MP3 Player Tips For New Buyers

by: Perry Corman

If you don't own an mp3 player, and even if you do, you should check out all the new stuff that's going on. I'm hoping this article will give you some ideas of what kind of mp3 player you want and some guidance on what to look for in an mp3 player.

Maybe you are going to the gym and need something small and skip-proof for running or lifting. Maybe you have an 10 hour (or even longer) plane ride when you go on a business trip and need to pass the time. Maybe you want a new one just for the sake of having a new one. Whatever it is, this article may help you select.

First, for those of you who want something for working out: The two most important things to look for are size/weight and RAM, things CD players don't have. You want something that you can clip to your shorts or strap to your arm that won't interfere with your movements, and you want it to be so light that you don't even notice it. (Tip: Get a lithium ion battery to save even more weight.) To be sure that your player will not skip if you move too much or too fast, get one with internal Flash memory, which has no moving parts so it can't skip. These are available as 1GB to 16 GB models, with a 1 GB model holding several hours of music. Prices typically range from $20 to $600.


On the other side, you may want to store all 16,000 songs in your collection on your player so you never hear the same song twice. In this case you need a hard drive based mp3 player, commonly known as an mp3 jukebox, for which you could pay up to $800 . It will be a little bigger and heavier than and not quite as durable as a RAM (flash RAM) player, but that is not a concern if you just want to sit and listen to good music. And they are still far more portable than the old CD player.

Torn between a small, light, solid state mp3 player and a hard drive based player that holds thousands of tunes? Well, the iPod Mini may be your choice! The iPod Mini is just one model in a breed of small hard drive mp3 players. They are a little lighter and smaller than normal hard drive players, and hold more songs than the average solid state mp3 players. (Did I mention the iPod Mini comes in blue, green, gold, and pink?) That is the main differences, but here are some more issues you should look for when making a purchase: battery life, with or without a radio, voice recorder, an easy to read screen, and compatibility with your computer.