We just bought a 2008 Kia Sportage (loving it) and it has the capability to play MP3’s on the stereo.
Now, it has a USB port and an AUX port.
I’m wondering, it would be cheaper to buy a huge USB Flash Drive than an MP3 player, but would that work?
It makes no sense for us to spend a bunch of money on an 8 gig MP3 player for $120 when I can get a 16 gig flash drive for the same amount of money.
Hopefully someone knows the answer!
Thanks!
I would note that the usb drive wont’ play music outside of the car, but an MP3 player will.
So if you might ever want to listen to music when not in the car, the MP3 player might make more sense.
That’s the thing, we don’t really have the need to play music anywhere else. I have a small 1 gig MP3 player, but haven’t used it in over 2 years when I stopped taking the bus.
So, a USB drive would work?
Do you have a spare 256MB one or something laying around to where you could check? Small ones are practically free in Best Buy/office stores these days.
I can’t say for sure, but I think that’s the point of having a USB port on the stereo. I’ve seen other kinds of stereos that play off flash drives - I’ve got one of my own, and it works pretty well.
A few good things to watch out for:
When getting the USB drive, make sure that it’s shaped so that it can easily be plugged into the stereo port and a USB port on your computer. Fairly obvious, but I’ve accumulated a lot of different-shaped USB drives, and not all of them fit all ports very well. (Kingston Datatravellers are as close to universal as I’ve found - nice slim shape hardly bigger in cross-section than a USB port.)
If you buy a big USB drive, I think it’s possible that the stereo might not be able to address all that storage. Beyond trial and error, I’m not sure how you can be sure of this.
Hi, Opal!
You might try opening the manual that came with the car and see what KIA says about it.* Just a wild guess, but I bet the guys that wrote the manual know more about the stereo in your new car than any of us do.
My gut reaction is of course it will, as there is no other reason to put a USB port on the stereo, but read the manual, it will not only answer this question, but tell you how to go about accessing the music.
*car owner’s manual, referred to in the industry as the most expensive book you have ever purchased and then never read.
Thanks all.
The reason I’m skeptical is because my old MP3 player plugged in via USB, so I wasn’t sure if a plain old flash drive would work.
Rick, I have read the manual, from front to back, as well as the additional one just for the stereo, and while is says you can use either the USB or AUX to connect your MP3 player, it doesn’t say anything about a flash drive, hence why I asked here.
chaoticbear, I don’t have a flash drive that I can try before purchasing one. There is no use in me buying a small one and then a large one if it does work. I honestly have no use for one other than MP3’s.
chrisk, thanks for your input.
I don’t see any reason why a system would be set up to take an MP3 player via a USB connection, but not a flash drive. MP3 players do not deliver rendered sound out the USB link - that goes to the headphone jack only. The USB hookup is to move MP3 data files back and forth.
USB drives will supply MP3 data files to the usb port in the same way as many simple and common MP3 players - over the MSC USB protocol, (mass storage class.) Unless the manual is specific about what USB protocol of MP3 players you plug in, (MTP, itunes, or whatever,) then the flash drives will work just as well.
Thanks a bunch chrisk, I appreciate it!
I just called the dealership and flash drives will work. Don’t know why I didn’t think of asking them before!
For what it’s worth, I bought an aftermarket stereo for my car because it had a USB port specifically so I can play music. A flash drive tends to be smaller than an MP3 player and is very convenient to carry around and it plugs directly into any computer. No looking for plug wires. My phone is an MP3 player so I have no need for a separate unit.
Also, as an FYI, 16 GB would be the equivalent of 8 continuous days of music. I have an 8 GB stick and I’m not close to filling it. I only put the songs on that I really want to listen to. I also group them by folders, which my stereo recognizes. I can flip through songs or flip through folders.
USB 2.0 is becoming a standard of sorts these days for all sorts of chargers. Maybe it isn’t for music at all. My phone, MP3 player and GPS watch all can be charged via a USB port from my PC.
Anyway, on preview I see the point is moot, as the dealer said the stereo will play MP3s on a flash drive.
Oh I know how big 16 gig is, but seeing how I’ve got about 1/2 that on my computer, ripped from CD’s I own (as to not keep them all in the car) I thought 16 gig made sense.
We just installed one of these in my SOs car, and he loves it. He actually likes using the smaller flash drives, so he can sort by music style. The blue one is heavy metal, the green is blues… Plus, if something happens to one of them, you don’t lose everything.
As for a 16GB flash drive, look around before you buy. From what I’ve seen, the break point on flash right now is between 8GB and 16GB. Upto and including 8GB, it’s cheaper, per unit, to go bigger. Between 8GB and 16GB, it’s slightly cheaper to get 2 8GP drives. After that, it is more expensive, per gig, to get the 32GB drives.
I don’t care who you are, that’s funny right there.
I didn’t get that until you pointed it out.
As far as losing your music, it should all be on your computer hard drive. You’re never more than a click away from transferring it all. I only rip what I want to listen to so there’s no music chaff to deal with. And as I stated earlier, my car recognizes folders so I can group music together.
Heh. I read it and thought…why wouldn’t you put the blues on a blue one? 
One more thing to worry about: will it play MP4s? I got a little stereo that has a port for a flash drive. It plays MP3s from the flash drive, but all I’ve got are MP4s. Completely useless to me.
I’m not sure why you use MP4 for music but you could just convert them all to MP3.
I’m not sure why either. That’s what iTunes does with them when I load the CDs and download from the store. <shrug>
As for converting them, I just didn’t care enough to bother figuring out how. You make it sound easy. Is it?
Should be. You can probably batch convert the whole library with the software you already have on the computer.