MP3 Players - Tips For Buying a Digital Media Player

As you know, MP3 players come in a variety of brands, prices, colors, styles and sizes. Without doubt, the growing demand for "music on the go" has led to the development of efficient, affordable, and convenient portable media players.

The price of portable music players can range anywhere from under $30.00 - $200.00 or more depending on memory size, display quality, extra features, etc. When you break it down there are a variety of features to consider before buying a MP3 player.

1) Hard drive or flash - First, although there are many brands of portable media devices, there are only two types; flash memory or hard drive. Your biggest decision in buying MP3 players is in choosing between these two options. The pros and cons of each type has been written about extensively. Simply stated however, flash players are good for exercising, while portable hard drive devices give you lots of storage space for videos, pictures, etc.

2) Size - Some people are apprehensive by the outwardly small size of flash MP3 players. But remember, each gigabyte of memory can hold around 250 songs. Therefore, a 4 GB player has a storage capacity of 1000 songs ...that is more than sufficient for most people.

And, of course, you can easily replace music files with new songs anytime you want. So, even with 250 songs with a 1 GB player, you'll never get bored of listening to the same songs. Plus, small media players are easier to handle and look very cool!

3) Navigation - The navigation system of portable media players is an important feature when searching for specific songs you want to listen to. This is especially true when you have a large music collection on your player. Therefore, a portable player navigation structure should operate with ease and require only a few button clicks to get to your destination. You should be able to customize your favorite settings.

4) Battery Life - Constantly recharging the batteries in your player is frustrating, so it's important to give special attention to the details about playing time. This amount can vary extensively, from 10 hours to 36 hours. The type of batteries and the features that are included can also influence an portable MP3 players battery life. So the more features your player has, and the more you use them, the shorter the battery life will be.

Rechargeable batteries are the best choice for a portable MP3 player. The most popular are Lithium-ion batteries, but players that use AA or AAA batteries can use Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries have a recharge life of around 500 cycles and are normally enclosed within the media device. But because some players don't give you access to the Lithium-ion battery, you are forced to send the entire MP3 player to the manufacture to get the battery replaced. This for most people is not a convenient option.

Other MP3 Player Features to Consider:

• You should be able to hold and operate the player with one hand.


• All of the buttons should be under your thumb. A few MP3 players have an awkward design of controls, putting some buttons on the front of the player and some on the sides.


• You should have the ability to create directories within any level of the directory structure.


• The display should allow you to view your directories so you can easily move up and down the directory tree.


• An easy-to-use search function is convenient to locate specific songs by searching for song title, artist or album name.

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