I'm looking to buy an mp3 player. Never had one before, and I have no idea what to look for/what I need.

Basically, I'm going on a very long coach journey in a few weeks, and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to plough through Prince's entire back catalogue (courtesy of my boyfriend's collection). So, I need a decent battery life (about 20 hours, preferably a smidge longer), and I guess I need a few gig of memory. How big is the Prince back catalogue in gigabytes?

I don't really need video capability I suppose, although it would be quite nice to have a few videos to break up the journey I suppose... Sadly, my budget is pauperesque at the moment as I'm still financially recovering from the Summer of Prince, so I guess my absolute limit is £130. Preferably lower, obviously.

So, any advice?

£130 will get you a kick ass mp3 player. My advice is stay away from iPoops (over rated). Oh you're right about video playback, everyone I know with mp4 on their PMPs don't use them. But what about a PSP Slim?! http://www.amazon.co.uk/e.../ref=nosim They do everything and play games.

Or if you're a real audiophile get one of these:

I assumed that iPods were overrated, and overpriced too, and everyone I know who has/had one has experienced problems with battery death or sudden memory loss. However, if it really is the best option within the price range, then I'll bite the bullet.

PSP slim's battery life is too low sadly - the coach journey I'm going on is approximately 24 hours, and I won't be able to recharge anywhere en route. I've got a ds lite for games anyway!

GaryTheNoTrashCougar said:

I used to have Sanyo's version in the 80s. Couldn't afford Sony...
[Edited 10/8/07 5:39am]

this is my walkman, talk about large

i still got it too

Go with Creative.

Samsung YP-K3

25 hour battery life!

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/...egory_oid=

Oh, as with any mp3 player the bundled earphones will be undoubtedly shit. get some in-ear phones. I have Shure SCL5 but they cost a lot (£300). I don't expect you to pay that sort of money so these Sennheiser's are recommended:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/S...078&sr=8-2

Hope that's of help!

SanDisk Sansa

16 GB, video, fm radio - $199
8 GB, video, fm radio - $150

http://www.sandisk.com/Pr..._16GB.aspx
[Edited 10/8/07 6:51am]

From experience



It's practical, no software complex. Just plug, drag and drop from any computer.

Battery's AAA so whenever you run out of battery you just replace it with the spare you hold in your bag. you don't worry of it running out on you on a train/plane. and thats a BIG plus to me.

GaryTheNoTrashCougar said:

That Samsung seems like a good deal... I've been recommended Senneiser's by quite a few people, so I'll probably definitely get them.

Anyone have any opinions on the iRiver Clix? Is 2GB sufficient memory?

iPods rock.

FuNkeNsteiN said:

I'm sure they do, but sadly every single person I know who has one has had to send it back for repairs at least once. However good they may be, that's not acceptable.

evilsheep said:

I've had no problems with mine. It has worked just fine

Stax said:

I have the sansa with 1GB, but with SD slot, so I could always use SD cards to have more songs.
The Sansa lasts for 16 hours. I don't know many MP3 players that can play 20 hours with one charge/battery. In that case I recommend an MP3 player that uses regular batteries so you can carry more in your bag for replacement.


[Edited 10/8/07 8:26am]

FuNkeNsteiN said:

I have never had a problem with mine either, I'll be getting a new one soon hopefully

eraclito said:

they were great with the recording ability

FuNkeNsteiN said:

Me either (since 2003!), but I'm pretty careful with it. Though I did drop it on the ground once while jogging.

I'm starting to come around the the iPod idea (much as I don't want to). Can't seem to find anything with equivalent features and storage. How many tracks realistically fit onto 1GB? I'm ridiculously fickle when it comes to music - my tastes change by the hour, so I can't be doing with having to keep on transferring music back and fore. Having said that, I haven't really listened to anything much other than Prince since 18th August! So, my new mp3/mp4 player would probably need to handle most of his discography. I'm guessing 2GB won't be sufficient...

evilsheep said:

Get a 60GB iPod

FuNkeNsteiN said:

It's looking likely. But, £160 and no AC adapter supplied? Ouch.

im from england but live in NZ

last year i was back home and bought the 20gb sony nwa300

apparently the best battery life and sound...

40 hours!

aye 40 hours my arse.

got over thailand and the bugger ran out-now almost 2 years later i get an hour!

so i just got myself a discman for my longer journeys(reduced from 500 to 40!!!) it has 200 hour battery life and takes mp3 discs!-800 songs on one disc!

20 hours?

wher u going?

dundee to cornwall!

How about this ?
Apacer Steno AU231 1GB
Extra memory with SD-cards
AAA-battery
Only 22 euro, extra 2 GB SD card for app. 20 euro

So, I caved in and got myself a 80GB iPod Classic, Sennheiser CX300 earphones, and got a free Griffin iTrip too! I'm now having great fun figuring out iTunes, and filling 'the pod' up with all manner of crap. Any album recommendations for me? So far I've got Ray Charles, Neil Young, Velvet Underground, David Bowie, James Brown, Rachmaninov & of course, the majority of Prince's discography.

jonylawson said:

Wales to the Czech Republic...

33 hour battery life.

Drag n' drop MP3s onto it.

Best sound quality on test.

Comes with great headphones.

8GB.



Review: http://reviews.cnet.com/m...93874.html

Details:
http://www.sony.co.uk/vie...ry=NWA+WMT

Very occasionally the things that are the most popular are in that position because they are the best. With ipods I'd definitely say that's the case.

Make sure you check out the software you'll be tied to; the player is only 50% of the experience. Maybe Sony have improved but from what I saw a year or so ago theirs was a hot mess.

The new ipod nano is great (8Gb = £130). The battery life should run you OK if you keep the screen settings sensible, but you could check out a backup power supply e.g

http://www.ilounge.com/in...e-battery/

Which is available here for a not bad £35 and would probably give you enough juice for an entire week's playback!

http://www.dabs.com/produ...klinx=49RH


Most people are happy with the new Apple buds but they don't seem to fit me so I can't really comment. I've got a pair of Sony EX71's which are OK'ish but I'm going to change them soon as I know I can do better.

I'd recommend going for the 'ear canal' type buds as they are great at isolating outside noise; you may even find them useful to wear when you're not listening to music if you want a bit of peace and quiet on the coach! You've got to make sure they're fitted correctly though; if you don't get a proper seal then you'll get no bass. Experiment with the different fittings that they come with to find the best for you, and also make sure your ears are nice and clean as these things go deep down!


Edit - by the way I'm now on my 2nd ipod (a Shuffle, loving it..) but my first is still going fine and it's been used daily for the last 4 - 5 years. I switched the battery last year (£20). Other than that it's been tip top!
[Edited 10/13/07 14:33pm]

evilsheep said:

I'm still downloading my CD collection into itunes. I'm only transfering the the music I like, then have a back-up system for everything so as not to lose my other purchases.
Suggestions:
Psychodelica: Jefferson Airplane, Hendrix, Joplin, etc. look up Woodstock, Monterey Pop Festival. Check out those artists....

I love Creative players.....I have a 4gb Zen V plus....

but this sounds like more along the lines you're describing.....
http://www.creative.com/p.../?nav=demo