Mp3 Player Buying Guide

By Author: James Morton
Total Articles: 15
Comment this article

Mp3 Player Buying Guide

When looking to purchase an Mp3 player, consumers are met with a daunting range of products. This guide will aim to discuss Mp3 Players in all of their different shapes and sizes and help explain what you ought to be looking for to best suit your needs. We will talk about the two main types of storage, file formats, headphones and any other additional features that you may come across.

Types of Storage
MP3 Players usually use either hard-drive or flash storage. Hard-drive based players tend to have more storage but because they contain moving parts, they are a little tougher on batteries and are less reliable under strain, for example while jogging. Flash storage based players are more expensive per unit of storage than hard drive players but are generally smaller and aid better battery life. While it was traditionally the case that flash based players were limited in the amount of storage they could offer, this is changing very quickly. The iPod Touch from Apple for example now comes with 64gb of memory, which is enough to hold around 14,000 tracks.

File Formats
The most ...
... famous file format is, of course, Mp3. But this isn't as widespread as you may think. All of Apple's iPods use AAC and Microsoft prefers its own WMA format. Despite this, it is more and more common for Mp3 players to be produced to be compatible with several different formats. It is however important to be aware of which formats are supported by the device you are looking to buy. If it isn't compatible with the format of the songs already present on your computer you may either encounter a lengthy reformatting process or not be able to load the files at all.

Headphones
While every Mp3 player will be sold with a set of headphones provided, they are often disappointing. The difference made by purchasing a good set of headphones is likely to be much greater than any difference in sound quality between different Mp3 players themselves. Especially when spending upwards of $100 on an Mp3 player, an extra $20 on a relatively good set of headphones can make all the difference for little extra outlay.

Additional things to look out for
As well as playing music, many Mp3 players offer additional features. The more advanced players can have WiFi connectivity which opens them up to the internet. This allows for video streaming, gaming, internet radio and communication technology such as Facebook, MSN Messenger and Skype. More modest players may also offer useful features such as a microphone for voice recording or an FM reciever.

To compare prices on a wide range of different Mp3 Players click here