What MP3 player.

[DaBeeeenster]

Looking for a decent MP3 player. Criteria:

- Small and lightweight
- Flash based - not really bothered about having 80GB. Around 8GB is fine.
- Non-intrusive software. Showing up as an external drive is fine.

I'm not bothered about Apple - my wife has an ipod mini and I HATE the way you cant sync the thing with 2 pc's. Stoopid. What else is out there? Having said that if the nano hardware is accepted as the best out there so be it - I will use a third party tool if I have to.

[directhex]

desired codecs?

[DaBeeeenster]

Not bothered really. Everything I have is in VBR MP3. Ogg would be a plus but not the end of the world.

[flcherb]

I got the Iriver U10 its really good the only problem is that it only has 1Gb of memory here is a link

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Elec...archtype=genre

[MadduckUK]

i would go for
: http://www.geek.com/hwswrev/conel/sansa/index.htm

- its 8GB
- it can be a mass storage device
- you can put a micro SD card into it to increase storage, which is rather cool

[nichomach]

I have the E280 that Madduck links to, and love it to bits. It's also worth noting that the battery is user-replaceable, and the replacements only cost around £10-15.

[DaBeeeenster]

What's the battery life like on the 280?

[SteveC]

For those with a few 1GB SD cards hanging around, and not a lot of spare cash: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/100745

It's as cheap as chips, and works surprisingly well. The customer reviews give further details.

[MadduckUK]

What's the battery life like on the 280?

20 hours apparently. im pretty peeved i didnt get one of these rather than my Zen V Plus

oh well

[herulach]

Ive just been in this position, and plumped for an 8gb nano, however, thats only because my parents have just gone to the US on holiday, so i can get one without the pound tax. works out around 100 quid. The sansa is ok, but the one i played with didnt seem put together properly (the wheel bit & buttons felt like they were going to fall out) also an issue for me was size, the sansa would make a significant bulge in a suit jacket, where as the nano sits flush

[h4x3r920]

Samsung K5 such a nice mp3 player i advise you 100% to get it

[my new pc is a]

Any true geek will go for a player which supports the fantastic open source rockbox firmware. Feature & codec wise they absolutely destroy all other mp3 players.

The two flash players which support it are first-generation iPod Nano's, and Sandisk e200s.

[directhex]

Any true geek will go for a player which supports the fantastic open source rockbox firmware. Feature & codec wise they absolutely destroy all other mp3 players.

The two flash players which support it are first-generation iPod Nano's, and Sandisk e200s.

the e200 port is somewhat early days right now

one minor missing feature is it has no audio thread

[nichomach]

Personally, I have no problem with the Sandisk's factory firmware. All my stuff's either in MP3 or more usually WMA (no, not DRM'ed WMA, although the e200 series handles that perfectly well, ripped from CD at 192kbps).

[haloman]

The Creative Zen Vs seem really nice, but they are quite pricey IMO.

Haven't used one personally unfortunately - have an iPod. iTunes does get on my nerves though.

[silentvoice]

I'm in a similar position to DaBeeeenster. I've just broken my Rio Carbon MP3 player. Dropped it from about 3 foot and it fell on the volume 'wheel'. I tried to open the case to see if I could repair it but I can't. Only had it for about a year. The things I liked about it were:

- It's Slim / compact
- Well built (apart from the volume wheel I guess but to be fair it was my fault)
- Long battery life (20 hours or so)
- Clear screen
- Good sound quality
- Never crashed / froze on me
- No software required; could simply copy / paste music

I need it to be able to fit in my pocket during the summer. Budget up to £150. I went into Currys and held a Creative Zen V but it seemed a bit small and fiddly and the Sandisk wheel / buttons seemed a bit cheap to me. I normally invest in something decent that will last a few years but after looking at ebuyer, is it worth going for something like this:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/125327