Best MP3 Player For Premed

[swifteagle43]

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Alright - finally got audio osmosis in the mail today. And I am thinking about loading all the tracks onto an MP3 Player.

I also need something that has a built in voice recorder or one that I can add a voice recorder to for cheap(bio lectures in the morning...i fall asleep!). This thing does not have to be highest end quality stuff(by far not!).

Any advice? Price range is around $250(ipods don't have recorders I believe plus what the hell is itunes?)

 

[masterMood]

Get an ipod, it costs 250 dollars. and buy the addition voice recorder. its worth it. but u don't need it for lectures man that's just pure laziness and stupidity.

 

[swifteagle43]

Get an ipod, it costs 250 dollars. and buy the addition voice recorder. its worth it. but u don't need it for lectures man that's just pure laziness and stupidity.

see every class we have a quiz(from the last class info). and the class according to him is 80% lecture based. So i figure if i rehear the lecture in my free time before class(i have 1 hour) i can easily ace his quizzes. I will still take notes.

 

[MWillie]

One of THOSE guys huh, dork!

 

[synapse lapse]

Trust me, as an Ipod owner and electronics enthusiast, get an Ipod. It is what you need, buy a used 3rd generation one on ebay or get a new on on apple.com with education discount. Itunes is a music managment software program, you can download it at apple.com for free. It rocks. Anyhow, good luck.

 

[sidewalkman]

I have an Iriver H320, and love it. Got it for $250 after rebate, and comes with a built-in voice recorder and FM radio. Also, you don't need to install any software to transfer music. I'm not an iPod hater, I just think the iRiver is a better value for the money.

 

[JDAD]

Get an ipod, and buy the extra microphone for recording your lectures.


BUT

Even if you do record your lectures, you won't ever listen to them. If the class is so boring you fall asleep, what makes you think you are going to listen to it twice.

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

I use a Dell Digital DJ, cheap and more then enough room.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

I pity the fool that re-listens to lectures!

As far as MP3 players, I recently bought an IPOD Mini (its still in the mail). I think it should be perfect - $100 to fit 150 songs, lasts 12 hours w/ rechargeable battery, and weighs less than an ounce. It may just be the perfect budget MP3 player.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Wheredyou get an Ipod Mini for 100 bucks?

 

[fotolilith]

Ipod!!🙂

 

[bidster]

Wheredyou get an Ipod Mini for 100 bucks?

Isn't that the iPod Shuffle? That sounds right for holding ~150 songs and weighing about an ounce.

In any case, I also have to support the iPod line here. iPods are becoming to the mid-00's what cell phones were to the late 90's/early-00's. They're everywhere, and for good reason. Mine is almost 2 years old, has plenty of space left, and still works *flawlessly*--even despite being dropped a few times at the gym and getting jostled a bit if I take it running outside (though technically you're not supposed to do that with hard-drive players...but a girl needs music). And iTunes is fantastic as well. 😍

 

[CanuckRazorback]

Education discount? Is there a special code you need to enter? How does it work? Thanks!

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Wheredyou get an Ipod Mini for 100 bucks?

My bad... The machine i was referring to is the Ipod shuffle. *shrug*

 

[Sundarban1]

Education discount? Is there a special code you need to enter? How does it work? Thanks!

Many schools offer discounts if they do business with apple. I know Yale does, thats how I got my iBook and iPod. Never looked back!

Check with your schools IT department, they will guide you.

 

[CanuckRazorback]

Many schools offer discounts if they do business with apple. I know Yale does, thats how I got my iBook and iPod. Never looked back!

Check with your schools IT department, they will guide you.

I think my school does too. Thanks for the tip!

 

[UCLAstudent]

Education discount? Is there a special code you need to enter? How does it work? Thanks!

My mom got 30 bucks off my iPod that I got for Christmas because of the education discount. She is a teacher. 👍

 

[swifteagle43]

god damn ipod has no microphone. w/ a microphone it will cost nearly 350(300 for the ipod 50 for the microphone).

 

[DianaLynne]

I do love my iPod. I've got nearly a week of music on it, got a iTrip so I can play it thru any FM radio. I don't know if it can be beat for memory.

 

[synapse lapse]

Go to apple.com and there is an education store that saves you 10% just for being a student. Anyhow, my Ipod is a 3G 1.5 year old, and it works great. To the OP, the reason the otehr MP3 players aren't as good in my opinion is the interface, they are all too hard to navigate through. Sure, they entice you with a color screen (see IPOD photo) but I find that even if they offer that, FM transmitter, and microphone they are still not god b/c the interface sucks. Just my opinion on the matter.

 

[DeaconMD04]

I will also have to back the Ipod. I use the Monster FM adapter. It pretty much makes my CD player obsolete.

 

[synapse lapse]

Oh yeah, I use the Itrip which looks very nice and has decent transmission quality.

 

[macaddict78]

Get an ipod.

If you are in the market for a laptop too, during the summer Apple offers an education promotion. When I bought my powerbook, I got a free Canon color printer and $200 off of my ipod (so it was $150 out the door). On top of that I recieved the educational discount on both the laptop and ipod. You can also go into an apple store and show your student id to get the discount if you have one close by.

 

[Reno]

Oh yeah, I use the Itrip which looks very nice and has decent transmission quality.

I just got a Creative Zen Micro and so far I love it! Its competes against the Ipod mini and is a tad bit cheaper, and the reason I choose it over the mini:

1GB extra storage (5GB as oppose to 4GB)
FM Tuner, with ability to record.
Voice recorder

All these are built in, with no need to upgrade.

Also I love how it syncs with MS Outlook so I can carry my calender and to do list everywhere.

You gotta check it out, cnet.com, amazon.com, the reviews are looking good.

***EDIT:

Forgot to mention, removable battery, so when your battery finally dies, you do not need to send it in to Apple to have it replaced, but replace it your self, also it is 12 hour battery life as oppose to Apples 8.

 

[synapse lapse]

I just got a Creative Zen Micro and so far I love it! Its competes against the Ipod mini and is a tad bit cheaper, and the reason I choose it over the mini:

1GB extra storage (5GB as oppose to 4GB)
FM Tuner, with ability to record.
Voice recorder

All these are built in, with no need to upgrade.

Also I love how it syncs with MS Outlook so I can carry my calender and to do list everywhere.

You gotta check it out, cnet.com, amazon.com, the reviews are looking good.

***EDIT:

Forgot to mention, removable battery, so when your battery finally dies, you do not need to send it in to Apple to have it replaced, but replace it your self, also it is 12 hour battery life as oppose to Apples 8.

Yeah, but again, the interface is horrible compaired to Ipods. The whole thing with electronics is that all of the features become useless if you can't access them or navigate the programs quickly. The button layouts are poor and the OS weak in my opinion on other MP3 playes. Howvere, the Creative Zen normal size is pretty nice, though still suffers from some of the aforementioned issues. I would maybe consider it over an IPOD on the next model.

 

[tkim]

I have an Iriver H320, and love it. Got it for $250 after rebate, and comes with a built-in voice recorder and FM radio. Also, you don't need to install any software to transfer music. I'm not an iPod hater, I just think the iRiver is a better value for the money.

Second the iriver - you forgot to add that it has a *color* display, can display jpegs, can play the ogg format, wma, and if you flash the firmware to the korean version you can watch divx movies:

http://www.tomshardware.com/mobile/20041005/

 

[Reno]

Maybe that is your opinion, granted I love the IPODs interface, but have you actually tried the micros? Its not too bad, I can play any song via genre, album , artists etc within seconds, access FM, etc etc. Personally I love the interface, the ability to customize your menu is an added plus as I've already changed a few things to personalize it for me.

On a related note, is there an easier way to change the track info for Audio Osmosis. So far I am stuck having to edit all the tags with there info.

Yeah, but again, the interface is horrible compaired to Ipods. The whole thing with electronics is that all of the features become useless if you can't access them or navigate the programs quickly. The button layouts are poor and the OS weak in my opinion on other MP3 playes. Howvere, the Creative Zen normal size is pretty nice, though still suffers from some of the aforementioned issues. I would maybe consider it over an IPOD on the next model.

 

[i77ac]

i hear that battery does NOT last as advertised (12 hour?). is this true?

oh, anyone know what's a good palm/ handheld? i need some sort of electronic organizer.

 

[Supernova]

Education discount? Is there a special code you need to enter? How does it work? Thanks!

show them your student ID at apple store, I think you get 10% off

 

[gomizzou]

I have a 40gb zen micro. Sound quality is great (a little bit better than an ipod), and the battery really does last 24hrs (cnet got it to last 26hrs.) It is thicker than an IPod, but the battery lasts much longer and you can get the 40gb one for $286 at Compuplus.com, saving around a hundred bucks. I also like it because you don't have to use Microsoft's propietary format that no one else uses, you can download your files into wma or mp3 or whatever. One downside is that it doesn't support lossless file types yet, but hopefully with a firmware update this will be solved. I think that the interface works very well (Menu->artist, album or genre) and the touchpad works in a similar way to the apple scrollwheel (I think this part is manufactured by the same company). Go to www.cnet.com and read the editor reviews to see what you think will work best for you.

 

[linuxizer]

Alright - finally got audio osmosis in the mail today. And I am thinking about loading all the tracks onto an MP3 Player.

I also need something that has a built in voice recorder or one that I can add a voice recorder to for cheap(bio lectures in the morning...i fall asleep!). This thing does not have to be highest end quality stuff(by far not!).

Any advice? Price range is around $250(ipods don't have recorders I believe plus what the hell is itunes?)

Might want to consider an Archos Gmini 220:
http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/335/C2564/
Never used one, but saw the review the other day and it looked good.

Ari

 

[MonteeC]

i hear that battery does NOT last as advertised (12 hour?). is this true?

oh, anyone know what's a good palm/ handheld? i need some sort of electronic organizer.

I just recently bought a Zen Micro, I love it to death but so far, my batteries have only lasted 6-7 hours instead of the advertised 12. I'm kinda confused why that is myself..Otherwise, great MP3 player in my opinion. Small, menu navigation is easy once learned, good sound quality, FM radio and recording etc. etc.

 

[gomizzou]

As for the Zen Micro battery life, I know the amt. of time you have the backlight on, whether or not the EQ settings are enabled and other such things can affect the battery life. Creative has its own forums that you can find by going to the main page and then support. Lots of posts, would be easy to search how to increase the battery life.

 

[fakin' the funk]

Hm, I wonder if the iPod's massive popularity has anything to do with its massive advertising budget?

 

[Karine04]

Hm, I wonder if the iPod's massive popularity has anything to do with its massive advertising budget?

I would probably say yes and no. Sure, Apple pours tons of money into the marketing campaigns for iPod, iPod mini, and now iPod Shuffle. However, those of us who use the devices contribute to their popularity. When I go to the gym and see several people with the white headphones and the iPod mini armbands, I think to myself, "Hmmm...maybe that's a good product." I use the iPod because, after extensive research, I came to the conclusion that it was one of the best mp3 players out there, and its popularity has something to do with its reliability, ease of use, etc. I love iTunes and the way it organizes my music, and I love how easy it is to transfer your playlists to the iPod. Sure, it has its downsides. The battery life sucks, but I just charge mine every 3 days or so and I'm fine (I only use it at the gym and occassionally when I'm doing some reading or taking a bus someplace). I wish it had an FM tuner, but I live without it; I have so much music on my iPod that I could never run out of new things to listen to.

Anyway, the hype was created by the ad campaigns, you're right. But the hype wouldn't have lasted without consumer backing, and iPod is certainly a product that's been embraced by the consumers for good reason, IMHO.

 

[masterMood]

just one important point i wanted to make with all these harddrive players --- what happens when the battery dies out? Do you throw away your 300 dollar investment?

 

[jdovez]

just one important point i wanted to make with all these harddrive players --- what happens when the battery dies out? Do you throw away your 300 dollar investment?

Not necessarily. Ipod now has a program where you can send yours in and for $100 they will replace the battery. Not a terrible price if the battery lasts as long as indicated (up to ~500 charge cycles if I recall correctly) and you dont want to shell out bucks for a new one.

Alternatively, there are many third party companies that sell the battery for about ~$30 and with a quick google search you can find out step by step (including pictures) exactly how to replace it.

 

[masterMood]

They should just be disposable batteries like on cell phones and laptops don't you think?

 

[bidster]

I would probably say yes and no. Sure, Apple pours tons of money into the marketing campaigns for iPod, iPod mini, and now iPod Shuffle.

Interestingly, I read that U2 didn't take payment from Apple for their involvement in the "Vertigo"-iTunes-iPod ad campaign....probably because they were getting as much exposure from it as Apple was.

 

[DrHopeless]

Why do you guys all like IPOD? A PDA can do everything an IPOD can, given that you have a 1 GB SD Card or multiple card, they are not that expensive now. Beside listenning to musics, you can do other thing too, like E-book, organizer, internet even, AIM..... Yeah it is a bit more expensive, but it is well worth the money

 

[synapse lapse]

a 1GB card is not a 20 - 40 GB hard drive. They are entirely unique devices with different functions. Sure, a PDA can do music, video, internet, cell phone, even take pictures. This doesn't make it a substitue for a digicam, phone, or computer. The fact is the all in one device has yet to arrive, and most of us want a dedicated mp3 player that can hold all of our music.

 

[Mr. Darcy]

ipod rumored to come out in july/august

 

[tank you]

also, if u know anyone that works at apple, they get 25% discount.
i got my 4th gen ipod for 225 from my cousin. 👍

 

[vikaskoth]

I just bought a 40gb Creative zen touch, it was 300. I like it, the touchpad takes a little getting used to, but the menus and navigating through it are pretty easy. It sounds really good once you get rid of the stock earphones, I bought sennheiser px100's and they sound nice. No voice recorder, but the zen micro (5gb) does so if you dont need the space, its supposed to be better than ipod mini.

check out cnet.com

 

[meister]

My 10 GB iPod has served me well.

 

[jmmmmm]

if you don't care much about sound quality, just get an ipod; it's the easy choice. I really wanted a mini until I listened to one and was very disappointed by the sound, especially the prominent distortion and weak bass. If you listen to one and like it, then go for it. Iriver's have the best sound quality (well, iaudio's is up there too); I have the iriver ifp-390t which I have used to record med school lectures from the balcony in a 500+ person room. The lecturer's voice came in loud and clear, much better than I expected.

I just got the zen micro (because I was disappointed by the mini), and I really like it. Someone said the menu is bad on it, but that is quite untrue. The menu is pretty much a ripoff of the ipods, but improved and with more features added. It is very easy to use. It has a touchpad which could turn some people off, but I got used to it in about 5 minutes. Reasons I bought it over the mini: longer battery life, removable battery, mine came with an extra battery, the extra 1gb, fm radio, and better sound quality. It also has a voice recorder, but it is supposed to be mediocre and I haven't tried it yet. Reasons to get the mini over the micro: touchwheel is superior, it's 'cooler', it's safe

And yes, much of the ipod's popularity has nothing to do with the quality of the product. I'm not saying that it isn't quality, but that is inconsequential for most people buying one. Take, for instance, the shuffle. There are a lot of better flash players, but people will buy it without even knowing there are other products out there.

 

[bewitched1081]

do your research. you will find the one best suited for you. in my research, i found that ipods are hot mostly because of their looks. i also found that the interface looks great but might not prove to be the most functional. it is also overpriced.

 

[dbutz02]

I just got an IRIVER H320. It's great. It has 20 Gigs, Voice Recorder, FM radio, colored screen, lots of cool features and it's $50 less than the Ipod. The navigation system isn't as nice as the ipod's...that wheel is great but for the other features it's worth it and you get used to it, although your friends will complain if they ever try to use it. It's also a good size, only slightly larger than the ipod.
Oh the free headphones that come with it suck but that's minor.