MP3 Player Guide

[Jordan]

Jordan's Unbiased MP3 Player Guide

Okay, so. You want to buy an MP3 player? And its pretty obvious that you want to buy something thats logical and you don't want to spend more than you have to. There are three main companies that make MP3 players, they are:
Apple (with the iPod series)
Creative (with the Zen series)
and iRiver

Part One - Apple
Written by CVD
Apple effectively revolutionized the mp3 world with the introduction of the original iPod. Since then, there have been newer, sleeker models for those wanting more (or less) from their mp3 player. The original has evolved 3 times with alternative models such as the mini and photo available depending on what you’re looking for.

iPod:
The original iPod is now in its third form and now comes solely in a 20GB version for a hefty price tag of £209. It comes in one basic colour of white/grey and boasts the ability to store up to 5,000 songs with a starting battery life of just 12 hours, which will deplete as time goes on. However the iPod can do much more than play music. It boasts 25 minutes of job protection (it will never ‘jump’), customized play lists ‘on-the-go’, audio book compatibility, feature to use iPod as a hard disk (where you can store any file you wish), games, alarm clock, sleep timer, calendar, to-do lists, contact cards etc.

iPod U2 Special edition:
All of the above, only it features a red and black design, has autographs of all members engraved on the back and comes with a money off voucher for the ‘Complete U2’: Over 400 U2 songs which can be legally purchased and downloaded via Apple’s own music store: iTunes. Oh, it’s 40 quid more too, at £249.

iPod Mini:
The mini comes in a vast selection of colours and is now available in 2 versions: 4GB (£139) and 6GB (£169). It has the same basic features as the iPod, but has a longer battery life of 18 hours and has some unique accessories such as armbands.

iPod Shuffle:
It’s the smallest (and cheapest) iPod of the whole range, coming in at £69 for the 512MB (max 120 songs) or £99 for the 1GB version. It doesn’t do much other than play music, although it only weighs 22g. Only for those wanting to play a few albums on the way to work and wanting nothing else but music playback and no display screen.

iPod Photo:
The daddy of the iPod family, the Photo boasts a colour screen, photo playback with customized slideshows accompanied with music and comes in at huge 30GB (£249) or 60GB (£309) versions. Does everything the iPod can do, and then some. You can view pictures on your TV, it has a longer battery life of 15 hours and can carry up to 15,000 songs or 25,000 photos on the move.

Thoughts:
I’ve only got the current iPod original, but in general, I love it, I can’t go anywhere without it. Sure, the battery life sucks, but a quick recharge when your going to bed (via mains adaptor or USB cable) and when you wake up it will be fully charged, waiting for you to use it for the day. The software, iTunes, is pretty decent too with a relatively expansive and cheap music store if that’s the way you like to download music. There’s literally hundred’s of accessories to choose from too, from additional battery power, in car cables to surround speaker systems for the home. The iPod is great for those wishing to spend that little bit more on something more stylish and mainstream than the average mp3 player.


Part Two - Creative
Written by Jordan
Creative have been making MP3 players since the word go, back in '98. At the moment they have two main MP3 players. One that competes with the iPod Mini and the other competes with the iPod. They are: Zen Micro and Zen Touch.

Zen Micro:
This player has a 5GB capacity ideal if you only wish to store a small amount of music. However it has a hefty price tag of £135 (Checked 29th May 2005, Dabs.com) so is about £30 less than its 6GB iPod Mini rival. It comes in like 9 colours, so you can get whatever suits your taste. Its an extremly small player and very light.

Zen Touch:
The Zen Touch comes in 20GB (£150) and 40GB (£200) flavours. It only comes in one colour and is the same size as a standard iPod.

Zen Neeon
Yes its spelt right, it has two E's. I honestly don't see the point of this thing but: Neeon is all about customisation. It has a tonne of random clip on covers known as "Creative Stik-on"'s. Wow Creative really can't spell.Anyway it again has 5GB capacity like its older brother the micro. But has a longer battery life at a nuts 16 hours.

Thoughts:
I've tried/owned 3 Creative MP3 players. The old Jukebox 3, the Zen Xtra and the Zen Touch. I like Creative, they use small and light designs, coupled with great features, fantastic sound quality and functions for quite a small price tag. If you wish to spend a little less to get a little more, then Creative is the company for you!

Part Three - iRiver
Written by Piro RoadKill
iRiver are a major MP3 player manufacturer, and have long been considered the viable alternative to the likes of Apple's iPod.

iriver iFP8xx:
The small, f|ash based player from iriver. Comes in capacities up to 1GB, which is likely plenty for casual users. Like it's bigger brothers, it supports MP3, WMA, ASF, OGG, and has an FM tuner, which you can even record from. It also has voice recording and playback. They claim 40 hours of battery life from a single AA battery!

iriver H10:
I haven't got one of these, but they are the new, cute version of the bigger brother, the H3xx series. They've got a colour screen, and 5GB of HDD space. As with the iPod, it uses a touch sensitive scroll as it's primary interface (although this is vertical, whereas the iPod is a circle). It's similar in size and can also show photos and text on the screen whilst playing music. It also has an FM Radio tuner which you can record from, and voice recording too. They claim 12 hours of battery life from a full charge.

iriver H3xx:
I also don't own one of these, but as far as I understand, they are very similar in function to the player I do currently own, the iHP-140. They are slightly chunky, and the interface is not the most intuitive, so a definite RTFM is in order. But look at the functionality: MPEG 1/2/2.5 Layer 3, WMA, ASF, OGG, JPEG, BMP, TXT, FM radio. I read on the iRiver site that it can even connect to a digital camera to display and store photos directly from it -- if you have a low capacity camera, this may be a very useful feature indeed. As the others, it has voice recording.

Thoughts:
I personally have had two iriver iHP-140's, and if you can get it, don't be put off by it's slightly chubbier design than the über sleek iPod, it comes extremely feature packed.

The main things about the irivers are that they usually come with many features and although not a great deal cheaper, usually have support for many codecs. They all also have upgradeable firmware (so you can download the newest OS for your player off the internet and update it yourself!).

One feature about the older, iHP-1xx series that I did love was the inline remote. You can control EVERY function on the player using the remote, which has a small screen which can show all the information necessary. A nice touch.

I also like the fact I didn't need any special software to be able to transfer files to my iriver. Plug it in, drag the files across, and you can play them straight up, don't need to install anything.

If you do want to use the iRiver software on your PC, all it does is scan all the MP3s you put on the player, and makes a database so you can go through the menus and find things a little easier. However; it is far from essential. As long as you have a pretty neat music collection, you'll have no problems.

[Bren]

iRiver H10 5GB Review

Looks :

It looks sleek , and is a tiny bit smaller than the ipod mini. I have the gray version, and it looks very nice, i wanted the blue but couldnt find it for as cheap as i got the gray one. The paint on it scratches easy, i dropped it from about 5 cms and it scratched on concrete. but i suppose this is to be expected. I use the rubbery clear case that comes with it, and it keeps it safe and doesnt add too much bulk too the H10.

7/10

Memory :

It comes with 5GB of memory, or you can pay a bit more for a 6GB version. This may seem a bit shit. but for a mini mp3 its very good, considering Ipod Mini's are a standard of 4GB and this is cheaper.

9/10

Features :

Scroll Pad: Much like the Ipod clickwheel, except this is a line than u rub up or down to scroll. Its gud, and u can change the speed of it to suit your own needs.

Radio: The radio is very good quality, and i think the receiver is in the headphones. You can also record straight off the radio. and set a timer to record your fav radio shows.

Colour Screen: The screen is very nice to look at, its very bright and the colours are nice and strong. You can view photos and text on it aswell, and it shows up very nicely. Only thing i am warey of is scratching the plastic cover that protects it as the rubber case dusnt cover the screen, but i guess i wont drop it again.

Alarm: Your basic beep beep beep wen u need it.

Software :

It comes with Windows Media Player 10, which you can use to sync your music/photos onto the H10. Or you can use it as a normal hard drive, to drag on text and music into the folders BUT you cant add pictures in this way, windows media has to sync pictures to get them onto the H10.

8/10

Well, i hope this has helped, i personally would recommend this over the ipod mini, iv tryed both, and this is so much nicer to use.

It retails for about 150 but i managed to find it for 130 at http://www.digitalelectro.co.uk/catalog/ .

Hope it helped :)

[Jordan]

Wow! Thanks man thats excellent :D
I'll be adding new MP3 players in the coming weeks. Which shall include new Apple and (alot) of new Creative players!

[Mike_C]

I'm thinking about getting a ipod nano.... but not sure yet... but i read that the sexy black model scatches like a biiiaaatch.. lol

[JonSt]

A small summary on the ipod shuffle.

Basically what CVD said, one thing I have noticed about it is that for some reason when on shuffle mode and you keep skipping songs, it will freeze after a while and you reset it. Also it never shuffle songs that well it always comes back to songs ive already heard instead of ones that havent been played.

[DaOne]

Nice Reviews. Thats a great post right there. I have the zen touch, got it second hand for £80 in perfect condition. Suits me just fine. 20gb is alot of music :D.

[Haden]

Just got my ipod nano today. And wow is it pretty and very very small.

Looks : Is sleek and looks brilliant in black, makes the white writing really stand out and of course adds to its petite nature. And I can't overstate how small this thing is, I thought it was a joke when I first opened it or some sort of demo model. Oh and plus points go to the superb packaging, Apple really know how to make you feel special.
9/10

Memory : 4GB memory version for me, which is small but then again I only want it for a few albums and the occasional audio book. Wierdly though like many memory formats, 4GB doesn't really end up being that it is slightly less.
6/10

Features : Hmm I haven't really looked into this. It has a clanender a colour screen an alarm I think of course the scroll wheel and the headphones are on the bottom not the top of the ipod. Oh and you can get it personalised with some text on the back.
8/10

Software : Newest ITunes which seems very nifty so far. Has various cool stuff like top 25 and decade specific tracks. Also converts files for you into an ipod friendly format.
8/10

So far I am very pleased with my purchase the headphones are more powerful than I thought and don't pop out either. However I have a problem, Itunes and quicktime has for a while not being playing sound back properly. It is very jittery, as in a pattern rather than the occasional jitter. It is hard to explain but if anyone has any advice on how to solve this it would be much appreciated. Anyway I am back to playing with my new ipod :smile:

[Raining_again]

Memory : 4GB memory version for me, which is small but then again I only want it for a few albums and the occasional audio book. Wierdly though like many memory formats, 4GB doesn't really end up being that it is slightly less.
6/10



my 20gb ipod is the same! im gettin 18.56 gb...thats over a gig short!

Has anyone ever noticed with the Apple earphones....that after time, (not a lot of time either) they go very fuzzy when played loud?

[shaq365]

Just got my ipod nano today. And wow is it pretty and very very small.

Looks : Is sleek and looks brilliant in black, makes the white writing really stand out and of course adds to its petite nature. And I can't overstate how small this thing is, I thought it was a joke when I first opened it or some sort of demo model. Oh and plus points go to the superb packaging, Apple really know how to make you feel special.
9/10

Memory : 4GB memory version for me, which is small but then again I only want it for a few albums and the occasional audio book. Wierdly though like many memory formats, 4GB doesn't really end up being that it is slightly less.
6/10

Features : Hmm I haven't really looked into this. It has a clanender a colour screen an alarm I think of course the scroll wheel and the headphones are on the bottom not the top of the ipod. Oh and you can get it personalised with some text on the back.
8/10

Software : Newest ITunes which seems very nifty so far. Has various cool stuff like top 25 and decade specific tracks. Also converts files for you into an ipod friendly format.
8/10

So far I am very pleased with my purchase the headphones are more powerful than I thought and don't pop out either. However I have a problem, Itunes and quicktime has for a while not being playing sound back properly. It is very jittery, as in a pattern rather than the occasional jitter. It is hard to explain but if anyone has any advice on how to solve this it would be much appreciated. Anyway I am back to playing with my new ipod :smile:

Uh, what about rating the small matter of sound...?

[Mike_C]

hey HADEN!
Do you have a pc or mac... i got a pc and winxp but i don't have the service packs and was wondering if that would cause problems with the nano?

[RoadKill]

my 20gb ipod is the same! im gettin 18.56 gb...thats over a gig short!

That's because drive manufacturers rate their drives in decimal, so 1000MB = 1GB, whereas computers and data is measured to powers of 2, so 1024MB = 1GB.

Don't get your knickers in a twist, you haven't been sold short.

[Shmotz]

Has anyone ever noticed with the Apple earphones....that after time, (not a lot of time either) they go very fuzzy when played loud?


I'm on my 3rd pair of earphones in a year. One pair of Apples, one pair of Sennheisers (which I was gutted about) and now I'm onto Sony. And even they are beginning to fuzz a bit. Bitch.

[Luigi]

I just recently got the iPod Nano, and I have to say that it's great. The design is VERY sleek and hawt. The quality of the music is very good, and the LCD screen is fun to stare at while listening to some tunes. I love the way things are organized on it, as well. There are plenty of extras, like games and clocks, etc., which are kinda fun.

The only problems I have are that the ear pieces are, for some reason, a tad uncomfortable. I'm either not wearing them right (I'm almost sure I am), I have mis-shapen ears (I hope I don't :(), or they're just shaped kind of weird.
The other problem is the space. Although it's not much of a problem for me, and I have the 2gb one, the really avid music listeners pretty much won't be able to own this or they'd run out of space quickly. The thing I'm worried about is that I'd eventually run out of room over time...but hopefully they'll have a much larger one to purchase by then.

Overall, I'd rate this MP3 player about an 8.5/10.

[Sabre]

I have a Sony NW-HD3 20Gb which cost me £150, it's pretty good although the software is diabolical you have to use (SonicStage), and I had to convert pretty much all my WMAs to MP3s to use the thing (Doesn't take WMA only MP3/Atrac). But now all the music's on there its a great player.

I would get the NW-HD5 now though if you were going for a Sony one.

[faz99]

I have a Creative Zen Sleek 20GB.
It's brilliant, it has the same kind of software as far as im aware of the Zen Touch except its a bit smaller, has FM radio you can record from with a mic.
Also you can tap the touch pad to click, but on the Zen Touch you have to push the OK button.

http://img.engadget.com/common/images/1535422442131743.JPG

[Haden]

The only problems I have are that the ear pieces are, for some reason, a tad uncomfortable.

My ears seem to ache a bit after using them sometimes which is annoying. I haven't put the softner things on though. Oh also those minigames are to hard for me as I am still a newbie at using the wheel so brick is quite frustrating.

[|Laguna|]

Are the Rio players gonna get reviewed? They look mighty interesting.
http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Product+Details.htm?quicklinx=3tff&searchphrase=rio
Carbon Pearl brings premium sophistication to digital music with 5GB of storage in an ultra-slim design

Key Features

5GB of memory stores up to 1250 songs**
Built-in mic for voice record
Drag & drop data and music files
Rechargeable battery - up to 20 hours
USB 2.0 for faster downloads
Charge from USB or Power Adapter
Plays MP3, WMA & Audible®
1 Year Warranty

Sporting an ultra-thin and tapered design, and with 25 percent more memory than iPod® mini, this tiny MP3 player, about the size of a business card, will slide into any pocket virtually unnoticeable. The Rio Carbon Pearl is capable of holding up to 80 hours of MP3 (160 hours WMA) music**, and with up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge, music lovers need not worry about running out of juice. Supporting USB 2.0 and a host of file formats; users can download music efficiently and easily from most of their favorite online music sites. The Rio Carbon Pearl also includes voice recording and provides seamless integration and support of the Microsoft Windows® platform.

[zatoichi]

I have an iRiver H300. I think it cost around £230. It has a full colour LCD which is clear as fcuk, and yes, as Steve rightly pointed out, it is able to connect directly to digital cameras, as well as other mp3 devices, and transfer data. Yes, that's right, you can link your H300 with certain types of mp3 player and transfer files directly from one machine to another.

It has a line in, so you can either insert a external microphone to record stuff at up to 320kbps and 44.1Khz. You can also record things like Vinyl and tape on to the mp3 through the line in.

It's a great machine. Thoroughly recommend it. Has really great EQ settings, and lots of adjustable options.

[Jordan]

Not good news about the Nano. Apparently the screen is super easy to scratch and on Apple's forums people are already demanding recalls.

As if Apple's customer service wasn't bad enough.

[soag]

I got the Zen Touch 40 gig version last week, and I am so very pleased with my purchase. Its all I wanted and more :D.

I can now rock and roll everywhere I go tis great it is :)

[1upking]

I have an Ipod shuffle, and its a great bit of kit.

Firstly its so incredible small you have to wonder if it will actually work! (it does)
Obviously there is no screen, and to be honest why would you need one? It's your music playing - you must know what its called?!

Its also very light, maybe the weight of a gamecube memory card or something similiar, and when you wear the neck strap you almost forget its there!

The 1gb model holds around 240 songs, which I feel is more than enough - its 16 hours of music! and with autofil you can change your tunes everyday if you wanted

The shuffle mode pretty good and only occasionally do you hear the same song twice

Overall I find it a very good player for me as you never no whats coming next and its great for me as I can listen to songs that otherwise I wouldnt.

[Twozzok]

I have a Creative Zen Sleek 20GB.
It's brilliant, it has the same kind of software as far as im aware of the Zen Touch except its a bit smaller, has FM radio you can record from with a mic.
Also you can tap the touch pad to click, but on the Zen Touch you have to push the OK button.

http://img.engadget.com/common/images/1535422442131743.JPG


I'm hopefully getting this player for Christmas, is the sound quality good, and does it come with headphones, if so, are they good quality?

[Kurtle Squad]

The iPod nano is stupid. You might aswell get a PSP!!

[faz99]

I'm hopefully getting this player for Christmas, is the sound quality good, and does it come with headphones, if so, are they good quality?

Whoops, didn't spot your post.
Anyway, yeah, the quality is like, unreal. I think its 97 in that spectrum or way of rating sound quality or whatever. Unlike the Zen touch, i found that the headphones that came with the Sleek are alot better and are actually quite good, but they are a little big. As in the round part is big. My right one can't handle bass anymore, i am quite sure it's because i exposed it to rain, tut tut listening to music in the rain!

I feel the menu is better than that of a Touch, because you have to click the scroller with your finger rather than move you finger up to push the ok button like on the touch. But i have to say, it takes some getting used to, well about a day before you are able to controll it without clicking by accident.

For a personal radio, this is the best reception i have EVER seen. Perfect.

I have only used the mic.. Once. Ever. Actually after i write this i think i might fiddle around with, even though i have had it ages now.

In that pic of it i posted, the screen looks crappy, but it isn't.
Also, unlike the Touch, the menu's have cool things like how many times a track has been played and album of the day, but on the touch this may have been changed because of firmware updates and the such.

So anything else?

[#1cubeplayer]

It's a shame the iPod Nano is so fragile. It's awesomely small.

I'm desperate for an mp3 player, but I'm low on cash as always and I don't want to settle for mediocrity. Hmph.

[Marshmellow]

my 20gb ipod is the same! im gettin 18.56 gb...thats over a gig short!

Has anyone ever noticed with the Apple earphones....that after time, (not a lot of time either) they go very fuzzy when played loud?

yes it annoys the crap out of me since ive only had the hearphones for a few weeks

[mario114]

Is it worth gettign a nano then, if the screen can scratch really easy, i also read that the paint can come off easily, is there any truth in that?

[Tom]

i have had a creative zen micro for about 6 months now.
sadly my baby is becoming more and more troublesome, and an exchange for a zen sleek is being considered.
the touch pad is just becoming less and less responsive - today for examp,e, if i didnt have the remote control unit i would have had no control, as every button on the touch pad either had no effect, or turned the volume down :S
i have been notice over the last 2 or 3 months the whole player gradually running less and less smoothly with moe glitches.

any other zen micro users finding this?

[Calza]

I know this has been out for a while but i think it will help in some way other.

Player Itself - It has a fairly good firmware but it seem a bit outdated, excellent sound, small size and excellent battery life (30 hours) 4/5 :)

Software - This is where any sony md/mp3 player owner will tell you it sucks and yes it does but it isn't as bad as some people make out. ie it is designed for windows so you have all the similar features but thats about it 2/5 :(

So if you see it at a good price, would i recommend it? No
I would go for the NW-HD5 as it's smaller, more intutive firmware and amazing 40 hours battery and it's removable (the battery).

Then again there is the new Sony but theree bigger and 35 hours, Timewarp for Sony :heh:

Good news also as Sonicstage is going to be replaced :hehe: :hehe: :hehe: :hehe: with Connect Player which looks like a copy of iTunes but purple and grey.

[Bowser57]

i have had a creative zen micro for about 6 months now.
sadly my baby is becoming more and more troublesome, and an exchange for a zen sleek is being considered.
the touch pad is just becoming less and less responsive - today for examp,e, if i didnt have the remote control unit i would have had no control, as every button on the touch pad either had no effect, or turned the volume down :S
i have been notice over the last 2 or 3 months the whole player gradually running less and less smoothly with moe glitches.

any other zen micro users finding this?

Mine's fine as far as I can tell. I'd guess it's about three months old.

If yours is only 6 months old and you're having problems why not just send it back to be repaired/replaced though Tom? Aren't they under warranty for a year?

[#1cubeplayer]

My brother's friend comes over all the time to upload music into his Zen Micro, and his touch pad (the strip you scroll with) is pretty much dead now. He has the sensitivity set on high and you still have to push hard and at the edges for to navigate, plus you end up going too far down or too far up. He's had it for a while but it shows that it might be too delicate for rougher, newer users.

[Ice9]

It's a shame the iPod Nano is so fragile. It's awesomely small.


Check out this (http://reviews.cnet.com/MobiBlu_dah1500i/4505-6490_7-31473597.html?tag=viddet) one, all the features packed into that baby! (watch the video)
https://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/images/products/dah1500/DAH1500small3.jpg

[#1cubeplayer]

Very tempting, but for my situation I'd prefer to save up a bit more and get more gigabytes for my money.

[monkeyDluffy]

anybody got the Sony NWA 1000 6Gb? was thinking of getting one but i'm not sure as on amazon you can get a sanyo 6Gb for £99.99, the sonys got better battery life and jog proof, plus I think looks better but it is an extra £30ish for pretty much the samething, what do ya think?

EDIT: Also if someone does have the player do the buttons look odd? cause i've seen a shity demo shell in tesco and the buttons really look odd compared to the rest of the unit, really see through and colour less, which is one of the main reasons i'm holding off getting one.

[Charlie]

my 20gb ipod is the same! im gettin 18.56 gb...thats over a gig short!

That's the same with every hard drive. It is actually 20gb, but when formatted its 18.6gb.

http://section3.net/stevejobs_SNL/

Watch that video! New iPods!

[Jordan]

More new iPods? Jesus.
My christmas present, far suprior than the iPod video in everyway. Cheaper too:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20040903/creative.jpg

10 hour video battery life (yes, it has been tested.), runs on Windows XP MCE and oh it's only £170. Bargin.

[Bowser57]

Looks pretty sex, how much space on that bad boy?

[Jordan]

20GB version is £170.
There's a 40GB version out too with an even larger screen, but i haven't seen that out in Europe, but it is out in the US.

Oh and bare in mind, anything you put on it is automatically converted by Windows Media Player 10 to the correct aspect ratio and file format.

1.2GB movies will come out as little as 600MB. You can get a hell of alot on the thing.

[Charlie]

More new iPods? Jesus.

No, it's a skit about all the iPods Apple have released recently :heh:
It's really good.

[Oli1983uk]

anyone seen any reviews on a Olympus M:robe 5GB MP3 player?

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=2087

seems like a good price but i wanna know what the player is like!

jordan have u got a link to the place where the 20 GB Zen creative Portable is £170 as i can only find it for £279.

[Mr_Odwin]

anyone seen any reviews on a Olympus M:robe 5GB MP3 player?

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=2087

seems like a good price but i wanna know what the player is like!


I've seen several reviews as I was looking into getting one a while ago (it's blatantly the best looking mp3 player ever. Knight Rider kit-like!). Most of the reviews said it was dead sexy but the headphone socket is stupidly placed on the side of the unit and the volume is relatively low. Other than that, fairly decent if I remember rightly.

Edit: But the price has dropped considerably since then so it's very tempting now.

[Oli1983uk]

well I found a couple of reviews they all seemed to say it was a good player, I order one last night. I will update here when i recieve it.

[monkeyDluffy]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0008EK58A/qid=1134496681/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/202-6769786-7411861

A link to amazon reviews if you two are interested.

[Jordan]

anyone seen any reviews on a Olympus M:robe 5GB MP3 player?

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=2087

seems like a good price but i wanna know what the player is like!

jordan have u got a link to the place where the 20 GB Zen creative Portable is £170 as i can only find it for £279.

Ebuyer have it for that much. Or just got on kelkoo.com ;).

[MikeMania]

I hate my ipod, everytime i touch it, it makes finger marks. And I am tempted to vigoriously wipe it away to restore its sheen.

[Ashley]

Anyone know of anything sub-£20, just a little crappy flash one. Got a Zen Touch and thats great but when I'm walking to town to meet people at night I can't take that and just want some music to pass the time. Oh and in shops, could do with it before xmas.

[Mr_Odwin]

I saw a little 256MB player in Tescos just the other day for £9.99. Not that pretty, but then it doesn't really need to be.

[Ashley]

Sounds ideal, I'll have a look in when im on my way down town later. Thanks.

[CooInTheZoo]

My ipod mini has been so abused, it looks like it was run over by a car. alot. and the 4gb memory is totally filled up

i want to replace it but i have no money aarrrrgghhhh

[Ashley]

My Zen Touch was sent off for repairs (turns out Creative don't solder the jack in place so after a while it comes out and becomes screwy) and im thinking that when I get it back it will probably be a new unit. So I may sell it on ebay (they're going for £100ish) and get this for my birthday instead: http://www.engadget.com/2005/12/07/creatives-new-zen-vision-m-with-video/

Watching an episode of Veronica Mars on the train to and from uni (when I finally go) won't be too much of a bad thing.

[Herr Dark Wolf]

I'm planning on getting an MP3 player. I'm looking for one that can do about 20gb. I want it to be robust. Video would be nice too :) I want it to be small, so it can go in my pocket. I personally think it's between this (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CS7U1C/104-2193808-8227109?n=172282) Or the Ipod Video. The only problem is that I have no idea when the Zen is coming out. Anyother suggestions would be welcome too :)

PS: I'd like a player just to put a few Simpsons episodes on it or something.

[Ashley]

I'm planning on getting an MP3 player. I'm looking for one that can do about 20gb. I want it to be robust. Video would be nice too :) I want it to be small, so it can go in my pocket. I personally think it's between this (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CS7U1C/104-2193808-8227109?n=172282) Or the Ipod Video. The only problem is that I have no idea when the Zen is coming out. Anyother suggestions would be welcome too :)

PS: I'd like a player just to put a few Simpsons episodes on it or something.

Hehe thats pretty similar to my post just before yours. Im stuck between the two. On the one hand the Creative has a better screen, more video formats accepted etc but on the other the iPod is so pretty.

You can get the Creative off ebay for about £200 from some dodgyish guy from Singapore. Or these places: http://froogle.google.co.uk/froogle?q=Creative+Zen+Vision%3A+M&btnG=Search+Froogle&hl=en

[Herr Dark Wolf]

The other thing is that I've got all my music on itunes, and i can't be bothered to rip all the CDs again, and I might not be able to find all of them.

[broadwayrock]

I would go for the Zen Vision: M. It pretty much trumps the 5G iPod in all areas apart from looks.

If you care features and functionality get the Zen Vision M, whereas If you care about style or design get the iPod (nothing else will sway you)

Herr when you say you got all your music in itunes does that mean its all AAC as opposed to mp3?

[Herr Dark Wolf]

Yes, it's all in Mp4. My bro also bought quite a few albums from itunes music store :(

EDIT: To be fair, the only reason I would get a Vision: M over the Ipod is it can do more than Mpeg4 for videos and has got a bit better screen, but I can live with the ipod screen. I've found a nice Avi to Mpeg4 converter free, and it works pretty good.

[Charlie]

The other thing is that I've got all my music on itunes, and i can't be bothered to rip all the CDs again, and I might not be able to find all of them.

Creative MP3 players just mount to Windows as a removeable disk so you can just browse to your iTunes folder using Windows Explorer and then drag and drop your music to the MP3 player.

You wont be able to play music you bought in iTunes on another MP3 player, that's the only reason I'm getting an iPod when I save up enough money.

[Herr Dark Wolf]

But they don't support the files.

[Ashley]

Well they do allow you to put the tracks on, just not play them. Which is a bitca. Surely someone has made a converter programmy thing that lets you play them.

[JonSt]

Yea i found out that. All the Itunes music i bought doesnt show up on non ipod mp3 players as very few if any support the mp4 format which iTunes music is encoded in

[Ashley]

Will one of these programs (http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=mp4+to+mp3+converter&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) be of any use? Anyone fancy giving it a try?

[Sanchez]

I would go for the Zen Vision: M. It pretty much trumps the 5G iPod in all areas apart from looks.

I disagree. For a start, if you have more than 30GB's of music like myself, you need something bigger.

iPod: Up to 14 hours of music playback; up to 2 hours of video playback

Zen: M: Enjoy up to 14 hours of music, or 4 hours of movies with the rechargeable Li-Ion battery.

Something fishy going on here, I suspect creative are exaggerating video playback, or maybe their screen isn't as bright?

iPod:

Height 10.4cm
Width 6.1cm
Depth 1.1cm
Weight 136g


Zen:

Height 10.4cm
Width 6.2cm
Depth 1.9cm
Weight 163g

At least with the iPod you will save a little bulge in your pocket and a fair amount of weight.

and err, thats about all the difference. I can't do a price check yet because I can't find a price for the Zen: M.

[JonSt]

Will one of these programs (http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=mp4+to+mp3+converter&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) be of any use? Anyone fancy giving it a try?

I'll give it a go for you, you wanrt me to try it on a mp3 player also?

Edit: Ok tried it using this program here (http://www.gold-software.com/XilisoftWMAMP3Converter-file9053.html) It converted it to mp3 and it worked perfectly, sadly though it is only trial version - which means it only will allows you converted items.

[Herr Dark Wolf]

The Zen Vision:M has a far better screen: http://www.everythingusb.com/creative_zen_vision:m_30gb.html

Although the Ipod looks pretty good quality here: http://media.arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/video-ipod.media/videoipod-lost-text-web.jpg

The Zen is about $30 more than the Ipod in the US. I'm probably gonna go for the iPod. I've got a really awsome converter which is free and not a trial which works perfectly.

[Mr_Odwin]

Use Besweet or Belight to convert from mp4/aac to mp3. Dead easy. But lossy to lossy is baaaad.

Edit: Actually, scratch that, that's for mp3 to aac.

[Herr Dark Wolf]

Quality anygood?

EDIT: You can't do MP4 input.

[Mr_Odwin]

Alright, figured it out. Use iTunes.
Go to Edit>preferences>Advanced>importing and then choose your mp3 settings.
Then you can right click on songs in iTunes and select 'convert to mp3'.

[JonSt]

Alright, figured it out. Use iTunes.
Go to Edit>preferences>Advanced>importing and then choose your mp3 settings.
Then you can right click on songs in iTunes and select 'convert to mp3'.


Well done again Mr O

[Mr_Odwin]

aac/mp4 is much better sounding than mp3 at low bitrates I've found. I wouldn't convert to anything too low, bitrate-wise.

[Herr Dark Wolf]

Alright, figured it out. Use iTunes.
Go to Edit>preferences>Advanced>importing and then choose your mp3 settings.
Then you can right click on songs in iTunes and select 'convert to mp3'.

Genius, I thank you.

[Ashley]

I think the whole "Oh Creative products are far too big for your pocket" arguement crap. I have a Zen Touch and it fits fine. Besides, most of the time I just leave it in its holder thing and clip that onto my belt or bag. It fits fine in average pockets (including the case).

But anyway I'll wait and see when my Touch gets back if it is new and then will decide what to do. I want a lot for my birthday. Maybe my friends will be very generous and feel sorry for me after my sucktastic year last year. Hmm...

[JonSt]

I think the whole "Oh Creative products are far too big for your pocket" arguement crap. I have a Zen Touch and it fits fine. Besides, most of the time I just leave it in its holder thing and clip that onto my belt or bag. It fits fine in average pockets (including the case).

But anyway I'll wait and see when my Touch gets back if it is new and then will decide what to do. I want a lot for my birthday. Maybe my friends will be very generous and feel sorry for me after my sucktastic year last year. Hmm...

People that moan about the creative being too big know nothing. The iriver that I had was probably the thickest mp3 player I have ever seen yet it had the most functionality of any. Had videos long before the ipod did.

[Herr Dark Wolf]

What iRivers can do Video? I'm probably gonna get the Zen Vision: M Thanks Odwin :D

[JonSt]

What iRivers can do Video? I'm probably gonna get the Zen Vision: M Thanks Odwin :D

Yes, the one I had required a firmware upgrade to enable but it played video pretty well, certainly better than the ipod.

[broadwayrock]

Something fishy going on here, I suspect creative are exaggerating video playback, or maybe their screen isn't as bright?


Actually Creative seem to be conservative with regards to video battery life. According to a recent review:

"The Zen Vision:M managed to play nearly three complete movies, a total playback time of 4 hours 43 minutes, nearly a full hour more than claimed"

http://monsternet.org/reviews/zenvisionm/page7.php

This is a recent battery life comparison from a french website with serveral players including the Vision: M and 5G iPod (the numbers are displayed in minutes)
:
http://img.clubic.com/photo/00212249.jpg

http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=fr_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.clubic.com%2farticle-30174-1-le-duel-de-fin-d-annee-ipod-5g-zen-vision-m.html


With regards to the iTunes AAC format: Apple will not allow any other company's players to be compatible with it. You will need to use something like hymn to remove the drm protection:

http://www.hymn-project.org/

then iTunes or dbpoweramp can convert it to mp3 or whatever file you want.

[Herr Dark Wolf]

My brother's only bought about 4 albums on itunes, so I should be ok. I'll get them when they are cheap.

[Sanchez]

Interesting, I wonder why the differences are so great with video when the audio is the same.

[Herr Dark Wolf]

Found this (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=15185024077&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=102000) but I've also heard bad things about Archos. Can't find a single review about it online either.

[Mr_Odwin]

If you buy from iTunes you can burn to a CD then rip to mp3. A long way round, but it works.

[Ashley]

Just buy the CDs. Nice booklets and such. Good stuff.

[shaq365]

If you buy from iTunes you can burn to a CD then rip to mp3. A long way round, but it works.

Ugh! God no! The quality will be even worse than when you started due to copying from one lossy format to another.

[Mr_Odwin]

Ugh! God no! The quality will be even worse than when you started due to copying from one lossy format to another.

True, but with sufficient bitrate most poeple won't be able to tell the difference. Heck, loads of people have 64kbps wma on their mp3 players because microsoft claim it's CD quality! :bouncy:

[Konfucius]

My iPod is broken, it fell on the floor once but I could "repair" it by hitting it. Some time ago it fell on the floor again (no I don't learn of my mistakes) but this time hitting it, doesn't help.
So my question, is there a hard drive mp3 player that is robust enough to sustain a drop or two? I was thinking of getting a Creative one; any opinions on this issue? Thanks in advance.

[Herr Dark Wolf]

did what Odwin said, burnt it onto a disc then put it back on in MP3. Sounds identical to the original.

[Ashley]

My iPod is broken, it fell on the floor once but I could "repair" it by hitting it. Some time ago it fell on the floor again (no I don't learn of my mistakes) but this time hitting it, doesn't help.
So my question, is there a hard drive mp3 player that is robust enough to sustain a drop or two? I was thinking of getting a Creative one; any opinions on this issue? Thanks in advance.

I have the Creative Touch Zen and have dropped it on pavement and gravel a few times and the casing has dented a bit but played fine.

Hmm trying to decide between the Creative Vision: M and iPod Video. iPod has the iTunes compatability and the thousands of accessories/other stuff because its so overpopular. Also the better looking. The Vision: M has the better screen and more video format compatabilities. Hmm...

[Sanchez]

Get the iPod. it's pointless if you only have 30GB to keep songs and movies on.

I hope perpendicular hard drives are released soon, I need a music player with around 100GB probably.

[Ashley]

Well I had 20GB before and that kept my music on, and I'd only ever put a little bit of video on, hardly 10GB anyway. So 30GB will be sufficient.

[mario_jr]

Yeah I too was gonna get a video IPod. I said wow 5000 songs, cool. Then found out ITunes are $1. 5000*$1= $5000. No thanks! So I'm gonna go with the Creative Vision M like most of you said. Then get Napster, its way cheaper in the end.

[Herr Dark Wolf]

I got my Vision: M on Wednesday.

Complaints: Mine came with quite a lot of scatches on the body, not too fussed really, hardly noticible.

Good things: The video quality is awsome. I've watched a bit of Futurama and Simpsons on it. Absolutly wonderful. I'm transferring all my music at the mo, I'll say what the sound quality is like soon.

Get a Screen protector from Martin Fields, whatever you do. And don't take off the temporary protector until you get a proper one.

[Ashley]

HDW mind taking pics to make me even more unsure.

Figured I wouldn't get it because I don't need a new MP3 player and was going to get a camera instead but now im tempted. Hmm...

[Herr Dark Wolf]

Yeah, I will on Saturday. Bit busy with other stuff at the mo.

[Konfucius]

Got my Creative Zen Touch yesterday and I'm really content with it.
Finally I can shut down my MP3 player (yes I'm looking at you iPod) and I exported my playlists from itunes, converted them and imported them into that Creative program. So all my playlists together with the songs are on my Creative player now.
The touch pad can be quite annoying sometimes but apart from that I prefer it to the iPod.

[Ashley]

Hmm the iPod Video is seriously tempting, you can get the 60GB for £250ish if you try hard enough. Anyone used both to give a comparison? I know the iPod is visually better looking, has iTunes support and all that whereas the Creative has a wider range of video options, better screen and such but it is pricier for less space (which makes a change).

Anyone know when the Creative is being released over here? Still only see it from dodgy sellers in Singapore. Where did you get yours from HDW?

[Herr Dark Wolf]

Ebuyer

15

[broadwayrock]

eh?

Ebuyer only seem to have the old Zen Vision in stock not the Zen Vision: M.

savastore reckon they come in at 1-2 weeks at £234.99 excluding postage.

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10286131&pid=45&tid=279

or importing from yesasia for £224.87

http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-c/section-electronics/pid-1004101117/

[Oli1983uk]

I will be picking up a Creative Vision M In NYC in a few weeks when I go, platty maybe aswell will be getting a 30gb one for about £180. even thou the Ipod video 30Gb is cheaper I will stick to the Creative Vision M.

[Nintendork]

iPods rock, I'm waiting for built in radio and user replaceable batteries.

I don't want to link you to illegal activity but if you search there is a hack for removing DRM from iTunes files in one amazing swoosh, if you know what you're doing quality can be preserved when ripping and burning.. but nothing comes close to CDs. EVER.

I mainly rock CDs, and use iTunes music store to pick up a few odds and socks, exotics tunes which are harder to find or just plain not worth buying a whole album for.

I use a 256kbps VBR lame encoding MP3 codec which peaks at about 2.1mb per minute, it is as low as I am willing to compromise to have my CDs portable on an mp3 player.. it's almost as good as the real CD but lacks that depth.

[Mr_Odwin]

iPods rock, I'm waiting for built in radio and user replaceable batteries.

I don't want to link you to illegal activity but if you search there is a hack for removing DRM from iTunes files in one amazing swoosh, if you know what you're doing quality can be preserved when ripping and burning.. but nothing comes close to CDs. EVER.

I mainly rock CDs, and use iTunes music store to pick up a few odds and socks, exotics tunes which are harder to find or just plain not worth buying a whole album for.

I use a 256kbps VBR lame encoding MP3 codec which peaks at about 2.1mb per minute, it is as low as I am willing to compromise to have my CDs portable on an mp3 player.. it's almost as good as the real CD but lacks that depth.

You can really tell the difference between a 192kbs mp3 and a 256 kbs mp3? My ears can't even tell with a decently encoded 160kbs.

[shaq365]

Get some decent headphones and you can really tell the difference. I have most of my music in either FLAC lossless or the highest quality VBR OGG.

[Ashley]

Get some decent headphones and you can really tell the difference.

Any recomendations?

[Stocka]

I have an iRiver H320 20GB so this isn't a request for a recommendation for a primary mp3 player but I am considering buying an mp3 watch for when I go running and does anyone here have any recommendations?

[Mr_Odwin]

Get some decent headphones and you can really tell the difference. I have most of my music in either FLAC lossless or the highest quality VBR OGG.

It really doesn't make a difference to me. Transparency happens at different levels for different people. For me the medium preset of lame works great. I was originally using the standard preset, but then I tried medium and couldn't tell the difference.

[Oli1983uk]

While in New york I pick my self up a Creative Zen Vision M, does anyone know if i can get a better docking station for it other than the adapter that plugs in the bottom.

[Nintendork]

K, I love the iPod but I really can't be arsed to wait around 12 months for them to finally put some features I want/need from an mp3 player.

I need 30gb at least, I want something simple and stylish.. I like listening to the radio.. in particular Zane Lowe's mix tapes that he does on Thursdays.

Are there any decent mp3 players that have a line in built in and can record 'on the fly' into a set mp3 instead of doing it just into .wave which is very memory intensive.

And something that has a line out.. I've been looking at the Cowon iAudio, they seem to fit the bill but does anyone else have any other recommendations? PS. it has to work with a mac.

I'm sick of not being able to listen to music on the go so i'm just gonna get an mp3 after much delaying.

Stuff I'd like:
general crap, good battery life, software.. interface/design. not too fussed about this.
must have: line in/out with on the fly recording into a set mp3 quality (eg 256kbps .mp3) and at least 30gb oh yeah and work with a mac.. drag and drop is fine.

http://www.iaudiophile.net/reviews/a2/images/cable_mess.jpg this one seems pretty solid.. and they have more active firmware upgrades than PSP do- meaning those little flaws in the OS should be kinked out sooner or later.

I'm very interested in this.

[KKOB]

i love my 8gb creative zen micro photo- its tiny gorgeous, great sound quality and has enough memory to store all my cd's and a couple of my friends collections too! and if i get bored i have the radio :D

i'm in love!

[mario114]

Has anyone used one of those new sony ones, the look allright. Im after a mp3 player, I am tempted by an ipod but only because of the looks, and because everyone has one etc. I would preffer to be able to move music dirrectly from media player, and the ipod system sounds really annoying. Whats the smallest/most stylish mp3 player, is there going to be a new ipod soon. Also with ipods can you just burn a song off media player to a disk, then load up the ipod software and load the mp3 off the disk, then put it onto the ipod.???

I probaly would only want room for around 500-1000 songs.

[broadwayrock]

I would stay away from the Sony players, mainly because the software youll need to use to put the music on the players is awful. Their players are very good but the software really lets the hardware down.

The next iPod will probably be the proper iPod video and the Nano is rumoured to be getting a storage update + video playback. So it might be an idea to wait to see what Apple releases soon.

What did you mean about "burn a song off media player to a disk"? do you mean ripping music off a cd? itunes will do that for you.

[Platty]

While in New york I pick my self up a Creative Zen Vision M, does anyone know if i can get a better docking station for it other than the adapter that plugs in the bottom.

My good friend Oliver why not try this link:

http://www.creative.com/products/welcome.asp?category=213&subcategory=217&

[Atomic Boo]

Im trying to find a red zen microphoto but there doesnt seem to be any offers .... id appreciate if somebody found me one. Im getting a zen because 1.) its not an ipod 2.) its got perfectly enough storage space for my needs 3.) it looks cool 4.) has a chunky solid feel but its not too big 5.) Has Recorder (radio?) and stores photos. 6.) it comes in many a colour and has the little glowing light.
Can anyone who has a zen microphoto confirm that my decision is a good one and that its a good piece of kit.
I really want a red one! im desperate! please help!
thanks

[mario_jr]

Ok how the hell do I get rid of the little pauses between songs on an MP3 player (Vision M)?

[That dude]

Ok, i'd appreciate some help here, I'm planning on getting an mp3 player. But I have seen a few ones. Creative Zen Micro Photo, Rio Carbon 6gb (yeah, I know they don't make em but you can still get them) and iRiver h10 6gb.

I really just need space for 1500 songs. I would like to put some photos on them but, I don't really mind. I have to say, I do (although I wish I didn't) care about style and size alot. Can you give me your opinions on these players?

[|Laguna|]

Yes, I would specifically be also interested in peoples opinions of the Rio Carbon as nobody seems to have it or know of it. On paper it looks pretty swish, so to speak, but I'd appreciate any user feedback on it.
Thanks

[Calza]

Yes, I would specifically be also interested in peoples opinions of the Rio Carbon as nobody seems to have it or know of it. On paper it looks pretty swish, so to speak, but I'd appreciate any user feedback on it.
Thanks

I wouldn't, Rio is no more so for return/repair reasons i wouldn't unless it was too good a price to miss

[|Laguna|]

I wouldn't, Rio is no more so for return/repair reasons i wouldn't unless it was too good a price to miss


1yr RTB Warranty, 6 Gigs, £90. Looks good

http://images.tomshardware.com/2005/08/25/music_that_fits_in_your_pocket/rio_carbon.jpg

[That dude]

my friend used to have one, it was brilliant. but the buttons sometimes stuck. (which was very frustrating)


So any help for me?

[|Laguna|]

Hmm, on another note, to do with MP3 players + Nintendo, what ever happen to the Play Yan getting a release in Europe? I'm sure it was confirmed but it just seemed to fizzle out. If it did happen it'd solve all my musical (and video!) needs as I have a Micro.

[mario114]

I got a ipod nano for my birthday, and I think it's great, it's all I want, as I have no need for huge memory or video functions, it's a nice size, and itunes is quite cool, music is cheap on there and being able to buy single tracks is a very good function.

[broadwayrock]

1yr RTB Warranty, 6 Gigs, £90. Looks good

http://images.tomshardware.com/2005/08/25/music_that_fits_in_your_pocket/rio_carbon.jpg

The Rio Carbon is a great player. 18 hours battery life and very good sound quality (if you use decent earphones) The controls and ui are very easy to use. Its great to be able to control the volume of the player while its in your pocket without having to look at the player. My favourite feature is that it requires no drivers or software to load the music onto the player: just drag and drop.

Ive bought a 5gb and its till working after a dropped it a few times.

£90 is a bargin for a 6gb Carbon. I paid £180 for a 5GB on launch day.

Edit: if you do decide to buy it, you must download the latest firmware here:

http://www.content-type.com/-469455718/rio.exe.htm

It adds on the fly playlisting, folder navigation and reading of txt files.

mario_jr all mp3 players have gaps inbetween tracks. Only the Rio Karma had gapless playback and sadly no mp3 player company has bought and used the chipset that the Karma had.

[Calza]

mario_jr all mp3 players have gaps inbetween tracks. Only the Rio Karma had gapless playback and sadly no mp3 player company has bought and used the chipset that the Karma had.

Actually you are wrong :shock:
All sony players play gapless IF the music is encoded in ATRAC, which is a format only supported by sony, so it kinda sucks but its gapless :grin:

[broadwayrock]

Thats why i didnt mention it.

Anyone who wants to use Sonicstage and Craptrac must have some sort of sadistic tendencies in wanting to punish themselves.

:D

[mario_jr]

What if I sync it through WMP 11 instead of the software that came with the MP3 player, will it still have the annoying pauses?:wtf:

[broadwayrock]

Like i said: all mp3 players play mp3 albums with the gaps inbetween each track.

Unless you join all the tracks into one big mp3 file you will have gaps. This will occur with all Creative, Apple, iriver, conwon and samsung players.

[CooInTheZoo]

Just ordered a Creative Vision: M, the sexy black ones

Hurry up Amazon!!! ^_^

[mario_jr]

tell us when you get it so you can express your happiness.

[Blackfox]

Just ordered a Creative Vision: M, the sexy black ones

Hurry up Amazon!!! ^_^

That looks the fucking sex.

Good buy. Creative also have realiablity factor - so it should last you a couple of years hopefully.

[CooInTheZoo]

Aye, its being dispatched today apparently. Should I expect it tomorrow, or give it a few days?

Can I delete iTunes now? My music will still all be on the comp and stuff?

How do I configure my WMP to show up on the now playing thing on MSN?

I miss iTunes allready :(

[Mr_Odwin]

You do know that any songs you have bought from iTunes will need to be converted before they'll play on your new device?

[CooInTheZoo]

Yeah, know all that, allready done. Cheers.

[mario_jr]

With the new WMP 11 its way easier to sync video instead of having to go with the bundled software that came with the Vision:M.

[CooInTheZoo]

Do you have that? Because I heard it wasnt working properly with Creative's

[Calza]

Do you have that? Because I heard it wasnt working properly with Creative's

I thought it was still in beta, or is it out yet?

[mario_jr]

I thought it was still in beta, or is it out yet?

It was posted in a thread awhile ago. Here is the link.:wink:

http://revo-europe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6487

[Jimbob]

Went out and bought a Zen Micro 6gb version. Got it with a black front to it. Quite small, but it is nice

Looks : Came in a nicely packed box, which was nice. Black cover and blue lights look nice when charging. Has a nice Creative logo on the back.

9/10 for looks

Memory : 6gb of space, used about half of it with 24 albums already. Still got about 3gb left on the player.

8/10 for memory

Features : It has a FM Radio, calander, address book. It can also be set to display the lights for 5 seconds up to 2 minutes if required. Also has the ability to not switch off when you press pause and leave it for 5 mins

8/10 for features

Software : Creative's own software is really usefull. Not only is it a media player, it can also add new tracks to the player with minimal effort. One button pressed and it scans the music folders for new tracks
8/10

A very good MP3 player i think, which i would reccomend to people wishing to buy one. Good features, memory and looks

[Atomic Boo]

Black Zen Microphoto review
Lets see. 8 GB memory, great looks, good photos, chunky and comfortable, amazing blue glow and to put any doubts away about controls; they’re fantastic, you just need to adjust to them.

In my opinion its my best portable music system to date. Its got a perfect amount of memory for my needs, has a fun microphone to play about with and an FM radio. The photo quality isn’t amazing but the pics are quite clear and really aren’t all that bad. I have quite a lot of photos as they’re fun to share and they don’t take up tonnes of space. Don’t forget it has a replaceable battery which is a very key feature.
The only faults I have with this player:
No included plug charger
Ear phones are a bit dodgy (but useable)
No games, although this isn’t a major gripe.

If you're unsure about buying this over a nano or iriver - dont be. This player is out of their league.

I hope this review helps all those who were uncertain about buying one, you wont regret buying it.

[CompSci]

lookie what i am getting tomorow

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/1889/nokian91i01mh5.jpg

main feature 4gb HDD

will post review tomorow

full feature list

http://www.nokia.com/nseries/index.html?loc=inside,main_n91&lang=en&country=GB

[stev2604]

Im thinking of getting one of these:
http://www.samsung.com/uk/products/digitalaudioplayer/flashmemory/images/ypz5q_mid1.jpg
http://www.samsung.com/uk/products/digitalaudioplayer/flashmemory/yp_z5abels.asp
Samsung YP-Z5A. The main reason i want one is the 35 hour batery life. Does anyone here have one? Are they good?

[KKOB]

just to get it out there!

Creative's zen micro photo is stupidly reliable and stupidly cheap now for a 8GB MP3 player!

awesome if you use WMP and not iTunes. cant rate it highly enough really-its really surprised me!

[Babooo]

Im thinking of getting one of these:
http://www.samsung.com/uk/products/digitalaudioplayer/flashmemory/images/ypz5q_mid1.jpg
http://www.samsung.com/uk/products/digitalaudioplayer/flashmemory/yp_z5abels.asp
Samsung YP-Z5A. The main reason i want one is the 35 hour batery life. Does anyone here have one? Are they good?

I'm interested in those as well. But I wanna wait until Apple bring out their new range of players. I'm not an Ipod fan (as I've got a Sony HD5 which regularly fucks up) but its just that I want a flash player and I think its either between the Ipod Nano or one of Creative's players.

[Calza]

Baboo i'm kinda in the same postion as you, i've got an HD3, it could be one of my worst buys (I piad £250 as soon as it came out), no firmware updates, SonicStage one of the worst programs ever...

So yeah i'm looking for a new mp3 player but i have no idea what to get.

[JonSt]

I'm waiting untill MS release ZUNE.

[stev2604]

just to get it out there!

Creative's zen micro photo is stupidly reliable and stupidly cheap now for a 8GB MP3 player!

awesome if you use WMP and not iTunes. cant rate it highly enough really-its really surprised me!

Yeah i was thinkin about gettin that too. Looks good especially with the removable battery

[DiemetriX]

I suddenly really want a zune... Gimmie!

[Platty]

I have just got my Creative zen vision m..... its the most awesome piece of technology i have ever had.

I love it!

[mario_jr]

I have just got my Creative zen vision m..... its the most awesome piece of technology i have ever had.

I love it!

welcome to the club: peace: :wink:

[Sooj]

I just won a brand new Creative Zen Vision: M from Ebay (£157 inc p+p) brand new. Used twice but no scratches and what not, 3 months old which I think is a good deal.

Anyway I'll pay for it tomorrow so hopefully I will get it either on sat or definitly on monday, can't wait heard some awesome things about it :D

Just a quick question, what is the quality like of the earphones that come bundled with the mp3 layer?

[KKOB]

how do you get a DVD onto your ipod video?

[triforcemario]

how do you get a DVD onto your ipod video?I think you have to rip the dvd (use DVD shrink), convert the DVD files to .avi, then use one of these "AVI to Ipod Video programs".

There might be much easier ways, though.

[Platty]

I just won a brand new Creative Zen Vision: M from Ebay (£157 inc p+p) brand new. Used twice but no scratches and what not, 3 months old which I think is a good deal.

Anyway I'll pay for it tomorrow so hopefully I will get it either on sat or definitly on monday, can't wait heard some awesome things about it :D

Just a quick question, what is the quality like of the earphones that come bundled with the mp3 layer?

I think they are pretty good myself, just standard creative ones but a lot better than my old sony ones :)

[KKOB]

I think you have to rip the dvd (use DVD shrink), convert the DVD files to .avi, then use one of these "AVI to Ipod Video programs".

There might be much easier ways, though.

take the copy protection off it if it has any on it and it get into a VOB file in one go (DVD FAB) then just convert it into MP4 for iPod in G3P Converter and iTunes automatically picks it up and syncs it.

[nicolasmasset]

Hey guys, I got a problem:
I just bought a new 4gb nano, but can't help but think the audio quality SUCKS!!!! Is it just me? Or should i encode my mp3's better? (128kbps at the moment) The EQ settings practically always add distortion to the low end frequencies making them useless imo. They also exagerate with the compression on some settings... I'm thinking of selling it and buying a better audio quality player, if there is such a thing of course..

[RoadKill]

128kbps is not adequete for music reproduction, ESPECIALLY not if you're using iTunes' MP3 encoder, which is the worst thing on earth.

[nicolasmasset]

128kbps is not adequete for music reproduction, ESPECIALLY not if you're using iTunes' MP3 encoder, which is the worst thing on earth.

What's the best way to do it then? Is WMP11 better? Or should I use apple's lossless aiff?

[christophicus]

Im looking for an Mp3 player that does one thing, and does it really well :play music. I want one that has good sound quality and is easy to use. Also I want it to have ALOT of storage Im talking about 40GB or over. I cant fing one thath has that much apacitty that doesnt play Movies or you can look at photos on it .



So is the 80 GB ipod the best mp3 player around at the moment?

[yogi_bear]

does anyone know if the FM radio in the microsoft zune work here in the UK?

[Jasper]

FM is a worldwide standard. It will receive as long as you have the right frequency. Wouldn't go for a Zune, though. It's just copycat shit from the copymachines at microsoft. They have an entire hall of copymachines at Microsoft. Or, they're being 'original', Microsoft-wise.

[laura_inthesky]

Yes the FM does work over here, my friend has a Zune. I am considering importing a Zune in the next few days but was wondering, is it worth importing it now or waiting for a UK release (whenever that'll be!) Might there be any different features or compatibility issues?

[hobbzinio]

i had a 20GB iriver and altho very trustworthy it just broke after 2 years, for no apparent reason...

i just got an 80gb video ipod for xmas and its a far better piece of kit... if u can get over itunes, then its the best thing out in the mp3 player market...

[Charlie]

if u can get over itunes, then its the best thing out in the mp3 player market...

iTunes is great, I've never had any problems with it at all.

[Bogbas]

iTunes is great, I've never had any problems with it at all.

But you have a mac? On windows iTunes+quicktime is as bad or worse than norton.

[Charlie]

But you have a mac? On windows iTunes+quicktime is as bad or worse than norton.

Yeah, I do. But my brother and sister use it perfectly well on seperate Windows PC's with no troubles at all, and these aren't small music librarys we're talking about. My brother has at least 25Gb of music and 30gb of ripped DVDs etc.

I'll agree with you on Quicktime though, its bad enough on the Mac with that bloody what's on screen every time it loads up.

[RoadKill]

Like i said: all mp3 players play mp3 albums with the gaps inbetween each track.

Unless you join all the tracks into one big mp3 file you will have gaps. This will occur with all Creative, Apple, iriver, conwon and samsung players.

Weird that I don't have that problem with rockbox on my iRiver h140, hurr

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/GaplessHowTo

[thirtynine.]

any creative player, for greatness.

[Ashley]

Closest place I could think to post this (except Meaingless but it'll probably get ignored there).

Anyone know any good books (preferably) or sites about the rise of iPods and the internet in the way music is distributed. Its for a media essay. Something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cult-IPod-Leander-Kahney/dp/1593270666/sr=1-19/qid=1168966513/ref=sr_1_19/026-7703983-0231618?ie=UTF8&s=books

[Charlie]

I dont know exactly what your essay is about, but check out Apple fansites, forums in particular, and you will see that hardcore Apple fans thought that the iPod was going to fail at the first and then see how much they love it now.

Also, check the Wikipedia page on the ipod, it is very detailed about its rise.

[Ashley]

The extract below is taken from Tim O’Sullivan, Brian Dutton and Philip Rayner, Studying the Media (3rd ed. 2003). Discuss this text with reference to one or more of the media that you have studied.

Once inventions have been made, there is a process whereby their social applications and uses are discovered. The potentials of inventions are realised in actual historical periods where social, economic and other forces operate to make them actual and regulate them in particular ways. The principal failing of accounts which adopt a technologically determinist view of media history is the tendency to cut the technology off from the many other forces and conditions which shape its invention and deployment. Some new technologies have not been taken up and have failed, while others have taken off in unanticipated ways.


Which I have taken to mean "some technologies fails, some dont the reasons being...". Will look at how the iPod has arisen because of the internet, look at the history of Napster (from consumer power to coporate power) and iTunes. I think I understand the question anyway, am going to ask the lecturer.

Problem with Wikipedia, while good its not reputable (Or at least not as easily reputable as a book)

[Mokong X-C]

hey guys i need some help, where's a good online store that sells mp3 players?

There's a Samsung one that i want, i tried to buy it on amazon.co.uk because it works out WAY cheaper than to buy it here, BUT when i went to the check-out it said that they don't deliver that product to Ireland.

Any other good sites that anyone might know of

[mariosmentor]

What's the best way to do it then? Is WMP11 better? Or should I use apple's lossless aiff?


The best way to do it I feel is a variable bit rate using Exactaudicopy using
LAME's mp3 encoder.

Sorry to ignore you Mokong I have no suggestions :(

[mario_jr]

This is a question for Bookerman, or anyone who owns a Vision: M. I just recently updated my firmware to 1.61.01 and add a CD that I had stored on my external HD. It is in Windows Media Audio Losses 9.1 format, before the update my Vision M would not play this type of bit rate it had to be in Variable Bit Rate, one lower than Losses, but now it does and there is practically no pause in between the songs.

Has anybody noticed this, or am I just crazy?
Can anybody try this to confirm?

[Librarian]

I just bought a Zen Vision: m

"only" problem is that it appears not to charge the battery.. when I pull the plug from the wall socket.. it dies.. and I cant turn it on.. is it fucked?

edit..

ah found some "my zen is fucked faq" looks like it's charging now.. I was getting kind of pissed there for a moment.. and not only on Heineken

[Gizmo]

Any peripheral's I should get with a Vision:M?

[*Dalco*]

my mate wants to get an Iriver but he's unsure if it will work with a Mac, will he have any problems?

[Isindil]

I think it only works on a PC, but I'm not 100% sure.

[Mucky.Fingers]

iRiver U10 2GB

Can anyone just answer two questions on the above player?

- Does it support drag and drop transfer? (I.e, does it come up as an external drive in my computer?) After having an ipod, the "import song" and "libary" does get a bit tiresome in my opinion, and I would prefer just to "chuck" a few songs on my player via my computer and have done with it.

- Whats the quality of the recording like? Can you add an external microphone?

Cheers in advance!

[lydz]

Hey everyone,
i've got a creative zen micro and i've had it for about 2 years,
but the problem is that the connector for the headphones seems to have recently gone faulty. It only plays say the guitar part of a song and sounds like it was played in a cave...and you have to twist it and then when you have got it into the right place then hold it there for the next hour! My sister and friend also has this problem with their zens. A couple of weeks ago my dad rang up Creative and asked about it and they were no use at all.

Can anybody suggest anything to me because this is driving me insane!

[Katie]

It might be worth giving their support team an e-mail support@europe.creative.com. I'm not sure if you have to have bought it within a certain amount of time but it's worth a try, you'll need your proof of purchase. I just e-mailed them because I lost my battery cover and they were very quick getting me a new one.

[lydz]

Thanks for that,
I have actually just googled and it seems that lots of people have had the same problem and they have fixed it by taking it apart and then push the connectors together or something...
I might just give up on the micro and go for a new one.

[Gizmo]

Does anybody elses Vision M get really scratched on the buttons? The screen seems fine and any marks simply wipe away, but the "shiny" cover over the buttons looks really bad and it doesnt wipe off. It doesnt make any difference though, other than not looking as sexy when looked at under a light :(

[McPhee]

Anyone got an Archos media player? Im seriously considering the Archos 404 to replace my Nokia N91 as a media player (i dropped it, the HDD shattered)

Also considering a Video iPod, anyone have much experience with those? Can they output to TV?

[AeroScap]

do not get an ipod video... if you want a mp3 with video get a zune there is more screen and not as painful + without the pain of using itunes!


If you are more after a phone based Mp3 player might I suggest a W810i sony ericsson phone. I have one combined with a 2gb card and the sound + headphones are fantastic!


*note NOT an apple basher as I recently bought a shuffle and own an ipod photo*

[Ramar]

do not get an ipod video... if you want a mp3 with video get a zune there is more screen and not as painful + without the pain of using itunes!

I disagree, I've got the first iPod video that was released, and its good. To be honest, if you're watching anything long on such a small device you're a fool. But if you've got music videos, short clips, trailers. Its definitely worth it. And why do people cry about iTunes, I much prefer it over WMP. And I'm not on a mac.

[AeroScap]

I lost near to 80gb of music to it...

Like losing a child

[McPhee]

do not get an ipod video... if you want a mp3 with video get a zune there is more screen and not as painful + without the pain of using itunes!


If you are more after a phone based Mp3 player might I suggest a W810i sony ericsson phone. I have one combined with a 2gb card and the sound + headphones are fantastic!


*note NOT an apple basher as I recently bought a shuffle and own an ipod photo*

Im only really considering the iPod because my dad's work stock it and he gets 30% staff discount. A 30GB Video iPod for £120 is a pretty good deal!

Good to hear you like the W810i, its on my short-list too! Do you know how much the maximum capacity is? 4GB? If its less than that then its a no-no for me, turned down an N95 because its limited to 2 gig

Basically im trying to weigh up wether to stick with my Sony T610i phone and buy an MP3/4 player or go with another music mobile.

I lost near to 80gb of music to it...

Like losing a child

Been there lol, just spent the day ripping all my CDs into WMP, bout 1/2 way through. Ive got a backup of my iTunes library across a few DVDs but its a mess, track names are wrong, album art is missing and some tracks are in .aac (which WMP wont play) so i decided just to start again

Boring. As. Hell.

[Charlie]

I lost near to 80gb of music to it...

Like losing a child

A failed hard drive is really Apple's fault. You should keep a backup.


You can get a 30gb iPod on Amazon for £155 which is a great deal. They're incredibly easy to use, (I think) the software is great, they look good and the screen is a good size. My brother has loads of TV shows on his and they look great on it.

[Tom]

I am really getting sick of the MP3 limitations on mobiles, and am considering buying myself a standalone player again.
An ipod is out of the question partly as I dislike itunes and mainly because I have too much of my music in the WMA format to be bothered to convert it to aac, so please no apple battles!

Currently I am considering either getting myself a creative vison m or an archos. My old player was creative and I really liked it, and I love the video compatibility too. Its a company I know and like and seems to do what I want.

Archos seem to tick all the boxes of what I want too, but surely there is a catch with them, as they seem to be really good value for money. However, since I have no idea how much video I would be likely to watch on the move the smalled creative might be a better choice.

Any thoughts?

[gmac]

I must admit the Creative Vision M series looks pretty good, think you can get the 30gb one for around £140ish these days

[McPhee]

I know what you mean, my W810i is doing my head in! Best music phone on the market? Bollocks is it, actually want my N91 back!

The Archos players are so cheap because they are due to be replaced before the end of the year. Archos are updating their whole product line, currently the big hope is that this will include HSDPA (i.e. mobile internet) for streaming IPTV

Keep you're eye on June 22nd, i'll post news on here from the Archos press conference about the new players

[Platty]

Just got a creative zen stone (black on) for £27.99.

It's amazing so tiny much better than that over priced ipod shuffle rubbish.

[Shorty]

My iPod has died completely (pictured) :( Time for a replacement.
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/9154/dsc00053ix0.th.jpg (http://img71.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00053ix0.jpg)

So what's the best 20GB+ thing I can get for £150 or lower these days? I loved, absolutely loved my 20GB 4th Gen click wheel for the 2 or 3 years that I had it - and have thus ignored the mp3 market that whole time. I'm not really interested in video and at first glance find zens to be quite... fugly.

[Ashley]

do not get an ipod video... if you want a mp3 with video get a zune there is more screen and not as painful + without the pain of using itunes!


I like mine. I have loaded it up with lots of episodes of Scrubs and everyone at work seems to enjoy watching it on lunches (as my speaker system is there too). There may be better, but Im pleased with what I have.

[Shorty]

I actually just bought the black 30gb iPod. I doubt I'll use it for video very much, but I just couldn't stray from apple since my music folder has become so integrated with iTunes. I almost bought a Zen, but realising I couldn't carry over all my star ratings and smart playlists that I've created over the last few years made me change my mind at the last minute.

[Jordan]

I actually just bought the black 30gb iPod. I doubt I'll use it for video very much, but I just couldn't stray from apple since my music folder has become so integrated with iTunes. I almost bought a Zen, but realising I couldn't carry over all my star ratings and smart playlists that I've created over the last few years made me change my mind at the last minute.

Everytime someone buys an iPod i die a little inside.
Then again, atleast you had a reason to buy one (playlist reasons, and i can relate) rather than 'OMG CHECK OUT MY IPOD I 'IZ COOL' *plays Kanye West*

[Ashley]

Well I bought mine because it was cheaper than the Zen and held more.

Dodgy travelling carnival (picked it up from his house) ebay sellers are win.

[gmac]

;479121"]Well I bought mine because it was cheaper than the Zen and held more.

Dodgy travelling carnival (picked it up from his house) ebay sellers are win.

lol :)

I bought my iPod because at the time it was the biggest storage available, now I'm looking for an upgrade since my current one is 3 years old now, but I want to wait to see what happens with the 6th gen before deciding wether or not to stay with apple :)

[McPhee]

I hate iTunes with a vengeance for converting all of my library to M4A and AAC, changing the meta data and just generally being a pile of poo. Really annoying now i want to get rid of the program and use Media Player/Centre.

[Marshmellow]

I've been wanting to switch from iTunes forever but I can't find a AAC/M4A whatever the iTunes Library uses to convert all my songs to MP3 without losing the file names. Any reccommendations?

[Mr_Odwin]

Foobar2000 could probably do that. I'm not going to go through every step in detail though.

[Ashley]

iTunes question.

For whatever reason my external hard drive has assigned itself as J:/ so iTunes is looking in there for music. However since I've pulled it out and plugged it back in it thinks its in K:/ no matter which USB port I use.

Anyway iTunes is now having a hissy fit and saying "Oh noes can't find you're music folder I'm going to sod off instead!" and won't open at all for me to change the preferences.

Help....

[Gizmo]

Anythnig else plugged into the USB ports that weren't there when the HDD was originally plugged in? If so, take them out first, perhaps.

I'm having a problem with the sync manager software that coems with my Zen. Whenever I try to start a sync, while it is searching for files I get the old "illegal operation" popup, and the sync manager closes. I've got about 2,500 songs, which could be something to do with it. I also recently got an external hard drive, which is were all my music is now stored. However, the issue happened before the external was used. Before the external, it was all dumped into one large folder of around 2000 songs, which is where I originally thought the problem came from. I then organised them into sub folders by artist, and that seemed to fix the problem, until I got the external, when it resurfaced.

Kinda long winded explanation, but any ideas what to do?

[Ashley]

Nah I've tried that. Its weird. No matter which USB slot I plug it into it comes up as K:/

[Saminthehat]

Anythnig else plugged into the USB ports that weren't there when the HDD was originally plugged in? If so, take them out first, perhaps.

I'm having a problem with the sync manager software that coems with my Zen. Whenever I try to start a sync, while it is searching for files I get the old "illegal operation" popup, and the sync manager closes. I've got about 2,500 songs, which could be something to do with it. I also recently got an external hard drive, which is were all my music is now stored. However, the issue happened before the external was used. Before the external, it was all dumped into one large folder of around 2000 songs, which is where I originally thought the problem came from. I then organised them into sub folders by artist, and that seemed to fix the problem, until I got the external, when it resurfaced.

Kinda long winded explanation, but any ideas what to do?

Scrap it and get Mediamonkey (http://www.mediamonkey.com/). Have a read on the website, I've been using it for a while and I love it, only problem is autosyncing/updating deletes all your songs and reloads them so you have to choose which songs you want to sync manually to save time.

[Gizmo]

Scrap it and get Mediamonkey (http://www.mediamonkey.com/). Have a read on the website, I've been using it for a while and I love it, only problem is autosyncing/updating deletes all your songs and reloads them so you have to choose which songs you want to sync manually to save time.

Well, to be fair all my music is contained in one place so thats basically what I have been doing to update, unless I knew specifically it was only one subfolder updated etc. Will give it a try if the problem persists though, and will probably use it for audio convertion anyway, so thanks :smile:

[AeroScap]

Just got a creative zen stone (black on) for £27.99.

It's amazing so tiny much better than that over priced ipod shuffle rubbish.

TBH I got my shuffle 2nd gen for 26.99 (from ebay) Paying RRP from the actual site is stupid.

Everytime someone buys an iPod i die a little inside.

Lol jordan how much of you is left!!!

[Pancake]

I've only just considering buying an MP3 player and i don't know much about them yet so i have a few basic q's, sorry if they've been covered but i don't have time to read all 9 pages of this thread, and i want my player as soon as poss!

Am i right in thinking there are two catagories of player, the small slimline 'stick' style ones such as the iriver iFP 8xx and multitude of cheapo type MP3 players you can pick up from the tech section in Argos or Asda for £10+ which typically have either a very simple/small display screen, or none at all. And then the more high end players like the Zen Touch, etc that have eloborate displays, backlighting, etc?

I'm a bit confused about the battery issue. The smaller players run on regular batteries (AA for example) and last up to 40 hours right? So why then do the more high end players run on rechargable batteries that only last up to 16 hours (and that's including some that don't have mega energy-draining displays)?

[Charlie]

The high-capacity ones use a hard drive which takes a lot more power than Flash memory which is what the smaller ones use.

When I got my iPod at Christmas I got the Nano as it uses Flash memory and therefore has a really good battery life (advertised at 24 hours) whereas the 80GB iPod only has about 15 hours. The internal batteries are more powerful than AA as the player needs a lot more power.

If you have a lot of music it's worth going for one of the 'big' ones. Battery life doesn't matter all that much as long as its more than 12 hours. There aren't many times when you actually need more than that. The iPod Nano's are actually very good and I'm very pleased with mine, the battery life is great and it can hold a lot of music (I've got the 4gb model but there is an 8gb model) and the battery life is very good. I needed it to last a long time as I went to Malawi a few weeks back and had a very long journey.

Changing the music on it was a hassle though, I could never put on all the albums I want and have a lot of artists with only 1 song under their name. It's well worth splashing out on the big hard drive if you have a lot of music. I won an 80gb iPod recently (from Coca Cola) and can't wait to get it as I don't need the extended battery life anymore and I'll be able to fit all of my music onto it.

[Pancake]

So what's the biggest memory you could get for a flash one? Around 8gb? How many songs can that hold?

[Charlie]

The biggest flash iPod is 8gb. I don't think there are any bigger ones by other companies. I really hate answering the 'how many songs question', I definitely don't get the advertised 1000 songs on my 4gb Nano but Apple say you should get about 2000 songs on the 8gb version.

[Gizmo]

If you want a guideline, my music collection which is mostly high-quality mp3s is 12.9gb, for around 2500 songs.

[Charlie]

If you want a guideline, my music collection which is mostly high-quality mp3s is 12.9gb, for around 2500 songs.

I can't resist joining in the fun too...

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/499/picture1ax9.png

Giving each song an average of 4.76 MB.

[YanRuo]

My library only consists of good music. Therefore it's only 2067 items, 6 days, ~9 hours. Altogether it's 12.69 GB.

[Stefkov]

My collections only 3.65GB.
I hardly get any music though. I listen to the same thing every day, what I was listening to a couple years back. It's always background music I sometimes sing along to. So I havnt felt the need of getting any more.
If I were to get a Zen Vision M then I would go on a spree and get quite a bit more music.

[Pancake]

Can anyone recommend a player with minimal non-audio additional features (like video) but that has a larger storage capacity than flash based players? I don't understand why people need videos, pics, recorders, on an MP3 player and it'd be wasteful in my case since i just want it for music, but i would like at least 2000 songs on there, preferably 5000.

[gmac]

any of the 20-30gb mp3 players would be what your looking for then, although most of the HDD mp3 players do come with some form of video capabilities, but you don't have to use them

[YanRuo]

Pancake: I recommend the Zen Touch 20GB. It's a bit large, physically, but it's rather cheap for a 20GB, and it can take quite a beating due to its tough build. Black-and-white screen, easy-to-use touchpad scrolling. Plus, it has a Random-button that plays all your tracks on shuffle. How cool is that?

[Pancake]

YanRuo: I heard that the touchpad can go wrong on the Zen Touch after so long so that's putting me off that one. Cos that could get really frustrating if you just want to walk and chill with your music. Also, like you say, it IS a bit clunky.

Are there any other players with a shuffle? I'd have thought that would come as standard.

[McPhee]

i know you don't really want video but this is a really nice bit of kit for £120:

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/414939/art/archos/404-30-gb-multimedia-play.html

[Pancake]

McPhee - That IS nice, shame i'd only use about 20% of it! Bit too much of a power-guzzler for me. I think i'll stick strictly to an mp3 player so i know they've concentrated on that.

[Charlie]

Are there any other players with a shuffle? I'd have thought that would come as standard.

I would think all of them do. Don't know why he made it out to be something special on the Zen Touch.

[Pancake]

I ended up getting an iriver H10 and here's my mini review based on a few days with it:

Looks: It looks ordinary, but is nice and smooth and at least has some colour (it's a red one).

Price: £89.99, bit pricey considering it's only 5gb. Plus was very hard to track down a non-used one and by the time i did i was just thankful to have FOUND one, at any price.

Software/Windows compatibility:: NOT good. This is where it starts to fail. Once the music is on there then it's perfectly fine, but my Windows Media Player has crashed multiple times while transfering songs, it's also fiddly to configure. For exemple it's been syncronizing a lot of songs i didn't even order it to. And a couple of times it's managed to get a whole albums worth of songs on there before i noticed. God, thanks WMP for assuming i want every single song on my computer on my MP3 player.

I thought that maybe the updates from the iriver site would solve this prob, but THAT site is clearly useless, half the links don't work, the download section is mish mash, and it's been like that for days. Shoddy.

[triforcemario]

I'm considering getting a Creative Zen Stone Plus? Is it any good?

[motion]

I got a black 2nd edition nano when it first came out. As amazing as it is, I'm bored with it now.

Cummon Apple, release new ipods!

[Ant-Shimmin]

I got a ikasu, basically takes the same shape as an Ipod Nano, maybe a bit thicker but with no touch sensitive buttons.

Beter Sound and it's 2gb and was £20...





Lol jordan how much of you is left!!!

Just a black piece of coal with it's own heart beat!

[arnold]

With me breaking (Accidently) my Creative Zen M, I'm on the lookout for a player, I Loved the zen, but I never used the video so it was pointless of me having the video aspect of it, just wondering if theres anything along the lines f it, just lookinghere and I can only see Creatives with 1gb-4gb I need about 10 or 20 =/

[Slaggis]

Got an Ipid video today.

Pretty good. Though one annoying thing is unlike on the Zune the album art is pretty tiny/unlike zune(software) it sometimes doesn't find the album art for you.

The wheel is going to take some time getting used too aswell.

Other than that I'm happy with it.

[motion]

Ouch, probably not the best time to buy an ipod video when new generation ones are rumoured to be coming out soon...?

[Slaggis]

Ouch, probably not the best time to buy an ipod video when new generation ones are rumoured to be coming out soon...?

Got it for £115 and had the money to spare, also wanted one with more space than my Zune so got this.

Also, rumoured means exactly that.

[motion]

Got it for £115 and had the money to spare, also wanted one with more space than my Zune so got this.

Also, rumoured means exactly that.

Fair enough.

Rumoured ie... in the next few weeks to a month. Apple rumours are usually pretty acurate.

Can't wait! Except that I can and have to.

[Slaggis]

Fair enough.

Rumoured ie... in the next few weeks to a month. Apple rumours are usually pretty acurate.

Can't wait! Except that I can and have to.

lol, well yeah, I had the money to get one finally so thought, why not.

[mario_jr]

Can anybody recommend a good Bluetooth Audio Dongle? One that will sync with any bluetooth stereo headset.

[McPhee]

Like a USB stick? Or are you after one that plugs into you're phone?

[mario_jr]

one for a phone or mp3 player.

[arnold]

Where would folk reccomend the best plae to buy from? I'm leaning more to just buying another Zen Vision M, wouldn't mind looking into a Zune but with them not being out here it might be a bit hard to get hold of one.

[Sanchez]

Got it for £115 and had the money to spare, also wanted one with more space than my Zune so got this.

Also, rumoured means exactly that.

I sold my iPod so I had enough to buy the new one when it came out. :heh:

Did you just delete all the music I left on it or did you give some of it a listen? There's some good stuff on there I'm telling you.:blank:

[Slaggis]

I sold my iPod so I had enough to buy the new one when it came out. :heh:

Did you just delete all the music I left on it or did you give some of it a listen? There's some good stuff on there I'm telling you.:blank:

I deleted a fair bit, but did keep quite a bit too. Some of the music is great.

Also the new Ipods? Currently they probably won't be out till at least january 08 (or at least thats what seems to be believed at the moment). I'll just sell this one an ebay at christmas :santa:

[motion]

Actually most people believe they'll be out in September, and rumours relating to ipods are usually right.

[Slaggis]

Actually most people believe they'll be out in September, and rumours relating to ipods are usually right.

Read the rumours that have been going round for almost a month now. January is looking like the date.

[The fish]

With me breaking (Accidently) my Creative Zen M, I'm on the lookout for a player, I Loved the zen, but I never used the video so it was pointless of me having the video aspect of it, just wondering if theres anything along the lines f it, just lookinghere and I can only see Creatives with 1gb-4gb I need about 10 or 20 =/

Get yourself a Sandisk 1gb-4gb MP3 player for £30-60, and buy a handful of 1gb Micro SD cards.

Works a treat, and means you don't need to buy all the space in one go.

[motion]

Read the rumours that have been going round for almost a month now. January is looking like the date.

No. September is looking like the date.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=337931

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=338768

[My Buttons are Magic!]

thought this might be the best place to post this
my mp3 player (ipod mini) broke a wee while ago and im hoping to get a new one! (yay)

i need one that is :
simple to use
preferably an ipod as i know how to use itunes
i dont know how much space - im using currently 3gb on my itunes (but dont have half my cd's on it - plus the ones i want to put on it and buy :))

oh - and if i buy a new ipod, can i transfer my old itunes onto the new ipod?

gah - i know nothing :(
i need help - i dont wanna get ripped off

[Slaggis]

thought this might be the best place to post this
my mp3 player (ipod mini) broke a wee while ago and im hoping to get a new one! (yay)

i need one that is :
simple to use
preferably an ipod as i know how to use itunes
i dont know how much space - im using currently 3gb on my itunes (but dont have half my cd's on it - plus the ones i want to put on it and buy :))

oh - and if i buy a new ipod, can i transfer my old itunes onto the new ipod?

gah - i know nothing :(
i need help - i dont wanna get ripped off

What sort of Ipod would you want? A nano or a video? (I missed out shuffle seeing as they've got basically no space).

They are probably going to announce the new line of ipods in a few weeks, so It would probably be best to wait 'till then (sometime in septemeber).

[That Guy]

thought this might be the best place to post this
my mp3 player (ipod mini) broke a wee while ago and im hoping to get a new one! (yay)

i need one that is :
simple to use
preferably an ipod as i know how to use itunes
i dont know how much space - im using currently 3gb on my itunes (but dont have half my cd's on it - plus the ones i want to put on it and buy :))

oh - and if i buy a new ipod, can i transfer my old itunes onto the new ipod?

gah - i know nothing :(
i need help - i dont wanna get ripped off

I would wait as well, as there will most likely be a better iPod out soon. I would recommend getting a 30GB one as you're safe in the knowledge that you'll get tons more music on it in the next few years. I only had about 6-8GB on when I first got mine 18 months ago, but with podcasts, videos, and just generally having tons of music I now fill over 20.
Also, yes, iTunes can sync with any number of iPods/iPhones, it's only the iPod itself that has to sync with just one library.

[KKOB]

Will the worlds best MP3 player just get better?

Find out in 2 days time ^_^

[chrizkerr2]

Can anyone recommened me a new portable media device? Really looking for one which can play Videos on the move etc.

I was thinking about buying the Microsoft Zune, but can it play videos which you have recorded with Windows Media Center? (Think they are .dvr-ms files).

Also, I hear there is talk of a Zune 2? If I do decide to purchase a Zune, would it be worth waiting for the next version to be released?

[Slaggis]

Can anyone recommened me a new portable media device? Really looking for one which can play Videos on the move etc.

I was thinking about buying the Microsoft Zune, but can it play videos which you have recorded with Windows Media Center? (Think they are .dvr-ms files).

Also, I hear there is talk of a Zune 2? If I do decide to purchase a Zune, would it be worth waiting for the next version to be released?

It can't, no. I'd wait for the next zune, it shouldn't be too far away.

[KKOB]

It can't, no. I'd wait for the next zune, it shouldn't be too far away.

It IS Microsoft your talking about there . . .

[McPhee]

Can anyone recommened me a new portable media device? Really looking for one which can play Videos on the move etc.

I was thinking about buying the Microsoft Zune, but can it play videos which you have recorded with Windows Media Center? (Think they are .dvr-ms files).

Also, I hear there is talk of a Zune 2? If I do decide to purchase a Zune, would it be worth waiting for the next version to be released?

Im begining to sound like a broken record here but Archos are you're best bet. Still untouched where portable video playback is concerned: better compatability, features and screens than all of it's competitors.

I'm genuinely shocked Apple didn't release a serious competitor to they're products today! I was expecting a proper video iPod?!?!?

[KKOB]

Im begining to sound like a broken record here but Archos are you're best bet. Still untouched where portable video playback is concerned: better compatability, features and screens than all of it's competitors.

I'm genuinely shocked Apple didn't release a serious competitor to they're products today! I was expecting a proper video iPod?!?!?

You got one, just with a tiny hard drive by contrast for now.

[Slaggis]

The new range of Zunes is being touted for October the 16th. A 4GB, 8GB and 80GB version are due.

The 4GB and 8GB will some in pink, red, black, or army green colors apparently. No word on the colours for the 8GB version.

It IS Microsoft your talking about there . . .

That's hilarious. :heh:

[darksnowman]

Ok lads gimme some opinions...

I will probably need a nice little MP3 player so I can travel but not take my fantastic CD collection with me. Space isn't a problem as I don't need something to put forty billion songs onto - just the Muse catalogue and a few other choice choons. I obviously wouldn't say no to some MP4 action but its not gonna make or break the deal. The only thing I am interested in is keeping the cost as low as possible as I'm no music guru so I don't really need to fork out the big bucks, know what I mean?

What I have come across are two things - the Creative Zen Powerstone Plus and the IPod Shuffle. I like the IPod Shuffles size and its capacity sounds like it would easily fit my needs, the thing I don't like is that there is no screen or anything on it as I'd rather listen to an album from start to finish rather than listen to songs randomly. I realise you can turn off the shuffling but it'd be pretty convenient still to have a screen to make choosing what to listen to that bit easier.

As for that Zen Powerstone, it sounds pretty good from what I've read. Good low price (but a dearer price to buy it in blue on Amazon for some reason!) but it has a lower battery life than the Shuffle which is an off putter.

Anyway, I'm a noob in this field so come on guys... quote me happy! :hehe:

[Mr_Odwin]

SanDisk Sansa Clip?

Here's the cream of the crop though:
Cowon iAudio 7
http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/Portable_MP3_Players.1/Cowon_Systems.15/IAUDIOI74GB/iAudio_7_4GB_Portable_Media_Player.2490.html?osCsi d=0c8ed9f110e3f24a54b75a3e6b48e2b7
Absolutely gorgeous, great format support and 60 hours of playback.

http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/images/products/IAUDIO7/IAUDIO7_mainlarge.jpg

More like £100 though. :(
That's the downside.

[darksnowman]

Hmm it does look mighty fine though Mr Odwin. I have another option: I could buy my sisters IPod Nano (2GB) cos I asked her advice and she revealed that she's looking rid of it. Decisions decisions.

[Mr_Odwin]

What's your price range? Do you have lots of itunes bought, or created, aac/m4a files? Do you lurve iPods? (It's okay if you do. :p)