Best MP3 Players?

[even1]

I would appreciate your opinions!!

I only need a 1 or 2GB to use while walking but I'd like it to have an FM tuner and ability to download audio books too. Price IS a consideration!

Anyone really love their mp3?

Thanks.

 

[even1]

anybody?

 

[gallaj0]

I got my wife a SanDisk Sansa e200 series; they come in different GB up from 2 gb to 8 with a slot for additional memory cards. They are pretty reasonably priced, have a small screen that will do video and pictures (but is pretty small), holds plenty of music, has an FM tuner, does voice recordings, and syncs really easily with Windows media player.

It will do audio books if you do a CD rip, I don't know about downloaded books.

They also make a bunch of smaller ones without the picture/video screen with the FM tuner; they drop all the way down to 30-40 dollars.

 

[Andrea from PA]

Toys R Us often run sales on these -- I got my kids 1 GB for $20/each last year. It was a no name brand. Pretty plain. Looks like a flash drvie stick. No problems & they have been working for over a year.

 

[ceiligh1]

I have tried many different MP3 players; Rio, Zune, IRiver and had a few cell phones that allowed me to download and listen to audiobooks and music. While I do like having music and books on my cell phone I find the sound much better on an MP3. My favorite by far is the Iriver.

I went through 3 rios and they seemed to be really fragile.

The zune is great but not really good for working out and walking, more a sit at your desk and listen to your music type of device. However it does hold all my music with room to spare.

The Iriver that I have has been dropped, kicked and sat on, all accidental of course and it still runs. I can download and listen to audiobooks and it has an Fm tuner. It also has a clock and a stopwatch something the zune does not. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me.

 

[janette]

I've had a RIO and just purchased a Creative Zen W 30gb player. I do almost all audio books and so far I really like it. It has a sleep & bookmark both of which are very nice for books. I also like the space, I'm leaving on a long road trip and will have my choice of about 10 books to listen too.

2gb is pretty small if you are doing books, they can quickly take up lots of space depending on the format.

Look for a "plays for sure" and if your library offers downloads check to see if they list brands that are compatible. Creative is compatible with the my library & Audible formats.

 

[ICF]

My wife and I have SanDisk Sansa's and both like them. They were only $40 or so on sale, and have FM Tuners.

 

[becky7953]

Check out buy.com. Our household has the sansa, creative muvo, and another sansa on order. Both of these brands work good. My friend got the creative zen. The sansa 1gb was on sale last week at buy.com for 29.99 awesome price (and if you sign up for google check out you can get 10.00 off!)

Be careful of no name mp3 players. Some DO NOT support audio book files. I download audiobooks from our library and the mach trio DOES NOT work with audio files. Check your site where you will be downloading books from and see if the players you have picked out are compatible.

 

[librarygal]

If you download audiobooks from the library the files are in WMA format instead of MP3 so they take up half the space. I have a 1GB Sansa that currently has a seven hour audiobook plus about 18 CD's on it. The radio works well and it is very easy to use. I would buy the 2GB version so you don't have to swap files so much. I saw it on Amazon for less than $60.

 

[even1]

Wow, thanks so much for the info.

I was just about to order the SD Sansa 1G w/FM!! I'll check out buy.com first.

Love the way my buds on the Dis boards give the best info!

Thanks everyone!

 

[arminnie]

I've been using audible.com to download books for 6-7 years and have used different MP3 players along the way.

I currently have a 1G Sandisk that I use the most. I can fit almost 20 books on it in audible format 2. I listen to a set of books, delete them (they are still on my computer and in my audible library online so are not lost), and then load some more. Hours and hours and hours of books can fit in 1G.

Most important is whether the MP3 will support book format - many, many do not. I use audible format and often have to order my MP3 online to get what I want.

Some other things to think about. One with batteries (usually AAA) will chew up the batteries pretty quickly but it is worth it if you are out of the country or on a long plane flight where you cannot recharge the batteries.

I have a Zen Stone with a rechargeable internal battery that is very tiny and cute but the battery life is probably less than 10 hours. If I fall asleep with it on (it has no sleep feature) it will be dead the next day and takes a long time to recharge. I find it needs to be recharged almost daily.

My Sandisk Sansa uses 2 AAA batteries - probably about every 5-6 days. It helps to use rechargeable batteries - plus I can buy AAA batteries everywhere (which I did in Italy last year).

Some have a little screen and a fairly extensive menu. My Stone does not - just turn it on or off and adjust the volume. I think there's a newer one with more features.

 

[even1]

Great information. Thanks, arminnie.

I ordered the 1G Sandisk w/FM from circuit city and I'm on my way to pick them up! I ordered one for my DS too!

I'm sure we'll be playing with them tonight and I'll be sure to let everyone know how we do.

Eileen