It's certainly easy to get confused when shopping for an MP3 player. Should it be a flash based or hard drive MP3 player?
With many types and brands currently available on the market, and with new models arriving daily, it's getting even more difficult to select an MP3 player for your lifestyle.
Luckily, there is a system you can utilize to carefully evaluate various digital audio players to see if they meet your criteria.
The first thing you'll want to consider is the format of the player. This can be comparable to selecting a "type" of car: sedan, station wagon, SUV, truck, etc. Three types primarily dominate the market:
Flash Player
These players typically are the smallest on the market with the least amount of storage space; 128mb to 1gb is common. Because they have no moving parts, they are near impossible to damage when dropped or bumped. Popular manufacturers of flash based audio players include iRiver and Creative.
Micro Drive Player
The popular iPod mini utilizes micro drives, or smaller versions of the traditional hard drive. These drives have larger capacities, 1gb - 6gb, but nothing near amounts of regular hard drives. Micro drives are also susceptible to damage as they consist of moving parts.
Hard Drive Player
Common in larger capacity MP3 players (20gb and above), MP3 hard drive based players offer the most storage in the smallest amount of space. This is what gives the Apple iPod it's huge amount of storage. Like Micro Drives, traditional hard drives are more likely to be damaged when dropped because they contain moving parts.Those certainly aren't all the factors you should consider when searching for that perfect digital audio player. Some other key features you should consider include:
- File formats - What types of audio files will need to be played? The most common include MP3, WMA, and WAV, but there are many other types available. Make sure your audio collection is playable on your portable player.
- Capacity - How much data space do you need to hold your library of favorite songs? Be cautious of claims for X number of songs because those are based on an average file size per song. If your audio is of much higher quality, then you'll be able to store fewer songs than advertised.
- Battery life - Time between charges is essential for those who will be on the road or in physical activities with their music. Make sure your device isn't a battery hog and if it uses rechargeable batteries built in, such as the iPod. Also note players that have battery problems and learn how to replace them if needed.
- Sound quality - Often overlooked is the quality of audio produced by the players. A noise to sound ratio of around 90dB is a good place to start.
- Display - Is browsing your songs easy or difficult? Intuitive buttons, modern interfaces are in; including color displays.
- Size & weight - As that an MP3 player in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Bulk is out; slim and thin is in. Just make sure it's not too small of a lightweight that you'll lose it and not notice.
- Connections - Finally, if you transfer songs back and forth often between PC and player, you'll value speedier connections. USB 2.0 is a minimum requirement, with Firewire getting even higher (faster) remarks. Consider replacing an old cable first when diagnosing connection problems.
The key is to decide which features you need and which you can live without, and make your decision from that information.