First Weekly MP3 Player Price Guide

This is the first of what we'd like to be a weekly roundup of prices for the most popular MP3 player models. For each player we'll also be tracking how prices are changing week to week.

Lots of Space/Low Cost

If price is keeping you from buying a high-capacity MP3 player, then Amazon may have come to your rescue. They have the 20GB Archos Jukebox Recorder for only $130 after a $50 mail-in rebate.

Hitachi CF Drive Hacking Redux: iPod Mini

Less than 1 week after its arrival, someone at iPod Lounge has already cracked the case on an iPod Mini. It wasn't an easy journey though:

The plastic top and bottom plates are glued into place with a tacky adhesive that will soften considerably when heated so use the hair dryer on a low setting to heat up the top plate. Work the area until it's very warm to the touch. Now turn the mini around so you're looking at the Apple logo and squeeze the two rounded edges together at the top, causing the enclosure to bow a little bit in the middle. Insert the flat bladed screwdriver between the plastic and the metal (in line directly above the Apple logo) and gently pry the plate straight up.

For dissector Greg Koenig there were some good things and some bad things. The bad: he accidently destroyed his brand new iPod Mini. The good: he has photos and confirmed that the $250 iPod Mini contains a Hitatchi 1.5" 4GB CF (Compact Flash) harddrive.

As reported earlier, people have been hacking Nomad MuVo²s just for this harddrive, which retail for over $400.

iPod Mini Review at Gear

Just 4 days after they hit the streets, Gear has a short review of the new Apple iPod Mini, giving it an 8 out 10. Once again the opinion is that Mini is a fine thing, but its up to you to decide whether the small size and small harddrive is worth more than the 15GB iPod for only $50 more.

Also, don't miss the front and side size comparisons photos linked from the right side of the review.

Overall I'm pleased with the excellent design and ease of use of the iPod mini. Apple's done things right with this release, and even though it probably won't see the success of the original iPod in face of stronger competition, it holds its own as an excellent mini drive portable.

Second Thoughts on iPod and WMA

Now that I've had a little time to digest the news that the iPod already has hardware support for Microsoft's WMA format, I've realized what probably should have been obvious from the outset: this cuts both ways. Any non-Apple player that uses that same chipset is just as close to supporting AAC as Apple is to supporting WMA. All a vendor would need is a license and a firmware update.

Apple, however, has chosen not to license anyone but HP. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how the market plays out over time. On the surface of things at least, it appears that no one purchasing either WMA or AAC protected music will be left out in the cold.

Meanwhile, I've put an email into Player Portal, Apple's chip vendor. I'd like to get a list of which non-iPod products use their chip and could potentially support AAC.

iPod Can Supprt WMA?!?

iPod Lounge clued me into a very interesting bit of information. The chip inside (a Portal Player PP5002D if you must know) the iPod that actually does music decoding supports Microsoft's WMA format. This is important because iPods only support standard MP3 files and Apple's own AAC format, which is the way Apple implements digital rights management (DRM) for the songs you buy through iTunes. Today pretty much the only way you can play protected AAC songs is with an iPod or with iTunes on your computer.

WMA does for Microsoft what AAC does for Apple. It's a music file format that can also be used to protect music with DRM. However, WMA is supported by nearly every MP3 player on the market, except for the iPod.

The upshot of this is that the iPod (theoretically at least) could support Microsoft's WMA with a simple firmware update. Obviously Apple would love for AAC to become the dominant format for purchased music. But if it doesn't turn out that way, it has an easy way to support its biggest rival, WMA, without making also those iPods and iPod Minis obsolete.

This also puts a new spin on what Robert Scoble thinks about Apple not supporting WMA.

New Versions of Notmad Software

Gear @ IGN.com is reporting that Red Chair Software has released new versions of each of their MP3 player add-on software packages.

If you haven't heard of them before, Notmad was Red Chair's first third-party package that improved the software support for the Creative Nomad line of players. Now they've expanded their offerings to include Anapod for iPods, Riorad for Rios and Dudebox for the Dell DJ.

iPod Mini Video Review

Well with just 2 days to go before they hit the stores en masse, iPod Mini news just keeps rolling in. Mike Wendland, tech columnist for the Detroit Free Press, has a video review of his new iPod Mini.

CNet iPod Mini Review

CNet reviews the iPod Mini, giving it an 8.7 out of 10.

"The good: Best-of-breed design and interface; comes in five colors; excellent playlist features; clean, configurable sound; smooth syncing; organizes contacts; includes games; functions as an external drive.

The bad: No FM radio or recording capabilities; nonreplaceable battery"

iRiver iHP-140 Price Drops

Prices are already starting to fall on iRiver's newest player. Compuplus now has the 40GB iHP-140 for $440, from a retail price of $499. Compuplus and Amazon also have the 20GB iHP-120 for $302, after a $30 rebate.

Comparable in size to the 40GB iPod, the iRiver iHP-140 has a 16 hour battery life, is 4.1"x2.4"x.9", weighs 6.5oz and has USB 2.0 connectivity, an LCD remote, an FM radio and digital recording included.

100,000 iPod Minis Already Pre-Ordered

Apple announced today that 100,000 iPod Minis have been pre-ordered. They officially go on sale this Friday and will retail for $249.

With 5 color choices and a 4GB hard drive, the iPod Mini is only 3.6"x2.0"x0.5", weighs 3.6oz, has an estimated 8 hours battery life and both USB and Firewire connectivity.

Other players in the super-compact category are the iRiver iGP-100, the Rio Nitrus and the Creative MuVo².

Wired: Beware iPod Scams on eBay

Wired has brought to light "matrix" scams on eBay that use iPods as the hook. Via iPod Lounge:

"Ebay is swamped with new "matrix" schemes, which appear to be legitimate buyers clubs but are in fact variations on classic pyramid scams, which are outlawed around the world."

iRiver iGP-100 Mini Review

The good folks at Gear @ IGN have a new mini review of the iRiver iGP-100. It's a quirky design with a 1.5GB hard drive, but it has some nice features including drag-and-drop hard drive access without additional software.

iRiver iHP-120 Now Only $299!

Amazon has lowered their price on the iRiver 20GB player. The iHP-120 is now $299.99 after a $30 rebate. This is the lowest price I've ever seen on this player.

Archos 20GB only $150

Amazon comes through again with possibly the least expensive way to own a 20GB player. The Archos 20GB Jukebox Recorder Special Edition is $200 with a $50 rebate, for a grand total of only $150.

While the Archos may not be for everyone, as its larger (4.5"x3.2"x1.3") than other more expensive players, it does have some interesting positives: digital recording, USB mass storage device for storage without extra software and even open-source firmware.

Great Deals on iRiver 20GB and 40GB Players

Amazon has iRiver's high-capacity players at some of the lowest prices I've seen. The 20GB iHP-120 is $336 and the new 40GB iHP-140 is $430. Best of all, both are eligible for free shipping.

If you haven't heard of the iRivers, they're quite nice: LCD remote, FM radio, digital recorder, USB mass storage device and OGG support in a package only slightly larger than an iPod. Gear.IGN.com has a good comparison between them and the iPod and Zen.

Crutchfield Goes Mobile with the iPod

Crutchfield, the retailer best known for car stereo equipment, just published an interesting article on mounting, connecting and using an iPod in your car. Even though the article is specific to the iPod, it's still relevant to just about every other player out there. [Via iPod Lounge]

CES News Roundup from IGN Gear

Gear.IGN.com has three articles on new products announced at this year's CES:
iRiver
Creative
Rio

iPod's Dirty Secret vs. iPod Battery FAQ

Late last year a pair of brothers made a splash with a short film about their experience trying to replace a dead iPod battery. As they've noted themselves, Apple will replace dead batteries for $99. Now, iPod Battery FAQ has everything you ever wanted to know about iPod batteries and replacement.

Tom's Hardware and Slashdot on the Dell Jukebox Player

Tom's Hardware has a new review and Slashdot has a discussion of Dell's Jukebox line of MP3 players.

New Samsung YH-920 30 GB Player

Samsung recently announced the YH-920, a new 30 GB player that features FM radio, digital recording and MP3 encoding and OGG file format suport. The YH-920 will debut in March and retail for $399.