MP3 players forum: Clueless about MP3 players, need help!

I just recently ordered a Nationite S-Flo from mp4nation.net and have been amazed at the cost to coolness/usefulness ration. Costing $109 and change when I ordered it and has been much better, in my opinion, than any iPod on the market.

First, it has a touch screen. A great touch screen at that. Picture a player the size of the iPod nano that instead of having a tiny little micro screen, you have a screen that covers most of the front of the player that has the "ooh-aaah" of a touch screen, right on par with the accuracy of the iPhone/touch, and has a better resolution than the Nano. Capacitive touch screen, multi touch, good resolution, high color , need I say more?

Secondly, the player has the very popular Wolfson audio chip, the wm8987, and produces one of the best audio playback experiences in a portable media player (since most will play videos now, it is kind of getting useless to call them "mp3 players). Also, the player comes with some decent earbuds as well (but I recommend the Vmoda Bass Freqs if you can find them, best factory buds ever) that are surprisingly comfortable and produce a better sound than the iPod "standard" buds.

Third, this player also has a built in fm radio/fm transmitter. Yep, play radio, RECORD radio, and transmit your music via fm frequencies. Can you get that on an iPod without buying another accessory? Also has a document/ebook reader built in. Nice.

Fourth, this player also has a large amount of customization abilities as well, as far as themes go. As far as I know, the only way to customize anything about the touch is to jailbreak it and possibly void your warranty.

Fifth, NO MORE ITUNES REQUIRED TO PUT YOUR MUSIC ON YOUR PLAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!! Files are easily added by hooking it up to you computer (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) and dragging and dropping any and all music and video files you could want (supported files are listed on the site, many to choose from).

Finally, 8GB of storage goodness, a case, screen protector, earbuds, and more is included in the xmas package. And before any of you nay-sayers start saying "awwwhhhh, it's made in China, it must suck...." check and see where your iPods/iPhones are manufactured. The S-Flo specs and review are listed here: http://mp4nation.net/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_36&products_id=151

Simply put, I'd take this, or any Nationite (Teclast) player over any iPod, any day. My two cents.

James.

All The kid-bots want ipods
so go with that.
since in today's society it really is more important to fit into the pop culture zone, than to go for what is best.
They will undoubtedly love you for it.
Then they will bother others if & when they run into the software & proprietary & sharing issues they may inevitably encounter.
But they'll be cool & fit in.
They will actually have a good player too, although i would never buy one.
But i'm an adult so my non-hip sony is fine with me.

One more thing....there is NO compatibility issues with the Zen. It will play Apple's main format "ACC" without having to convert it to an MP3. So they can download by simply dragging and dropping any file downloaded from Itunes, Napster, Rhapsody and more. As well as ripping their own CD's to their player.
Don't be fooled and don't be a follower. Teach your kids to be different and smarter than the crowd!

For most people it's better to follow the crowd. I'm like you, and I agree with you, but we are the minority. I got my brother in law to buy a Creative instead of an Ipod for his son, and it was a disaster. He eventually got his son a 16gb Itouch and all is well. LOL!

For gifts, an Ipod is valued much more than any other player. And that's the whole point of giving gifts. I mean, it may be a better value to go on Spring Break to Yellowstone National Park but most college kids want to go where the other kids are, at the Florida beaches. Same thing with the Ipod.

I've worked for Circuit City for the past 7 years and I have watched as MP3 players have evolved. While the Ipod is a nice MP3 player, they are extremely over priced and lack many of the features that players half their price have.
Working at Circuit City, it's my job to know how to use and demonstrate all the products in our store. When it comes to MP3 players, I would have to agree with CRod67 regarding the Creative Zen. Creative Labs makes top of the line products and have been around since 1981. They started out making top of the line sound cards (Sound Blaster) for the personal computer and have grown from there. Creative Labs products have won international awards and accolades over the years including numerous awards at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show)events, where the who's who of everything electronics meet each year to showcase their products.

To anyone looking for a great MP3 player I would suggest the Creative Zen. The top of the line Zen is the Zen X-fi. For about 130 dollars will outpeform any Ipod on the market. However the standard 4GB ZEN is an incredible product for under 80 dollars and has an SD slot which enables you to easily expand it's capacity to 32GB or more.

Don't get me wrong, the Ipod is a really nice MP3 player. But as others have mentioned, you really are paying for the Apple name. When I get customers that come into the store and ask me to recommend an MP3 player to them, I first ask them what they're willing to spend and then I ask them if they have a specific brand in mind. Almost everyone that comes in wants an Ipod. But that's only because of Apples vigorous ad campaigns. People know nothing of the actual player, other than the fact that "it looks pretty". But when you're spending this kind of money you really need to consider functionality. After I put a list of the features in front of the customer, I would estimate that over 80% of them end up choosing either the Zen, the Zen Mosaic or the top of the line Zen X-fi. The other 20% are like the majority of other Apple users who merely want an Apple product for name recognition or because friends or family have them.
Pound for pound (or rather ounce for ounce) the Zen is a far superior product over the Ipod. And that includes the Ipod shuffle (which has no screen), their Ipod classic and their Ipod Nano (which is a customer favorite) People like the Nano because it comes in a bunch of colors and it's advertised constantly so people automatically assume it's the best. For the cost, it really does lack quite a few features compared to other MP3 players. And let me assure you, the Zen is just as simple to use and configure as the Ipod. I've purchased one for both my niece and nephew and their 7 and 9 y/o. My brother has an Ipod Classic and he try's talking me into trading with him all the time, just because he likes the FM tuner.
Another great feature with the Zen that others failed to mention is that the Zen is upgradeable via firmware downloads and you can also back up all your music, videos and pictures onto your pc in case of any unforseen problems. Which means if for any reason you loose all the data on your MP3 player, you won't have to spend days re-downloading each song one by one, including all of your playlists. It'll be right there on your PC all backed up for you in the exact order you have everything loaded onto your player.

I'm sorry to dissapoint all the Apple fans out there, but Apple really is just a brand that people purchase because of the name and not because of the functionality. If you care what other people think and you want to spend more money than you should for an MP3 player, then I would suggest the Apple Ipod Classic or Nano. (don't waste your money on the Ipod Shuffle)
If you truly want a great product for a great price, go with the Zen. It's a truly amazing MP3 player that not only looks great, but outperforms the Ipod hands down.
But please don't just take my word or anyone elses word on this site. We're merely giving you our opinions. What I would suggest is to visit both the Apple site http://www.apple.com/itunes/ and the Creative site http://us.creative.com/local/1/promo/findyourzen/welcome.asp?WT.cg_n=Campaigns&WT.mc_id=9885
Don't be fooled into thinking you need 16 or 32GB storage capacity either. A 2 or 4 GB at 500 or 1000 songs is plenty, but if you do happen to need more space, the SD card slot is there and will give you all the storage capacity you will ever need.

At the end of the day it all boils down to personal preference and the different functions that will make you happy. I highly suggest doing your own homework though and check out both websites to compare features and pricing. In this day and age when we're all trying to save a little money and get the best deal we can, when it comes to MP3 players, the Creative Zen wins hands down over the Apple Ipod.

Just my 2cents from an electronics professional.
I'm sure whichever unit you decide to go with, your grandchildren will be so excited when they open up their presents Christmas morning and find out Grandma bought them an MP3 player!
In the end, they are both really great products.

While that's a good option for older folks that want an all-in-one, mp3 player, camera, next gen cell web browser and cell phone, I don't think it's a wise choice for children. These phones are very expensive and we all know how kids both drop and loose things. And at 200 dollars a pop, not including the 2 year contract, I think that's a little out of Grandma's budget. But, of the folks I know that waited for the 2nd generation 3G I-phone, their very happy with their purchase.

Here in the UK the phone is free on a 35 per month contract with 600 mins, 600 texts and unlimited web browsing. So if your budget is $200 then it would make a decent alternative IMHO.

As for being too much for children - I take it you haven't got any then? Certainly not too much for mine, they always seem to find dozens of features I didn't know were there. And insurance is good if you tend to damage things, including iPods.

Hello there.
mp3 players is somthing i have been looking in to a great deal, and i am starting to ge tthe hang of this.

Personally i'v owned about 8 different types of mp3 players. and another 3 -4 have belonged to my brother and father so i have been looking in to them to.. i'v also been butting all my friends mp3 players to the test.. so i`v proberbly had a good look into about 25 different types.


When you are going to buy an mp3 player you have to ask your self a couple of qutstions.

1) what am i going to use it for? Pictures, movies, internett ? or only music..
remmember... if your thinking that you dont wanna watch a movie on such a smal screan, though i promis you it's nice for traveling and stuff, you must know that you can easily hook your mp3 player to a TV or a pc and watch movies from it

2, you need to figure..How much space do i need? how much music have i got, how much will i get ?... personally i got about 30gb musc, about 5000 songs, around 4 min per song...

I also use my mp3 player (an 80gb ipod) as an portable hardisc, and when ever i want to put a filoe from one pc to another i use it..

I can understand how 80 gb can seam a bit much (you can olso get 160gb).. but trust me it's very irritating running out of space, and having to choose what music you want on your mp3 player.. why not jsut add the whole liberary?. IF you dont really listen to al the music you got having a ipod with space for everything, will make you listen to it some day, and you will proberbly find that loads of songs and band you dont really listen to are great...

you must also consider the sice, you can get really small mp3 players and bigger, if you wanna use it while e.g. running, you mightwant a smaller but you can olso get arm straps and sutch so carrying a rather "big" one wont be any trouble.. ( i got one myself)

I would STRONGLY recomend a mp3 player with a good menu, and a ok screan. If you will be using your mp3 more than onse a month - Do not buy your self one of thouse that dont even have a screan.


I would strongly recomend the iPods, the newes ipod nanos with less space or the newest 80, 160 gb versions wich is a litle bit bigger. If you are looking for really fancy one try the ipod touch screan 8gb or 16gb, think 30gb is coming soon), But if your gonna get such an advanced little thing i would prefor an iphone...

There are also some other great opertuneties. such as Creative and sandisc, but i dont think thiese can really match the ipod.

But be awaer. if you want to whatch movies on your ipod you will need a convertprogram (or can itunes ( the program that "comes with" the ipod) do the converting now?)

(moviefiles)
anyhow my point is the ipod can only play mpeg, mpeg4, mp4 files (mp4 is the one your gonna be using..) NOT THE STANDARD FILES as AVI and stuff..

This is alot of stress converting the videofiles anyway.. so it's a real minus whn it comes to playing videos.

(many other players do not have this problem such as creative players)

And i think the ipod can only play mp3 files and not thouse files you rip of a cd. But this should easily and quikly be solved with a converter program, it is very posible that iTunes even dose it automaticly when you add a song to your liberary. "I havent had any problems with this myself"...

The prices you must look into yourself, depends on where you live and stuff, and the store.

they should mostly be around 150 - 230 Dolars, but the dollar is week and so on. just check the prices your self. they are pritty much the same..

i'd say buy an ipod 80gb or a ipod nano 16gb or 8 gb.

I would find out what their friends (peers) have for MP3 players.What's popular with their friends will probably work for them. You can ask their parents to help you find out what their friends have for MP3 players.This should help you decide.

last year i bought my daughter a refurbished ipod classic 30GB from apple website for $160. It was better than any deal on ebay at the time--which was just before christmas.

she loves it, but i'm partial to iriver mp3 players because they can make high quality digital recordings from analog signals (cassette tape, old records, anything you play on your computer, my electric piano XM, live concerts if you buy a stereo mic for $20...) what a great feature!

also, i hate the newer versions of itunes and i hate anything that "syncs." give me drag and drop!!

Your grandkids are old enough to own ipods. This will be the one they want, trust me. Have 5 grandkids of my own and I also have my own ipod. Its the easiest to operate and load music on. I have purchased inexpensive MP3 players for the younger kids and its a pain to load the music. With ipod you can also continue to buy them music via a gift card and they can pick their own music. The ipod nano is great and can be bought at Walmart for the least amount of money. Yes it is a bit more expensive than some other players but less confusing or cumbersome when it comes to downloading music. Also for birthdays or other holidays you can continue to buy accessories or music for them and they will always appreciate it. Good luck.

I bought Sansa (refurbs), e200 series, for both of my grandkids. Inside of 3 months, both failed. Several of their friends also had Sansa's and they all experienced the early death of their players.

Really put me off Sansa.

Apple iPods are very stylish, but lack many of the additional features that other mp3 players have, like FM radio and the ability to record both FM radio and voice.

It's important to me to be able to listen to and record FM radio, as well as voice. For serious students, the ability to record a professor's lectures seems critical to me. Or are they already recorded these days?

I automatically rule out hard drive mp3 players, in favor of flash based players, as well as any players that cannot/do not handle FM radio, recording FM radio, & recording voice. Also, I rule out any players that can't handle audible.com books.

I have owned 2 iRiver mp3 players (1 strictly for exercising) for over 5 years now and they are still going strong.

So, in view of the fact that the life expectancy and functionality of the mp3 player is so important, may I deviate from the crowd and suggest the iRiver Spinn 8GB? Either that or the Creative Zen 16GB.

I gave my son an IPOD video and his girlfriend 'borrowed' it and then they broke up.My son never got the IPOD back.So I agree that we will never know how our expensive gifts will end up.

If all you are buying them for is to be a part of the in crowd, then you are one of the main causes of current state of our economy. Everyone "has" to have an iPod. Everyone "needs" to get an SUV for their 3 person family on money they don't have. Everyone is "entitled" to have a house they can't afford on financing they shouldn't have gotten in the first place.

You should stick to a budget you have in mind and never do something because someone says "it's what everyone else is doing".