[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]Morning all–I am a hold out as far as buying an MP3 player. I think this is because I have not taken the time to explore all of the many possibilities. But I really would like one now! :cheering:To listen to books mostly- I have a considerable drive to and from work and currently listen to approx 2 books a week on CD. I thought it would be better to upload to a MP3 player-more choices than are available at my library :passedout: but which one? Could some of you that have them possibly give me some guidance? [/COLOR][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]Thanks so much![/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]anne[/COLOR][/FONT]
I have an RCA mp3 player that I picked up at Wally World for under a hundred bucks and have been happy with it.
Wow, there’s so much to choose from. Some of the more expensive ones have a lot of bells and whistles that aren’t really necessary unless you plan on carrying your whole DVD collection with you as well as music.
I have an Ipod Nano 1st Gen and I love it. Never had any problems with it. I bought my daughter a 2nd Gen Shuffle (the tiny one) for Xmas last year and she loves hers too. And surprisingly, hasn’t lost it yet! :teehee:
I like Ipods because Itunes is a great program to manage your media, but I’m sure other MP3 players have their own great software. I know I’m not much help, but I’m just vouching for Ipods. 
You know…another option is your cell phone. Most new cell phones play mp3’s. You can buy micro SD cards for fairly good prices. Pop your phone into the car charger, and you are set to go. Plus, you don’t have the inconvenience of carrying around two devices.
I’m a big iPod fan…I have a big old clunky 4th gen iPod and though I adore it, I would looooove to have a nano, and now is the time to buy, as the previous generation nanos are dirt cheap at the Apple store.
To give you an idea of how much they can hold – I just put an audio book on my iPod and the entire thing (12 CDs) takes up 1GB of space.
I have a Nano (1st generation) and a shuffle (it was free!). I use the Nano more because it is easier to pick what I want to listen too. The new Nano also play video… I checked them out last week and they are sooo cool. I wish they had a trade-in program.
My Dad’s car has a jack to plug in an MP3 player. My car does not so I don’t use mine in the car… but my ride to work is only about 15 minutes.
candice
I have a Creative Zen V Plus. I got it Walmart for less than $75. The main attractions for me were that it was small, pink, and it also plays FM radio. I like that because it is always with me and if the weather gets bad, I have a source of information.
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I wrote about it here on my blog, too.
It’s 2gb, so it’s not the largest storage you can get, but it does function as an external storage device and you can add pictures to it. It holds plenty of songs - more than I’ll ever add, probably!
Just wanted to offer it as an option for you. I think for the features/price, it’s great!
Good luck with your choice!
That is a cute player, Sharly… and a really great price!
Thanks Silver!! Wish I had a NB that same color!!
Hubby might not want to carpool, then, though :roflhard:
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]I had thought about that a while back. We justextended our cell contract because DH needed a new phone… he is verrrry hard on phones lol. Mine still worked fine so I held off. Maybe I should look into it now :balloons: Great Idea! Thanks!
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]anne[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]Very Cute! In an above message Julie said one book is about 1 GB so that would hold 2 books… Are you able to delete and upload more to your hearts content?[/COLOR][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]anne[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]I just went to the Apple site and they are offering “reconditioned” 2 gb for $99… will have to price around a bit. [/COLOR][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]Thanks![/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]Candi- my nephew recommended the Nano… [/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]My car does not have the jack either…:pout: I wonder if there is an adapter … hmm will have to search - kind of suprised it did not come with one it is a 2006-think they would be an almost standard item lol. [/COLOR][/FONT]
Anne - yes, it is very simple to use. I just use window’s media for managing the files.
You can also add books a few chapters at a time, if you choose to do so. That way you can have music, as well. I must confess - I haven’t actually loaded an entire book. I did download some chapters for free from Librivox and it seemed worked well. After I listened, I just deleted them off 
I keep the player and the cords (I also bought an adapter so I can charge it straight from an electrical outlet) all stored in a little makeup bag that’s also pink!
I have a Nano and like it alot. DH has the bigger ipod (I forget it’s name) – he travels overseas sometimes so thi way he sould download movies or whatever). I’d recommend really thinking about what feature you want, the size you want, as well as in what other capacities you might use it. I’m glad mine isn’t as big as DHs. I originally got mine mainly for walking the dog (so I could listen to music), but now, a year later, I wear to the gym, listen to it in the car, etc. I just started puting books and radio shows on it too. I do sometimes wish it had a radio – just in case I want to listen it and at the gym you can tune into the TVs via a posted radio freq. I also had to buy different earphones as my ears just won’t take those buds that everyone uses these days.
My new car (2007) also doesn’t have jack – which surprised me. We bought a thing for long trips that you plug into the cigarette lighter – your ipod plugs into it and then it broadcasts whatever the ipod is playing on a radio frequency which you then tune into via your radio. It works OK, although the quality of the sound isn’t as good as the unit itself.
Radio Shack sells a good assortment of car adapters. You should be able to find something that would fit your needs.
Also, you can use Windows Explorer to transfer stuff back and forth from SD cards without having to use Windows Media Player. But, with the Apple mp3 players, you’ll have to use iTunes.
One thing too…Apple has discounts for people in certain types of business…teachers, students, etc. I bought my macbook pro using my student discount, and I got a free iPod Nano for my son (putting it away for Christmas…shhh!).
You definitely have options…some of the less expensive ones are equally as good as the highly venerated iPod.
Sharly, I love your mp3 player! I’m thinking of getting one, and I also want FM radio on it. I would love an iPod, but I think to have FM radio you need to buy the radio remote, unless I’m mistaken? And I’m not sure I would like to use iTunes. :shrug:
I’ll definitely look at the model you have, Sharly! :happydance:
For a car adapter you can pick up an FM transmitter at Wally World or similar for about 30 bucks or so. I use one in my rig for both my MP3s and my GPS unit’s voice navigation. It works great.
Thanks Iza! I have really enjoyed it. But, everytime I see it, I want a piece of bubblegum! :lol:
I don’t know about the Ipod’s radio function, I just knew I didn’t see one that had FM capability. When I was shopping, I actually made a little spreadsheet to compare the features that were important to me, and this was the one I liked best. They didn’t have it in the store (in pink), but I ordered on-line and had it in a couple of days!
I have a 30G Creative Zen Vision:M, which was about $250 when I bought it. It’s got a color screen, holds 30G worth of files, has an FM tuner, and you can store photos and video files on it. I like it a lot, but the downside is that when you install the software on your computer, you have to plug the player into your computer to go navigate through Windows Explorer and if you keep hitting the forward button, it can freeze up on you and then you have to reset it. It will only play mp3’s, though. Anything you’d buy from iTunes won’t play on it, either (because they’re not in mp3 format).
I have a big player because I have a lot of music and I wanted to have one central place for it without having to lug memory cards around.