bother with an mp3 player before but am doing a lot of travelling soon so...

discuss...

4 gig Nano, pretty happy with it all in all. Had it for a while and no battery problems or anythng yet.

I own a 4gig nano. The only other mp3 player that i have owned is the 30gig creative nomad, im currently using it as a door stop.

The nano is pretty good, small and light weight which is ideal for me as i use it at the gym. I have gotten used to itunes now and even though i hated it at the start i would not use any other software now.

The only problem ive had with the nano so far is that some songs that i transfered over dont seem to want to play to the end.

I am actually going through this decision making process myself

Though I want largest possible, unfortunately that only leaves ipod @ 60gb.

Other options are iRiver, Samsung one (mate gets wholesale prices) or Creative variants.

I am leaning towards iRiver, but for close to the same money I can get 60gb ipod with EPP (Employee Purchase Program) no, I don't work for apple, but my co gets the discount, don't ask me...

heardy you can buy my ipod photo 60gb if you want, ill do you a good cash deal

Captain America also accepts sexual favours.

dirty persian f***.

i poorly chose a 6gb creative neeon, it has good features like a microphone, but the menu scroller sucks wanghole

I have an iRiver IHP-120. 20gig.
Had it for a Long time now, Battery still lasts about 12+ hours of playing time.
Plug and Play, no Apple i-Tunes s***. Shows up as removable HDD Copy + Past Onto it.
Can play a lot of different Music files, pretty sure I saw a codec for Ogg for it. )http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2003/iriver_ihp-120.html)
Very good sound settings.
Got some extra stuff like Mic/Recorder that I dont need.
(Add) Forgot FM tuner too, if you wanna listen to sports broadcasts.

Only thing I have a problem with is load time, if you have loads of s*** on the HDD it can sometimes take a while from when you Turn it on till when you can play music. iPod is almost instant. Apparently you can 'database' it to make load times quicker, but i've never really seen the need to. Hit on as i'm parking my car, by the time I lock it, Music is playing.
When loaded it plays/skips songs without missing a beat.
Also Tends to suck the juice if used as a portable HDD and not plugged into a wall...

Edit .ogg link.


last edited by Scooter at 17:45:25 05/Jun/06

Captain America - email me heardy@gmail.com I am interested.

Used a 20gig older gen ipod and the gf has a nano. The older gen ipod battery was ass, and it would freeze, reboot and just generally s*** itself constantly.

The nano doesn't seem to have any of those problems though. For user-friendlyness you can't go past it, I mean it's designed for technologically illiterate people. You can probably find better value for money, I bet apple are milking the ipod brand like there's no tomorrow but the nano does seem to be pretty good.

Looking at these

Samsung - http://www.mp3direct.com.au/webstore/pdinfoadv.asp?productID=1106&s_brand=&s_category=PORTABLE+AUDIO&s_pdstatus=&s_product=&s_product_code=&s_subcategory=HARD+DRIVE&

iAUDIO - http://www.mp3direct.com.au/webstore/pdinfoadv.asp?productID=896&s_brand=&s_category=PORTABLE+AUDIO&s_pdstatus=&s_product=&s_product_code=&s_subcategory=HARD+DRIVE&

Creative - http://www.mp3direct.com.au/webstore/pdinfoadv.asp?productID=1062&s_brand=&s_category=PORTABLE+AUDIO&s_pdstatus=&s_product=&s_product_code=&s_subcategory=HARD+DRIVE&

nothing else comes close to the functionality of the scroll wheel of the ipod. that being said, the 40g ipod video i recent bought its awesome, plays for around 10 hours as long as its not turned all the way up. no problems yet.

i have a nano and love it

For the same f***in price of a piece of s*** Nano (2gb being $299 and 4gb being $349) you can get a Creative Zen Neeon (6gb) for $299 (way f***in better, voice recorder, direct line in recording, fm tuner, better sound quality) or the Creative Zen Microphoto (8gb) for $349, (again, way more features, looking at photos, fm tuner, voice recording, direct line in recording, and better sound quality). The amount of unhappy customers we get at work (HN) regarding Ipods is ridiculous. They are tiny expensive pieces of s***. Your paying for the crappy brand name, and sellers don't get anything out of them (s***ty margin) and either do the customers.

Save yourself some trouble and get a Creative alternative, or even the Toshiba Gigabeats, they are pretty snazzy also.

Once upon a time I wished we'd stop selling Apple altogether, but then I realised nothing else can be used as a sales tool as well as an Ipod can :D

"Yes, this Creative Zen Neeon has an FM tuner where the ipod DOESN'T, it has direct line in recording where the ipod DOESN'T, it plays more file types (mp3, wma, wav), where the ipod only uses it's s***ty AAC format. You can also take this player to your mates place and get the songs off your player, where the ipod is locked to your own computer unless you format your ipod."

Love it.

fireup son :P

wanna get me some crazy discount?

I need a tax invoice in my name though

erm ditch ipod can play mp3 & wav... sif use wma either. the only way you'd get aac files is from itunes shop and sif use that either. for simplicity and ease of use ipods are awesome, especially for people who aren't great with technology.

I'll agree on one point, they are easy to use. The whole thing is pretty easy to navigate. But I hate them.

And Heardy I can't get you no discount cos Ipod's have like $3 in them. s***house.

I hve a 40g ipod video and it is pretty awesome. Both of my housemates have different mp3 players, both of which are not as awesome sauce as mine. The only disadvantage to the ipod is that some point in the future I will need to purchase a tool too pull it apart to replace the battery.

"Yes, this Creative Zen Neeon has an FM tuner where the ipod DOESN'T,

Who wants to listen to Brisbane radio, when you have 40GB of mp3s?

it has direct line in recording where the ipod DOESN'T,

Not interested.

it plays more file types (mp3, wma, wav), where the ipod only uses it's s***ty AAC format.

That's simply not true.

You can also take this player to your mates place and get the songs off your player, where the ipod is locked to your own computer unless you format your ipod."

I've never had a problem using either of my ipods (I've had a shuffle, which I lost) on multiple computers. I've never had a problem using iTunes at uni to transfer music onto my ipods. I've never needed to format my ipod.

last edited by typo at 19:30:07 05/Jun/06

Ok, what did apple do to you Ditch? I know the iPod has it's shortcomings but is this hate coming from the fact you don't make much money selling them?

yea shouldnt have any trouble using ipods on different computers

You can also take this player to your mates place and get the songs off your player

the thing i loved about this when i was selling em was hooking up a camera and grabbing the photos off it to clear the cameras card when it was full. customers loved it.

very helpful. (forum hug)

30 GB Ipod here. It's all good except it's expensive, difficult to record with it. My only complaint.

I love my ipod nano but i wish it had a stop button and an on/off switch. Holding down play to turn it off is the sux.

Ipods are great if you like itunes!

Otherwise, don't f***ing bother.

Who wants to listen to Brisbane radio, when you have 40GB of mp3s?

Sport's / News Broadcasts while on the go.

it plays more file types (mp3, wma, wav), where the ipod only uses it's s***ty AAC format.

That's simply not true.

Don't know about Zen, but it's true for iRiver.


Have friends who love their iPod, I like my iRiver. Not really much difference between the 2.
Also, love the iRiver remote aswell, fully functional.

Sport's / News Broadcasts while on the go.

I can see how that is a bonus to some of the customer range, but not a "omgwtfbbq ipods don't have a radio lol" thing.

Don't know about Zen, but it's true for iRiver.

ditch suggested that iPods couldn't play mp3, wma or wav files, which obviously isn't true. I have no idea what your post means.

Have friends who love their iPod, I like my iRiver. Not really much difference between the 2.
Also, love the iRiver remote aswell, fully functional.

It's difference horses for courses. Some people like the way the ipod looks and feels and are not interested in things like FM radio, others have different needs and desires.

iRiver can play .ogg for starters, Pretty sure the iPod cant.

Not having a go at anyone here, I'm curious when do you guys actually use your "portable mp3 players"?

Fair enough as the threadstarter has stated hes going to be travelling a lot, long train/bus/plane trips I could totally understand.

Other options I can see are studying, school or uni the bus ride to and from. I have been there done that and I usually had friends with me to talk with to pass the time. In anycase I didn't think a few hundred dollars was worth it for 20 mins music each way and my phone was capable of it and held like 20-30 songs and I used that maybe 5 times during my 3 years at uni.

I listen to music on the way to work and at home, car stereo and home PC are both my jukeboxes.

One other scenario though I can think of is if you headunit in the car has an aux input you could have ALL your mp3's at your disposal rather than have a crapload of CD's.

So enlighten me musical peoples, when do you use these super rad musical devices :D

I am thinking of getting a XClef HD500 with out the HDD then putting a 120gig laptop hdd in it.

Got some interesting reviews
A true review
Gadgeteer
C-Net
Pocket Now


Basically it works well and has decent battery time. But as down sides it is bulky (becuase it has a standard laptop HDD in it). Also it is only an MP1-3 & WMA player... but then I don't want a video player, photo storage facility or a gimp hacked PDA.

ps. don't like i-tunes or their lame audio format... except the whole podcast thing

sonyericsson w900i

512mb internal with 4gig memstick.
supreme roxor.

I've said it in other threads which you can search for, but basically iPods are the bomb if you use iTunes properly. iTunes features are awesome, specifically the playlist functions.

IMO there isn't much point in owning an iPod if you don't really care what bits of your music you are listening to - go for a different brand that is cheaper and more simple.

I listen to my iPod at work, at uni, at the gym, and use different playlists for different times, as well as for parties and stuff.\

I also use the rating system for my mp3's which makes it even cooler. If you can't be f***ed taking the time to use iTunes properly, don't get an iPod.

PS I've had my iPod for almost 3 years now and it is only JUST starting to f*** up. HDD sometimes goes dodgey, battery life is sometimes good but sometimes won't last more than 15 minutes:( I'll definitely be buying another iPod because all I'll have to do is plug it into my computer and all my s*** will be perfect.

I got a basic 1gig nano. The sound is quite good - I've really gotta re-rip 1/2 my collection. The unit is nice and light to carry - battery is quite good.

I gave itunes the flick after 2 mins of use. Winamp works with the ipod the same as it did with my old generic yum-cha mp3 player. Select music folder --> right_click --> send to ipod. nice 'n' easy :)

So enlighten me musical peoples, when do you use these super rad musical devices :D

I love my mp3 player soooo much!

My bus ride to uni is 20-30 min, with 10 min walking through the city. I mean id pay 400+ just so i can havee massive cans on and not get harrased by flyerers.
Actually id pay 400+ just so i can listen to music on the way to uni and back.

Another really good thing about my mp3 player (30gig) is that i can have many of my mp3s on it, and go to a party and plug it straight into AUX in on their stereo. Without having to pack my comptuer up or burn music etc. (id pay 400+ for that for sure, every party i go to basically i have my mp3s plugged in, and we can listen to whatever we want because its organised via mp3 tags etc)

So you always have friends on the bus ride to uni? I know noone in my area doing my subjects...so thats a mute point - i doubt many people would have people to talk to on the way to work/uni/whatever.

My mp3 player could also be used as a flash drive at uni too, so that was useful before i got my laptop.

My mate does have an AUX in his car and holy f*** i wish i did in mine!

iRiver can play .ogg for starters, Pretty sure the iPod cant.

Well that’s a big f***ing win for iRiver isn’t it. How many non-geek/nerd consumers even know what .ogg files are?

Not having a go at anyone here, I'm curious when do you guys actually use your "portable mp3 players"?

I use it while running, at the gym, at uni, at work, in my car, or on the train.

Because I have a 40GB drive, I also use it as a file storage medium.

Well that’s a big f***ing win for iRiver isn’t it. How many non-geek/nerd consumers even know what .ogg files are?

Yeah, what is a .ogg file?

i went with the 4 gb nano $330 mates rates.

haha who uses .ogg anyway. if I somehow managed to get one by accident i'd just convert it =/

Not having a go at anyone here, I'm curious when do you guys actually use your "portable mp3 players"?



I used mine for commuting and going to the gym.

I dont have an ipod (many friends do), but have definately been looking into it. The appeal for me as someone who travells alot is the anility to have all my music in one place and extremely portable, not shipping around hundreds of cds.

I still have a Creative Zen USB2.0. I've had it for three years now and it still works great. No reason to upgrade until it breaks.

I use it at work while I'm doing solitary tasks, and in the AUX-input in my car. I also use it at home; I just play music on my PC straight off my MP3 player (ie. I don't actually have a back-up of my music on the PC itself).

Get a mobile phone that has mp3 support so your not carrying a 2 devices in your pocket :/ (phone and mp3 player). f*** that :/

I got myself a Sony Ericsson W810i.. It rox my jocks, 2 megapixel camera, radio, mp3 player etc etc :)

I have 2 current MP3 players - nano 1gb (for gym, running etc) and 5gb creative MuVo.

I want a larger capcity one because I am potentially relocating o/s for work and don't want to waste hard drive space on mp3's - want to dump them somewhere and go from there...

obes - that looks 'ok' except its XBOX HUGE!!

natslovR got me onto - http://www.vosonic.com/index.php?PA=product&id=59&kind_id=12

Can be had from here - http://www.igadget.com.au/catalog/portable-storage-device-xdrive-vp8360-c-140_25_147.html

or here - http://www.technobox.com.au/catalog/portable-storage-xdrive-vp8360-c-34_76.html

or probably many other places... looks good and double's as my 'modded xbox' while on tour i.e. can store and play xvid and has tv out.

I am leaning to wards a 100 or 120gb version of that :)

60gig Video iPod ftw :D

Chics love it I promise!

^ Why?

Are you showing them vidz of my horse-schlong on it?

Ametuers do not and never will reside on my pod bitch

I think amateurs are sexy. They give that, I haven't taken 9 dicks today feeling that is often missing.

^ ummm ok

that sure is concerning^^

I nevered bother with an mp3 player before but am doing a lot of travelling soon so...

If you are doing a lot of travelling I highly recommend that you get a MP3 player that is very, very, very easy to recharge. The problem with the stock standard ipod is that it uses a powered usb slot to recharge. While you can get adapters to charge from other power sources (like the mains) it is an extra cost.

If I was going to get an MP3 player for travelling around the world I’d probably get something with external rechargeable batteries. Namely, getting a universal plug charger is a f***ing handy thing if you are traversing the world anyway. Secondly, you can charge your batteries anywhere. Thirdly, in times of great need you can purchase a couple of batteries from any old corner store and luscious music is again available.

If I was backpacking I’d get something that looked f***ing cheap but had heads of charge time and space. That way I could travel for hours without worrying about a recharge and nobody would want to steal it. They’d probably steal some rich Americans ipod, before stealing whatever s***ty looking thing I’d bring along.

Look for MP3 players that have controls on the headphone cable. That way you can put the MP3 player in your backpack, pocket, anus or wherever the f*** happens to be handy and you can still change the song from that one s*** song that always manages to get on.

Well I'm currently travelling around the world and I've had my iRiver H340 with me. Charges from the wall and the transformer it comes with is 110/240 so all you need is a universal adapter (which you'll have anyway if you're backpacking) and you're set to play find an unguarded power socket.

Love the iRiver, though it's not for everyone. I've used iTunes a bit and quite frankly, detest it. Having my mp3 player appear as a drive is a big plus for me, makes it a lot easier to copy to/from quickly (sometimes you only have a few seconds to plug in the usb cable, do your business and finish before someone who speaks a different language to you has a problem with you sticking cables into their machines), also you can install some applications on their directly etc.

It has a USB host which is nice etc. I previously had one of the original 6MB Archos jukeboxes that I got many years ago. Plugged it directly into my new iRiver and copied everything over just like that. Also, as someone else mentioned above, copying stuff off camera sd cards etc with no PC can sometimes come in handy.

The default UI for iRiver is s***e. www.rockbox.org is an open source firmware replacement for several popular mp3 players, iRiver (and I believe iPod) included. It's really really great, with some nice games. Playing chess against your mp3 player does help pass the time sitting around bus stations.

It also has two headphone jacks which comes in handy when travelling with someone else, though double adapters are cheap.

Don't know what else to say, if you at all don't like being forced to do things the way Apple or any other manufacturer decide you should do it, you should check out the iRiver for sure.

infi,

If your main reason is for travelling

if you are after a 4GB or lower (SANDISK works for me)
- get one that takes 1 AAA battery, its light and last 8-10 hours
- batteries are sold ANYWHERE in the world, and are light to carry extras
- electricity is NOT provided everywhere in the world (including trains, buses, planes and remote/unreliable places around the world)
- and yes travelling for 3 days across teh trans siberian rail, you can laugh at those people that have ipods (among others) and no "free" place to charge their devices.

if you are after 20GB+
- never had one but storing your digital pictures in the excess space is a huge +, no need to take your own GB of digital memory for ccamera or burn to cd at various places on the trip etc..

If I get another digital camera, it will be one that takes a 1/2 AAA batteries, I cant stress how much better it is not having to recharge whilst travelling...


Billy Hardball - windows media player has the same functionality as itunes that you listed and doesnt need an expensive portable player to go with it. generics are 1/3 to half the cost with as much or more practicalities

Also having fm tuner rocks, alot of gyms broadcast music/sport events/ tv programs, via FM channels, that I like listening to when working out...

The problem with the stock standard ipod is that it uses a powered usb slot to recharge. While you can get adapters to charge from other power sources (like the mains) it is an extra cost.

When I got my iPod a couple of years ago, it came with the charger, carrying case and remote control. It actually turns me off replacing my iPod with another one when it dies just because I would have to pay well over $200 extra to get all the accessories that came free with my first one, had I not already owned them.

Billy Hardball - windows media player has the same functionality as itunes that you listed and doesnt need an expensive portable player to go with it. generics are 1/3 to half the cost with as much or more practicalities

Fair, but can they be easily transported to a third party mp3 device?

The one thing I've always wanted on my iPod is the FM Tuner... if you are travelling you will always have the ability to hear local news reports which may prove very valuable.

Yeah I've always been pissed that my G4 Ipod didn't come with an FM tuner :/

But you can get fm radios the size of a tox tac box for free (or at least very cheap). I've got about 5 in the garage I got for free from my old man who gets all those freebies at corporate events. They give em out at riverfire as well i think. I definately wouldn't pick an mp3 player based on whether it had an fm tuner, but thats just me.

Neither would I, thats why I bought the Ipod. Still would've been nice to have it as a feature and also it sux balls to have to carry yet another thing in your pocket (separate fm radio).

yeah could be annoying i guess. though don't most mid-high range phones have fm tuners on them nowadays anyway?