In Search of: mp3 players

Here is another of the new types of posts I plan on using for the site. In Search of: will cover some of the background research process, and thinking, that goes into my prep for the bigger articles that take much more time to write. This will give some insight into my thoughts on a particular tech arena, and could help you get an idea of what direction to go if you decide to go in search of your own tech.

MP3 players

There are a few forks in the road you need to pass before you can really make a decision on mp3 players. I’m going to cross one of those forks before I even start this, since I made this decision right away, and it means everything right now. In today’s market, almost anything can play mp3s. In a moment, I think of dedicated mp3 players, Portable Media Players, handheld computers, smart phones, cell phones, car stereos, DVD players, eBook readers, photo frames, home stereos, alarm clocks, and the whole host of computers can play mp3s to a variety of quality and convenience level. There are many who say that a dedicated mp3 player is a thing of the past, and only want multipurpose devices. I just wonder how those people feel when they drop their high end smart phone onto a treadmill going 7.2 mph.

So, are you shopping for something that plays mp3, or are you shopping for an mp3 player? I find listening to mp3s on my laptop to be a fabulous, full and rich experience, but that’s not what I’m shopping for. So everything other than dedicated mp3 players can get out of the pool. Ok, I allow for displaying pictures & small videos since finding one without that ability is almost impossible. However, iPod Touch, Zune HD, & Archos min-tablets are out.

The next big choice is hard drive vs flash storage. Hard drives have larger storage, and a lower cost per GB. However, hard drives have moving parts that can break, are slightly larger and heavier, and have lower battery life. Flash players are light, small, typically have better battery life, and you can shake em like a Polaroid picture (at the gym or otherwise). However, they are usually slightly less feature rich, and may force you to pick and choose what to have on the player, and what to leave off. The big questions here are: How do I plan on using this (in the car / on commute primarily, or in the gym / all around the office, home, or neighborhood)? How much am I willing to spend? How big is my music collection? Feel free to take a gander at mine.

The last big choice is called ecosystem. To engender brand loyalty, most popular mp3 players try to build up an ecosystem around them, so that once you step in, it’s harder to justify changing brands. Do you have every bit of your music already in iTunes? Have you been buying from the iTunes store for years? If you don’t buy another iPod, you may lose some things you don’t want to sacrifice in any change. Are you a Zune Pass subscriber, using every ounce of all-you-can-eat music to sample new artists? Just know, obviously, that Zune Pass doesn’t work with Creative players. However, if the great majority of your collection is a standard format (mp3, wma, etc) and doesn’t use DRM, most likely you can make a change to whatever brand you want.

The biggest ecosystem choice is often presented as Apple vs non-Apple. iTunes is simply put the best music management software, and it’s associated store has the widest selection of pay-per-track or album music anywhere. The iPod mp3 players are well designed, easy to use, and have an “it-factor” that dominates the market. The latest numbers I can find have Apple with 71% of the mp3 player market. If any negatives are cited, the main one is usually price. A 16GB flash memory iPod Nano is $161 on Amazon, while and 16 GB flash memory Zen Mozaic is $69 on Amazon. The only other complaint I’ve heard from friends who are iPod owners is about durability. They say they’re quite reliable for a while, but then after heavy use, can break down pretty quickly. Still, you don’t get the reputation Apple has in this market by having dissatisfied customers. Apple’s iPods are high quality, and a factor in almost any mp3 player consideration.

For heavier reading, if you choose, I enjoy both the Consumer Reports mp3 player buying guide, and the one by CNet.

So what direction will I go in? Stay tuned, as I break down my options, and make my decision. Till next time.