Opinions on MP3 Player

[svosen]

Creative Labs MuVo TX FM MP3 player

Anybody have anything useful to share regarding this MP3 player? I'm considering getting one for playing racquetball and using while working outside.

[Lefty Grove]

It depends if you want a lot of songs. I found my MP3 player, which I originally only used while exercising for a half hour, just didn't have enough songs for me (about 50, I bought it a long time ago, before the Ipod craze). It sounds like a good deal of songs, but I'm used to carrying around 30 cds with me on trips, not what is essentially 3 or 4 albums.

But if you only want about 110 songs, I'd say go for it. Looks good, has a radio (actually is useful, I used it and recorded a lot of songs that I never heard before, but liked), and looks like it has some nice features.

If you do want more songs, there's a version of this model that is one gig, but it looks good to me.

[svosen]

Thanks for the opinion/insight.

I did see the 1GB model, but I think I'll go with the littler one on the following rationale:

The library of songs I would like to listen to on a regular basis (I am a 'random' playlist guy, so the bigger the playlist, the better) will take up approximately 2GB now, and it will only get larger, albeit not too quickly.

Anyhow, even with the 1GB model, I'd still find myself transferring songs periodically so I could listen to the entire library over time. If I'll end up doing that anyhow, why not just go with the cheaper one?

Oh, and the cost of the 1GB model is the absolute most I'm willing to spend on an MP3 player; I know there are really large players out there, but I don't want one that badly...

Also, I really like the fact that this thing acts as a memory stick. I wouldn't use that a lot, but I would use it.

The FM is a must also, as I envision using this thing while I'm working, and I like to listen to a few talk radio shows. Also, the FM feature goes a long way toward making up for not having a larger memory. There are a couple of radio stations here whose playlists are about 95% to my taste, so that'll work out well.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have anything (positive or negative) to say about the brand of this player (Creative Labs)? I've used their sound cards for over a decade with no complaints :P

[_Jeb_]

I think you should get an ipod shuffle:

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/

[Dmitry M. (Lazer)]

IMO the ipod shuffle is the biggest gimick that people fall for. Though it is incredebly small for a 1gb, it's nothing special and not worth the price. It has no LCD screan and that is the hugest drawback. As well it can only charge through your PC USB unless you spend an extra $40 on a USB Wall Charger from Apple.

[svosen]

Yeah, I think I'd want the screen.

From what I understand at the apple site, it selects the songs randomly from your computer (or from iTunes??).

Either way, I don't think I'd like that. I've got songs on my computer that I don't like (the wife's), and I don't want to pay for MP3s (iTunes).

At least it has the direct USB plug in...

[sabbas]

I own an iPod Shuffle and love it. Then again, I also own a 40 gig iPod (4th Gen) for ALL my music, and I don't know what I'd do without it. Regular iPods are great for carrying all your music with you - depends how much you have. I have about 4200 songs, nearly 20 gigs, so it's totally handy. There are also many other excellent hard drive mp3 players out there (my brother and dad have a Dell one, they like 'em, the Creative products are pretty good, so is iRiver). But it looks like you're more in the market for a flash drive player...

Why did I buy the iPod shuffle then you may ask? Well, I simply wanted it for running or working out at the gym, which is what the majority of iPod Shuffle owners use it for anyways, and probably also one of the main target audiences that Apple had in mind when marketing the thing. I don't care about a lack of screen since I don't need it for running anyways, I just hit Play and go.... As for it selecting songs, you can have tunes "randomly" transferred to your Shuffle every time you hook it up (I don't know what's so great about Apple's "life is random" slogan, it's kinda stupid), but you can turn that feature off. You also don't have to listen to the songs on that thing in random order, you can have it play your tunes sequentially by a flick of a switch on the unit if you want... pretty cool.

[svosen]

Originally posted by sabbas
But it looks like you're more in the market for a flash drive player...

As I was reading your post, I was thinking to myself, "Yeah, but I want a Flash Drive, not a Hard Drive."

:P

The size of the hard drives is definitely groovy, but I'd be too nervous about crashing the heads. They aren't really meant for playing racquetball and such, are they? I have no idea how robust they are - I'm just making assumptions here. What's your experience? Ever use it in situations where an impact is likely (or, better yet, have you ever IMPACTED it - and if so, how'd it react?)?

[sabbas]

Before I got my iPod Shuffle, I'd take my normal iPod with me when I go running. It'd be fine for some of my shorter 20-minute runs, but for my longer 8km/30min. runs or so, it would skip on me, or lots of times just freeze. I take it this happens because the cache (temp memory buffer) in the iPod isn't big enough to hold tunes for that long, so the hard drive has to spin and buffer more songs into memory WHILE I'm running, hence the skipping/freezing. Then again, my friend takes his 2nd gen iPod with him running, and hasn't had any problems. I guess it depends how much you bounce around, or if you give the unit time to buffer some songs into the RAM. I've taken my regular iPod to the gym, but that's completely fine as I'm not bouncing around doing weights - just walking around and sitting down on benches and such. As for bumps, it has a 21 minute skip protection apparently, so that protects it against "bumps" - if you're going to drop the thing from a considerable height though, that can't be too good at all - not good for most electronics actually.

[Interceptor]

I don't know too much about MP3 players, but the iTrip is one of the most genious little gadgets I've seen. The wireless FM Transmitter allows you to practically DJ your own personal radio station. You simply tune your iPod to a dead air station and tune any FM radio to the same station and that's it. Music galore. CDs are offically obsolete for me.