Player Blog Category Archives: Deals , Roundup
December 08, 2004
Mini MP3 Player Holiday Buying Guide
If you're considering getting a new MP3 player for yourself or for someone else this holiday season, PlayerBlog is here to help. We've compiled a brief buying guide to help you make an educated choice. Of course, there's no one-size-fits-all advice we can offer, but these guides are a good starting place.
By way of introduction, we're only considering the newest devices from the most popular vendors. Any choice on the list should insure a quality product, ongoing service and support and an active user community. To keep the list manageable, we're not going to consider older models and less popular devices.
For this first guide we'll take a look at the mini-size audio players that have emerged as a popular choice over the last year or so. All 4 of these are variations on the same theme: a very small package that has a lower capacity than a full-size audio player, stylish looks and a higher price tag. A mini player is best suited to the person who values style or has a smaller music collection that will fit on the player.
Apple iPod Mini
The Apple iPod Mini was the first mini player and is far and away the most popular. Not suprisingly it is one of the more expensive choices, retailing for $250 and with a street price that rarely gets much under retail. Unlike the other 3 players which have a 5GB capacity, the iPod Mini only has a 4GB capacity. Like most Apple products, the iPod Mini wins high style points and comes in a choice of 5 colors. The iPod Mini measures up at only 3.6" x 2.0" x 0.5" and weighs 3.6oz. One popular iPod community forum is iPodLounge
More on the iPod Mini:
Creative Zen Micro vs. iPod Mini
DesignTechnica Reviews the iPod Mini
iPod Mini Review at Gear
CNet iPod Mini Review
Creative Zen Touch Micro
The Creative Touch Zen Micro is one of the newer devices with a 5GB capacity, a few color choices and a retail price of $249. Dimensions are a slim 3.3"x2.0"x0.7" and it weighs 3.8oz. The Creative community forum is Nomadness.
More on the Creative Zen Touch Micro:
Four Creative Zen Micro Reviews
PC Magazine Creative Zen Micro Review
MonsterNet Creative Zen Micro Review
Creative Zen Micro vs. iPod Mini
Trusted Reviews Creative Zen Micro Review
Dell Pocket DJ
The Dell Pocket DJ probably won't win any style awards, but it does have one strong selling point in addition to its 5GB capacity. And that point would be price. The Dell Pocket DJ is currently only $199. Usually a lower price translate into a bigger size, but the Pocket DJ at 3.5"x2.1"x0.5" is almost the same size as the iPod Mini. The Dell Dj community forum is Dell DJ Site.
More on the Dell Pocket DJ:
CNet Dell DJ Review
Rio Carbon
The Rio Carbon does win a few style points with its rounded, chrome-like appeareance. Sporting a 5GB capacity, it also retails for $249. A little shorter and a little wider and deeper than the iPod Mini, the Rio Carbon is 3.3"x2.5"x0.6" and weighs 3.2oz. The Rio community forum is Riovolution.
More on the Rio Carbon:
TopicPoint Rio Carbon Review
DAPReview Rio Carbon Review
CNet Rio Carbon Review
GearLive Rio Carbon Review
You metafilter idiots are really something else. I refer to the thread where you Mefiers are jumping all over some supposed physics "crank". Well, I am not qualified to judge his work (even though as a former nuclear plant operator and having a science degree, I know more than a little about it), but I thought you might want to know that the author of that webpage Bibhas R De (as per the copyright notice on the page) has science PhD from UCSD and according to google has a LOT of published papers in peer reviewed journal (see google query below). That looks like another Mefi gaggle of snooty web designers looking down their noses at a bad webpage, when actually they know little about the content. Please post this on the thread, as I cannot, seeing as how Matt Howie dislikes nonconformist political opinions:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Bibhas+R.+De%22&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
Posted by: Emmanuel Goldstein at December 9, 2004 07:42 AMThis is a nice round-up, but I just have two quick comments:
1) You neglected to mention some of the key features of each that set all of these players apart (aside from price and size, which are almost identical for all of the choices). Namesly, you might mention those that have stellar battery life (Carbon), on-the-fly playlisting (only Zen Micro that I know of), etc.
2) The iPod mini was *not* the first micro-HD player, as I'm sure you know. It's an injustice to some really great 1.5gb players (namely the Nitrus) so ignore the original generation of "mini players". I don't recall the exact timeline, but I think the Creative Nomad Muvo^2 4gb might have even been released before the iPod mini. I realize that the format was made popular by Apple, but please don't give credit where it isn't due.
Thanks!
Posted by: mjs at December 18, 2004 11:41 AM