Portable mp3 players - which one for jogging / running ?

[ash_dac]

Hi,

In the shops around here portable mp3 players tend to be behind 1/2 inch thick polycarbonate (so people do not steal them) so testing them is impossible. Well why would you want to hear how they sounded or how much they weighed anyway!

Which portable mp3 player do you use for jogging ?

(ps i tried jogging with a portable cd player sony DEJ955 with belt strap but it's too heavy. good sound though)

[carvinguy]

I bought a Samsung YP-MT6X 512 MB MP3 Player about a year ago and love it! It's a tiny thing- only 1" X 1" X 2.5" and 1.5 oz. It uses 1 AA battery that lasts an incredibly long time. I use it when working out and because it has flash memory(non-removable), it's obviously never going to have any skip problems during activity. It's got a USB 2.0 interface for fast transfer from your PC. Another cool thing is you can use it to store and transfer any types of files. It even has a built in FM tuner. I think I paid a bit over $100 USD when I bought it.

Apple has done such a fine job of making IPods seem like a standard, people forget there are other choices that are just as good, if not better.

Matt.

[windsonian]

Originally posted by carvinguy
Apple has done such a fine job of making IPods seem like a standard, people forget there are other choices that are just as good, if not better.
[/B]

Not to mention far less proprietary in the interface and file types.

[dangus]

I bought an RCA Lyra RD1022A 64meg player last year... yes, a mere 64megs, but it has an SD card slot, so I immediately stuck a 512M card into it. It takes 1 AAA battery, so you can swap batteries in seconds (instead of having to plug it in for hours to recharge), and battery life is something like up to 20 hours. It plays normal MP3s (including VBR), and WMA. Plug it into a standard mini USB cable and it shows up as two drives (if you have an SD card plugged in) in Windoze Explorer, so you can just copy files over.

It's about the size of my two thumbs together; it's big enough to grip comfortably if you want to carry it in your hand, or it's got a swivel to attach it to something, or it comes with an armband holder. The battery door is a bit flimsy, but the buttons are rugged and nearly impossible to activate by accident, and after 18 months of near-daily use nothing has broken. The LCD display shows filename or MP3 tags and running time, etc.

The headphones it comes with are junk; buy something nicer like the Koss "The Plug" or whatever you favour. I've used mine with Sony MDR-V900's (not for cycling though); the Koss Plug's are maybe 75% as good for 1/10 the price.

It resumes from the last file you were playing, but doesn't remember the position within the file. This is annoying since I listen to a lot of long DJ mixes and podcasts, but considering how well it does other stuff, and how cheap it was, I can tolerate that. while I wait for the "right" player to come along. (I suspect Sony players will have that feature, since their CD & MP3 Walkman do, but you'd probably be stuck with their "Memory Stick" for expansion if any.)

I didn't evaluate many other players, other than a no-name thumbdrive style player, and a Panasonic which had some kind of copyright protection and wouldn't play ordinary MP3 files.

[jleaman]

Id have to say that the apple Ipod has it beat


http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...6EF&nclm=iPodx

[Geek]

Originally posted by ash_dac
In the shops around here portable mp3 players tend to be behind 1/2 inch thick polycarbonate (so people do not steal them) so testing them is impossible.

"No try, no buy" is the consumer battle-cry that I know. What fool dealer does that?

Anyways, I have a YEPP too. Only I found mine in Value Village for $5 near new Love it! Unlike many other players, it handles VBR and 360K mp3's just fine.

[ash_dac]

Hi,

Would you recommend an external battery mp3 player ?

Sony players seem to have ok headphones. Not too sure about Creative, Samsung, and Apple Ipod earphones.

Or are all the earphones with mp3's junk ?

company bonus paid next week

[Geek]

Originally posted by ash_dac
Or are all the earphones with mp3's junk ?

Yes

Here are good ones, IMO

[I_Forgot]

For a long time it was cool to buy Apple products. Now that they have broken into the mainstream, they have definitely become uncool. It's sort of weird... POD people are going to spoil the fun for the rest of us. See video linked here:

http://news.zdnet.com/2036-2_22-6035707.html

256 MB is plenty of storage for any running except maybe a marathon, but it may be hard to find a player with only 256 MB any more. There are lots of players out there that don't require that you buy all the music from one source and allow you to burn the music to CDs so you can listen at home and in your car also without having to pay for another copy. Just look for the acronyms "itunes", "DRM" (digital restrictions management), and "WMA" to know what not to buy.

I have a creative labs 256 MB player with FM radio that gets about 15 hours play time on a single AAA battery and sounds OK. It came with an arm-band for carrying while jogging, etc. The ear buds don't fit my ears well, so whatever you get, I'd suggest getting some of the headband-type, stick-into-your-ears phones. They stay in place no matter what you do.

I don't think sound quality will be an issue with anything on the market. Iriver makes some really nice players.

I_F

[dnsey]

Why not just go for the cheapest?
Since MP3 sound quality is cr*p anyway , the £15 players are as good as any, and you've not lost much if it gets stolen or damaged.