Beginner’s Guide to Shopping for MP3 Players

Even though the MP3 Player is a great innovation to our society, it can be confusing to a lot of people. It’s also important to understand everything you can about this gadget, so you can enjoy everything it has to offer. There are tons of them out there, but several only offer mediocre quality. Others double as video players, have high tech audio functions, and can even record. Older versions that just played music are becoming a thing of the past.

A prime example is the Apple iPod. In the good old days it was simply used to play music. In recent memory they have come out with so many advanced features, most of them aren’t found in other units. The MP3 player is geared for easy navigation. Even though the extra benefits are nice to some, others just want a little piece of technology that plays music. Plus, iPods usually cost a bit more as well.

While the iPod may be the main (perhaps only) brand name that first comes to mind when discussing MP3 players, there are several others out there. There’s even cheaper “knock-offs” from smaller companies that are out there, but these don’t offer all the benefits. Due to legalities in the industry, these companies stick with just giving their consumers the ability to play music. The bigger companies look at the big picture.

Another one of the MP3 player basics is that it has to have good battery life. A cheap model may still use the old AAA sized batteries that wear out quickly. Most models made with any quality will use rechargeable lithium ion batteries. When buying a player you have to decide whether you want to buy batteries every month, or simply recharge it.

One of the most important, but overlooked MP3 player basics is the durability. People will often flock to a new product because it has a certain feature, but they will not wait and see how it holds up to user tests. This can often result in buying a fragile product that can be damaged very easily. Replacing your player in two months is not something you want to have to do because of poor craftsmanship.

If you go with one of the larger electronics brands like Apple or Sony, durability probably won’t be a concern (although there are some notoriously breakable units out there; a glance at a unit’s reviews should be enough to clue you in on whether it’s solid or not). The lower echelon of companies will try to cut corners wherever they can to offer a somewhat similar product for a cheaper price, so don’t be surprised when a player like that breaks down.

One final MP3 player basic to consider before buying is the button layout. On very rare occasions you may find a basic player that has no buttons other than play or stop. I’m not joking; these do exist, although they aren’t sold at very many outlets. These are the very bottom barebones models that are cheap, and often fail within a month or two.

What it comes down to is you just need to do a bit of research before purchasing an MP3 Player. Whether you are looking at the functions, checking the life of the battery, or wondering about the durability, the info can be found fairly quickly nowadays. If you don’t have the time or don’t feel like dealing with the hassles, then just purchase an Apple iPod. The Shuffle is cheap (starts around $50) but has no visual display, while the Nano (around $140) is a great player with a natural interface. The Classic (around $230 and up) has a larger display, and the Touch ($200 and up) has Internet access where Wi-Fi is available. You can also find new units of the previous generation pretty easily, and get a 10% or higher discount on those prices.