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Portable Media Players: The Good, Bad And Illegal

Portable media players are the next generation of mobile entertainment.  Technology has advanced far beyond portable CD players and pocket radios.  Today's portable media players don't just play music; they can load and display video, audio and digital images.  Why buy just a portable CD player when you can purchase a portable media entertainment system?

What's a Portable Media Player (PMP)?

PMPs are electronic devices that digitally load and play content.  They use either a hard disk or flash memory to operate.  They are sometimes referred to as MP3 players, or by company product, such as an Apple iPOD. A high quality portable media player will be able to play all of the most popular sounds files like MP3s, WAVs, Ogg Vorbis, video files of MPEGs, DivX, and XviD, and image files such as JPEGs, BMPs and GIFs. 

MP3 Player Comparison

Makers of MP3 players include Dell, Hewlett Packard, Sony, Samsung, Archos and Creative Zen.  Creative Zen markets a Vision: M line, Samsung a YPT8 and

an Archos Gmini series.  iRiver devices, like other advanced models, can record music and sound and may in the future utilize Wi-Fi connectivity for digital downloads.  Finally, there is Apple and iPod, now in its 5^th generation of improvements, and arguably the best portable player on the market.

MP3 player ratings and criticisms of their manufactures are largely the same: the design is flawed, with many models being simply too large to comfortably carry around.  (Larger than a Pocket PC)  The cost is a very heavy concern, since some players range from $300.00 to $800.00.  (About as much or more expensive than a Pocket PC)  Battery life is also a drawback, as these devices consume battery power quickly and thus add further recurring costs.  All of these issues are major concerns, as buying a Pocket PC is just as expensive-or less-and can give users even more options beyond music and movies.

Downloading And DRM

Where can you get MP3s (or movies) for your MP3 player?  There are a variety of sources, some legal and some not so much.  Torrent or Bittorent is a peer-to-peer file sharing server, that though not illegal in itself, empowers many users to download songs they don't legally buy.  Others known for encouraging questionable downloads are the site PirateBay and the search engine ISOHunt.  In recent years the MPAA and RIAA (for movies and music respectively) have cracked down on illegal downloads and are seeking news ways to enforce copyright policies.  Recommended legal download sites for music include ITMS (I-Tunes Music Store) and AllofMp3.com.