Portable MP3 players.

[mapguy]

Well, now that it is getting cold and mountain biking is no longer an option I have joined a health club. I am going to be buying an MP3 player to take with me and I was wondering what to get. Anyone have any ideas? Should I get a 128 or a 256? What about the 'stock' headsets that come with them? Should I upgrade?

[devilmaster]

I haven't gotten around to buying it, but the model I want (and its expensive as hell) but its the Archos Jukebox 20....

Basically, its a battery powered 20 gig hard drive. Naturally, it'll hold thousands of songs. USB interface for downloading, rechargable batteries for up to 8 hours of battery playback.

Best thing about it is, for computer geeks like us, it can double as a battery powered regular hard drive, just in case you need more space on a laptop or something like that. Also would be good for keeping certain files if you need to fix a friends computer.

Its small, compact, and can connect to your car stereo or regular stereo.

I've looked around and honestly, its the best one i've seen.

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=292122&pfp=SEARCH

http://www.archos.com/products/prw_500204.html?sid=j22oy2jkbj2of3jbjj4fk4

Steve

[mapguy]

Not too bad for less than 2 bills. But I think that it is over kill plus it is a little too big for me. Plus I got a 120 gig HD on my new machine so I don't think I'll be needing more space anytime soon.

[devilmaster]

Originally posted by mapguy
Overkill

I'm all for overkill. One of my beliefs - "if it doesn't fit, get a BFH." :D

I went and put my 300+ cd's on mp3, and when I go on long road trips, I use my laptop in my truck as my stereo, hooked up through the car stereo. I do need to get a new tape adapter, as some forum member decided to rip the wire out of the one I had. (not going to mention names, right jr?)

I just like the thought of the jukebox 20. I could velcro it to the dash for easy handling on the road, put it on shuffle and drive for 12 hours straight.

Steve

[racer2c]

Last year I bought one from Creative called the Nomad 2. The reason I went with that one is that it has a radio which many don't and supports WMA's which come in at a lot less space than an MP3. It also has a personal recorder (which I don't use). It uses Smart Media cards which are pretty cheap these days. I bought a 128mg one for $40 a couple of months ago.

[chop456]

iPod!

[rocket]

This is the one I picked up last year, actually went thru a redesign, but it's nice and small, and has a neckstrap that I use with it. I did have problems with the wma files, some setting had to be different when creating them, decided not to mess with it, since I have a separate mp3 creator program. The 23 hr music claim from 1 aa is pretty accurate, and the sennheiser ear buds that come with it are great...I doubt you could upgrade to anything better, unless you went with those big studio things. It's almost like they are made to work perfectly with this unit.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051806328372&skuId=5446975&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01052

[Turn7]

I have a couple of Compaq branded ones. (imagine that).

They are tucked away in a drawer somewhere because I think it is a pain in the ass to update the songs and am really tired of listening to what is downloaded to them currently.

[Warlock!]

A couple years ago I bought my wife the Creative Jukebox for Christmas. It's got a 6 gig hard drive which I thought would be plenty. Well, she never learned how to use it (because she never really tried... the manual scared her), so I just started using it in my truck. It's better than nuthin', but I found out that 6 GB is about half of what I need (and I don't have a very wide spectrum of musical tastes), the battery life SUCKS HARD (maybe 2-3 hours on 4 AA rechargables), and menu navigation is slow as molasses.

The one Steve pointed out looks like a dream machine compared to the one I have. Lemme tell ya... its nice to load up a good portion of your CDs on one little machine and take 'em anywhere you please. If you get one with too little storage you're gonna wish you had more, cause like turn7 said, you don't wanna screw around loading and unloading songs when you get bored with the selection you have stored in it. It's nice to load up ALL your songs and pick 'n' choose on the fly.

Warlock!

[tllips]

What Chop said!

[nz_climber]

I would go for a 20Gig IPOD (but no support for WMA) but now there is an alternative, the new creative zen nx

check out their site, looks very nice, and cheaper than ipod

zen nx (http://www.nomadworld.com/products/jukebox_zen_nx/)

[cartman]

Originally posted by chop456
iPod!

Agreed. The only way to go.

[mapguy]

Originally posted by cartman
Agreed. The only way to go.

iPod is way overkill for what I need. Just bought myself a RCA Lyra for $99. Can hold 128mb of songs. That averages about 18 songs for me which is more than enough. Plus it is the size of a box of matches and has an expansion slot if I want to add more space.

Plus if I spent a lot of money on an MP3 player I might have some problems when I ask for this for Christmas from the wife:

http://www.photorama.com/tranfoto/CanonRebelDigital.jpg

[racer2c]

How many megapixels is that camera?

;)

[mapguy]

Originally posted by racer2c
How many megapixels is that camera?

;)

6.3 and $899 to boot.

[SteveH]

I really would like to get that camera since it uses EOS lenses. I've got an Elan IIe w/ two Canon lenses and a Canon flash. All would work on the digital body. Best part about using EOS lenses, the chip in the camera is smaller than a 35mm frame. As a result it effectively makes your lenses 1.6 longer. My 300mm lens then would then be 480mm on this body.

OK, now back to the MP3 program already in progress.......

[racer2c]

Originally posted by mapguy
6.3 and $899 to boot.

Sweet. I paid $650 ($750msrp) for my Olympus D4040 4mp and it doesn't support attachments. :(

[mapguy]

Guys, didn't want to hijack my own thread. I started a new one on cameras here. (http://209.123.252.231/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2871)