Need Recommendations For Cheap Mp3 Players.

[alexpoker]

Want to get an mp3 player, but really want to see whats out there.

I know we got the Ipod etc.

What other mp3 players are there out there. Specifically want to see how cheap they get before making my decision wether just to get an ipod touch/nano or something else thats much cheaper.

Basically just want to see how much value I can get.

Thanks.

[indothai]

I bought the 4th Gen iPod back in 2004 and use it exclusively in the car, connected to the stereo system.

I have an iPhone that also plays my music when I need to relax.

I would stick with the Apple products, its a bit more expensive than the "cheaper" brands out there but you get what you pay for.

You mentioned Nano or iPod Touch, pretty big difference between the two so you need to figure out what you really want need.

If you want to just play music, the Nano is good enough...BUT, I would get the iPod 5th Gen with the camera, you can do so much more. The newest (6th Gen) does not have a camera, but is a lot smaller.

The iPod Touch, it's like the iPhone but can't call... pretty powerful MP3 player if you ask me. you can do a whole lot more than just play music on it. A whole lot more!

Honestly speaking, I used to buy those cheap MP3 players every year, spending 50 bucks or so each... stopped immediately after buying my iPod. When I got my iPhone 2 years ago, my iPod just became the "player" in my car, still works and still loving it.

When you buy an Apple product, you don't just buy an MP3 player. You get technology you need, wrapped in art with simplicity in mind.

I don't work for Apple and used my hard earn money to buy their products. Go to their iStudio stores here locally and play around with their stuff.. judge for yourself.

Enjoy your next purchase!

[alexpoker]

Ill be using the mp3 player mostly for riding my motorbike.

Ability to take pics would be nice of course, while out riding.

I do need a new phone since the one I have now doesnt have a camera which sucks.

The only thing im worried about getting the new iphone is that the battery will get drained fast if I play music on it while out riding.

[sbk]

I have the tiny little sandisk clip, doens't do much other than play music, but its great, tiny and clips onto your jacket. You can get it for about $40 for an 8gb in the US. No idea about Thailand

[indothai]

Take a look at the specs at Apple website.

The new Nano can play music 24 hours from a full charge.

The new Touch can play music 40 hours from a full charge.

The new iPhone can play music 40 hours from a full charge.

But keep in mind that the hours will vary greatly with what you do with the device:

On the iPhone, if you make calls, then play music, watch videos, and surf the internet then your music play time will NOT be 40 hours. The number above assume that you only play music, the more you do the more it will drain the battery.

You mentioned that you're afraid that the battery will drain quickly when you go out riding, depends how many hours you ride.

The price difference between the Nano and iPhone is massive, but it seems that you're already complaining about your current phone and need justification to get a new phone with built-in music capabilities

One thing for sure, if you get the iPhone you WILL complain about the battery. Only because you would be doing so much more on a phone, never before done on a phone.

I've owned my 3GS for almost 2 years now, have a desk job, so I keep my iPhone charged when ever I can. That's only because I watch podcasts (news clips), read news (CNN, Bloomberg, etc), Facebook, Twitter, work scheduler, and on some but not often listen occasions to music. I used to buy a new phone every year, looking for the one that can do what I just mentioned... didn't find one until I took the plunge with the 3GS. Reason why I took the plunge was because the local carrier offered a 2 year 0% plan, which made it affordable for me. Oh.. the phone is also my alarm clock, calculator, number conversions,....

I'm on my last payment for the iPhone and didn't think the 3GS would last this long. With the new iPhone 4s coming out I'm trying to find reasons to upgrade, but can't cause my 3GS still works. I could drop it down the toilet or "accidentally" drop it until it breaks... but that would be a waste, wouldn't it? So, when will I get the new iPhone?... when my current one dies.

I've rambled on more than you'd like to hear.

I've own a Samsung Yepp before my iPod, I didn't like it, battery drained way too fast.

Anyways, remember, I don't work for Apple.

[sbk]

and if you drop it while you are riding you are only out a few hundred dollars

[alexpoker]

ahh man. I just feel bad spending so much on a phone tho

Even tho I know how awesome an iphone can be. I owned the first one and have had couple of android phones as well. After the last one broke I swore not to spend too much on a phone again.

I dont miss any of the apps on the phone, but do miss having a nice camera + now I need a mp3 player as well.

[alexpoker]

and if you drop it while you are riding you are only out a few hundred dollars

Well only way Ill drop it is if I crash, although with the way things are going that might be sooner than I think!

[indothai]

If you are prone to dropping phones, etc, then don't get the iPhone. I wouldn't get the Touch either.... too bad Apple stopped selling the Nano's with the built in phone... maybe you can find 2nd hand Nano with camera?

Hope others here can mentions some brands/models.

[BabySun]

I 2nd above opinion.Sandisk mp3 players are the best.Buy Sansa Clip+ or SansaZip,sound quality is superb,price is about 50 US$.The thing is very small,but have very big capacity thanks to memory card.(and internal memory - 8G)

You have to buy it in USA or Europe through Amazon.There are other brands available in Asia:the best are "Cowon" from Korea,"Iriver" from Korea,"Creative" from Singapore - this one you will find easy in Thailand.They have many models,

but you need simple one and small - study their websites and make your choice."Philips","Samsung" and "Sony" will give you plenty of more choices."Sony" sells their players with name:"walkman" and all of them are highly recommended.

If you can not get Sansa - try to buy one of "Sony" - the models,which look like lipstick.(shape).Walkmans which look like thin,flat tablets reminding MikiMouse - come with noise supression earphones.

If you go for i-pods - you will be forced to use special software in your comp called i-tunes.Without i-tunes i-pod/iphone can not work.For many reason - nobody likes i-tunes:pain in ass.And there is that price to swallow and size,and ipods/iphones have no memory cards.

But you have a lot of HYPE!In my opinion - i-phone makes more sense,not many people buy i-pods today,but plenty buy i-phones.i-phone is ipod touch plus mobile.Of course iphone is not the end of the world - there is all world of smartphones!

I have just discovered mobile with music,which you can try yourself:"Nokia C3" just....3000B(100US$!),available everywhere - simple,cheap,works very well,play music/video,internet,internet shop,even wi-fi!looks very nice,small..3000Baht! compare it with....20 000B?

In shops in Thailand you will see a lot of players from China,there is even Thai brand "Soken" - which will give you thai language if it matters.

Remember also:

In your case - you want to operate your player "blind" - keeping it in pocket,so all these "touch" models are useless in pocket.You need buttons to operate.

happy shopping!

[JSixpack]

I 2nd above opinion.Sandisk mp3 players are the best.Buy Sansa Clip+ or SansaZip,sound quality is superb,price is about 50 US$.The thing is very small,but have very big capacity thanks to memory card.(and internal memory - 8G)

You have to buy it in USA or Europe through Amazon.There are other brands available in Asia:the best are "Cowon" from Korea,"Iriver" from Korea,"Creative" from Singapore - this one you will find easy in Thailand.They have many models,

but you need simple one and small - study their websites and make your choice."Philips","Samsung" and "Sony" will give you plenty of more choices."Sony" sells their players with name:"walkman" and all of them are highly recommended.

If you can not get Sansa - try to buy one of "Sony" - the models,which look like lipstick.(shape).Walkmans which look like thin,flat tablets reminding MikiMouse - come with noise supression earphones.

If you go for i-pods - you will be forced to use special software in your comp called i-tunes.Without i-tunes i-pod/iphone can not work.For many reason - nobody likes i-tunes:pain in ass.And there is that price to swallow and size,and ipods/iphones have no memory cards.

But you have a lot of HYPE!In my opinion - i-phone makes more sense,not many people buy i-pods today,but plenty buy i-phones.i-phone is ipod touch plus mobile.Of course iphone is not the end of the world - there is all world of smartphones!

I have just discovered mobile with music,which you can try yourself:"Nokia C3" just....3000B(100US$!),available everywhere - simple,cheap,works very well,play music/video,internet,internet shop,even wi-fi!looks very nice,small..3000Baht! compare it with....20 000B?

In shops in Thailand you will see a lot of players from China,there is even Thai brand "Soken" - which will give you thai language if it matters.

Remember also:

In your case - you want to operate your player "blind" - keeping it in pocket,so all these "touch" models are useless in pocket.You need buttons to operate.

happy shopping!

+1, good reply. The Sansa isn't sold in Thailand AFAIK. I looked everywhere for it before I settled on my Sony, which I like a lot. To synch w/ the Sony you can just use a file manager or a standard music player like Winamp. I hate that ITunes crap; nor am I alone in that.

If you look at online reviews, Sony does quite well. Samsung and Philips, not so. Avoid off brands and Thai brands not least because the firmware is so poor. Sony's is good. But Sony doesn't play FLAC. Cowon does and overall supposedly has the greatest sound, but is comparatively expensive. For riding your bike, you're not gonna notice that much difference in sound quality.

I've had a Creative before and found it poorly constructed. No more of those for me.

Sony's earbuds are adequate but obviously you can buy much better. That's another topic.

[sbk]

OP did say "cheap" and last I heard "cheap" was never synonymous with an Apple product.

I didn't realize you couldnt' get sandisk in Thailand, I bought mine on visits to the US,loved it so much bought a few as gifts too, its a great little player. I had a cowin once but it died rather quickly.

[indothai]

OP did say "cheap" and last I heard "cheap" was never synonymous with an Apple product.

I didn't realize you couldnt' get sandisk in Thailand, I bought mine on visits to the US,loved it so much bought a few as gifts too, its a great little player. I had a cowin once but it died rather quickly.

Good point, so... OP, whats your price range, it would help us give you advice.

When you mean "cheap" did you mean price or quality?... at least give us a price range to work with.

Specifics, need the specifics.

[BabySun]

@Jaysixpack

thankyou

I have found one good thing about Samsung players in Thailand context:Thai language!

Samsung players are the only ones,which display Thai language correctly - menus and contents(song lists,song titles and artists names)

all others - either not at all(gibberish) or only part Thai-part gibberish.

I had 2 sources of Thai music - ripping CDs or copying CD/DVD "street"compilations,this second source was difficult to display by Cowon or Creative,but not by Samsung.

All my girls and friends in LOS are completely indefferent to western music,they love Thai music only - any collection bigger then 100 songs is very difficult to handle - if all you can see is - gibberish and item number.

Now they have players from me,sort of mp4players(with display) - Samsung R0 or Samsung CP3 and they can enjoy their Thai music collection.For audiophiles Samsung makes P3.

I like Thai music myself,but it is quite narrow choice - Chintara,Kampi,Carabao,Bird and one obscure band from Pangan,

If you are into WorlMusic - Sam players will save you a lot of frustraton - hebrew,greek,russian,arabic,japanese,chinese - no problem,they do not digest hindi.

People use so many scripts and alphabets!just have a look on Indian 100Rs note!

[alexpoker]

Well if I only buy an mp3 player then I dunno. Something around 2-3k baht I think. Really dont wanna pay more than that just for listening to music.

[Gary A]

I have two little MP3 players, they are each several years old. One is a Creative Zen Stone and the other is a Phillips Go Gear Mix. The Zen Stone is a great little unit but has no display. The Phillips has a small display to tell you which song or book chapter you are on. Both use the same audio cable size and ear phones connector (3.5 mm) and both work great through my car stereo. No possible way would I use a proprietary Apple. I can put any MP3 format on either of them with my computer and the Zen even can use Audible book format. I did buy a good set of Sony ear plug speakers. The little Sony ear plug speakers cost more than either player.

[alexpoker]

I have two little MP3 players, they are each several years old. One is a Creative Zen Stone and the other is a Phillips Go Gear Mix. The Zen Stone is a great little unit but has no display. The Phillips has a small display to tell you which song or book chapter you are on. Both use the same audio cable size and ear phones connector (3.5 mm) and both work great through my car stereo. No possible way would I use a proprietary Apple. I can put any MP3 format on either of them with my computer and the Zen even can use Audible book format. I did buy a good set of Sony ear plug speakers. The little Sony ear plug speakers cost more than either player.

Where did you buy them and for what price?

[Gary A]

I have two little MP3 players, they are each several years old. One is a Creative Zen Stone and the other is a Phillips Go Gear Mix. The Zen Stone is a great little unit but has no display. The Phillips has a small display to tell you which song or book chapter you are on. Both use the same audio cable size and ear phones connector (3.5 mm) and both work great through my car stereo. No possible way would I use a proprietary Apple. I can put any MP3 format on either of them with my computer and the Zen even can use Audible book format. I did buy a good set of Sony ear plug speakers. The little Sony ear plug speakers cost more than either player.

Where did you buy them and for what price?

I bought both of them from my little local computer shop. I think I paid less than 1,500 baht for each of them. The little Zen has great battery life and is good for music but not so good for books if you lose your page. Both charge through the computer USB cable. I think either will play at least 8 hours on a charge.

[BabySun]

I have two little MP3 players, they are each several years old. One is a Creative Zen Stone and the other is a Phillips Go Gear Mix. The Zen Stone is a great little unit but has no display. The Phillips has a small display to tell you which song or book chapter you are on. Both use the same audio cable size and ear phones connector (3.5 mm) and both work great through my car stereo. No possible way would I use a proprietary Apple. I can put any MP3 format on either of them with my computer and the Zen even can use Audible book format. I did buy a good set of Sony ear plug speakers. The little Sony ear plug speakers cost more than either player.

Where did you buy them and for what price?

I bought both of them from my little local computer shop. I think I paid less than 1,500 baht for each of them. The little Zen has great battery life and is good for music but not so good for books if you lose your page. Both charge through the computer USB cable. I think either will play at least 8 hours on a charge.

I think you should buy simple player from Sony or Philips.Both of this brands had showrooms on SilomRd. but I have not been there for a while,may be they moved,but sure - you will find them in BKK.

You will pay there a bit more,then somewhere else,but you will have bigger choice,comfort and competent staff plus 100% you will buy original.There are a lot of cheap Sony knockoffs on every village bazaar.Also - you will get guarantee.

And tell us - what is your choice.I love small mp3 players.Sony makes one model,which might very suitable for you - on bike:it is in the form of around neck headphone(player inside headphone) - very safe and handy:you will be able to hear

strong outside noise - like somebody horning..

[Femme]

Also very curious about your choice, Alexpoker. Update us about your find in Chiang Mai, OK?

[spacebass]

I 2nd above opinion.Sandisk mp3 players are the best.Buy Sansa Clip+ or SansaZip,sound quality is superb,price is about 50 US$.The thing is very small,but have very big capacity thanks to memory card.(and internal memory - 8G)

You have to buy it in USA or Europe through Amazon.There are other brands available in Asia:the best are "Cowon" from Korea,"Iriver" from Korea,"Creative" from Singapore - this one you will find easy in Thailand.They have many models,

but you need simple one and small - study their websites and make your choice."Philips","Samsung" and "Sony" will give you plenty of more choices."Sony" sells their players with name:"walkman" and all of them are highly recommended.

If you can not get Sansa - try to buy one of "Sony" - the models,which look like lipstick.(shape).Walkmans which look like thin,flat tablets reminding MikiMouse - come with noise supression earphones.

If you go for i-pods - you will be forced to use special software in your comp called i-tunes.Without i-tunes i-pod/iphone can not work.For many reason - nobody likes i-tunes:pain in ass.And there is that price to swallow and size,and ipods/iphones have no memory cards.

But you have a lot of HYPE!In my opinion - i-phone makes more sense,not many people buy i-pods today,but plenty buy i-phones.i-phone is ipod touch plus mobile.Of course iphone is not the end of the world - there is all world of smartphones!

I have just discovered mobile with music,which you can try yourself:"Nokia C3" just....3000B(100US$!),available everywhere - simple,cheap,works very well,play music/video,internet,internet shop,even wi-fi!looks very nice,small..3000Baht! compare it with....20 000B?

In shops in Thailand you will see a lot of players from China,there is even Thai brand "Soken" - which will give you thai language if it matters.

Remember also:

In your case - you want to operate your player "blind" - keeping it in pocket,so all these "touch" models are useless in pocket.You need buttons to operate.

happy shopping!

I have Nokia C3 sounds very nice with MP3s and takes the standard headphonejack, can you use anything else but Apple headphones in Apple products nowadays? Forget that control freak brand !