When the mp3 format was first realised it was soley used on pc's. But given the compact files sizes and the ability to move them quicky, it has allowed developers to build devices to playback mp3 music as a personal stereo direct replacement. But mp3 would never be the phenomonon it is today if microsofts WMA format had been developed earlier. Compaired to mp3 the WMA format is superior, it has a higher compression ratio although at 128kb/s is larger than mp3, at 64kb/s WMA has quality equal to 128kbs mp3, which means on average more music per mb. mp3 at 128kb/s uses 1mb per minute approx comparred to 64kb/s WMA just under 2 mins per mb. So its always a good idea to try and choose a player that will support both formats.
FEATURES TO LOOK FOR
SUPPORTED FORMATS
there are many audio formats supported and different devices will have varying degrees of variety. Audio formats to look for on mp3 players are SDMI, WAV, WMA, LIQUID AUDIO, MP3 ATRAC3.
BITRATE CAPABILITY
this is not a wideley contested area since most people only listen up to 192kbs, but if you prefer to listen at higher bit rates then its worth while checking this out, but remember higher bitrates demand more memory.
MEMORY
the importance of this option cannot be understated since most mp3 players will only come with 64mb. Now this may sound a lot but when you concider that mp3 at 128kbs needs 1mb per minute then its easy to see that 64mb wont even hold the contents of 1 single cd album. Unless of course you choose a mp3 player with a built in hard drive or a cd player which can play mp3 from a CDR.
Memory can take several different forms, some devices will have built in flash memory, with a memory card optional add on, some will have all its memory on a memory card and some will have no upgrade option. There are also many different types of memory card aswell just to make buying selection even more of a minefield.
SONY
ARCHOS
RIO
INTEL
SAMSUNG
CREATIVELABS
AIWA
NOWEVOLUTION
AUDIOVOX
COMPAQ
CASIO
Smart media is the most commonly used memory card in portable mp3 players with capacities up to 64mb. Compact flash is the lesser known and most expensive with the highest capacity up to 512mb, mainly used in devices such as pocket pcs. Sony's memory stick is confined to sony's own product range and is used in their digital cameras, notebook pc's and their mp3 players. Multimedia is a not so commonly used card dispite its postage stamp size and capacities up to 64mb, but is more expensive than smart media.
The perfect solution would be to buy a cd player than can play mp3 from a CDR. they tend to be a lot cheaper due to the absence of memory but is reliant on you having a CDR drive on your PC.
EQUALIZER
Can be a handy feature for tweaking your sounds, this feature may also include such things as bass boost and the abilty to remeber individual track settings for instant recall.
ID3 TAGS
These are the track information which can be recalled and displayed on the LCD display. This info is the likes of track name, author, track length, bitrate, stereo/mono, copyright, and author date.
ANTISHOCK MEMORY
Since the memory based players do not have moving parts this section does not apply to them. Players with hardrives or ones taking mp3 data from CDR's have moving parts so require antshock memory. Most of these players should have about 2 minutes or more of antishock memory.
PLAYBACK OPTIONS
Just like any CD player, these options include the likes of shuffle, repeat, track search, random play, playlist, etc.
SIZE AND WEIGHT
Of course if you are going to carry a mp3 player on you its worth taking a note of the size and weight, since the players with built in hardrives tend to be larger and heavier, and the cd cross mp3 players tend to be oldly shaped and not very portable.
BATTERY LIFE
The memory based players have a longer playback life since the have not motors demanding greater demands on the battery. The players with the shorter playback time will ones with built in hard drives and cd player hybrids unless that is they have larger batteries to compensate, which will influence size and weight.
PC CONNECTION
most mp3 player will have a USB cable, but some cheaper players might have the slower and older RS232c cable and should be avioded. If it has a USB connection then its worthwile making sure your computer has a USB port free before spending your hard earned cash. Some players are now coming with a docking station, not an essential but is handy to have.
BUNDLED SOFTWARE
If you plan to use the WMA format instead of mp3 (assuming your player supports it) then its handy to have some software to convert the files. It's not a disaster if it doesnt because you can use one of many free downloads that will do the job such as Winamp available from www.winamp.com.
PC or MAC
Some players have connection software that will only work on one or the other, so be sure that the player you have in mind will support your machine (or both).
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
AM/FM RADIO
Some players have a buitl in radio so when you've exhausted your archive you can turn to the airwaves
PERSONAL ORGANISER
some of the more exspensive units have organiser function which can store names, address's and various other organiser functions
LEATHER CARRY CASE
Just like the mobile phone cases, protects the player and allows you to clip it ontp your belt.
REMOTE CONTROL
Usually on the headphone cord or as a seperate plug in for controlling the player without removing it from your pocket or belt clip.
Well it seems mp3 is all around us and is here to stay for a while. Casio recently released its wristwatch mp3 player, Nokia has put a player onto one its phones, then theres the pocket pc and soon even clothing will be able to have a mp3 player built into its fabric. Technology as a whole seems to be crossing over and eventually will meet somewhere in the middle with a 1 for all unit.
WHEN SPECIFYING PLAYBACK TIME, MERCHANTS WILL SAY 1MB PER TRACK, THIS IS ASSUMING THE LOWEST QUALITY PLAYBACK WHICH IS POOR. YOU SHOULD EXPECT ABOUT 1MB PER MINUTE
To me mp3 players are a bit of a gimmick. I tend to like anything that runs on batteries and has microchips in it, but mp3 players dont do it for me. On the one hand they are small but with not enough memory with expensive upgrades, while on the other they can be large cumbersome devices with more memory than most peoples home pcs. So it seems to be a size versus memory thing, if you want large memory then you have to have a large device. If you want a small device you need a large wallet to pay for memory card upgrades. So the standard mp3 player would seem to suit the person that only listens ocasionaly so doesnt need a large archive of music, and the larger unit would suit someone at work who is not very mobile but listens to a lot of music and requires greater variety.
