Modern technologies are in constant progress, everywhere there is a tendency to compactness, durability and practicality. Selecting an mp3-player, it is easy to get confused in various models. I think that nobody selects an mp3-player on the principle – at least it can play. But even the qualitative sound is not all that is necessary for a good player. Roughly speaking, you should choose such player that will be able to play enough music tracks. So there should be a large memory and a powerful battery.
Flash, HDD, CD mp3-player
Depending on the type of data carrier, mp3-players can be divided on 3 main types - Flash, HDD and CD mp3-player. The choice of player should begin from the choice of this parameter.
CD mp3-players play music from usual CD-discs. These players are much bigger then other types. Information volume is restricted to the disk capacity – 800MB. The main advantage is the low price of the device and discs. Disks with favorite music can be easily found in any music shop. If you can record music yourself, it is better to buy CD mp3-player and to keep the discs in the player bag. Selecting CD mp3-player, pay attention on the antishock function. If the player is moved the music may jam. If you don’t want this to happen, choose a player with large antishock memory. The most durable and popular players of this type are iRiver SlimX.
If the dimensions are important for you, then I’ll advice you to choose flash mp3-player. They are not only compact, but also light, and they can be carried on the neck. The choice of flash mp3-player strongly depends on the in-built memory. Nowadays these numbers are from 128MB up to 1GB. Of course, the larger the memory, the better, but it also will be more expensive. If you want to extend the memory in the future, then you should buy an mp3-player with memory sticks. They are a little bit bigger, but their main advantage is the possibility to work with up to 4GB memory sticks. Pay attention that every flash mp3-player has a restriction as for the volume of memory sticks.
The compromise between CD and Flash mp3-player is the choice of HDD mp3-player. HDD mp3-player is usually chosen because of large memory on the built-in HDD. Such player can be used for music storage (from 4 to 80GB) as well as for the storage of information. HDD is protected from all kinds of mechanical damages, but it is better to handle it with care and not to drop. Another disadvantage of HDD mp3-player is high energy consumption. That’s why selecting among mp3-player, that works on the HDD, pay attention on the battery capacity. Their price is higher then the price of other types.
Mp3-player supply
Mp3-player supply can use batteries or accumulators. HDD mp3-players have accumulators in the set. Others use usual AA or AAA batteries, but you can always use accumulator batteries instead of them. The use of usual batteries can help, if the old ones are dead, and you can easily buy the new ones. Accumulator batteries work longer and can be recharged. It is also important, whether the mp3-player accumulator is built-in or removable. Built-in accumulators are used for durable work, but if they are out of order, you of course, won’t be able to change them.
Reproduction format
Selecting an mp3-player, pay attention on the reproduction formats. Besides main mp3, some models can play WMA and OGG.
WMA music is twice smaller then mp3 with equal quality. But it isn’t very popular, because it appeared after mp3. If you want to have a lot of music on your player, you should choose a player that can play WMA. But you’ll have to convert music from one format to another.
As for the OGG, its advantage is the possibility to record more qualitative music, but of course, the size will be larger.
Mp3-player display
A display is of course necessary in the mp3-player. Selecting an mp3-player, pay attention not only to the size of the display, but to the quantity of shown information. The display should show not only the information about battery charge, but also the data about the track. It is advisable, that the display indicates the equalizer settings. HDD players sometimes have color display to watch photos and even video.
Additional facilities
Selecting an mp3-player, pay attention to additional facilities. For example, a radio will be a pleasant addition, when you are bored with recorded music. Besides, some players can record music from radio. Dictaphone on these players is not very qualitative. So don’t choose a player only because of the presence or absence of dictaphone. Earphones that go in set, don’t usually give qualitative sound. So it is better to buy better earphones. Flash mp3-player is connected to the PC through the USB-port. It is better to choose an mp3-player with 2.0 USB, because it is faster then 1.1 USB.
iRiver makes the most popular players, this company produce qualitative CD and flash mp3-players. Among HDD players, the most popular producer is Apple. Besides, you can choose a player among the models of Samsung, Panasonic, Nexx, Sanyo, which are also very qualitative.
If you know what you want, you can make a right choice, that won’t disappoint you!