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Purchasing a new MP3 player is like selecting your new best friend; once you have one it will never leave your side and you’ll wonder how you got along without it for so long. We are all familiar with iPod, however, there are hundreds of different MP3 players on the market varying in physical size, storage capacity, technology and price. Determining what to buy can be a daunting task.
The steps in deciding which MP3 player to buy are not sequential, consider each one and then balance your results to find an optimal solution.
1. Consider its purpose
Although this seems like a no-brainer, MP3 players have come a long way from just playing music. Many have become personal media players incorporating photo technology, video playback and synching with calendars. Deciding how you’d like to use your MP3 player will determine which features to look for. If you’re working within a budget, prioritize the features.
For example, if you want something that will simply play your small music collection, an ultra compact or flash player is probably appropriate. However, if you want to place your entire jukebox and movie collection on to your player consider something with a large hard drive and viewing screen will be a better choice.
Here are the three main categories for MP3 players. This will help you decide which MP3 player best suits your needs
Hard Drive/ Personal Media Player (PMP)- These are usually large capacity players. Perhaps the most popular hard drive MP3 player on the market is the 160 GB iPod. These players usually support multiple audio, video and photo technology formats. Some can even connect to your television. The hard drive in these MP3 players uses moving parts inside the device and works similar to the hard drive in your computer.
Flash Drive- Flash is a type of technology taking the computer world by storm. You are probably most familiar with flash technology used in small “thumb” or “jump” drives. Flash drive MP3 players are traditionally smaller, thinner and lighter than hard drive players, but have significantly less storage capacity than a hard drive player at this time. As flash drive technology improves, watch for flash drives to catch up and ultimately surpass the hard drive players. Many flash players can play music, video and photos.
Ultra Compact- These are the smallest MP3 players on the market, in size and storage space. Most ultra compact MP3 players use flash technology, but only hold about 1 or 2 GB of information. These are designed for music only and although some include a screen most do not support video formats. Besides the screens are so small you wouldn’t want to try to watch a movie.
2. Budget
Budgeting for an MP3 player can be tricky. Of course, we all want the most storage for the best price. However, a player’s price is directly determined by the technology it uses and its storage capacity. In an ever-changing market it is hard to put a solid “good” price on an MP3 player, but it is safe to assume you’ll spend a couple hundred dollars on almost any player.
Let’s break up the price points according to the most popular MP3 player categories.
Hard Drive/ Personal Media Players- A solid, large capacity hard drive MP3 player will usually cost between $200 and $400 depending on the storage capacity. The iPod Classic 160 GB sells for $349.
Flash Drive- Flash is a new technology which automatically makes it more expensive. Storage size vs. dollar flash drive players are usually more expensive than their hard drive big brothers and currently don’t have the ability to hold 60 or 80 GB of information. However, flash drive MP3 players are smaller and lighter and don’t have any moving parts to jiggle loose. This is great for people exercising. Prices are usually between $100 and $200.
Ultra Compact- These are the smallest and cheapest MP3 players on the market. Designed to only hold a few hundred songs ultra compact players usually run less than $100.
3. Storage Capacity
An MP3 player’s storage capacity naturally falls into place after you’ve determined the type of player you want and how much you are willing to spend. This table will demonstrate the number of songs and amount of video you can place on an MP3 player with its corresponding storage size.
| Storage Size | Max. Number of Songs (128 bit rate)* | Max. Hours of Video (average compression)* |
| 1 GB | 250 | |
| 2 GB | 500 | 6 |
| 4 GB | 1,000 | 12 |
| 8 GB | 2,000 | 21 |
| 16 GB | 4,000 | 48 |
| 30 GB | 7,500 | 90 |
| 32 GB | 8,000 | 96 |
| 60 GB | 15,000 | 180 |
| 80 GB | 20,000 | 240 |
| 120 GB | 30,000 | 360 |
| 160 GB | 40,000 | 480 |
* The number of songs and hours of video is dependant on your selected conversion and compression. However, we tried to take the most common compression rates and apply them to our chart
4. Compatibility
All MP3 players work directly with your computer. Know what kind of computer you have, its operating system, media player and compatible media formats. iPod is one of the few MP3 players that is compatible with both Windows and Mac computers, which makes it the most popular MP3 player on the market.
Songs in MP3 format will work on any MP3 player including iPod and Zune. However, songs downloaded from iTunes will only work with iPod and songs downloaded from Rhapsody will not.
Songs ripped directly off a CD will work on any MP3 player.
This table will illustrate some common file formats and their compatible hardware. Note, we only included some the most popular media players currently on the market.
| Music File Format | MP3 Player Brand |
| MP3 | All media players |
| AAC (encrypted downloaded from iTunes) | iPod |
| AAC (non-encrypted) | iPod, some Creative Zen |
| WMA (encrypted downloaded from Napster, Rhapsody) | Archos, Creative Zen, iRiver, Cowon, Sansa, SanDisk, Samsung |
| WMA (encrypted downloaded from Zune Marketplace) | Zune |
| WMA (non-encrypted) | Archos, Creative Zen, iRiver, Cowon, Zune, Sansa, SanDisk, Samsung OGG Cowon, iRiver, Samsung |
| Video File Format | MP3 Player Brand |
| MP4 | iPod |
| DivX | Creative Zen, Cowon |
| Xvid | Creative Zen, Cowon |
| WMV | Creative Zen, Archos, iRiver, Samsung, Sansa, SanDisk, Zune |
| MOV | iPod |
| MPEG-4 | Creative Zen, Archos, iRiver, Samsung, Sansa, SanDisk, Zune |
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