Which portable music player to buy....??

[tralalala]

Hey guys, I am in need of some advice.


I am thinking of buying a portable music player (such as the iPod), and I don't know which to get.

I went into a shop and found an Archos Gimni 400 MP3 player and video player which seemed real cool.
The thing is, it's the same price as the iPod and offers more than the iPod does (colour screen, play video files, games etc...).


I was thinking of buying an iPod and then came across this Archos product.


Can anyone help me decide what to buy?



Thanks,
Rafi

[3RA1N1AC]

couldn't hurt to ask the shop to demonstrate the players for you, so you can make a hands-on comparison of things like sound quality, ease-of-use, etc.

[Peerzy]

Sony NW-HD3

Plays MP3 and Sonys new format that will compress a 5MB 192kb MP3 down to 1.5MB.

20GB large
Small
Nice menu system
Cheap
Can be used as a portable hard drive
If you use Sony's new compression method you can fit over 40GB's worth of MP3 on there in the new format

Sony > Apple

[tralalala]

Is there anything that will support an FM/AM radio? (AM not needed as bad as FM).

There is an accesory you can get for the Archos thing that costs something like 40 Euros and it's an FM radio with a mic for recording, and it also acts as a buttons set for the MP3 player......


Any more suggestions?

[n18]

Archos are a horrible company, the battery life is horrenderous on most of their products. You shouldn't get a player that supports video, since they are bulky and also have low battery life. Anyway you cant go wrong with apple or iriver.The sony player doesnt support Mp3, so you'd have to convewrt your whole collection to their format.

You should consider smaller capacity players like the ipod mini or iriver h10. They are really small and very comfortable to carry. 20gigs and up are not really necessary. I got a creative zen xtra 30gig and i regret buying that instead of a smaller player because i dont like the size of hte player, and i don't listen to 30gigs of music unless im on a long vacation.

for FM, Iriver and Creative products support FM.

[Shiranai_Baka]

iRiver makes some good products. Their H3xx's can play videos with the dright firmware versions. too bad the 20gb is discontinued and the 40gb will be discontinued too.

[zapjb]

I have the SanDisk Blue 512MB USB 2.0 MP3 Player Model SDMX1-512-A18. It fn rocks. The price at Newegg is $80 USD including shipping.

[Virtualbody1234]

... Anyway you cant go wrong with apple ...
http://www.ipodsdirtysecret.com/

[ModestoMouse]

Creative makes some nice players. I sell them at the shop I work at along with some other players I wouldn't really recommend. The 526MB and 1GB are really nice and extremley portabale, which is what I like in a player.

My iPod is just to bulky to carry around town, or take training. The Creative players also have recording capabilities, which is great for recording lectures, and it also has FM, which you can also record.

[ahctlucabbuS]

The sony player doesnt support Mp3, so you'd have to convewrt your whole collection to their format.

http://products.sony.co.uk/sony_nw-dh3.asp


Key Features of the NW-HD3:

* ATRAC3plus and MP3 playback compatible
* Over 30 hours of playback time*2
* G-Sensor
* 20GB HDD = 13,000 tracks*3(900CDs)
* 4 colour variations (Silver/ Black/ Pink / Red)
* Aluminium body
* Headphones and AC adaptor supplied
* USB cable supplied
* USB adaptor supplied

I were impressed by the 30 hour battery life.

But of course the iPod will make you more fashionable, if you're the type to buy into that.

[zapjb]

Ffs get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16855125003

[Peerzy]

http://products.sony.co.uk/sony_nw-dh3.asp


Key Features of the NW-HD3:

* ATRAC3plus and MP3 playback compatible
* Over 30 hours of playback time*2
* G-Sensor
* 20GB HDD = 13,000 tracks*3(900CDs)
* 4 colour variations (Silver/ Black/ Pink / Red)
* Aluminium body
* Headphones and AC adaptor supplied
* USB cable supplied
* USB adaptor supplied

I were impressed by the 30 hour battery life.

But of course the iPod will make you more fashionable, if you're the type to buy into that.

Yeah, realoistic battery life is about 26 hours of constant listening, or 30 hours if you spread it over a week.

People won't go; Hey you've got an Ipod, nice! But you'll have a much better MP3 player.

[abu_has_the_power]

i would highly recommend either the archos gmini 400 or the iriver h320/340 or the iaudio cowon x5. all of these play video. the gmini only plays mp3, while the iriver and the iaudio play lossless formats like ogg and flac. i have the iriver h320, got it last year, and its still pimp as hell. now that the iaudio cowon x5 came out, i'd recommend u get that. it's slightly better than the iriver. batt life isn't as good as the iriver, but still beats the ipod and archos

[tralalala]

After reading through all suggestions and checking prices on Amazon, I think I will go for the iAudio X5.

Does it come with the FM at no extra cost..? And does it play video (DiVX)? These are just 2 more questions I need answers to.


If it only plays MPEG-4 videos I won't mind too much... it's a tiny screen anyway and will probably only put some clips on it..... :)




Thanks for all your help guys :)

[Virtualbody1234]

If you want help then why don't you make it a bit easier for us by posting a link to the product?

http://eng.iaudio.com/product/product_X5_feature.php

It shows FM in the specifications:

MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV, MPEG4* (video) playback, FM Radio Receiver and Recording, Voice Recording, Line-In Recording

And does it play video (DiVX)?
It plays video:

Playback format MPEG1/2/2.5 Layer 3, WMA, OGG, ASF, FLAC,
WAV (11/22/44Khz,16Bit, MONO/STEREO),
XviD MPEG 4 Video, JPEG
but no mention of DiVX.

[tralalala]

Thanks....

One other thing that is making me have second thoughts - the Archos GMini can transmit the video to the TV so I can watch a film on TV via the GMini.... I never saw it say I can do that with the iAudio....... Can somebody prove me wrong?

[harrycary]

The new Sony, while it does support the Mp3 format, you still must use the accompanying software [to enable DRM] and transfer files. Kinda sucks if you ask me.

At least, a player must utilize drag-and-drop.

I've got a MobiBlu 1500i, the worlds smallest. It's a 1" cube, has a 1Gb capacity, FM radio/recorder, OLED display and supports data storage as well.

It is small but very easy to navigate utilizing the Windows folders and hierarchy system. It's also very intuitive to use.

Frankly iPods are for the masses. Be original.

Lastly, as a rule, any player with a harddrive(hence moving parts) is more likely to break. So flash drives rule in that regard.

good luck with it.

[abu_has_the_power]

If you want help then why don't you make it a bit easier for us by posting a link to the product?

http://eng.iaudio.com/product/product_X5_feature.php

It shows FM in the specifications:


And does it play video (DiVX)?
It plays video:

Playback format MPEG1/2/2.5 Layer 3, WMA, OGG, ASF, FLAC,
WAV (11/22/44Khz,16Bit, MONO/STEREO),
XviD MPEG 4 Video, JPEG
but no mention of DiVX.


it does play divx. it's the exact same thing as iriver. originally the iriver h3XX series doesn't play video, then iriver korea came out with this amazing firmware update. the iaudio x5 uses the same core hardware, but it sped up the processor, and now it plays vids @ 15fps instead of 10 for the iriver. however, the iaudio x5 has less battery life. my iriver goes up to 17 hours. guess there's always a compromise

[tralalala]

Cool.


Anyway, can anyone answer my question from before? (One other thing that is making me have second thoughts - the Archos GMini can transmit the video to the TV so I can watch a film on TV via the GMini.... I never saw it say I can do that with the iAudio....... Can somebody prove me wrong?)


thanks..

[abu_has_the_power]

Cool.


Anyway, can anyone answer my question from before? (One other thing that is making me have second thoughts - the Archos GMini can transmit the video to the TV so I can watch a film on TV via the GMini.... I never saw it say I can do that with the iAudio....... Can somebody prove me wrong?)


thanks..

the archos can do that. it's more a debate with yourself from there on. do u want a pimp ass music player or an extremely bare and simple music player but with pimp ass video capabilities? in most cases i won't be watching a good movie on a 2.2" screen. and if i want to watch a movie on a portable device, that usually means there's no tv around me. if ur spending $$, think b4 u leap.

[tralalala]

OK abu, I get your point, and I think I'm going to go for the iAudio X5 20GB :)

What's the difference though between the X5 and X5L..? :huh:

[Virtualbody1234]

What's the difference though between the X5 and X5L..? :huh:
Do you have a link?

[tralalala]

Nah, the link that you used before is the relevant one. I couldn't determine the difference though....

[RGX]

IRIVER IRIVER IRIVER

I'm using my H320 to watch porn right now, and then I'm going to listen to Van Halen. All for the same price as an Ipod.

[|F1|]

IRIVER IRIVER IRIVER

Yes. I bought an H10 purely for music, but it has a jpeg viewer and fm radio reciever/recorder, voice recorder, and other features.

They h3XX series is also supposed to be awesome.

[soopaman]

I work in a large electrical store selling MP3 players and I bought an Iriver H320 and added the Korean software pack which allows video playback - the software is freely available on the web but you will have to check that installing it doesn't invalidate your warranty. You can also download skins to change the appearance, Try here : http://www.misticriver.net/

The Iriver also encodes to MP3 with a bitrate of upto 320 kbps. The drag n' drop system for adding files works a treat. I can't recommend it enough!!!

[tralalala]

well i seem to think irisver and iaudio seem to sell practically the same product.. oh well, i think im going for the iaudio this time round.. :) thanks all for help.. thanks a lot!! :)

[abu_has_the_power]

well i seem to think irisver and iaudio seem to sell practically the same product.. oh well, i think im going for the iaudio this time round.. :) thanks all for help.. thanks a lot!! :)
good choice!


hey, it's great to see some misticriver homies over here!! sup y'all, i'm ihaveabu over @ mistic. :schnauz:

my iriver h320 is da shit. the iaudio x5 is just a better newer version of what iriver started. iriver made the 1st colour screen music dap device. then came ipod photo and archos gmini 400 and so on. hell, i've had mine since last october, and it's still pimpin :01: :01:

btw, the iaudio plays video @ 15fps, instead of 10fps for the iriver h320. i guess u'll notice a slight difference in some movies, but if u mainly watch cartoons on ur portable (like me), u won't notice too much of a difference. cartoons are drawn at less than 15fps anyway. family guy on my iriver is :01:

the other thing bout the iaudio is that it can play flac, the amazingly good lossless, as well as ogg. iriver, being the granddaddy of iaudio x5, plays only ogg. that's a breakthrough back when it 1st came out.

sadly, because the iaudio plays @ 15fps, it will use more processor power, and then using more of the battery. the iaudio battery is advertised @ 14 hours. the iriver h320 is advertised @ 16 hours. i think they both use basically the same battery (lithium polymer). if ur interested, u can check out his bad boy: http://www.misticriver.net/boards/showthread.php?t=12215

talk to them and there's probably ways to replace the battery in the iaudio.

well, have fun!