MP3 players forum: Longevity of HD based units

I had the same worries before purchasing HDD players in the past, but much to my pleasent surprise NONE of the three I've had have ever failed despite being dropped while operating on occasion. These models run the range from no-name-econo-brands from several years ago to current players with well known name brands.

Current players use buffers so well to extend battery life the disk isn't actually spinning all that often in truth. If you're still a little wary, and that's perfectly understandable given the price of many HDD players, then you should consider purchasing from COSTCO. They'll more or less allow you to return ANYTHING for ANY REASON months or even years after you've made the purchase. Can't really go wrong there, check out their policies and the peace of mind (or a single faulty piece of electronics) could make the membership more than worth the price.

The hard drive technology is currently good enough that you ought to be worried more about the battery not holding a charge anymore before you should worry about the hard drive being corrupt.

Most if not all HDD players on the market right now have a proprietary battery that you are not supposed to be able to replace yourself.

The only thing I have ever broken on a player, is the screen. It was in my 30 lbs backpack, and it landed on the bottom -_- Now the teachers should care . . .

But, batteries, are one of the least of your worries. Generally, they just cost money. And usually, that accumulates to quite a bit. And in the two years or so that it will take the battery to fail, then you will be wanting a new player anyway. That's a guaranty.

Eric,
one thing to keep in mind. Flash players tend to cost more per meg of ram than HDD. I went through this whole decision making process and figured the best thing is to get a 512MB rio forge and add a 1GB SD.
It all depends on what you're using the player for too. For me, I wanted a small ultra portalbe player for running since that's when I use the player the most.
You may one to look at the IRIVER 700 series too. They are known for excellent sound quality, but not they are not expandable with SD cards.
Hope this helps.

Ali

I purchased a 20 GB Rio Karma for my daughter April 3, 2004 and the hard drive stopped functioning around April 8, 2005.