OT-MP3 Players

[christa112]

So I am kinda in the dark ages about MP3 Players. My kids have been really getting into music lately and want to get them, so I am thinking great a X-mas gift!!! Here is my problem I have no idea what I am looking for. My boys are 7 & 9. Obviously, I am not looking to spend a ton of money because boys will be boys and I don't want them to loose or break an expensive one.

I just want a basic player. We don't need anything fancy.

Here are my questions:
What do I look for? How many GB's should I get? How many songs can a GB hold? What is a good brand? (I am thinking of staying away from Ipod, just because of price)

Anyone have any good or bad stories about their MP3 players.

Thanks

Christa

 

[Michelle67]

Hi there! I'm no electronics guru, but I'll just give you my opinion and experience as a mom and leave it at that. First, here is what I found about the GB question:

If a gig is 1000 MBs and each song is about 4 MBs. you can fit about 250 songs. But there is the matter of formating which takes about 6% of memory space away so you are left with space big enough for about 230-40ish songs. You know what I mean?

All I know is I have a 1G one, and I have all the songs I really wanted (and some complete albums) from a floor to ceiling CD rack, and still room on the thing.

I think you are smart to stay away from iPods for kids. IMO, I'd stay away from them period. Four people in my house own MP3 players and the ONLY one who has had any problems is the teenager who HAD to have the expensive iPod. She had to have it replaced in the first year, and still has problems with the new one. Besides, I don't like internal regargeable batteries if I can avoid them. They seem to fry eventually and then they are either impossible or screamingly expensive to replace. JMO. For the other three of us, we went with ones that cost around $40 or $50 and didn't worry about brand names at all. If it is bought from a reputable store, all electronics are going to have a comparable warranty (about a year, but you can double check with the store on that) anyhow. So why pay more? Besides, with kids I always consider that it may get dropped in a fountain, dropped under a moving bike/horse/herd of children/whatever and crushed, left at school or lent to a friend and never seen again...etc. I think it is important to figure in whether I will have a mommy meltdown if something happens to it. $40 and they didn't lose it the first day...I'll be okay. LOL

 

[EthansMom]

1.5 years ago for Christmas, I wanted to get my young son (then 5) an inexpensive MP3 player. After doing some research, I ended up buying him the Sansa Sandisk with 512 MB. It was about $40, got great reviews, and has solid state memory (like an iPod in that it has no moving parts... drop it and the internal components don't break). Also, the Sansa Sandisk runs off one battery (AAA, I think). It's still running strong and I'd highly recommend it for anyone!

I believe they make the Sansa Sandisk with more memory now... DS has never filled his to capacity. Check Amazon for reviews.

Good Luck!

 

[christa112]

Thanks for the info. I was looking into the Sandisk they are pretty reasonable.

 

[aunt lissa]

We just got dd a Sony Walkman 2gb from the Walmart website for $69. It's a great player with fantastic sound. You can not buy this one in the store for the same price atleast not any around here. It was $89 in the store. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6498605

We are really very happy with this one and it holds up to 440 songs which IMO is more than enough.
Also very easy to use, and put music on!

 

[Va-bear]

Funny to read this today as we just got my son an MP3 player at Office Depot a couple of hours ago. It was to replace another (from a different store) that didn't work well that we returned. I too didnt want to spend much, as I dont know how careful he will be, or how "into" music he will end up being (figure if he goes nuts he can ask for a nicer one for Xmas.) SO, anyway, Office Depot has one on sale right now - 39.99, but you can mail in a rebate for 30.00 - so he paid 10.00 to me (I paid on cc and will get the rebate.) It seems very nice for the money, significantly nicer than the returned one - especially since it works! Just finished charging it and downloading a song or two - very user friendly. (It's 1 g, btw.)

Good luck, OP!

 

[disneychrista]

we have/had sansa sandisk 260's and have had lots of trouble with them. freezing not completely removing songs/leaving ghosts, and the worst is "losing" the songs and not playing them.

I upgraded to an Ipod and so far am finding it so easy to use and so far no problems.

 

[kayleighnik]

i've had three Creative mp3 players...and havent had any problems with them whatsoever...i had to get my 2nd one *** my puppy got hold of my first one and then i upgraded from an 8gb one to a 30 gb mp4 player - theyre all fantastic imo

 

[crazelion]

I have 3 mp3 players. I have nice RCA OPAL 8G that I bought for 99.00 dollars on Black Friday at Wal-Mart. Easy to use and put songs. It has recharge battery

Now the two Idiot proofs are Sansa Sandisk 512 both them bought off woot.com 2 for 25.00. They is easy to fault. I had show mom how to use hers. The Sansa Dandisk mp3 players has drop, step on and everything else they is still working still working for Mom. The Sansa Sandisk runs on one AAA battery.

She is not getting my nice mp3 player I don't care how she ask for she not getting it.

 

[OlyWaguy]

The SanDisk Sansa Clip (1 Gb) got good reviews from cnet.com.

You can get them for about 30 bucks at amazon.com.

The Samsung YP-U2 had better reviews but didn't have the same storage (512 Mb).

You can get those at amazon.com for about 36 bucks or 30 bucks at vanns.com??

 

[digitaldevice]

I know a little about electronics as my name is digitaldevice. Electronics designer here. Go with the SanDisk it the best for a reliable low cost player. Look at newegg.com they have great prices and you might get more ram in the player for your money than at Wal-Mart and a lot more selection to pick from. If you have the money. I just got an IPod touch 32gig player, awesome is all I can say about it. Even has wifi to browse the net.

 

[wendyinoc]

I would also suggest sandisk as well. I have had one for two years and love it. Also Ipod's don't have radio option. Ipod is just cool. Even my 61 year old father ask for one for his bithday. He knew nothing about them just the word IPOD.

 

[WillCAD]

My personal choice was a Sandisk Sansa C240.

Features of the C240:
* Plays MP3, WMA, WAV and protected WMA DRM
* Color screen (up to 64,000 colors) displays cover art and photo thumbnails
* Digital FM tuner with 20 preset stations
* FM ‘on the fly’ recording and voice recording
* High-speed USB2.0 for fast and easy file transfer
* Rechargeable & Removeable Battery
* MicroSD Slot

The most important feature to me is the MicroCD slot - it allows me to preload my music onto several MicroSD cards and switch them out any time I want. This effectively extends the capacity of an MP3 player almost infinitely, and allows you to completely change your music load by swapping cards instead of connecting to a computer.

You can find it for that about $40 from one of the major online dealers if you shop around a bit.

There are also additional models in the C200 series with onboard memory capacities ranging from 512mb to 4gb.

 

[Cindy B]

You can get an inexpensive ipod. Go to apple.com and go to the refurb section.

Shuffles can be as inexpensive as $29 there. Usually they are $49 though.

Kids want Ipods, not sandisks. Kids don't ask each other which Mp3 they have, they ask each other what Ipod they have.

 

[WillCAD]

You can get an inexpensive ipod. Go to apple.com and go to the refurb section.

Shuffles can be as inexpensive as $29 there. Usually they are $49 though.

Kids want Ipods, not sandisks. Kids don't ask each other which Mp3 they have, they ask each other what Ipod they have.

True, but kids don't always know what's best for them, or want what's best - only what's most popular. But if you get a kid a music player that blows the doors off his friends' iPods in features and capacity, they will be impressed and want their own.

Non-iPod MP3 players have significant advantages over iPods:

* iPods are generally more expensive per GB of internal storage than other players
* iPods don't have memory card slots to expand their storage; if you want more space, you need to buy a new iPod
* iPods don't have voice recorders, as many others do (the new Touch may have a recorder - I can't verify that)
* iPods don't have AM or FM radio tuners, as many other players do
* iPods require iTunes to load and manage music (except the Touch, which has wi-fi capability and can download directly from the iTunes store online)

On the other hand, a good brand-name MP3 player (which also handles all of the same music formats as an iPod except Apples proprietary formats) has more features:

* Generally less expensive per GB of internal storage
* Many (though not all) have memory card slots, making their capacity nearly infinite and allowing instant swapout of music sets without a computer
* Many include voice recorders
* Many include FM tuners
* Most use a plain USB connection identical to a flash drive, making it possible to load and manage media files with any USB-equipped computer - no additional software of any kind required

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing the iPod; it was a pioneer in the area of portable music players and is still the undisputed champ. But there are less expensive, more flexible alternatives on the market.

My own Sansa C240 is a good example. I have the 1gb version, which, with its color screen, is roughly equivalent to a 1gb iPod Nano. But a 1gb Nano will run you anywhere from $70-$170 (prices from a quick Google search for "ipod nano 1gb"), and doesn't have a voice recorder, FM tuner, or MicroSD card slot like my $40 Sandisk. Most of these functions are available through third-party attachments, but that's just additional cost and more clumsy hardware that would ruin the Nano's sleekness.

I like iPods - I particularly like the Nano for its sleek, simple, elegant design - but when the time came, I went with a non-iPod music player, and I feel that I got a lot more bang for my buck.

 

[paula70]

You can get an inexpensive ipod. Go to apple.com and go to the refurb section.

Shuffles can be as inexpensive as $29 there. Usually they are $49 though.

Kids want Ipods, not sandisks. Kids don't ask each other which Mp3 they have, they ask each other what Ipod they have.

Totally disagree with this.

My DD's (10 and 8) wanted an MP3 player, never asked specifically for any brand. I have never heard one of their friends ask about an IPOD specifically either! I bought them the Sandisk sansa as well and we LOVE them!!! They were on sale for $40 and we have yet to fill it up w/ music. They are very easy to use and my 10 yo can upload music by herself already (w/ my permisssion of course!). It is a great introduction to
MP3's and a great way to teach them to be responsible w/ them! They can work their way twords an IPOD as they get older.

 

[Cindy B]

Totally disagree with this.

My DD's (10 and 8) wanted an MP3 player, never asked specifically for any brand. I have never heard one of their friends ask about an IPOD specifically either! I bought them the Sandisk sansa as well and we LOVE them!!! They were on sale for $40 and we have yet to fill it up w/ music. They are very easy to use and my 10 yo can upload music by herself already (w/ my permisssion of course!). It is a great introduction to
MP3's and a great way to teach them to be responsible w/ them! They can work their way twords an IPOD as they get older.

You must have younger kids then. Once they get in 3rd grade and up, it is all about Ipods. I work in elementary and middle schools and even though as parents we don't hear it (they don't want to hurt our feelings or don't know how to express it) but I hear about it in the classrooms and bathrooms.

I have heard girls talking about it all the time I recall a specific conversation that this girl got either a Zune or a Sandisk for a present. She wanted to return it for an Ipod. She said that her parents didn't listen when she said Mp3 player, for kids that is synonymous with Ipod not sandisk, zune or whatever. In thier minds, those Mp3's players are off-brands or rejects of Ipods. It's like buying bobo's sneakers-- if you grew up in the 70's you know what I am talking about. Ask any kind what an Mp3 player is and they will answer Ipod --it's as if those other brands don't exist.

If a kid has a Zune or Sandisk, they are either rejected by peers (i've seen it) or they excuse it away at school by saying something like my parents are dumb, they are stupid, etc... -- I've heard this as well. This is not only in a suburban school, but also urban schools. So it isn't just a rich white kid thing... it's all different kids, income levels, etc.

If the Ipods are $29/39 why not get that now and eliminate the middle man. Why waste money on something you will buy again. Do it right the first time.

 

[Cindy B]

True, but kids don't always know what's best for them, or want what's best - only what's most popular. But if you get a kid a music player that blows the doors off his friends' iPods in features and capacity, they will be impressed and want their own.

Non-iPod MP3 players have significant advantages over iPods:

* iPods are generally more expensive per GB of internal storage than other players
* iPods don't have memory card slots to expand their storage; if you want more space, you need to buy a new iPod
* iPods don't have voice recorders, as many others do (the new Touch may have a recorder - I can't verify that)
* iPods don't have AM or FM radio tuners, as many other players do
* iPods require iTunes to load and manage music (except the Touch, which has wi-fi capability and can download directly from the iTunes store online)

On the other hand, a good brand-name MP3 player (which also handles all of the same music formats as an iPod except Apples proprietary formats) has more features:

* Generally less expensive per GB of internal storage
* Many (though not all) have memory card slots, making their capacity nearly infinite and allowing instant swapout of music sets without a computer
* Many include voice recorders
* Many include FM tuners
* Most use a plain USB connection identical to a flash drive, making it possible to load and manage media files with any USB-equipped computer - no additional software of any kind required

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing the iPod; it was a pioneer in the area of portable music players and is still the undisputed champ. But there are less expensive, more flexible alternatives on the market.

My own Sansa C240 is a good example. I have the 1gb version, which, with its color screen, is roughly equivalent to a 1gb iPod Nano. But a 1gb Nano will run you anywhere from $70-$170 (prices from a quick Google search for "ipod nano 1gb"), and doesn't have a voice recorder, FM tuner, or MicroSD card slot like my $40 Sandisk. Most of these functions are available through third-party attachments, but that's just additional cost and more clumsy hardware that would ruin the Nano's sleekness.

I like iPods - I particularly like the Nano for its sleek, simple, elegant design - but when the time came, I went with a non-iPod music player, and I feel that I got a lot more bang for my buck.

As an adult, you can rationalize the features.

Kids only want name, and that name is Ipod. (at least around here anyway).

It is better to get a less expensive Ipod than anything else because you will be buying an Ipod anyway.

The OP should ask the kid if they care if it's an Ipod or not. Some may not, and some definetely will.

 

[paula70]

You must have younger kids then. Once they get in 3rd grade and up, it is all about Ipods. I work in elementary and middle schools and even though as parents we don't hear it (they don't want to hurt our feelings or don't know how to express it) but I hear about it in the classrooms and bathrooms.

I have heard girls talking about it all the time I recall a specific conversation that this girl got either a Zune or a Sandisk for a present. She wanted to return it for an Ipod. She said that her parents didn't listen when she said Mp3 player, for kids that is synonymous with Ipod not sandisk, zune or whatever. In thier minds, those Mp3's players are off-brands or rejects of Ipods. It's like buying bobo's sneakers-- if you grew up in the 70's you know what I am talking about. Ask any kind what an Mp3 player is and they will answer Ipod --it's as if those other brands don't exist.

If a kid has a Zune or Sandisk, they are either rejected by peers (i've seen it) or they excuse it away at school by saying something like my parents are dumb, they are stupid, etc... -- I've heard this as well. This is not only in a suburban school, but also urban schools. So it isn't just a rich white kid thing... it's all different kids, income levels, etc.

If the Ipods are $29/39 why not get that now and eliminate the middle man. Why waste money on something you will buy again. Do it right the first time.

I absolutely understand there are some kids that want all name brands. Does that mean we have to give it to them? I certainly didn't mean to spark a debate but we don't raise our kids that way. My kids are thankful for all they have, name brand or not. Just because we don't buy them IPOD brand (and yes, we can afford them-that's not the point) doesn't mean we're not "doing it right"! We just feel that at the ages of 8 and 10 they don't need to have top of the line everything right away. You know, something to work twords. That's what we feel is the "right" thing to do for our family. It's just a point of view, which is what I believe the OP was asking for....different points of view!

To the OP...definitely decide what is important to your kids and make the decision that best fits your family. We (my daughters included) have been very pleased with our Sansa's but you certainly can't go wrong w/ an IPOD.

 

[Cindy B]

I absolutely understand there are some kids that want all name brands. Does that mean we have to give it to them? I certainly didn't mean to spark a debate but we don't raise our kids that way. My kids are thankful for all they have, name brand or not. Just because we don't buy them IPOD brand (and yes, we can afford them-that's not the point) doesn't mean we're not "doing it right"! We just feel that at the ages of 8 and 10 they don't need to have top of the line everything right away. You know, something to work twords. That's what we feel is the "right" thing to do for our family. It's just a point of view, which is what I believe the OP was asking for....different points of view!

To the OP...definitely decide what is important to your kids and make the decision that best fits your family. We (my daughters included) have been very pleased with our Sansa's but you certainly can't go wrong w/ an IPOD.

I'm just stating that some kids equate Mp3=Ipod only. If Ipods are $29-49 why not do it right?

They will ask for one eventually anyway, this just heads off that debate and gets you way more mom and dad points.