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Looking For A Bargain? An MP3 Player Comparison

How can you decide what to buy between all the variety of MP3 players and media players available?  More importantly than what is the best product, is what's the best deal?  What items are truly worth the money?  The answers may surprise you.

MP3 player reviews

MP3 player ratings as decided by paying customers are generally good; digital players are intricately designed and most nowadays use hard disk or flash memory.  This allows some MP3 players to store several gigabytes of MP3 content-probably more than the average listener will ever use.  In addition, video content can now be loaded and displayed on newer models.  The features of most MP3 players are usually appreciated.  However, the criticism is to be found in other areas.  For example cost, battery power and size. 

Creative Zen

There are least 9 major releases of Creative Zen digital players.  Some of these models have been discontinued and others are still for sale.  The latest design is the Zen Vision: M, which costs $299.99.  Though pricey, this model can also support photo and video playback as well as recording.  Creative Zen MP3 players receive a lot of good reviews, though its price bumps the device almost into the Pocket PC category.

iRiver

iRiver produces many different types of MP3 players including the iRiver Clix which supports audio, video and image files and is priced at a competitive $199.99.  More expensive models provide more room up to 600 hours of music to record!

Dell

Dell produces its own line of MP3 players including the Dell DJ Ditty priced handsomely at $74.00, as well as the Creative Vision and Creative MicroPhoto series, priced between $190.00-$299.00 with special video features.

Hewlett Packard and iPods

Both companies teamed up for the 4^th Generation Apple iPod by HP.  HP provided extra software for the model as well as an iPod tattoos feature.  However, recently Apple has released a 5^th generation of the iPod as well as the iPod Shuffle, iPod Namo and iPod Mini on their own.  iPods, however, have received mixed reviews from users for a lack of options and because most models have irreplaceable batteries that die with the system.

The least expensive MP3 players are recommended, particularly those below the $150.00 range.  (There are some MP3 players selling for $800.00!)  Why?  Consider that if you have $400.00-$800.00 to spend on a portable media player, you could also buy a portable game console like the Sony PSP which plays movies and MP3s or a Pocket PC, which also plays digital files, and offers you all the features of a home PC on a tiny screen.  The best buy is the least expensive in this case-unless of course you're rich, in which case, buy one of each for a thorough comparison.