I’m looking into purchasing a portable mp3 player, preferably 30+ gigs(because I want to use it for an external hard drive for my laptop as well.). One other thing that would be nice is a video out option for photo viewing on a television, but I’ve only seen that in one brand(RCA Lyra)… although I won’t let that sway my purchase if I find one I like.
I’ve looked at the Creative Nomad 30 and 40gig versions, Apple ipod, and the RCA Lyra. They all seem to have similar music playback features, but varying prices and perks.
Right now I’m leaning towards the Nomad, simply because it’s the biggest one with the lowest price, and a friend of mine has one and loves it. The iPods are pretty, but I’ve read about the battery problems that earlier models had, and don’t want to encounter that. They’re also rather expensive, compared to the Nomad. The RCA is very very tempting, but a little steep for the amount of storage available, although it adds the video option, which would be neat to have.
Anyone have any of these models, or any experience with them? Or any recomendations for other brands that I could look in to? Trying not to spend over $400 up front if possible. Thanks for reading in
I recently picked up the iRiver IHP-120, which I like a lot.
Basically, it’s an external 20 GB USB hard drive, which can play back music files. It’s compatible with MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG* and ASF formats. It does not play video, but can store any kind of file.
I did a lot of researching before purchasing. I did look at the Nomad, but didn’t care for the form factor. My choice came down to the iPod or the iRiver, and I chose iRiver based on:
Battery life – the iPod reportedly has terrible battery life. The iRiver will give me a good 12 hours of playback time between charges.
Formats supported – the iPod plays MP3 and AAC files. The iRiver has a much larger list, as noted above. Since I use Windows Media Player to rip CDs to WMA format, I wanted to be able to play them.
Management software – for the iPod, you have to use iTunes. The iRiver simply requires a USB port. I drag-and-drop files onto it and it can play them.
If you’re really interested in video playback, you may want to wait a couple of months. There are a number of new products coming onto the market that offer video playback with reasonable screens. Check out Engadget for the latest.
*Ogg Vorbis, a high-quality license-free codec popular with Linux folks. Players and rippers for Windows are available.
I give you the Archos player. I have the older model - the one before this, and I’ve been very happy with it. It can record and play music, video, and photos (there’s an add-on module that acts as a digital camera, or you can transfer photos from other sources). Comes in 20, 40, or 80 gig versions. I use mine as an MP3 player mostly, but when it gets really slow at work, it’s nice to sit down and watch some recorded TV show on it.
The iPod battery issue has been vastly overinflated. Read http://www.ipodbatteryfaq.com/ for all your iPod battery facts.
In any event, there are rumors that Apple will release a new iPod on the upcoming anniversary of the gadget’s release (April 29th). The speculation is that the new iPod will have a color screen to display photographs, a 50 gig hard drive, and maybe the ability to play video when connected to a TV/display/monitor. Dunno if it’s true or not. but if you’re not in a rush to get a new player right now, you might want to wait to see if the rumors pan out.
That’s the player I want. Can’t remember if it was you that mentioned this in some other thread a while back. I saved this link to my favorites folder. I still need to find a way to convince my parents that they should buy me one. I’m sure it will be useful for my studies at college…
I also like the iPod, though. It is easily the ‘sexiest’ of the mp3 players out there. My little brother has one, and I love taking it with me and using it. If the rumor rjung mentioned is true, that sounds like my new object of desire.
I read about the 50 gig ipod on the first site linked last night… looks tempting, if it has all the features. I think I’m becoming partial to the ones with built in screens that you can watch media/pictures on though… just for the cool factor. If I had the cash now, I might buy one at circuitcity.com, because they’re 10% off, and that’s alot off of $400.
Thanks for the input everyone, definitely waiting it out now, mainly since I don’t have the money, but also because of suggestions here
