MP3 Players


MP3 players with integrated flash memory are very light and consume little power. They are also unaffected by shocks. Some flash players have interchangeable storage media such as SD or SmartMedia cards. MP3 players with hard drives are larger and heavier. However, they have considerably more storage capacity. More...

  • MP3 Players (366)
  • Reviews (671)
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1
Sony NWZ-A845
Listed since 01/2010
Storage capacity: 16GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 22h; Portable
"For: Superior quality when compared with similarly priced devices; Good video playback; Slim design; Good  …
1 Review, 10 Opinions
 
 
2
Philips GoGear Ariaz (16 GB)
Listed since 08/2009
Storage capacity: 16GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 30h; Personal Media Player (PMP)
"... Using the included earphones, music sounded harsh with weak bass and a lack of detail and warmth. This  …
1 Review, 5 Opinions
 
 
3
Creative Labs Zen X-Fi 2 (32 GB)
Listed since 10/2009
Creative Labs Zen X-Fi 2 (32 GB)
Storage capacity: 32GB; Storage medium: Flash memory, Memory Card; Battery life: 25h
"The touchscreen isn’t perfect, but it has plenty of features and sound quality is superb."
1 Review, 10 Opinions
 
 
4
Apple iPod Nano 4G (8 GB)
Listed since 09/2008
Apple iPod Nano 4G (8 GB)
Storage capacity: 8GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 24h; Personal Media Player (PMP)
Despite wanting to find another winner, the truth of the matter is Apple's iPod nano is unrivalled for audio  …
1 Review, 43 Opinions
 
 
5
Samsung YP-R1J (16 GB)
Listed since 11/2009
Storage capacity: 16GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 25h; Personal Media Player (PMP)
"There is a lot to like about the R1. Video playback is, by some margin, the best we have come across on a  …
1 Review
 
 
6
SanDisk Sansa Clip+ (2 GB)
Listed since 11/2009
Storage capacity: 2GB; Storage medium: Memory Card, Flash memory; Battery life: 15h; Portable MP3 Player
"Despite being only a minor upgrade, the SanDisk Sansa Clip+ improves upon the already great SanDisk Sansa Clip MP3 player."
1 Review
 
 
7
Apple iPod Nano 5G (16 GB)
Listed since 09/2009
Apple iPod Nano 5G (16 GB)
Storage capacity: 16GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 20h; Portable MP3 Player
"... Video quality isn't great. It only captures at a resolution of 640x480 pixels, so the footage we  …
4 Reviews
 
 
8
Samsung Yepp YP-P3 (16 GB)
Listed since 03/2009
Samsung Yepp YP-P3 (16 GB)
Storage capacity: 16GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 30h; Portable MP3 Player
Samsung's YP-P3 touchscreen still has some interface issues that might be frustrating. No WiFi and poor podcast  …
1 Review
 
 
9
Apple iPod touch 3G
Listed since 09/2009
Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 30h
"... the iPod touch 3G doesn't support all the video files of a larger Archos tablet (Nor do videos look  …
12 Reviews, 30 Opinions
 
 
10
Apple iPod Nano 5G
Listed since 09/2009
Storage medium: Flash memory
"The video camera and FM radio are great. The more affordable 16GB model isn't much cheaper than the 8GB iPod touch, but it'  …
13 Reviews
 
 
 
 
11
Sony NWZ-E444 (8 GB)
Listed since 07/2009
Storage capacity: 8GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 6h; Portable MP3
"The new E-class player sounds better than the old one and is easier to use than the Samsung. You can't ask for much more from an update."
1 Review, 10 Opinions
 
 
12
SanDisk Sansa Fuze (8GB)
Listed since 09/2008
SanDisk Sansa Fuze (8GB)
Storage capacity: 8GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 24h; Portable MP3 Player
"... Turn it up loud and the audio quality stands comparison with the Creatives and Sony's of this world,  …
2 Reviews, 10 Opinions
 
 
13
Listed since 02/2010
Storage capacity: 4GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 30h; Portable
"It's a close call between the Sony Walkman E-Series players and the Apple iPod nano. If you're on a budget you can pick up the 4GB E  …
2 Reviews, 10 Opinions
 
 
14
Sony NWZ-E443 (4 GB)
Listed since 09/2009
Sony NWZ-E443 (4 GB)
Storage capacity: 4GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 30h; Portable MP3 Player, Personal Media Player (PMP)
2 Reviews, 10 Opinions
 
 
15
Cowon iAudio 9
Listed since 12/2009
Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 29h; Portable MP3 Player, Personal Media Player (PMP)
"... In our audio playback test, the Cowon iAudio 9's sound quality is quite commendable. It may not have the same low  …
1 Review
 
 
16
Sony NWZ-B153
Listed since 08/2010
Storage capacity: 4GB; Portable MP3 Player
For those looking for a compact, no-frills portable mp3 player, PC Advisor reckon that it doesn't get much  …
1 Review, 2 Opinions
 
 
17
Apple iPod touch 3G (64GB)
Listed since 09/2009
Apple iPod touch 3G (64GB)
Storage capacity: 64GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 30h; Personal
"The iPod touch is now even harder to resist thanks to a boost in capacity and performance - it's a real charmer."
6 Reviews, 10 Opinions
 
 
18
Cowon iAudio V5 (32GB)
Listed since 07/2010
Storage capacity: 32GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 45h; Personal Media Player (PMP)
"The Cowon V5 (32GB version) costs £309 which is a bit steep when you can get a 64GB Apple iPod touch for  …
1 Review, 1 Opinion
 
 
19
Samsung YP-R1 (8GB)
Listed since 10/2009
Storage capacity: 8GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 25h; Portable
"Put simply, the YP-R1 is a delight to use. Its touchscreen interface is the best you'll find on a device without an Apple logo, it'  …
1 Review
 
 
20
Sony NWZ-S639F
Listed since 11/2008
Storage capacity: 16GB; Storage medium: Flash memory; Battery life: 40h; Portable MP3 Player
"... We eked out nearly 40 hours worth before we had to attach this to the wall for some power guzzling. The  …
2 Reviews, 5 Opinions
 
 
 
 
"iRiver T8 review"
1 MP3 Player
PC Advisor
Published on 8/2010
On test: iRiver T8
"The iRiver T8 is a USB drive that also plays music. It's highly portable, but not always the easiest device to use. The iRiver T8 comes in 2GB and 4GB flavours." Review details: Single test.    Test results
"Sony Walkman NWZ-B153 review"
1 MP3 Player (approx. £40)
PC Advisor
Published on 8/2010
On test: Sony NWZ-B153
"The Sony Walkman NWZ-B153 is a basic pen-drive based MP3 player that offers many essential features and good sound quality. It has the useful 3-minutes battery quick charge feature. Its unintuitive navigation wheel and limited format support may be deal-breaking for some but it is one of the few good mini MP3 players available today." Review details: Single test.    Test results
"Cowon J3 16GB review"
1 MP3 Player (approx. £200)
Expert Reviews
Published on 7/2010
On test: Cowon J3 (16GB)
"The J3 is the latest is a long line of touchscreen portable audio players from Korean manufacturer Cowan. Inevitably it will be compared to Apple's iPod Touch. However, while the J3 lacks the Touch's built-in WiFi and ability to run a dizzying selection of third-party apps, it does have features Apple's player lacks." Review details: Single test.    Test results
"No-frills player lacks real appeal"
1 Hard Drive-based MP3 Player
What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision
Issue 9/2010
On test: HisoundAudio Studio PDAA-1
"THE HISOUND PDAA-1 aspires, to put it plainly, to be an audiophile's portable music player. Eschewing extra features, colour screens, slick interfaces and slimline designs, the player aims to major on sound - and sound alone." Review details: Single test.    Test results
"iRiver T8 review"
1 MP3 Player
Pocket-lint.co.uk
Published on 7/2010
On test: iRiver T8
"Funky music?" Review details: Single test.    Test results

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MP3 Players

MP3 players have, for the most part, replaced the Walkman, Discman and the Mini Disc player. Apple's iPod is an extremely popular type of MP3 player. Structurally they can be divided into three major groups, which differ mainly by the storage medium used. With flash memory they are particularly well suited for travelling and sporting activities. There are no mechanical components that could be affected by shocks. Flash memory is also significantly lighter compared to other storage media such as hard drives in the same capacity, and it consumes less power. The disadvantage is the high production cost, which is why these MP3 players have rarely more than 16 gigabytes of memory - although in exceptional cases, there are already devices with up to 80 gigabytes. A variant of this is the MP3 player with removable flash memory, such as Smart Media cards or SD cards. Their advantage is that the user can listen to a completely different library by simply changing the memory card. In addition, transfer to other devices such as mobile phones is made easier. But despite the undeniable advantages of the flash player, MP3 players with internal hard drives are still very popular. They are heavier as a rule, and also larger, but they generally have an enormous storage capacities that can currently be up to 160 gigabytes. However disadvantages include high battery consumption and the possibility of shock sensitivity, which, depending on the model, can lead to skipping. Contrary to what the name implies, almost all MP3 players are capable of reading other music formats such as AAC, WAV, AIFF, WMA or FLAC. In addition, some MiniDisc and CD players can also play MP3 sound files.

Trends and Developments

Flash players with removable media have experienced a growth in popularity because they make it quite easy to transfer your favourite songs to another device, such as a mobile phone with music functionality. By using special, usually inexpensive, card readers you can also easily exchange music and other data, such as videos and images, with your PC or laptop. The disadvantage of memory cards is that they still have somewhat limited storage capacity. Some formats such as Memory Stick or Compact Flash do offer 8 or 16 gigabytes of storage space available, but the majority of cards on offer are 1 to 4 GB in capacity. The popular SD memory card format has now advanced to its second generation, offering higher capacities. These cards are referred to as SDHC memory card (SD 2.0), and currently provide up to 32 gigabytes of space. The disadvantage is, however, that some older MP3 players are not able to read this new format. So if you want to use the SD format, you should confirm when buying an MP3 player that it supports SD as well as SDHC cards.

An alternative version of flash music player is the MP3 USB stick. These devices use the basic principle of a USB stick, which is simply a flash memory device, to store music files and allow playback independently or via a PC or laptop. The user can plug these MP3 players directly into a computer and, similarly to an external hard drive, play music through the computer directly from the USB stick, or exchange music with the computer. Because of the particular simplicity of this method, MP3 USB sticks have experienced great success. Now these players are being gradually replaced by a new generation of MP3 players that use Bluetooth or infrared functionality to exchange music with PCs, mobile phones or any other appropriate Bluetooth enabled device.

MP3 players are, of course, no longer limited to the mere music playback. The development of these devices is increasingly moving in the direction of multi-functional media players, often referred to as PMPs (Personal Media Players). The first step in this direction was the move away from extremely simple displays on the initial devices, which could only show the track name, or sometimes only the track number and the storage capacity. Now, however, almost all MP3 players are able to read the ID3 tags completely, and can display more information in a clearer format. Many of the current higher-quality MP3 players possess sophisticated colour screens that can display photos and video to a high standard. The screen technology is increasingly moving from LCD to OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) since OLED displays offer an excellent side viewing angle (up to 170 degrees), are flatter, and require less energy. Accordingly, by providing modern MP3 players with more and more extra features like slide show, video player, organiser applications and even the ability to work with incompatible files that cannot necessarily be displayed, but can be stored and managed, thus making the MP3 player a hub for mobile data.

iPod hype


This plays a special role for the Apple iPod. As the world's most popular MP3 player, the iPod has paved the road for many improvements in the mobile music player market. Since the fifth generation of iPods it has been possible to display videos and even install games from the iTunes Store (after a firmware update to version 1.2 or above). In this way, the iPod, which also features extras such as address book, calendar and radio operation, has become the ultimate multimedia monster, and continues to experience uninterrupted hype. This also applies to the very popular, yet somewhat restricted, micro and nano models. In the case of the iPod shuffle, buyers should check very carefully what functionality the coveted device really offers. The iPod nano and shuffle actually offer little value compared to other significantly smaller flash players in the competition, while the original iPod, thanks to the large hard drive is not exactly a featherweight at 170 to 190g. In order to reach a wider audience, Apple launched its own mobile phone onto the market, namely the iPhone, which includes a fully-fledged iPod player. This seems to have been an extremely smart move by Apple, based on sales figures and its massive popularity. Since its inception several newer generations have been released with ever increasing memory capacities and functionality.

However, despite the positives with regard to the the iPod concept, there are some clear disadvantages. The manufacturer does not offer users the option to replace the battery when required. This is because the replacement of a used battery is not possible without technical skills. In the case of the iPod nano and the iPod shuffle, a solder is required: a good enough reason why most users will have no viable solution. Therefore the life of the equipment is, for most users, very limited. In addition, although the iPod is technically suitable for playing different formats, the unit is however limited in practice, primarily to the playback of MP3 and AAC files. This is a clear limitation in comparison to many other players, since many online shops offer their tracks in Windows Media Player format, which these must first be converted to a MP3 files in order to be played on iPods.
This category contains tests on MP3 Players.