The first thing you need to know if asking "What is an MP3 player" is that these devices are portable music players which are designed to make use of the mp3 format.
Like a disc man or walk man, these players are small enough to be carried around wherever you go. Unlike these two older styles of players, they are also capable of a lot more.
In order to make use of one of these new players, you will need several things.
First, you will need a computer with MP3s on it. MP3s are a file that contains audio data. It is much smaller than a .wav, which is what disc mans use to play music on a cd. Each file of an mp3 should contain one song, and average at 2 to 5 megabytes in size. Most mp3 players can store roughly 40 to 60 songs, which is 4 to 6 times more than a cd that you would buy in a store.
In order to be able to make use of an MP3 player, you must first download MP3s from the Internet, or convert them from files on a cd that you own. Songs can be purchased from stores such as the iTunes store, or from other independent music retailers on line.
This lets you purchase one song off of a cd without having to buy the whole cd.
MP3s can also be downloaded illegally, but this is not suggested if you live in an area that is heavily regulated, or you do not already own the song on cd. If you own the song on cd already, you can legally download the music for your enjoyment on your mp3 player or computer.
An MP3 player functions by reading the mp3 file, much like your computer reads a file, and then transforms it into an audio format you can listen to. The better players will even let you adjust how the music sounds, while giving you full control over volume and quality.
Before you purchase an MP3 player, you will want to read MP3 player reviews to find a user friendly device that will teach you the ropes of using an MP3 player without being frustrating for you.