MP3 Player, Which to get? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**Legitikick** · 11-08-2005, 08:02 PM

Okay . . . so I'd really like to just get an iPod. But damn they're expensive. My original idea was to just get simple 1GB player, it'd still be plenty of music for weeks at the gym. They go for around $100-125. But then . . . for a little more you get 5GB, around $175, then for a little more you get 20-30GB, but its a bigger chunkier unit ($200-$225) and then I could just get a badass iPod and waste a bunch of money for $300. Having more than 1GB would be great for backpacking trips since I wouldn't bring my laptop, but is it worth the price? I know how I treat these things, it'll end up getting dropped and flushed and everything else, and I really don't want to spend too much on it.

Anyways . . . any recommendations, hints, or mind ramblings for this?

tinou · 11-08-2005, 08:53 PM

i actually don't like the iPod. iTunes is nice and the support of audible books is cool, but the battery life on my iPod mini sucks. get more gigs the better. my mini ipod is full already.

**Somnambulation** · 11-08-2005, 09:31 PM

I recommend the iRiver over the iPod. I got my 20 gig HP120 a year and half ago and it has been to Europe with me twice and pretty much everywhere else. Its abttery life after that time is still the good 10 plus hours of continuous use that it was when I first got it. Uploading music doesnt require a program like iTunes, just drag and drop and its compatible with every file type. Its nice and sturdy too, its been dropped on the cement a few times with no noticeable effect. I did plug a cell phone charger into once and fried it, but I sent it into the company and they fixed it free of charge with all my music intact. They have a new model out now that can display color pictures which I havent used, but Im sure it kick as much ass as the one I have. The only downside is that it is one of the more expensive brands out there, but in my opinion the quality that you get makes the price worth it in the long run.

**Slacker** · 11-09-2005, 01:05 AM

Dont forget to look into the Zen Micro's by Creative Labs. I was thinking about getting one of those for my Europe Trip. I just really dont like the Ipods and all that hype and BS.

**weirdbeard** · 11-09-2005, 02:52 AM

The smaller the mp3 player...the more durable. The large mp3's are not meant for heavy activity such as exercise and backpacking because they have little moveable parts inside(harddrives) The smaller ones(1gb and less) are great for travelling and other activity. My advice would be to get one with an upgradable memory option via memory cards. Even though they are expensive sometimes, the cards can be beneficial especially for archiving different genres of tunes but keep in mind you would be travelling with tiny memory cards as well as the mp3 itself. I-pods might be sleek and sexy but the cost for downloading and battery life of previous models is a deterrant for me. Creative makes some good models. Just stay away from the Rca brands or phillips. I've seen nothing but problems with these.
Good Luck on hunting for an Mp3!

**weirdbeard** · 11-09-2005, 02:59 AM

Oh I don't know if anybody has seen these but they are pretty darn small.
mobiblu

JMF · 11-09-2005, 07:57 AM

First off let me say that I'm less that impressed with the "White Headphone Army" and the product they so admire - but to each their own...

I like the iRiver products - I had the IHP100 when it came out and thought it was a solid player. Since then, I've switched to using the Cowon (iAudio) brand and have found their products to be superb... Great features, great battery life, highly configurable, no additional software required, no DRM implemenation. I have the M3, but the X5 just came out and looks pretty slammin'...

And of course on price, iRiver and Cowon both beat Apple hands down - and on features, the iPod doesn't even compete....

For the best info on MP3 players, check out www.dapreview.net - they review almost every DAP (Digital Audio Player) on the market.

Or go to www.iaudio.com or www.iriver.com...

Happy listening!

**MeTurk** · 11-09-2005, 09:01 AM

I'm an iRiver owner too, I got the H320 and it's cramed with loads of features, the best thing is they work as a portible harddrive so you can put anything on them and it'll play alot of whatever you put on including pictures, video and text.

I'd recomend them to anyone.

**PlayPal** · 11-09-2005, 09:09 AM

Bah, you all speak falsehoods, I doth say! For intense activity get a 5gb (or is it 4?) nano. Otherwise get yourself a full-on ipod. Be sure to get it at a place that will give you a 2 year warranty that will cover the battery though, because as with all lithium-powered products, their batteries have a finnite number of cycles before their capacity begins to drop. With most I believe it's about a year and a half of normal use. Anyway, ipods cost some cash, but they're f*cking MONEY. Yeah, I'm obviously pretty ambivilent...

horsepuppy · 11-09-2005, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by PlayPal@Nov 9 2005, 12:09 PM
Bah, you all speak falsehoods, I doth say! For intense activity get a 5gb (or is it 4?) nano. Otherwise get yourself a full-on ipod. Be sure to get it at a place that will give you a 2 year warranty that will cover the battery though, because as with all lithium-powered products, their batteries have a finnite number of cycles before their capacity begins to drop. With most I believe it's about a year and a half of normal use. Anyway, ipods cost some cash, but they're f*cking MONEY. Yeah, I'm obviously pretty ambivilent...

[snapback]85581[/snapback]

agreed...I've got the 20 gig iPod and love it...easy to use, can store any file you want (it's just a harddrive...just drop whatever you want in there...I've got an address book and resume in mine...need a computer to read it but whatever).

horsepuppy · 11-09-2005, 09:16 AM

note - the included headphone suck balls...the only downside I've found so far.

**PlayPal** · 11-09-2005, 09:27 AM

Yeah, they suck and they draw a lot of attention to the fact that you have a $200+ piece of electronics in your pocket. I bought some nice sound isolating futuresonics for my ipod and was glad that I did when I got to Europe. I ran into a guy that had his ipod yanked out of his pocket by it's bright white headphone cord and stolen in Munich. It was actually kinda funny the way he told the story though. The guy was 20 and the kid that stole it was like 14. He couldn't run after him though because he had his main backpack on, and was alone so he couldn't just drop it. Poor bastard. Yes, good headphones are definitely worth it. The futuresonics are cool because they look like complete pieces of shit. Originally designed for musicians in concert who didn't want to use monitors, they're a really nasty flesh-brown color (I guess to hide them). They cost around $100 if I remember correctly, but seem to be fairly hard to find online. Anyway, that's my take.

FunkyAssassin · 11-09-2005, 08:50 PM

Now I don't really want to start a debate, but the archos gmini402 is way better than the ipod. It plays video, displays photos, you don't need itunes (just drag & drop), and you can plug it into any mass storage device and transfer data between them. i.e - plug it into and iriver, ipod, or flash drive, digital camera and just take whatever you want off it, no computer needed!! Ipods are alright but they tend to be for show ponies, and people who have no idea about what better products are out there for the same price...... Which catergory do you fall under??

JMF · 11-10-2005, 06:12 AM

^ righto... I find that most people who LOOOOOVE their iPod, have never owned another player. They don't realize the joy of "no addition software", "drag/drop files", and "manual equalizer"...

But the comment re: vigorous activity was pretty much dead on... If you only want the device for Triathalons - don't buy a hard disk... buy a solid state player.

**ted** · 11-10-2005, 10:16 AM

i just got an ipod nano, its very small and light plus it has 4 GB (1000 songs) i recommend it but make sure your computer has a 2.0 USB port or your gonna have to install one. i used to have a rio player but it broke on me.

Rorie_Fantastico · 11-19-2005, 05:53 PM

and heres me thinkin i dont wanna spend none of my budget on stuff like that in case i wanna go skydivin in new zealand unexpectadly...are u guys rich? i opted for recording all of my favourite songs onto....casette. I always think back to the hobo traveller saying 'dont take anything you cant are to lose' lmfao im such a stinge

**The Monsignor** · 11-20-2005, 06:39 AM

Yeah, but at some point, though there's a chance to lose it, compact goes a long way over cheap!

I've found MP3 players that took MMC cards as low as 20 bucks (you had to buy the mmc card, but still). There are certainly cool points for the white headphone brigade, as well, but you're also potentially a target.

It's nice though, when your 50 cassettes worth of music mixes fits in the space of an Altoids box...

Just like buying other travel gear, cheap isn't always worth the savings!

**space virgin** · 11-20-2005, 01:45 PM

I prefer iPod products *generally speaking*, but that's because I have a Mac and the others just don't seem to interface quite as well.

**Legitikick** · 11-22-2005, 09:38 PM

Yeah I was so tempted to seal the deal, I was about to get a 60gb Nomad for $220. But I held off, I figured that I really don't need one until my really long trip in over a year, so I might as well wait for them to get better and cheaper.

**MolsonGirl** · 11-23-2005, 08:30 AM

I've had a Samsung Yepp for years now... (like 4) and because it was soooo groundbreaking at the time it only holds 30 songs.... HOWEVER on that note it's durability... (2 england trips, 1 Costa Rica Trip, 4 years of gym workouts, survived university better than I did) I've droppd it a million times.

It's definetly on its last legs... I'm getting a new one... but I'm now thoroughly impressed with the Samsung collection...

test out a Samsung Yepp (the new ones hold a lot of songs) I HIGHLY recommend them.