[visara]

Hi,

I'm looking for a rather cheap, stripped down, no bs MP3-player. I have a laptop at home so I can change what's loaded daily if I so wish, so anything over 1GB would be unnecessary. Anything less, however, would be impractical at times, so I've nailed 1GB as optimal.

What I'm looking for are the same kind of usability/reliability/practicality things that I guess most people value - good, simple design and ergonomics and bang for bucks.

For example, I want it to work so that my XP recognizes it immediately as an external HD, and I can just drag and drop folders on it. The need to use a specific software to put things on it is a big NoNo. It should have an inbuilt USB-jack, so that I wouldn't need to use an external cable to connect it to my laptop. I'd like to be able to explore its content while a track is playing, so that there would be minimal break when changing tracks. I'd prefer a USB-rechargeable, inbuilt battery over disposable batteries.

So just basic common sense things, nothing fancy.

Here are some of the more common, cheaper options available around here:

Creative Zen Nano Plus 1 Gt |83 €
Creative Nomad MuVo TX SE 1 Gt |62 €
Creative MuVo V200 1 Gt |83 €
LG MF-FM12E1K, 1 Gt |105 €
Samsung YP-F2RZ 1 (Gt) |142 €
Samsung YP-U2RZ, 1 Gt |112 €
Samsung YP-U2ZW (1 Gt) |101 €
Samsung YP-Z5FZ (1 Gt) |149 €
SanDisk Sansa C140 1 Gt |99 €
Sony Network Walkman NW-E003, 1 Gt |101 €

Even though most of these don't satisfy all of the points I made earlier, I'd like to make the pick from the ~sub 100EUR players from the list. Actually, I'd quite like to pick one of the Creatives, any comments on them?

Thanks a ton in advance.

 

[Taphil]

I had a 1GB Zen Nano Plus for a while. It was worth $120 that I paid for it back then. Nowadays, I think it runs around $70 (what's that, like 35€ or so

?) which is a great deal. It uses a AAA battery, but just get rechargables so you can change them out whenever need be.

 

[visara]

Thanks for the tip! Yeah, That's one of the heavy contestants and the first player I seriously considered. However, afaik, it fails on many of the little usability details I listed, namely:

- it requires an external USB-cable to interface with a computer (ie, it's not a stick in itself)
- you cannot browse throught its content while listening to a song
- and as you pointed out, it uses AAA-batteries

No single one of these are crucial, but as a whole, they shape the user experience in an important way...

Also, unfortunately Finland isn't quite as cheap a country as US is, so even though 70$ ~ 55€, the lowest price for the device I've found in local shops is 83EUR...

I've been reading a bit more, and a lot of people seem to praise the iRiver devices, and indeed they look sleek. Even though they aren't quite as readily available as Creative and Samsung devices in these parts of the world, I need to add these two to the list:

iRiver T20 1 Gt 111 €
iRiver T30 1 Gt 109 €
edit: also need to add the iriver H10 Jr 1GB (since even though it has the space-taking "High-contrast 1.2" color display" and photo-features which are totally irrelevant to me, when ordered from Germany it's surprisingly cheaper than the T20 by some 15€. As a downsize it's apparently not an USB stick in itself...)
- Any comments on any of the iRivers?

Including german stores might drop the prices of these two by maybe 10€ it seems... Does anyone have recommendations for internationally shipping german stores selling this stuff?

 

[Supersonica]

Have you considered ZEN V Plus?

I think it should be available soon for the V Plus. The V is selling already. Only difference is that the V PLus has got radio and Video playback. Screen is about the same size of the Zen Microphoto but the overall footprint of the player is much smaller.

http://www.creative.com/products/mp3/zenv/

 

[Bender.E]

What about SanDisk Sansa e200 Series ("iPod Killer"

):
http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Cata...3_Players.aspx

.
Though, I've read that they seemed to have buggy firmware.

 

[visara]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supersonica Have you considered ZEN V Plus? I think it should be available soon for the V Plus. The V is selling already. Only difference is that the V PLus has got radio and Video playback. Screen is about the same size of the Zen Microphoto but the overall footprint of the player is much smaller.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bender.E What about SanDisk Sansa e200 Series ("iPod Killer" )

These both seem like a bit of an overkill for me. Sansa E250 goes for ~172€ and Creative Zen V Plus 1 Gt for ~173€ here, which is about twice as much as I intended to pay. After all, I don't need a lifestyle gadget and am not interested in any photo/video features (and hence do not need a big color screen), so I will not pay for these features... I just want a plain MP3-player.

I'm a bit confused now of the differences between the three Creative players I listed (Creative Zen Nano Plus, Creative Nomad MuVo TX SE, Creative MuVo V200) -they seem practically identical to me. Anyone care to shed any light on this?

All I could find from the Creative site was the following:
- Zen Nano Plus has slightly longer battery life (18h against 15h)
- Zen Nano Plus has a line-in (irrelevant to me)
- MuVo TX lacks an FM tuner
- MuVo TX SE and Creative MuVo V200 have an inbuilt USB-connector (cool)

This would seem to make the Creative Nomad MuVo TX SE 1 Gt a rather appealing choice, since at 62 € it's the cheapest of the players I listed in my first post, and the only thing it really lacks against Nano Plus is FM-radio. Too bad it's not USB-rechargeable...

The Samsung products look pretty nice too, especially the YP-U1Z 1 Gb (111€). What kind of reputation do Samsung MP3-players have? This one would have all I need - inbuilt USB-connector, drag and drop file management and USB-rechargeable battery. Too bad this size seems to be available only in white, I'd prefer the black one...

So, Samsung YP-U1Z 1GB (111€) and iRiver T20 1 Gt (111 €) seem to satisfy my needs the best - if I'd limit myself to these two, which one would you recommend?

Although, I could save some serious money if I took the Creative Nomad MuVo TX SE 1 Gt |62 € - would this money saving be worth it?

Thanks in advance...

(edited for typos)

 

[nsjong]

iRiver T10 beats them all in one swoop.
Samsung YP-C1 does as well.

The T10 new on eBay is... $90 USD shipped to your house, I think.

 

[Asr]

The iAudio U2 meets your criteria except the USB connector part. But it uses a standard USB/mini-serial cable, you probably already have one lying around.

 

[pata2001]

Zen nano plus/muvo series is probably your best bet. IMO the use of AAA battery is actually better, since on the-go, you can just drop by any convenience store to get a fresh battery if you run out of juice.

Sony is probably a no go, since although it is recognized as UMS device, it requires software to transfer music (either sonicstage of MP3 file manager). Plus, the E003 is USB 1.1, so it's sloooow.

Zen V plus is MTP device, not UMS. Although you're probably fine since you're using XP, it won't be compatible with any other OS (not even win2k/9x).

The sandisk can be set as UMS, but has no bult-in USB jack. Plus it has a freaking long boot-up time.

 

[visara]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nsjong iRiver T10 beats them all in one swoop. Samsung YP-C1 does as well.

Why do you think so? Looking at the specifications for these two, I can't see any advantages over Samsung YP-U1Z or iRiver T20, only one noticeable drawback: neither of them are USB-sticks in themselves, ie. they require an external cable. So I'm curious why I'd pick, say, the T10 over the T20 (the price is roughly the same over here)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr The iAudio U2 meets your criteria except the USB connector part. But it uses a standard USB/mini-serial cable, you probably already have one lying around.

Hmm yeah, ok. Well, the U2 1GB is 120€ in a german store where the iRiver T20 is 100€ and the Samsung YP-U1Z 1GB is 90€. Especially noting the absence of a built-in USB-connector, I'm curious if you think it would be worth this extra money -and if so, why?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pata2001 Zen nano plus/muvo series is probably your best bet. IMO the use of AAA battery is actually better, since on the-go, you can just drop by any convenience store to get a fresh battery if you run out of juice.

Yeah, I acknowledge this point, but this becomes relevant only when I'm out of touch with computers for an extended period of time, which happens very rarely. 95% of the use of the device would be during a normal work- or schoolday or in the bus/tram, when I could always recharge it in the evening at home. Very rarely would >10h playback with a single recharge feel limiting...

BTW, if anyone has experience with the alarm clocks of the iRiver T-series (or alarm clocks in mp3-players in general), I made another thread concerning this exact feature... (I was wondering if I could use the T-series devices as a customized alarm clock by connecting it to the AUX-in of my amplifier...)

 

[russdog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by visara Hmm yeah, ok. Well, the U2 1GB is 120€ in a german store where the iRiver T20 is 100€ and the Samsung YP-U1Z 1GB is 90€. Especially noting the absence of a built-in USB-connector, I'm curious if you think it would be worth this extra money -and if so, why?

Over here, we can get the U2 1GB for a bit under $100 delivered, 2GB for $135 delivered. I'm sorry about your prices. What I like about the U2 is:

1. What I think is great industrial design, all in the size of a disposable lighter;
2. Reputed very good sound quality;
3. User-customizable EQ and BBE.

My only dilemma would be this vs. the more expensive and marginally larger (but still tiny) U3 which has greater output and a color screen. With recent news of cheaper 4GB chips, I've decided to avoid the decision and wait to see which Cowon products show up with 4GB flash memory.

 

[Taphil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bender.E Though, I've read that they seemed to have buggy firmware.

Reason enough to stay away. I couldn't return mine fast enough.

 

[sophrosune]

Quote:

Originally Posted by visara So, Samsung YP-U1Z 1GB (111€) and iRiver T20 1 Gt (111 €) seem to satisfy my needs the best - if I'd limit myself to these two, which one would you recommend?

I've had a iRiver T20 for a couple of months now and have been very happy with it. I looked at the Samsung as well, but the fact that it had a removable (read "able to be lost") cap covering the USB plug rather than the retracting USB plug of the T20 contributed to me going with the T20 instead.

 

[mr56k]

No iPod Shuffle recommendations ? I got the Shuffle and think sound quality is awesome. As long as you have easy access for changing the songs its great. Remember no display though..

 

[rockin_amigo14]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr56k No iPod Shuffle recommendations ? I got the Shuffle and think sound quality is awesome. As long as you have easy access for changing the songs its great. Remember no display though..

i guess that misses the point of being able to look through the library while listening to a song. he also wants a UMS player, nothing that needs software.


my suggestion
Samsung YP-u2