Player Blog Category Archives: Roundup
Online Music Store Comparison
ExtremeTech has taken a look at the many popular online music stores and compiled their thoughts into one big roundup. All the biggies are covered: eMusic, Apple's iTunes Music Store, MSN Music, Napster, Sony's Connect Service, Musicmatch, Rhapsody, Virgin and the Wal-Mart Music Downloads Store.
As you can see, there are a lot of choices and a lot of variables to consider, so their last words are probably the best:
All of the services we looked at offer free limited-time trial periods, so if you've been looking to expand your music collection, and are looking to move beyond CDs, then give one of these services a try. In some cases you'll need to give a credit card number during the trial period, and the cancellation is an opt-out process where you'll stay in the service if you don't actively de-activate your account. So if you decide a service isn't for you, don't forget to actively shut the account down to avoid unwanted credit card charges.
Full Size MP3 Player Holiday Buying Guide
Welcome to the second part of our MP3 player guide. The first edition dealt with mini sized MP3 players and this one will address the full size players. Of course "full size" is a little misleading since most of the players listed here are only the size of a deck of cards. But you have to classify them somehow. As was the case in the first guide, we'll only talk about the newest models from the most popular vendors.
What differentiates the full size players from their mini bethren is not limited to size. All have at least a 20GB capacity (and most have 40GB choices as well) and a lower cost in terms of dollars per GBs. In general, a full size player is a safer bet giftwise. Also, we feel that 20GB is plenty of space. So unless your budget allows it and someone has a really extensive music collection, stick to the less expensive choices.
Apple 4G iPod
The Apple iPod is the overwhelming market leader in MP3 players and is the safest choice for a gift. By the way, the "4G" in the description refers to the 4th-generation iPod that Apple is currently selling. The 4G is better and smaller than previous generations, so stick to the new 4G models and leave the 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations alone. Unless you want to pony up an additional $50 for the black U2 iPod, white is the color. Pretty and thin, the 4G 20GB iPod is only 4.1"x2.4"x0.57" and 5.6oz and retails for $299. Two models are available, with 20GB and 40GB capacities. Also available is the new color iPod Photo, but the 40GB model retails for a pricey $499. A popular iPod community forum is iPodLounge.
More on the Apple iPod:
iPodLounge New User Review
iPodLounge Power User Review
Gadgeteer 4G iPod Review
Zen Touch vs. 4G iPod
Another Zen Touch vs. 4G iPod Matchup
Creative Zen Touch:
The Creative Zen Touch is the latest in Creative's long line of audio players. Available in a 20GB model only (for now at least, since a new 40GB choice is only available in Japan). A little beefier than the 20GB iPod at 4.1"x2.7"x0.86" and 7oz, the Zen Touch retails for $50 less at $249. The Creative community forum is Nomadness.
More on the Creative Zen Touch:
Globe and Mail Creative Zen Touch Review
Tom's Hardware Creative Zen Touch Review
Pocket Lint Creative Zen Touch Review
Zen Touch vs. 4G iPod
Another Zen Touch vs. 4G iPod Matchup
First Big Creative Zen Touch Review
Dell DJ:
The Dell DJ is a more budget-conscious choice, retailing for $249 for a 20GB capacity. Like its mini cousin, the Dell Pocket DJ, it's no beauty queen. Also on the chunky side, the Dell DJ is 4.0"x2.5"x0.74" and 6.8oz. The Dell DJ commnity forum is Dell DJ Site.
More on the Dell DJ:
AnandTech Dell DJ Review
CNet Dell DJ Review
iRiver H120 and H320:
For iRiver we're listing two choices, the H120 and H320 which both have a 20GB capacity. Actually there are four choices here since both come in 40GB models as well (the H140 and H340, respectively). The only significant difference between the H120 and H320 is that the H320 has a color screen. In any event, prices for H320 are so close to the older H120 that if you go with an iRiver, get the color model. A bit bigger than the iPod, the H320 is 4.1"x2.4"x0.75" and 6.2oz. A popular iRiver community site is Mistic River.
More on the iRiver H120 and H320:
Mistic River Review
PC Magazine Review
Gutter Vomit Review
IT Writing Review
CNet Review
Rio Karma:
The Rio Karma is the old-timer of the group. Most of the players listed here were first released in the past year, except for the Karma. An updated Karma 2 has long been rumored, but it's not going to make it in time for the holiday season. But don't let its age fool you because the Karma is still a good choice and with street prices nearing $200, an excellent bargain for a 20GB player. A little more square than the others, the Karma measure up at 3.0"x2.7"x1.1" and 5.5 oz. The Rio community forum is Riovolution.
More on the Rio Karma:
Trusted Reviews
Extreme MHz
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
Creative Zen Micro vs. iPod Mini
On the heels of his Creative Zen Micro review, Jon at MonsterNet now has a head-to-head review of the Creative Zen Micro vs. the Apple iPod Mini. Conclusion? A tie, sort of:
In conclusion, the Apple iPod wins for the very reason that it is an iPod. We love it for the winning design, proven by the sales of iPods, and the "cool" factor. The Zen Micro, while seeming like an imitation, has several extra features over the iPod Mini. Personnally, it would be very hard to choose between the iPod Mini and the Zen Micro. But, being the geek that I am, I think I would go for the Zen Micro.
Apple iPod Mini 4GB: 9 out of 10
Creative Zen Micro 5GB: 9 out of 10
Related Links:
Creative Zen Micro Review
Four Creative Zen Micro Reviews
Lots of New Audio Player Photos and Hands On Commentary
Speaking of the Digital Focus show, Mark from ShinyPlastic got to play with and photograph a bunch of new audio players. Here are his take on the Archos Gmini XS200 and Gmini 400, the iRiver PMC-120, the Creative Zen Micro and the Virgin Player.
Related Links:
Archos Gmini XS200 Officially Official
Creative Zen Micro Officially Official
Virgin Electronics Player
IDC Forecasts Audio Player Market Explosion
Market research firm IDC has just released a new report, "Worldwide Compressed Audio Player 2004-2008 Forecast: MP3 Reaches Far and Wide" that predicts that the audio player market will grow 20% annually over the next four years, to a size of $58 billion in 2008. The entire report is available here for one low, low payment of $3500.
As is typical, some of what they say is pretty obvious:
Compressed audio players, also known as MP3 players, are coming into the mainstream as portable flash player prices fall and capacities rise, the iPod mini and other small form factor portable jukeboxes come to market, and more and more devices, including DVD players, support compressed audio as a secondary feature. New opportunities abound for chip vendors, device manufacturers, and paid music service providers to guide mainstream music consumers into this rapidly evolving digital audio market.
More bits at Wireless Newsfactor, CNet and VNUNet.
Behind the Numbers for Storage Capacity
Gear Live has an excellent article on the way audio player makers can spin the capacity of their devices. Even though several different models all have a 20GB capacity, they will usually differ on how many "songs" they hold. The bottom line:Whatever you do, don't take the manufacturer's word for it. Hard drives hold information, and whether it is a 20 GB Apple iPod, a 20 GB Dell DJ, or a 20 GB Sony Walkman - they all hold 20 GB of info. None holds more than the other.
That's sound advice. How many songs your player will hold depends entirely on you, what kind of music you prefer and, most importantly, the method of compression you choose and how much compression you are willing to tolerate.
Comparison of Voice Recording Capabilities
DAP Review has done a nice comparison of the voice recording capabilities of 4 popular devices (the iRiver H-series, the XClef HD800, the Neuros 2 and the Dell DJ). The versatile iRiver was the winner:
Sound Quality of the recording is excellent, best of the bunch by a good margin. Recordings are fairly life-like, clear, and loud. The built-in mic is sensitive and can easily pick up voice from across a room.
The one thing that hurts the results is the hard drive spin-up noise, which is picked up by the mic. It spins up every so often to save audio to disk. The noise is more audible on the iRiver than any other player.
PC World on the 4G iPod and Zen Touch
PC World has a brief review of both the 4G iPod and the Creative Zen Touch. The new iPod gets high marks even though the reviewer includes a thorough list of what is still missing in the latest rev. The Zen Touch, however, doesn't fare as well:
You might remember that a few months ago I went a little nuts (in a good way) over the playlist interface for Creative's Nomad Zen. I mean, I loved this thing. It absolutely changed the way I listen to music. The idea of an IPod-sized player with that interface had me drooling.
But no, Creative wanted to simplify things, to aim for the ease-of-use found in its IPod rivals. So with its latest player, there's no more moving songs around within a playlist. No more treating albums and artists as objects so you can collapse them for easy navigation or move a full album of tracks with a few clicks. Gone. Poof. No more. And no "advanced menus" option that brings these features back.
No-Name Device Roundup
The web-scouring DAP Review gang have discovered a bunch of MP3 players from a number of vendors and OEMs with names that you've probably never heard before. This is our attempt at a brief roundup of some of those devices.
First up is the Kinzo 9088 with a 2.2GB capacity. It measures 3.5"x2.2"x.63" and comes in three colors. Like pretty much every new device out there, it has an FM radio and digital recording to MP3. Unlike too many others, it has four games you can play, including Tetris.
Next up is the TGE MP3-H04, a compact 1.5GB device. Even though it has less space than the Kinzo, it's noticably larger at 3.94"x2.4"x0.87". However, it does have USB Host (also known as USB On the Go) capabilities, a really big plus. FM radio: check. Digital recording: check.
Third we have a trio from GoDot, the 8370, 8470 and 8570. GoDot must spend a fortune on product naming.
The 8370 is a blatant copy of the iPod Mini design and comes with a 1" harddrive. GoDot doesn't specify the actual capacity, though. FM radio: nope. Digital recording: yup. It does play OGG format music though.
Apparently GoDot's legal department is more creative than their naming department. The 8470 is an 8370 in a black case that looks nothing like an iPod Mini.
Last and certainly not least from GoDot is the 8570, which contains a 1.8" drive of unspecified capacity. This one is definitely the most interesting of the GoDot trio and has several features rarely found in one device. Specifically it has a 2.8" color LCD, supports USB Host, plays OGG music, displays JPEGs AND has a slot for either CompactFlash or MMC/SD flash memory cards. This one, folks, could be a winner.
Next are duo from Besteam, the Nazca 1000 and Nazca 1800. The 1000 is a compact 1.5GB player while the 1800 has a 20GB capacity. Both have the standard features: USB 2.0, FM radio and digital recording. However the Nazca 1800 does also have USB Host capability.
Bringing up the tail-end of our roundup is the iBead 1000, another 1.5GB device. Notably the iBead 1000 has a 64k color LCD color in addition to the usual FM radio and digital recording.
VNU Net: MP3 players on test
VNU Net has just published a brief roundup of six common MP3 players. Unfortunately it's mostly a day late and a dollar short. Except for the Cowon iAUDIO M3, most of these devices have been around for a while and like the Nomad Zen Xtra, are already being replaced by newer models. In any case, it's noted here for the sake of completeness.
Battery Brief
Reuters has a new article on batteries in MP3 players. If you're already familiar with battery technologies for portable gadgetry, it may not tell you anything new. However, it does touch on some of the ways battery technology choices affect your device.
"All other things being equal, probably the best kind of battery you are going to find is lithium polymer," he said. "That's what the original iPod had."
Based on an average playing time of four hours a day, IRiver says, its battery will last four to five years before it no longer recharges. IPod's battery lasts a couple of years.
Big Player Roundup in PC Magazine
PC Magazine has just completed a roundup of 14 flash- and harddrive-based players. We're a bit suprised by the lineup of players they chose to test. It seems as if they were looking for the most compact models, as the iPod Mini and Creative MuVo2 were the only harddrive-based models tested. [Via Slashdot]
On the format front, MP3 remains the most popular music file type by a long shot, although the growing popularity of online music stores (and the growing fear of trolling file-sharing networks) has increased the number of formats you'll encounter. iTunes songs are saved as AAC files; Napster's and Musicmatch's are WMA format. Most players we reviewed can decode both MP3 and WMA, but only the Apple iPod Mini could handle AAC. Online stores use digital rights management to monitor where you play those files; see the sidebar "Good-Bye, MP3; Hello, DRM!" for more information on how such files are encrypted and where they'll play.
The right digital music player has to fit your lifestyle, whether it's your workout buddy, a travel companion, or your portable music library. The differences were obvious in our testing: We can help you choose between one of the smaller, hard drive players or the lightweight, flash memory players. Our tests showed that all of the players were competent sonically; the earphones made bigger differences in sound quality. We've reviewed 13 portable digital music players, with an ear toward audio fidelity and an eye toward style.
New Player Roundup
Gear @ IGN.com has a new roundup of full-sized harddrive MP3 players. It's a nice, concise guide to 5 popular models with pros and cons of each.
This seems to be a good time for a hard drive (HDD) portable roundup. Everything that is coming out has come out. The next-generation of HDD players will start seeping out later this year, but for now you have plenty of options from plenty of makers. I also get several letters per day asking for HDD recommendations.
For what it's worth, we agree 100% with Gear's top 5 choices. For the typical user, these are the ones you should get to know before buying. One of these will more than likely fit the bill and the budget.