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MP3 player buying guide

What are my choices?

Every month, manufacturers unleash even more MP3 players to an increasingly confused public. Not only do these devices have wildly divergent features, but ongoing format wars mean the MP3 player you choose dictates where you can buy your digital music. These devices are anything but one-size-fits-all.

First, there's the question of design. A player can have every feature in the world, but if the design doesn't match your lifestyle or if the interface is impenetrable, you still won't enjoy it. You'll want to look closely at performance; sound quality and battery life can make or break a player, especially if you travel a lot or have the so-called golden ears of an audiophile.

Before you start checking out specific models, you should have a basic understanding of the types of MP3 players available. Note: All types of player mentioned below can play other formats besides MP3, such as WMA or AAC, but we still refer to them as MP3 players.

Types of players: Hard drive based | Micro hard drive based | Flash based | MP3 CD

Hard drive-based players

Most likely, a high-capacity player can accommodate every song you've ever purchased. Hard drives run from 4GB on up, and large players such as the Archos AV700 (100GB) can hold around 28,571 songs, assuming an average file size of 3.5MB per tune.
Pros: They store all your music on one device.
Cons: These players are usually built around a 1.8-inch hard drive; thus, they are larger and heavier than the others. Also, hard drives have moving parts, so these players aren't ideal for strenuous physical activity. Finally, most use rechargeable batteries (usually lasting 6 to 20 hours per charge) that you can't replace yourself, so after a couple of years, you might have to pay for a new model.

Micro hard drive-based players

Straddling the line between full-size hard drive-based MP3 players and compact, flash-based players, these models aim to give you the best of both worlds by using miniature hard drives (about 1 inch in diameter). Players such as the Cowon iAudio 6 can't store as much music, but they feel a lot lighter in the pocket.
Pros: They're smaller and lighter than high-capacity players but still hold more tunes than flash-based models with the same price.
Cons: You get fewer megabytes per dollar than you do with a larger player, and these models have many of the same disadvantages of larger hard drive-based units, including the moving parts that limit physical activity and non-removable batteries that eventually wear out and need to be replaced.

Flash-based players

The original MP3 player design, these have no moving parts and are known for their shockproof operation and ultracompact dimensions. Devices range in capacity from 128MB to 8GB. Creative Zen V Plus line, for example, includes flash-based players.
Pros: Flash-based players are tiny. They also have no moving parts, so their batteries last longer, and you can jog, snowboard, or bungee jump with them without causing skipping or damage.
Cons: They have the highest per-megabyte cost and, at press time, maxed out at 8GB.

MP3 CD players

These look just like portable CD players, except they can read data CDs filled with digital music. You can burn approximately 150 MP3 songs (10 albums) on one 650MB disc. But if you want to take your CD collection with you, no worries--these devices can play standard CDs, as well.
Pros: These are the least expensive of all types of MP3 players, and they use incredibly cheap replaceable media (CD-R/RW discs).
Cons: They're large and can skip when jostled.

How to buy a flash-based MP3 player »