Current mp3 players

In My Humble Opinion
1

My iPod Nano is D-E-D, dead. I’m wondering if, beyond the hype, iPods are still the best thing out there. It’s so hard to filter out reviews for products that are a number of years old pr put out by horribly biased websites.

What I need:

  1. At least 16 GB storage
  2. Small enough to wear working out
  3. Ability to listen to Podcasts
  4. Good user interface

What would be nice:

  1. Downloadable content/games (free or pay are fine)
  2. Water resistant
  3. Abililty to play iTunes-purchased music so I don’t have to convert
  4. Compatibility with iTunes so I don’t need to find another music organization program.

What I don’t care one whit about:

  1. Video
  2. Pictures
  3. Radio
  4. Camera

Any thoughts or trustworthy sources of reviews for current mp3 players? Current 16 GB iPod Nanos are about $175. That is absolutely my highest price point.

2

As far as water resistance is concerned, I take my 64 GB IPod Touch out kayaking all the time. Well worth the cost of a $30 OtterBox.

3

For sports, I would go with an iPod Shuffle. You can soak it in sweat and stomp on it and it probably will run just fine.

It’s pretty much bulletproof, and they have improved the interface enough that it is quite usable without a display. For example, they support playlists, shuffled play, series play, and podcasts.

There is a button that you press that causes the device to speak the song title or the current playlist title.

As a runner, I have been using iPod Shuffles for many years, soaking them in sweat. Except for that silly time when they decided nobody needed buttons (a year later they reverted back to a style with buttons), these devices have been absolutely perfect for my needs.

ETA: The 2GB version is selling for 50 bucks. What is there to lose?

4

Just to clarify, this will be my only mp3 player, and it needs to be 16 GB. I would not be capable of maintaining two different players without always having the wrong one around, so the main player will also be the sports player.

5

Here’s the main problem I see you may have: once you’re accustomed to the way an iPod and iTunes work, nothing else is going to “feel” right, so even if there is a “better” device out there it’s still probably not going to function the way you want it to.

I would suggest you just get another iPod nano and a waterproof case. You can get a (used) previous-generation model for just over $100.

6

I had an iPod then I lost it. After that I bought a sansa clip which I love.

If you’re just looking to play mp3s, this produces the same result as an iPod. After all the real difference in quality for an mp3 sound is not the player but the head phone.

The only drawback to a sansa clip in bright light it can be hard to read, something an iPod doesn’t have.

You can buy a 2gb sansa clip and then buy an micro sd card up to 32gb to allow more storage. I got a 2gb sansa clip for $30.00 and bought a 32gb micro sd card on sale for $25.00 so for $55.00 I got a 34gb mp3 player that is great and if I lose it, I’m not out hundreds, like I was with my iPod.

And again, the sound is the same, and the display in bright light is the only drawback to the sansa clip