Recommend a decent player for exercise?

[peace brainerd]

I want' to get back into bicycling and a little running after a fifteen year lapse. last time I had music for exersizing it was a Sony Sports Walkman cassette player.

I have never been interested in portable players for any other use, so I just haven't kept up with recent solid state stuff. Guess I'll go online shopping at Newegg but I wonder if anyone would recommend a good solid easy to use and somewhat listenable portable player. Oh, and CHEAP. It's gonna get a little abuse.

Thanks so much.

[RocketScientist]

Originally posted by svejkovat
I want' to get back into bicycling and a little running after a fifteen year lapse. last time I had music for exersizing it was a Sony Sports Walkman cassette player.

I have never been interested in portable players for any other use, so I just haven't kept up with recent solid state stuff. Guess I'll go online shopping at Newegg but I wonder if anyone would recommend a good solid easy to use and somewhat listenable portable player. Oh, and CHEAP. It's gonna get a little abuse.

Thanks so much.

Well you can follow the sheep and buy an Apple iPod, or you can be a rebel and buy something else Basically, unless you're an Apple computer user, I generally suggest something other than an iPod if you want cheap and want to avoid Apple's bloated buggy iTunes for Windows software. The otherwise impressive (but expensive) iPod Touch is an expensive paperweight unless you install Apple's bloated take-over-your-PC software, give them your e-mail address and personal information, agree to join the Apple Fanboys Cult, etc....

Sandisk has some cheap Sansa players that are tough, sound decent and are fairly easy to use. But there are lots of others. 4 GB is probably big enough if it's just for exercise use but it depends on what format your music will be in.

[planet10]

Originally posted by RocketScientist
Well you can follow the sheep and buy an Apple iPod, or you can be a rebel and buy something else Basically, unless you're an Apple computer user, I generally suggest something other than an iPod if you want cheap and want to avoid Apple's bloated buggy iTunes for Windows software. The otherwise impressive (but expensive) iPod Touch is an expensive paperweight unless you install Apple's bloated take-over-your-PC software, give them your e-mail address and personal information, agree to join the Apple Fanboys Cult, etc....

I don't do Windows... from whet youu describe it sounds like Apple's desicion to follow WIndows programming gidelines gave it a strong family resemblance to Windows. Remember that your PC has already been taken over by Windows.

iTunes sure is slick on a Mac -- i really like my iPod/ You don't need to give Apple any personal information to use iTunes or an iPod. You do to buy music from the iTunes store -- just like you would to buy anything on-line.

I have no use for iTunes the store. I' don't let any comprssed music on my iPod, it all comes off CDs ripped at full rez.

dave

[RocketScientist]

Originally posted by planet10
i really like my iPod/ You don't need to give Apple any personal information to use iTunes or an iPod. You do to buy music from the iTunes store -- just like you would to buy anything on-line.

The iPod Touch (which runs the same operating system as the iPhone) is unusable until you install iTunes and set up an account with Apple. While that makes sense for a phone, it's a bit frustrating that I can't do whatever I want with a music player that I own outright.

The Touch seriously is a paperweight out of the box. Without hacking (i.e. "jail breaking") it won't talk to anything but iTunes and it won't play even your own music until you set up an account with Apple (unless they've recently changed that requirement). Apple products are vastly more closed and proprietary than just about anything else that competes with them. Some love them and don't mind a bit. Others prefer to have more options with the products they buy.

That said, the Touch and iPhone are amazing sexy well engineered innovative products. Everything is a trade off

[star882]

I remembered the time when the iPod was actually a good device (though overpriced for what it did). Unfortunately, the new ones are made junk by whoever wanted to lock down the code.

I actually have a 30GB video iPod because I was able to get it for $5 from a friend because it was broken (will not operate as a USB drive and intermittent charging). I simply carefully reflowed the solder joints on the cradle connector and now it works perfectly. So now I have what was the best iPod ever made (just before they locked them down) for just $5 and a few minutes of work. I would not pay full price for an iPod, especially not for one that is locked down for no good reason.

Just about any cheap MP3 player would be fine. Of course, if you really want something fancy, get a Beagle Board and make it into a complete bike control and entertainment unit. If you like, convert the bike to a hybrid and let the Beagle Board control its operation. (Something similar to the Prius touchscreen but for a bike.)

[motherone]

You could still get the iPod "classic" (hard-drive based ones) last time I checked. I believe the last version had a 120GB drive in it on the high-end (down from 160, but slimmer than the old 160).

I have a few of the cheap Sandisk Sansa players for when I go to the gym. They seem to work fine, and they're dirt cheap. I'd recommend getting one of those if you need something "disposable" that will be abused.

[Ron E]

Originally posted by motherone
I have a few of the cheap Sandisk Sansa players for when I go to the gym. They seem to work fine, and they're dirt cheap. I'd recommend getting one of those if you need something "disposable" that will be abused.

I have a sansa clip 2GB that I got for $35. Works very well. sound quality is good and it has a radio and voice recorder. IT is so light that there is little fear of dropping it, it will hang quite easily from your headphone cable....

[RocketScientist]

Originally posted by Ron E


I have a sansa clip 2GB that I got for $35. Works very well. sound quality is good and it has a radio and voice recorder. IT is so light that there is little fear of dropping it, it will hang quite easily from your headphone cable....

Yup, as I said in my original post, the Sansa players are a bargain. The armband I use with mine actually wore out (from sweat and the gym) but the player is still going strong. Even after years of use the battery still lasts for 20+ hours of play which is more than I can say for my iPods.

For another tip, the Sony EX71 and EX7x series headphones are also a bargain. Some versions come with short leads that are idea if you want to wear your player on your arm. They also provide some isolation against outside noise (good inside of a gym or airplane but probably bad for riding a bike!).

[Nanook]

is a mighty fine piece o'gear.

at anythingbutipod, they love it. The ear buds suck, but easy and quite cheap to upgrade. Just the basics but done quite well.

Not an iPod Classic, not even close, but a nice little player that does work well.

[peace brainerd]

Well I guess I done well. I got the 2g Sansa at a local store for 39 bucks the same night I posted this thread. Checked in the next night and it ended up being what y'all recommended for the most part. I've been using it and really do like it. Sound is more than adequate for the type of use it will get, and the FM isn't nearly as iffy as the reviews noted (but the reviews were a few years old and it might have been addressed). Sturdy looking little unit and easy to use.

Thanks.